The Boston Red Sox have made it clear that they have the most complete and dominant offense in the MLB. No team is able to match their high end power, remarkable depth and pure ability to get on base.
When you look at the historic season they are having, offense has given them all of the excitement, and has made sure that they have an opportunity to win every single game.
The Red Sox know they have an offense that is more than good enough to win a world series, but it can never be enough alone. Fortunately, the Red Sox are in a position to have a pitching rotation that is as dominant as their offense.
Chris Sale is having a truly historic season. He is on and off the DL right now, which is making everyone nervous. For now, seeing him get maintenance is a great thing, because having him fresh and fully healthy in the playoffs is the number one priority.
Sale alone, however, is not the only reason the Red Sox can have the most intimidating rotation in the playoffs. Right now, David Price is on the best stretch of his tenure with the Red Sox, and it is utterly dominant.
Since the all star break, Price has six starts with five earned runs given up. The Red Sox have also won Price’s last eight consecutive starts. Price is playing at a level that you cannot expect from any other number two pitcher in the MLB, giving the Red Sox the most dominant top two starters in the MLB right now. When rotations shorten in the playoffs, a top duo like that can be impossible to overcome.
There is always going to be fear, because Price has a bad reputation in the playoffs. This kind of play is exactly what the Red Sox need to see now, but it means nothing until he does it at the next level.
If Price is able to bring this level of play to the playoffs, then he will be giving the Red Sox another edge that no one else can keep up with, on top of one of the most talented offenses we have seen in a long time. If, however, Price struggles, the position he is in could end up holding back much of what makes the Red Sox so great.
Sale is the kind of pitcher that teams will take for granted. The Red Sox have all the confidence that he will be winning each and every time he hits the mound, and he will make sure the offense does not have to do much to get that win.
By having this kind of play behind Sale, it gives them the kind of ace protection that teams do not have. If the Red Sox have Price playing at this level, Sale can afford to have a bad game without it ruining the series. The pressure on number one pitchers is unbearable in the playoffs, because one slip up can cost them the series.
With Price playing like this, just getting to the number one guy on the Red Sox is not enough, because you might have an even more difficult challenge coming the very next game. Keep in mind, this also has a massive impact on the bullpen. The Red Sox will be able to keep their best bullpen players as fresh as possible when they have a starter struggle, because the two of them should be going deep into games any time they are on the mound.
The real potential, however, is if both of them keep up this level of play. The Red Sox are at a point where they do not need to win any games not started by Price or Sale in the playoffs, and it is hard to imagine any team being good enough to take down their offense behind that level of pitching.
When you can back up arguably the best pitcher in the MLB with someone playing the way Price is right now, while having the best offense in the MLB, there is absolutely nothing any team will be able to do to get in their way.
The playoffs are still too far away for people to trust Price will keep up the way he is playing, but that is the most important question going the rest of the way. The Red Sox have all the confidence they need in the offense and even more in a healthy Sale. Having Price play at this level alongside everything else they have, however, will be just as important in making sure the Red Sox end this season with a World Series win.
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