The 20/20/20/20 Club
While it is unlikely that Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley hit as many home runs as their counterparts, even with the addition of J.D. Martinez, they are likely to steal a lot more bases.
Here’s how Rob Bradford of WEEI put it, though we join the article hearing from newcomer J.D. :
"“I think it’s definitely unique,” he said of the Red Sox’ batting order. “There’s a lot more speed. I feel like there are a lot of guys here who burn you on the bases. They’re going to run. It’s dangerous when you have guys who can move like that.” But how unique? Potentially historically unique. It’s really not a stretch to think that the Red Sox could become the first team ever to claim four players with at least 20 home runs and at least 20 stolen bases in a single season. Both Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi accomplished the feat last season, while Xander Bogaerts is seemingly creeping to 20 in each category for the past two years."
The Sox, like the Yankees, expect great things from their offense. But they, again like the Yankees, might be expecting too much from their starting staff.
It Takes A Village
That is not to imply that the nine pitchers listed will under-perform; far from it. If the postseason were starting today, each team would have every reason to feel confident.
But it is the regular season that will soon be starting. And that requires a lot more than nine pitchers. Last year, for instance, the Sox used 10 starters over the course of the season, while the Yanks used 11.
Yet, right now, both teams are remarkably thin on big league caliber replacements.
That is likely to cost at least one of these teams some much-needed wins. But at least Boston has the upper hand, at least as far as a sixth starter is concerned.