Red Sox: Five questions heading into the postseason

The Boston Red Sox may have won the American League East, but how prepared are they to make a deep postseason run? Here are five questions that have the Red Sox wondering about how far they can truly go.

When the Boston Red Sox traded for Chris Sale, Eduardo Nunez, and brought up Rafael Devers, this is what they were brought here for. To help the Red Sox bring back the World Series trophy back to Boston.

Making the postseason is nothing new for the Red Sox. They have won back-to-back division titles, and have three World Series trophies since 2004. This year’s team is pretty much the polar opposite of the team from last year. Last year, our offense, led by David Ortiz, really carried the team throughout the year. Sure, Rick Porcello took home the Cy Young, but our offense carried this team.

One thing that Dave Dombrowski wanted to shore up was the pitching staff, which was why he gave up a lot to get Sale in the first place. This year, our pitching staff has carried us. With strong years from Chris Sale, Drew Pomeranz and Craig Kimbrel, our pitching really stepped it up this year while our offense took a backseat and a step backward. We need our offense to start to pick up some of the

We need our offense to start to pick up some of the slack and show some of the pop we had in July in August when we acquired Nunez and brought up Devers. With Game 1 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros right around the corner, here are five questions that could determine how far and deep into the postseason the Red Sox could go.

Should we be concerned with how Chris Sale’s statistics are trending?

Up until August, Chris Sale was the best and most dominant pitcher in the American League. He was striking out people at a historic rate and was one of the league leaders in earned run average. One of the things that

One of the things that has been disturbing about Sale’s seasons is his inconsistency. He has traditionally been a very dominant first half pitcher. Up until the month of August, Sale was blazing through the MLB. His earned run average was just above 2.30 and he was leading the league in strikeouts by a mile. When August came around, he just seemed to be out of sorts. His ERA soared to 4.05 and went 4-4 for the rest of the season. Sure, he would have great

When August came around, he just seemed to be out of sorts. His ERA soared to 4.05 and he went 4-4 for the rest of the season. Sure, he would have great performances. He would also have performances where he would allow multiple runs and not even go past the 4th inning. Chris Sale may have been the best pitcher for the Red Sox this year, but he seems to have run out of gas. We need Chris Sale to show us the form he

Sale may have been the best pitcher for the Red Sox this year, but he seems to have run out of gas. We need Sale to show us the form he showed us in the first half if we are going to go anywhere. You cannot go far in the postseason without a pitcher you can trust. With all of the inconsistency that he has shown us in the second half, you have to wonder if he has the energy or arm left to help contribute.

Can we put any trust in our third starter?

Sale and Pomeranz have been undoubtedly our best two pitchers this year. Sale has led the league in strikeouts and also won the Sox 17 games. Pomeranz really had a terrific bounce-back year with 17 wins as well and being the consistent rock all season that the Red Sox rotation has needed. After those two, who are you most confident in to start Game 3?

The Red Sox have had a problem in the number three hole, especially with Price now coming out of the bullpen. So who would you put the most trust in?

Porcello has had a massively disappointing year after taking home the Cy Young a year ago. After such a promising year, this year really came crashing down on top of him. Porcello went 11-17 with a 4.68 ERA and has become quite a target for guys who can hit the ball a long way.

Doug Fister went 5-9 with a 4.88 ERA and really did not show the consistency a number 3 starter should show and Eduardo Rodriguez went 6-7 with a 4.19 ERA with never really showing that ace potential he showed before he went down with a knee injury. Based on those statistics, you would want to go with Rodriguez simply because he has shown the most consistency. But are you telling me you are confident sending out a pitcher with an earned run average over four? Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz have been terrific for the Red Sox this season, but you have to wonder if our 3rd starter could be our downfall and one of the reasons why they don’t advance out of the first round.

Based on those statistics, you would want to go with Rodriguez simply because he has shown the most consistency. But are you telling me you are confident sending out a pitcher with an earned run average over four? Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz have been terrific for the Red Sox this season, but you have to wonder if our 3rd starter could be our downfall and one of the reasons why they don’t advance out of the first round.

Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz have been terrific for the Red Sox this season, but you have to wonder if our third starter could be our downfall and one of the reasons why they don’t advance out of the first round.

Which David Price are we going to see?

This was not the journey that David Price had anticipated when he signed his $217 million contract. He anticipated winning World Series rings and bringing the Sox deep into the postseason. He did not envision bickering with Dennis Eckersley, missing a good chunk of the season with injury problems, or coming out of the bullpen.

However, Price seems to have become a very useful piece in the bullpen. Based on prior postseasons though, should we expect anything different from him? He has always seemed to be a completely different pitcher in the postseason compared to the regular season. With a pitcher that owns two Cy Youngs, you would expect him to be a good pitcher all the way through the season right? Not with Price. He has an earned run average of 5.54 throughout all of his postseason experiences. You are telling me that you trust those numbers this postseason?

Maybe coming out of the bullpen could change that trend for Price. he has come out of the bullpen before. When he did, his numbers were exponentially better. in 2008, Price came out of the bullpen for the Tampa Bay Rays. When he did, he absolutely dominated. He had an ERA around 1.7 and was absolutely dominant. Will he buck his recent postseason trend now coming out of the bullpen for the Sox? We will find out, but I do know he will be a very vital piece to a deep postseason run.

Can this offense carry the team in the postseason?

In the 2016 season, our offense carried this team. With David Ortiz and MVP candidate Mookie Betts, this offense seemed unstoppable.

This year has been a completely different story. Our power has been severely diminished with the loss of Ortiz. Our offense has also been terribly inconsistent all year. They have been relying on timely base hits with men on base to score runs. Our power has not been able to give us that boost when we needed it most. Our team average has been a disappointing .258 and only had 168 home runs.

I know that people say that pitching wins you championships, but you need some offense to go along with it. Betts has not been the same hitter, so how do we know if he can pull us through? Our best hitter throughout the year has been Eduardo Nunez and he is just coming off of the disabled list.

Who is going to be that hitter that we can count on to get us out of a hole like Ortiz could last year? Mookie does not seem to have the pop he had last year, and Hanley Ramirez has resorted back to his 2014 self. Can Devers have an Andruw Jones-like postseason and put the team on his back? Can Nunez jump off of the disabled list and be the Nunez from July? Our offense has been missing that pop this year and if our offense falls into a pattern of not letting the balls fall, we could be in a world of trouble and see our postseason hopes end before they have even started.