Cardinals, Pirates and Red Sox: 3 preseason predictions we wish we made

MLB prediction do-over: Boston Red Sox over 77.5 wins

With the offseason the Red Sox had with losing Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, and Nathan Eovaldi in free agency, expectations were low coming into the season. Adam Duvall and Corey Kluber along with Masataka Yoshida were not names that were going to get the fanbase excited.

Under 77.5 wins seemed like a good bet with a roster that was considered the worst on paper in a loaded AL East, but Alex Cora has got the best out of the team and they are rewarding him and GM Chaim Bloom with their start to 2023. A recent eight-game winning streak can change the narrative of a season but in the Red Sox case, it was no fluke.

After dropping the first game of a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians on April 28, they won the final two games, then swept the Blue Jays at home in four games and took two out of three against the Philadelphia Phillies. They did it all during the streak, pitching, hitting, and defense.

After a bad start to the season, Yoshida has settled into the middle of the lineup and is currently on a 16-game hitting streak, while Chris Sale has seemed to turn things around recently with back-to-back good outings. They have reverted back to the Red Sox of old, wearing out pitching staffs, making teams pay for their mistakes and being aggressive, and making things happen on the bases. I’m not saying they’re going to win the World Series, but they do look like a team that will be battling for a postseason berth all summer and passing their projected win total.

All preseason predictions are bound to be a toss-up, but these three teams have been on different paths to begin the season and are on pace to make some betters happy with their bets, or they are going to crush some betters. Regardless, these are three preseason predictions I wish I made for the Pirates, Cardinals, and Red Sox.