Before the season, most writers were picking the Sox either fourth or fifth in the division. This writer chose not to predict in this way. I wrote that I did not care how many they won or where they finished in the standings. I only wanted a team that would be worth rooting for. That had not been true from September 2011 to the end of 2012. Of course, they did do this, and much, much more.
Perhaps it is not fair to pick one series of games as the turning point in the campaign, but I want to single out three April contests. On Wednesday the 10th, the Sox entertained the Orioles on a rainy night at Fenway. The team had a 5-2 record going in, and led the O's 5-2 entering the ninth. Joel Hanrahan, who Boston had tapped to be the closer after an offseason trade with Pittsburgh, quickly began to implode. Three hits and five runs later, capped by a three-run homer from Manny Machado, the Sox trailed 8-5 and Hanrahan was tagged with the defeat. It was the team's toughest loss of the young season, and things would get worse.
The following night before the first sub-30,000 crowd in years, the team again fell, 3-2. Alfredo Aceves, in place of injured John Lackey, gave five good innings and left with a 2-2 tie. But the visitors untied it in the seventh, as relievers Clay Mortensen, Andrew Miller, and Koji Uehara failed to do the job. Four Baltimore relief men, on the other hand, shut the Sox out on two hits in 3 2/3 innings of work.
As the Bosox prepared to face the tough Rays on Saturday the 13th, they were tied for the division lead with the Orioles at 5-4, with the Yankees just a half game back. Starter Jon Lester fell behind 1-0 on a single and double in the third, but David Ross knotted it in the fifth with his first homer of the year. That was all the scoring for a time, as Lester and David Price both gave strong performances. Came the top of the ninth, problems quickly developed. The first two Rays walked, and Hanrahan was again in trouble. Some skippers would hesitate to remove their closer so quickly, but John Farrell had seen enough. He brought in Uehara, and the righty came through, retiring the side on only 9 pitches. The Sox went on to win in the tenth when Jacoby Ellsbury singled, stole second and went to third on an error by catcher Jose Lobaton. Shane Victorino then hit one hard to the right side, and Junel Escobar had no play as Ellsbury crossed with the winning tally. It was the first of many walkoff wins for the Bosox.
The next few days would see a six-game winning streak, and the Sox never looked back. Hanrahan would soon be demoted and would miss most of the season with Tommy John surgery. Uehara would graduate to setup man and finally closer-the rest is history.
Many more times during the season and postseason, the Sox would appear to be on the edge of the cliff and somehow escape and turn things around. Would the year have been different if Hanrahan had stayed in? It is impossible to tell. But even then it was obvious that this wasn't the same Boston team.
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