This team certainly takes after this city in some regards…and lacks in ways we know would make them better.
It’s probably been said of Boston more than any other place in the country that our sports teams are a part of the city and its people, engrained into our DNA. But is it true? Let’s put that to the test.
Boston is certainly a multifaceted area, made up of distinctly diverse neighborhoods. How well does each positional group line up with a Boston neighborhood?
Starting Rotation
This is a unit that feels brand new. The heavy investment into this group from Craig Breslow and co. and the changeover in multiple rotation slots brings the starting rotation into the spotlight without a doubt. It feels like going from piers, landfills and parking lots to sparkling new skyscrapers, top of the line amenities, and mini-golf bars. The amount of business being done by the starters and within this neighborhood are expected to bring a lot of success to the city. Both are also isolated in some regard: you leave your starter alone if things are going well on the bump, and you leave efficient public transit behind in this neighborhood. Starting pitchers: YOU are the Seaport!
NEIGHBORHOOD: SEAPORT
Infield
What a mixed bag this unit is. Where it’s bad, it’s BAD. Broken down, injury prone, and in severe need of repairs and upgrades. Trevor Story has been injured just about his entire Red Sox tenure, while there’s no concrete immediate plan to improve upon last season’s collection of scrubs at second base. But where it works, it WORKS. Efficient, beautiful, and supplying some of the faces of the city. Rafael Devers is the face of the franchise and one of the best hitters in the game, while Triston Casas appears poised to be one of the faces of the future.
How does this translate? Trevor Story sounds a lot like Downtown Crossing, while the iconic Devers is reminiscent of the Common or wharf district. Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell are your fresh faces, akin to the city’s construction of new buildings or historic rehabs to bring things up to speed and code. There is work being done in hopes of shaping the city going forward. Infielders, YOU are Downtown Boston!
NEIGHBORHOOD: DOWNTOWN
Outfield
This outfield is so full of youth and promise. Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu both showed up and showed out last season, primed to be parts of the core for as long as they’re around. Ceddanne Rafaela always displays flash with the glove, even if his bat hasn’t caught up to speed just yet. Roman Anthony is the future, no ifs ands or buts about it. He’s the number one or two prospect in all of baseball depending on who you ask, and it feels like an inevitability that he ends up on the roster this season. A bright young face ready to prove his worth in the big city.
The neighborhood I’m thinking of is full of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed young faces ready to learn and make names for themselves, as well as smart, high-end performers ready to put roots down in the city (but not get stiffed by landlords on rent). That’s right, these are your college students, where Boston University, Northeastern University, Berklee, Emmanuel, and Simmons combine to create an average population age somewhere between 18-21. Outfielders: YOU are Fenway/Kenmore!
NEIGHBORHOOD: FENWAY/KENMORE
Catching Unit
They’re…just kinda there? The Sox made some minor changes to the backup backstops, but the they’re sticking with the same starter and the same mediocre (at best) production. Nothing about the Red Sox catching unit ticks the needle… just like this neighborhood. It’s like the Schrodinger’s Cat neighborhoods in Boston. It exists if you think about it, but doesn’t if you don’t focus on it too hard. Catchers: YOU are the West End!
NEIGHBORHOOD: WEST END
Bench
This unit and this neighborhood probably are the most diverse, and for a good season. Each member of the bench brings their own flair. Rob Refsnyder, lefty destroyer. Romy Gonzalez, randomly clutch. Masataka Yoshida…is there! David Hamilton lost a lot of trust early last season but by the end he won much of it back. Who actually knows what Vaughn Grissom is going to bring?
This neighborhood also feels like a smorgasbord in such an interesting way. Old style Victorian homes, the vibrancy of the Latin Quarter, trendy new restaurants, large green spaces. Kinda quirky but great. Bench: YOU are Jamaica Plain!
NEIGHBORHOOD: JAMAICA PLAIN
Bullpen
OK, admittedly this isn’t a neighborhood, but it’s too perfect to not make sense.
Between new acquisitions, guys returning to health, and starters being pushed to the pen, there were some flashy additions to the relief corps this offseason. But still, there are a million question marks and some glaring issues to be addressed. Aroldis Chapman is the flashy add, and the return of Liam Hendriks, along the new roles for Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford (possibly), feel like reinforcements. But there is still such a lack of confidence when it comes to the late innings, and a lot of question marks about how healthy this group can stay. This feels way too much like the T.
Sure, a new fleet of cars and the infrastructure projects that eliminated slow zones look great on the outside. But there are such major gaps in coverage in the system that it feels like any upgrades that are being made are just for show.
Both the bullpen and the Green Line may be workhorses for the city but they have a long ways to go to prove they’re reliable. Relievers: YOU are the MBTA!
NEIGHBORHOOD: THE T
MISSING: THE SOUTH END, BACK BAY
Photo by Christopher Evans/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images
These two neighborhoods are always well financed, bustling with people and activity, extremely popular, and rarely—if ever—in need of a radical overhaul. By-and-large, both neighborhoods are hotbeds of the city.
No one position player group is ever going to be perfect, just like no neighborhood is ever perfect, but the fact that no group of guys comes close to meeting the standards of these two neighborhood speaks to the persistent holes on the Red Sox roster.