theathleticuk
Only the ridiculous American League could turn Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow from a sitting duck into a potential candidate for Executive of the Year in less than a week.
I exaggerate.
But maybe not by much.
Entering last Thursday, the Red Sox had the worst record in the AL.
I wrote that day again that Breslow was essentially a goner.
Hah! Advertisement The Red Sox went on to sweep four games from the New York Yankees at Fenway Park no less, where Boston previously was 12-25.
Another victory over the Washington Nationals on Monday night, this one by a 6-3 score, was the Soxs fifth straight win.
Their roster looks more functional than at any point this season.
And considering where they are in their schedule a stretch in which they are facing the Nats, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets they actually might be poised to make a run.
The White Sox, mind you, are a first-place club, and good for them.
But their success is another reflection of the watered-down AL, where only six teams have a positive run differential.
Believe it or not, Boston is one of them.
Yes, the mere thought of the Red Sox as contenders is borderline laughable.
But suddenly they are only 4.5 games out in the race of the turtles, otherwise known as the battle for the final AL wild-card spot.
The team holding that position, the Seattle Mariners, needed to beat the hapless Angels on Monday night to get back to .500.
The next five teams the Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles are all within four games of Seattle.
All of those clubs at various points left their fans infuriated.
Yet, with the trade deadline less than five weeks away, all project themselves as buyers.
To varying degrees, they all need the same thing rotation help.
The Red Sox dont.
Starting pitching was the anchor of Breslows pivot to run prevention.
Dont look now, but the Red Soxs rotation featuring three rookie left-handers but not right-hander Brayan Bello, demoted with his $55 million contract to Triple A is the hottest in the league.
Red Sox pitchers have thrown quality starts in 12 straight games, their longest streak since a 14-game run in 1988.
Their ERA in that stretch is 1.75.
Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez rank fourth and sixth in the AL in that category, respectively.
Advertisement The Sox offense? Eh, its nothing great.
Entering Monday, the Sox were averaging more runs per game than only two teams, Cleveland and San Diego.
Outfielder Roman Anthony and Trevor Story are not expected back until after the All-Star break, and shortstop Marcelo Mayer and infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa recently joined them on the injured list.
Still, the return of Romy Gonzalez from left shoulder surgery on Sunday helped restore a measure of order in two ways.
Gonzalez can now form a viable DH platoon with Masataka Yoshida.
And, with the accompanying demotion of Mickey Gasper, the Sox are again back to two catchers.
Even the much-maligned Caleb Durbin trade is looking better.
One of the left-handers the Sox sent to Milwaukee, Kyle Harrison, will be an All-Star.
The other, Shane Drohan, also has performed well.
But in his last 28 games, the centerpiece of the Soxs return, third baseman Durbin, has batted .330 with a .975 OPS.
Another player the Sox acquired, Anthony Seigler, is a switch-hitter who plays with energy and has started the last nine games at second base.
An up-the-middle combination of Seigler and Tsung-Che Cheng is not exactly how the Sox mapped it out, but for now its working.
And if manager Chad Tracy fully wants to maximize his roster, perhaps he should consider platooning Jarren Duran with Nate Eaton in left field, too.
One week doesnt erase three putrid months.
Im not saying this is a playoff team, or even a team that should buy at the deadline.
Only 19 days ago, Sox CEO Sam Kennedy made his weekly radio appearance on WEEI in Boston and called the teams season embarrassing.
Kennedy also warned that if the situation did not improve soon, the team could end up sellers.
Maybe that still happens, and the Sox end up moving Gray, closer Aroldis Chapman and others, living to fight another day.
Maybe they buy and sell, perhaps moving Gray if they are confident of ace lefty Garrett Crochets return.
Or maybe, if they continue to play well and get healthier, they become outright buyers, with Breslow supplementing his bullpen and finally acquiring the right-handed hitter he failed to land last offseason.
Advertisement Sox fans probably are not enamored with the idea of Breslow as Executive of the Year, even as a tongue-in-cheek possibility.
But they probably could get behind Gray or Suarez for Cy Young and Willson Contreras for MVP, among other such reveries.
Whatever, Im done making predictions.
The AL defies any reasonable form of logic.
All I know is this: The race of the turtles is on, and the Red Sox suddenly, inexplicably, hilariously are part of the crawl.