Boston: Worst To First

After a 5th place finish in the AL East in 2012, the Boston Red Sox completed the worst to first swing after defeating the Cardinals 6-1 in Game 6 of the World Series.  The beard phenomenon that took effect in Spring Training, rallied a team that was in disarray.

After the downward spiral and failures of the Bobby Valentine era, the Sox looked to a familiar face in John Ferrell to take over the reins after managing in Toronto the previous couple of seasons.  Ferrell was able to turn Jon Lester back into the dominant pitcher he was when Ferrell was his pitching coach.  A bounce back year from John Lackey was far from expected. A pitcher who seemed defeated and outright done at the end of the 2012 season, returned as a rejuvenated pitcher who bought into what John Ferrell was preaching. Lackey's seven innings in Game 6 was the culmination of all the work he had put into this season.
After a strong start to the season, Clay Buckholtz was not as dominant when he returned from injury or when he pitched this postseason.  But he was effective enough to aid Boston in their championship run.

The additions of Johnny Gomes, David Ross, Shane Victorino, and Mike Napoli were skeptic when the moves were made.  But each one of those players showed up and delivered in the moments they were needed.  These guys prove the theory that you do not need to play the best players in baseball (sorry Yankee fans) to win a championship or to climb the ladder. All a team needs are chemistry players and players who fit into a lineup that already had some promise to it.

The likes of Dustin Pedroia, David Oritz, and Jacoby Ellisbury benefited the most from all of the changes.  These guys stuck with this franchise through the demise of 2012, and were still leaders and believers heading into the 2013 campaign.  Dedication and leadership are truly a blessing in disguise for any team that that wants to have a bounce back year.

Will there be another worst to first in 2014?  That is hard to judge, but with proper off-season acquisitions, there could very well be another.  But all of that needs to work itself out as we progress through the off-season and Spring Training.