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Home , Boston Duck Tours, Brian Sabean, Craig Kimbrel, Dave Dombrowski, Joe Kelly (pitcher), Mike Torrez

The Red Sox Tuesday, October 30, 2018

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Craig Kimbrel was the picture of happiness

Peter Abraham

The field at was nearly covered by Red Sox players and their families after Game 5 of the on Sunday night. Everyone was snapping photos and hugging, the celebration just getting underway.

No player had a bigger smile than , who was carrying his daughter Lydia Joy. She was wide awake and taking in the scene only one week before her first birthday.

That Lydia was on the field with her father was reason enough to celebrate.

She was born with a heart condition that required several rounds of surgery. Kimbrel missed much of to be with Lydia and his wife, Ashley, at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Yet here she was, dressed in a baby-sized jersey with “Kimbrel” across the back as she rode contentedly in her father’s strong right arm.

“This is such a moment. I could not be happier right now,” said Kimbrel, who converted all six postseason chances he had, despite a 5.91 earned average.

Kimbrel said his daughter helped motivate him throughout the season, her plight putting baseball in a perspective he had never known before.

“She did a lot for me. A lot,” Kimbrel said. “Life changes when you have a child and the difficulties she went through, it definitely changes your view. It makes you stronger and makes you appreciate things more. It makes you appreciate each day more.”

Lydia may not remember her night on the field after the Sox won, but there will be plenty of photos and videos to paint the picture years from now.

“I might have to remind her of that some time,” Kimbrel said. “But I’m so glad she’s here with me right now.”

Turn of emotions Game 5 winner was magnanimous when speaking to reporters on the field after the game, saying how much it meant for him to play such a big role for the championship team and that he treasured fulfilling his promise to pitch well for the Red Sox in the postseason.

He also applauded the Sox fans who were still in the stands and flung his cap to one of them. Price also spent time with his wife, son, and parents, smiling throughout.

Price was 3-1 with a 3.46 ERA in six postseason games, shaking off career-long woes in the postseason. At 33, he had his first World Series championship.

Once he got to the interview room, Price’s disposition changed.

“I hold all the cards now and that feels so good,” he told reporters. “That feels so good. I can’t tell you how good it feels to hold that trump card. And you guys have had it for a long time. You’ve played that card extremely well. But you don’t have it anymore, none of you do, and that feels really good.”

Price also lectured media people who didn’t believe the circumstances of his elbow injury in 2017.

“I told you guys, Dr. [James] Andrews said I have a special elbow. I’m sure you guys ridiculed me and mocked me and made fun of me, and did everything that you guys do,” he said. “I wasn’t lying when he told me that, and now you guys see that.”

Then, within the same session, Price got teary when asked about other Red Sox players saying he was a good teammate. He needed a long pause before answering.

“This is a game we get to play. It’s the relationships that you make while you do this, while you play this game that . . . that’s what makes this game so special,” he said.

Cooperstown bound Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson and vice president of communications and education Jon Shestakofsky left Los Angeles with plenty of Sox memorabilia that will be displayed in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Their haul included a bat used by MVP in Game 4, a jersey worn by Price in Game 5, game- worn glasses used by , the cap and spikes worn by Red Sox throughout the World Series, and the hooded sweat shirt worn by Red Sox manager .

Off to Japan Two Red Sox left off the playoff roster — lefthander Brian Johnson and righthander Hector Velazquez — were named to the team for the seven-game Japan All-Star Series that starts Nov. 8.

Johnson was 4-5 with a 4.17 average in 38 games, 13 of them starts. Velazquez appeared in 47 games, starting eight times. He was 7-2 with a 3.18 ERA.

Don Mattingly of the Marlins will manage the team. Mitch Haniger (Marlins), Yadier Molina (Cardinals), J.T. Realmuto (Marlins), Juan Soto (Nationals), and Ronald Acuna Jr. (Braves) are among those on the roster.

Good finish Kelly, who had a rocky final four months of the regular season, allowed one earned run over 11⅓ in nine playoff games. He also struck 13 without a walk . . . Lefthander Darwinzon Hernandez and were selected to the All-Star Game, which will be Saturday. Hernandez has a 2.25 ERA in five games. Dalbec has a .762 OPS and 10 RBIs in 11 games.

This championship puts on a Hall of Fame path

Peter Abraham

Dave Dombrowski walked into Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon as the president of baseball operations of the Red Sox. Many hours later, his clothes wet after being dumped in a tub of water by players still celebrating their World Series championship, Dombrowski walked out on a path that should lead him to the Hall of Fame.

In constructing a 108-win team that blew through the postseason in dominant fashion, Dombrowski joined , , and as the only executives to build World Series champions in both leagues.

Gillick (2011) and Schuerholz (2017) have already been inducted at Cooperstown. Epstein is a Hall of Fame lock after building Red Sox and Cubs teams that ended long World Series droughts.

That leaves Dombrowski on a short list of modern-day executives worthy of Hall of Fame recognition. of the Yankees and of the Giants are others, but their success came in one league.

