Buster Olney is talking MLB trade deadline
Who knows what awaits. By the time the Red Sox finish off this road swing through Toronto and Cincinnati by this time next week, the memory of taking two out of three against both the Phillies and Yankees could be nothing more than a "remember when" side-note.
Yes, this is the first time in franchise history the Red Sox earned consecutive series victories over teams who entered with MLB's best record with a minimum of 50 games into a season. Congratulations. But, as we have learned with these .500 Sox, such positivity can come and go in a hurry.
But there does seem something permanent when it comes to these Red Sox after Sunday night's 9-3 win over the Yanks Sunday night. It appears as though Alex Cora's club has found its identity.
For much of the season, the Red Sox were the team that was being precariously held together by next-level starting pitching. Once that ran out, the perception was that youth and injuries weren't going to be able to hang with the big boys.
Now, it sure seems like they have graduated into another conversation. One that stretches just beyond who might be pitching that night.
They are fast. They are athletic. They are all relatively the same age. And they see pretty only know what they know, which is living in the here and now as a big league ballplayer.
The reality regarding the Red Sox' overall ability to run faster than most teams was put on display in big neon lights Sunday night, with a franchise-record nine stolen bases against New York. (Four of which came from David Hamilton, who became the third Sox player ever to steal four or more in a game.)
“That was good baseball tonight,” Cora said after his team went to two games over .500 for the first time since May 22. "Expect that from us. We got a bunch of athletes. It just happens that three of them are getting on base. Obviously, the lineup did an outstanding job in the series and we were able to put pressure on them. It was fun to watch and we played well. We did an outstanding job against their starters. … It was a good win for us."
The stat Craig Breslow will be keeping an eye on
According to Baseball Savant, the Red Sox have the fourth-best combined sprint speed in baseball, with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Connor Wong, Bobby Dalbec, Romy Gonzalez, Wilyer Abreu, Tyler O'Neill and Hamilton all possessing well-above-average numbers.
The Sox are tied for the most times scoring runs when advancing on a throw, while managing to be safe at any base the fourth-most of any club on advancements.
Want a simpler way to digest what the Red Sox are doing? Understand that entering June 17 last season they had attempted 49 stolen bases. This year there have been 90 tries.
Then there is that age thing.
There are two active position players - Rob Refsnyder and Masa Yoshida - who were born prior to 1995. And while sometimes such a dynamic can be perilous when it comes to leadership and the need for mentoring, an interesting dynamic has unfolded with this roster.
A good chunk of the Red Sox roster will tell you there is a common bond over their youthful demographic. The idea of trade deadlines, bench-clearing brawls and season ebbs and flows are foreign to many of these guys. The idea of enjoying the here and the now is a very real thing.
As they woke up in Toronto Monday morning, the here and the now seemed like a pretty good place to be.
"That was fun," Hamilton told MLB.com. "Probably the loudest baseball atmosphere I've been a part of, and it was a good experience."