Boston Red Sox: Chris Sale and Baseball's Golden State Warriors
The New York Yankees watched the Boston Red Sox go from good to great with their acquisition of Chris Sale. In a spark of creativity, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman equated their archrival to the Golden State Warriors.
In the presences of a number of reporters, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman rationalized the Boston Red Sox blockbuster trade with an unique analogy.
“Boston is the Golden State Warriors of baseball now,” Cashman said Tuesday at baseball’s winter meetings. “They’ve got their Durant and Green and Thompson and Curry.”
As it turns out, Cashman’s basketball-baseball analogy to describe the current condition of the Red Sox is not far off. Even before signing Sale, the Red Sox were already in good shape, much like the Warriors before signing Kevin Durant. They led the major leagues in nearly every offensive category, including batting average, runs and slugging percentage. Boston bragged a number of players in the top ten for individual batting average, runs and hits.
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Not to mention, Rick Porcello earned the most wins in baseball on his way to the Cy Young Award. He finished the season 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA and a nearly perfect 13-1 record at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox also share their familiarity of postseason defeat with the Warriors, a fact every Golden State fan wants to forget. The reached the ALDS with the division pennant, only to be swept by the World Series-bound Cleveland Indians. Another Cleveland team spoiled the Warriors historic 73-9 season by fighting a 3-1 deficit to win the 2016 NBA Finals.
Baseball’s Kevin Durant
Being the prized trading item of the offseason, Sale’s similarity to Durant only grows. Once the Warriors eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder from the playoffs, questions arose regarding the superstar’s future. Shortly after the season ended, Durant signed a mega-deal with the same team that knocked him out of the playoffs.
Rumors of Sale’s trade began before the trade deadline, but came to fruition on Tuesday, Nov. 6. In similar fashion, the Chicago White Sox sent Sale to Boston in the blockbuster trade of the offseason. Without breaking their bank, the Red Sox agreed to cover Sale’s promised $12 million next season with club options of $26 million over 2018 and 2019.
Their changes in scenery stem from Sale and Durant’s shared desire of their first career championship. Unlike Durant, Sale has yet to reach the postseason after seven years with the White Sox. And what better place to win a championship than with the solidified roster of the Red Sox?
As Durant turned the Warriors’ “core three” into the “core four”, the Boston Red Sox hope the same will happen with Sale. His new team believes he will compliment David Price, Porcello and a fully-functional offense as the fourth member of Boston’s “core four”. Within the Red Sox’s offense, Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia both batted .318 in 2016. While the former smashed 31 homers and stole 26 bases, the latter drove in 74 runs and scored 105.
With Great Power Comes Great Pressure
Without a doubt acquiring Sale increased the Boston’s chance for a World Series championship. However, the Condor brings with him the added pressure of expectation. The Red Sox shot from contenders to favorites to win the World Series with one stroke of a pen. That pressure can weigh down even the most promising of teams. With Draymond Green, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Durant on the same roster, it is easy to ask the question: how can they lose? The same question that basketball is pressuring the Warriors with could burden the Red Sox in 2017.