Dombrowski put together the champion Florida Marlins and now, 21 years later at age 62, is back on top of the sport with the Red Sox.

“You really don’t think about it from a personal perspective,” Dombrowski said after accepting the Commissioner’s Trophy from Rob Manfred. “I think of it more as that feeling your constantly striving for, which you’re part of as an organization.

“It’s hard to win. It’s hard to win championships. You get close a lot of times, but it’s the final step that feels different because you can let every emotion out that you can possibly have.”

In 1997, Miami won the World Series in seven games against the . Dombrowski was then ordered to slash payroll by owner Wayne Huizenga. The Marlins were 54-108 a year later.

Dombrowski left the franchise for the in 2002. The roster he built in Florida won the World Series a year later.

This time he can see where the success leads.

“For me, the one part that will be more enjoyable is the one thing I haven’t ever done: gone to spring training as the world championship club. This will be the first time I’ve experienced that,” Dombrowski said.

“There’s something special about not only winning a championship but being in position — and who knows what ends up happening? — where you can defend that title going to spring training with the same guys. That’ll be a new emotion and feeling for me.

“Now there’s no tomorrow. You can enjoy. You can live it up. You can enjoy the moment. We’ll worry about 2019 at an appropriate time period. That’s what you’re in it for.”

That time period is approaching fast. ’s general manager meetings start Monday in Carlsbad, Calif. Tradition dictates that Dombrowski will buy a round of drinks for his colleagues in the business, then get to work on next season.

No team has repeated as champion since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000. The Sox have the talent base to do this all again, but there are decisions to make.

The Red Sox will have until Wednesday to pick up their $15 million option on , which should be an easy call.

David Price and agent Bo McKinnis have the same time to inform the Red Sox if the lefthander will opt out of the final four years of his contract. It seems unlikely Price will give up a guaranteed $127 million to test free agency at age 33.

Dombrowski also will have to determine how far he can go to retain free agents such as Nathan Eovaldi, Joe Kelly, and Series MVP Steve Pearce.

Signing Price and trading for Sale were two of Dombrowski’s signature moves after he took over baseball operations late in the 2015 season, the team tumbling into last place two years in a row under after a series of ill-considered and hasty trades and signings.

Dombrowski inherited a deep pool of prospects and, based on the results, he made the right decisions. He built the roster around , , Jackie Bradley Jr., and and traded others to land Sale, Craig Kimbrel, and Eovaldi.

Dombrowski on smaller moves, like the additions of and Pearce.

He also took a big chance in firing after back-to-back division championships and hiring then- 42-year-old Alex Cora as manager.

Cora quickly fostered an environment that brought out the best in what had been an underachieving roster by marginalizing outside influences.

Dombrowski acknowledged the financial support of ownership, which approved the highest payroll in the game this season. The Sox had every advantage. But he made it work.

“It starts at the top and that’s with ownership. They’re winners,” Dombrowski said. “I know I’m fortunate in that sense.”

Next season will be Dombrowski’s 42nd in baseball. After that second title, it’s a Hall of Fame career.

Red Sox have some major contract issues coming up

Nick Cafardo

LOS ANGELES — As the afterglow of this championship begins to morph into the reality of preparing for the 2019 season, there are some Red Sox contractual matters that need to be addressed quickly.

For one, David Price has three days from the conclusion of the World Series to make a decision on the opt- out clause in his contract. The Red Sox have the same amount of time to exercise the 2019 option on Chris Sale, and Eduardo Nunez must exercise his player option within the same period. Then will come the big arbitration cases for Mookie Betts, , and Jackie Bradley Jr. and the impending free agency of Steve Pearce, Nathan Eovaldi, Craig Kimbrel, and Joe Kelly.

About a month ago, it seemed that Price would have no choice but to fulfill his seven-year deal with the Red Sox. But his postseason history — the only negative hanging over his head — was resolved with his outstanding work this month. Now, whether that means a team out there would pony up more than $30 million per year for a 33-year-old pitcher is still doubtful, but who knows? Quality starting pitching is scarce, and Price could provide that.

Price is scheduled to earn $31 million in 2019 and then $32 million through 2022. The safe bet would be that he remains in Boston under those terms. I can’t imagine the Red Sox would enhance what’s already in place. But Price’s agent will likely try.

If the Red Sox will not alter the deal, then Price either plays for that or opts out and takes his chances. But again, it’s doubtful any team would pony up that kind of cash for an over-30 pitcher.

Dodgers lefthander is in a similar situation, as he contemplates his opt-out. Kershaw was even asked about it following his 5-1 loss to the Red Sox Sunday and didn’t rule anything out. But again, who would give the 30-year-old Kershaw more than $30 million a year and add years to his contract when he’s clearly on the decline? That he is even contemplating it was rather stunning and perhaps delusional.

Sale has a $15 million option for 2019, which appears to be a no-brainer for the Red Sox. But we may learn something about the condition of his left shoulder in the next few days. Was there damage? Does it have to be repaired or is it simply a matter of offseason rest? As the Red Sox contemplate a more extensive deal for the 29-year-old Sale, all of these things will be taken into consideration.

