Memo to the Boston Red Sox; no guarantees
Belichick era off to ragged start. Stars out of Dallas?
Good morning, all! I hope your weekend is going well!
Licking their wounds, after losing the ALWCS to the hated-Yankees in three games, the Boston Red Sox and their fans are looking forward, putting a positive spin on a series they could have won, after winning the first game. Remember, no team which won the first game of a three-game wild card set had lost that series, until Boston’s defeat on Thursday night.
The Red Sox and their fans are now looking forward - as they should, by the way because that is the definition of fandom - saying a tweak to the offense here, a pitcher there, and the club which won 89 games this season could easily win 96 and the division next season. If only it worked that way.
There are so many variables to a baseball season, especially now with a multitiered playoff system, that there are no guarantees. The Red Sox could run away with the division next season or they could finish last. Now more than ever that is the baseball paradigm in the 21st Century.
Players get hurt. Other clubs improve. Some teams regress as opposing teams learn how to handle hitters who took them to the cleaners the year before.
To me, the Baltimore Orioles are exhibit A. After a recent rebuild that elevated the team from last to first in two seasons, Orioles fans were in ecstasy. In 2023, after winning the AL East, they were bounced from the ALDS in three games. But fans were excited with that first place finish. Surely they would take the next leap in 2024? Except they did not, failing to win the division and losing in two games in a wild card series to Kansas City. This season they finished in last.
Then you have the Mets. Surging like no other club over the final two-thirds of the 2024 season, the Mets came within two games of making it to the World Series. With the signing of highly sought after free agent Juan Soto, they were a lock, as a force to be reckoned with in 2025. Except they didn’t even make the postseason.
So what is my point? As the Red Sox look to salve their wounds, following an early dismissal from the playoffs, by insisting brighter days are ahead, maybe they are. But maybe they are not. In sports as in life, there are too many variables. That is why when you get so close, and the Red Sox were within one game of making it to the next round, it hurts when you lose, no matter how much spin you place on the defeat.
No one is going to sit around feeling sorry for the Red Sox. Other clubs will do everything in their power to make sure Boston doesn’t even make the playoffs next season. Or for that matter the Yankees or pick any contender from this year. Each season is a new season, plain and simple. Just ask the Orioles and Mets.
Here are some other thoughts on this summer-like Sunday in October:
Speaking of no guarantees, how is Penn St. doing, after UCLA’s shocking upset over the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions?
Speaking of no guarantees, how is that Bill Belichick era working out in North Carolina? Fans were leaving the game by halftime on Saturday. To be fair, even with the NIL, it is going to take awhile for Belichick to implement his program, so he does deserve some wiggle room. That said, I would love to hear what previous NC coach Mack Jones has to say. He actually did a good job as Tar Heels coach. It’s just that he did not bring the buzz to the program Belichick did. In the end, though, the real buzz is winning games.
How about those Bearcats?
All I know is this Mark Sanchez story is going to be an interesting one to follow.
When the Red Sox say they do not have a problem with centralizing media rights, that is a big deal in many ways. Do not doubt me on this. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred wants to create an NFL-like system, when it comes to television packages. In other words, he wants to incorporate the clubs’ individual media rights into one, big money pool. It is baseball’s way of instituting a salary cap, without instituting a salary cap.
Michigan, Memphis, San Antonio are out in the UFL. Columbus is in. Perhaps Louisville, Boise and Orlando will vie for the other two spots, in case you are keeping score at home.
NHL’s Dallas Stars leaving Dallas?
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a terrific Sunday.
DAN