BOSTON -- Exactly one year ago, the Red Sox were licking their wounds after one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Rays were closing in on the American League pennant, a suspended Alex Cora was watching the postseason at home in Puerto Rico and Chaim Bloom, at least subconsciously, might have been wondering why he ever left a budding juggernaut like Tampa Bay for a rebuilding project in Boston.
Man, have things changed quickly.
On Monday night, the punchy Red Sox ended the Rays’ pursuit of their second straight World Series appearance, walking off with a 6-5 victory to win the best-of-five ALDS in four games. The 92-win Red Sox entered as an underdog after clinching a postseason berth on the last day of the regular season and winning the Wild Card Game on Tuesday, but carried a potent offense and a clean brand of baseball all the way to their third champagne celebration in a nine-day span.
“That team that we beat is outstanding and we found what it took to beat them in a five-game series,” Bloom said. “That shows what the ceiling of this team is.”
Bloom, who spent 15 years in the Rays’ front office before taking over the big chair on Jersey Street in Nov. 2019, has made it no secret that he wants to build the Red Sox into a player development powerhouse similar to what the Rays have become (albeit with greater spending potential). Sustainability has been a buzzword since Day 1, but it’s also a noble undertaking. The goal of building a perennial contender instead of a team that yo-yos back and forth from first to last is the chief reason Bloom was hired.
So far, so good. The ahead-of-schedule Red Sox are World Series contenders in Bloom’s second season and the farm system is much improved as well.
“The Rays are built to last, and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish here,” Bloom said. “If we all do our jobs, this October thing might be a regular meeting.”
Entering spring training, the consensus was that the Yankees and Rays would battle for the American League East title with the Blue Jays potentially playing spoiler and the Red Sox showing a marked -- but not drastic -- improvement from their horrible 2020 showing. Instead, Boston had a great first half and held at least a share of first place for 85 days before the Rays broke away from the pack and won the division by eight games. Boston, New York and Toronto each finished within a game of each other in what turned out to be the strongest division in baseball. The AL East boasted four 91+ win teams and the highest average win total (85.4) of any division.
“I always thought the gap in this division, it wasn’t that big,” Cora said. “Yeah, it was eight (games) but there was no perfect team in this division. They just played outstanding throughout the season and you’ve got to tip your hat to them.”
Against the Rays, the Sox were 8-11. Winning three of four in the ALDS puts the Sox at 11-12 overall against Tampa Bay in 2021.
“We played with them the whole season,” he continued. “People talk about run differential but there were some big games by them and some big games by us. We felt like, in this division, we can play with anybody.”
Since the day pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Myers in mid-February, Bloom, Cora and other key Sox figures believed their club would be much better than the outside world expected. That mentality didn’t come with the sidebar that the Rays -- or any other team -- needed to be chased down or surpassed. Instead, the focus was on controlling what the Red Sox could control.
“I didn’t think of it in terms of quantifying the gap,” Bloom said. “We just have got to do the right things. We have to do one good thing after the other. We still have to do that. We have to keep doing that. This game doesn’t reward skipping steps. It rewards building one block at a time.”
Considering how good the Rays are, it’s not a surprise that a series win didn’t come easily. After being shut out in Game 1, Boston trailed 5-2 early in Game 2, only to score 12 of the next 13 runs that night and rattle off back-to-back walk-off wins in front of loud Fenway Park crowds once the series shifted back to Boston. The series was something of a microcosm of the entire Sox season.
“This whole year, anybody who has underestimated the fight in this team has sold them short,” Bloom said. “They showed that time and again.”
The Red Sox, with a former Rays employee at the helm, know how dangerous the Rays will be for years to come. They hope the Rays, who are one of baseball’s most respected franchises, feel the same way.
“I know how good they are,” Bloom said. “I know everything that goes into it and how talented the people are. To come out on top in a series of any length is a really special thing. I like to win and we won this series. I love those folks on a personal level, but when we’re competing, we have a job to do and I’m glad we came out on top.”
Related links:
Boston Red Sox’s Chaim Bloom: Scrutiny, strong opinions ‘part of what fires us up’
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