Red Sox’s Winning Streak Shakes Up MLB Trade Dynamics
The Boston Red Sox's 15-game win streak revitalizes their season, impacting MLB trades and playoff dynamics. Does that affect how other teams approach it?
Video Transcript
Let's just go on record, first things first here, Craig.
As a diehard Yankee fan, the idea that I would ever lead with a Red Sox story is just blasphemous- Ooh and you understand that.
That's- Ooh even if I have to rip the Yankees in the opening, I will do that before I ever congratulate the Red Sox tying a franchise record with 15 games and winning streak.
In fact, you g- I think Carl Yastrzemski, was six years old the last time- That's right they won this many games in a row.
You gotta go back to, you know, Ted Williams' days, guys, to, to find anything even close to this.
I, I, some- Listen, you don't ever wanna catch a falling knife, we say, right?
And that, that goes for teams that are heading the wrong way.
I don't know, a team like the Marlins comes into mind.
But what you also don't wanna do is, of course, step in front of a train, like the Red Sox right now, who are getting it.
And listen, Baltimore over the last couple weeks, number one against left-handed pitching, in Major League Baseball.
And what did they get today?
They got a left-hander, in the rookie, Bennett.
Did it matter?
Absolutely not.
The kid was phenomenal, and they got enough runs and, enough offense, and they just held off Baltimore the rest of the way.
You and I talked about the thing that's going really well for the Red Sox during this streak, starting pitching and bullpen.
If that continues, I, they, again, they don't have to score 12 runs to win a game, Craig, and I think that is really the story of what's going on.
We thought, "Ah, they don't have any home run hitters.
They don't have a..." They don't need to score a lot of runs if they're gonna keep pitching, both starting and bullpen, the way that they have.
And I don't know that Baltimore is going to be the answer to this, where all of a sudden, you know, you know what happens when they're due.
That ain't gonna happen here.
Craig Breslow, I hate to admit it, is looking smarter and smarter- by each win here of the Red Sox, and I'm not stepping in front of that.
I mean, they announced Rivera- Yeah, me either being the lefty.
Not me against Ky- I'll take the Red Sox again against Kyle Bradish.
Yeah.
I, I, I think so.
It's the way to go.
You know, the other thing, Joe, that has happened with this Red Sox winning streak is that, and you mentioned Craig Breslow- that's a good point, is that everybody in Craig Breslow's seat right now, Joe, that's sitting in their office, that's looking over players and the trade deadline- Yep no matter what their record is, outside of, I don't know, maybe the Mets or the Rockies or, or the A's, like a few teams, they're all going, "Look at those guys.
They just won 15 in a row."
I, I- Yeah would probably say, Joe, that the Red Sox have saved their season, charging toward a potential postseason berth, and may ruin the trade deadline.
Because now everyone is looking at them going, "Wait a second.
Why are we punting?
Why are we giving up?
We can't.
We can't- Yep stop."
I mean, i- if the Red Sox can do it, and they looked left for dead.
I mean, they were right there with the Mets and the Giants, and now all of a sudden they're there.
Like, if you're, like the Giants, that's a crazy talk here, Joe, but if you're the Giants and they played the Royals today, what a disaster.
But if, if you're sitting out there and you're Buster Posey, are you saying to yourself, "Well, the Red Sox just won 15 in a row.
We'll take 12.
We'll just win 12 in a row- Yeah and we're right back in it, too."
So, this, this is the big story of the summer at this point.
Wasn't the story in the early part of the year, but now the Red Sox, you have to consider them very much in the mix as far as buyers.
You have to consider them very much in the mix for the playoffs.
The only team I think this really hurts, Joe, are the Blue Jays.
I think this, this- Yep may put the Blue Jays to bed over the next week or so, but I think everybody else is looking at this like, "Why not us?
Why can't we do what they did?"
And again, it, it's, you know, the 15 game winning streak is great, since July 3rd, but you know, they've won 20 of their last 22 games, and it's happe- it happened prior to the All-Star Game.
They came out of the All-Star Game.
They just, they have been rolling, and they're getting contributions up and down.
I mean, Chapman, again, I think ninth on the all-time saves list after this game, here today.
He closed it out into the ninth, 390th career save.
The, he's now in company, with Dennis Eckersley, I think tied for ninth on the career saves list.
I think a Chapman, I don't Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox, that was with Pittsburgh a year ago.
He's- Royals y- you know, for a guy that's top 10 all time and to have been as on many teams as he has, kinda crazy when you think about it, Craig.
Well, the thing with Chapman, Joe, is that he completely fell off two, three years ago.
Yep.
Everyone thought- Nuts.
Yep his career was over.
He was working out here in South Florida, pitching in both Dade and Broward County.
In fact, he was at my son's school, he threw a bullpen.
And he couldn't get a job.
He, he couldn't get a one-year, one million, Joe.
He ended up signing, I believe it was with the Pirates at the time, or the Royals, and he bounced around with those two teams for a couple of years.
Now all of a sudden, he's back to being the guy that he was seven to 10 years ago, which is incredible.
Yeah.
The one thing that I'll say about Chapman, and naturally he's got the, the, the, he had the domestic stuff going on with him in the past.
It's gonna be a very, complex Hall of Fame case when it comes out.
The one thing that I would say in Chapman's favor, and I don't think that it changed, I think that he just went through a couple of injury-plagued seasons and he wasn't himself, is nobody works harder than this guy, Joe.
You've seen this guy lifting weights, and his body, and the way that he takes care of himself.
Yep.
And that, I think, has kept him around in the game for, a really, really long time.
But you're right, his elite game was back when it was with the Yankees, and then traded to the Cubs, and then back to the Yankees again.
He's still a guy, though.