Nunez is an interesting subject. He’s well-liked. He contributes big hits. But his leg issue has to be somewhat alarming to the Red Sox. He seems to collapse at the slightest impact or sudden movement.

Nunez’s option is a player option. If he doesn’t exercise it, the team buys him out for $2 million. He also had plate appearance bonuses of $1 million, but it’s unclear whether he reached them. Nunez seems to like Boston and the atmosphere, but as Rafael Devers gets more refined at third base, Nunez’s playing time will surely dwindle. Still, at this stage of his career, he may be OK with that.

Pearce, the World Series MVP, is a free agent. The Red Sox obviously liked what he did, and the Pearce/Mitch Moreland platoon at first base worked well. Moreland is under contract for 2019 at $6.5 million. Pearce also has proven that he can hit righthanded pitching, so perhaps the impression that he’s effective only against lefties has gone away.

When I asked Pearce about returning to Boston, he said, “I would definitely love it. We’re world champions. To be able to open up next season at with the ring ceremony and everything that goes along with it and to drop the banner for the 2018 world champions, that would definitely . . . I would love that.”

But there may be only so much the Red Sox can do with the payroll. They had the highest payroll in baseball in 2018 and, yes, it paid off. They won it all.

But the arbitration figures for Betts, Bogaerts, and Bradley will skyrocket. They Red Sox need to figure out longer-term solutions for Bogaerts and Betts in particular. All of that should shoot the payroll even higher.

The Red Sox will likely say goodbye to unless they can sign him relatively cheaply.

Kimbrel, 30, will be an interesting case. He will likely demand one of the highest contracts for a reliever, somewhere in the ballpark of ’s five-year, $86 million deal. Not sure the Red Sox will go that far. The Sox have to decide whether to give Kimbrel a qualifying offer, which is at $17.9 million this season.

There has been speculation that the Braves would indulge Kimbrel, and he could return to where his career began and flourished. In that case, the Red Sox would have to have a Plan B for a . There are closer types out there — Kelvin Herrera, Zach Britton, , etc. — but Kimbrel is still one of the best, and while he did make things hairy at times, the Red Sox would have to be very careful about finding a suitable replacement.

There’s also the possibility that could assume the role.

For the longest time, it appeared that the Red Sox would part company with Kelly, but the 100-mile-per- hour reliever made a strong case in the postseason for being re-signed. This will be another interesting scenario. Wherever he signs, the 30-year-old Kelly likely made himself some serious money with his postseason performance. He is from the West Coast and could bite on a sweet offer from the Dodgers, Angels, or Giants. Could he also be a potential closer candidate for the Red Sox?

And last but certainly not least, there’s Eovaldi.

I had speculated recently that Eovaldi would be looking at an Alex Cobb-type deal of four years and $57 million. But he’ll shatter that now.

Eovaldi is only 28 and has had two procedures, which is both problematic and reassuring at the same time. His elbow is obviously sound. His shoulder appears bionic. Eovaldi was still throwing 99 m.p.h. in the final of his six-inning relief stint in Game 3.

With Sale’s shoulder issues creating uncertainty in the rotation, Eovaldi now appears to be someone the Sox must re-sign. He is battle-tested in a tough market — actually two tough markets, as he also pitched for the Yankees, who may also be in pursuit.

The Red Sox payroll was well over $200 million this year, and there’s no reason it won’t increase considerably after a championship season. Tough decisions need to be made, which is one reason it’s so tough to repeat. Even getting to the World Series in back-to-back seasons is tough to do, which makes what the Dodgers did impressive, despite losing both times.

Yes, winning it all is what it’s all about. But it’s also costly as the Red Sox look to the future.

As it turned out, these Red Sox were not too good to be true

Dan Shaughnessy

LOS ANGELES — My parents went through their high school and college years during America’s Great Depression. My mom had seven siblings, my dad four, and there was never extra money for anything. They never felt financially secure.

They had what we all came to know as the “Depression Mentality,’’ and passed it on to their children. The message was: Take no risks and always say yes to a steady job. You never know when it might all go away.

This is how I explain my year-long skepticism about the 2018 Red Sox — the greatest Boston baseball club in history and now in the discussion with the 1927 Yankees and a handful of others as among the best ever.

I have the Depression Mentality about this franchise, and I believe it’s because of the times I grew up in.

The Sox were always bad when I was a little kid. Coming of age as a fan in 1961, my local team finished eighth or ninth in a 10-team league every year. While the Mickey Mantle-Roger Maris- Yankees kicked sand in our faces annually, the Sox rented space at the bottom of the with the Kansas City Athletics and Washington Senators. Today we would call such a team a Clown Show. Back then, we just said, “The Red Sox stink.’’

They lost 100 games in 1965. They were always out of it by June. They drew crowds of less than 1,000. We had an occasional batting champ (Pete Runnels, ), but the Sox were never part of the October discussion.

Everything changed in 1967, which is why that season forever will be special. The Sox were suddenly contenders. They won the greatest pennant race of all time. Yaz was the greatest athlete in the world, and our Red Sox made it to the seventh game of the World Series.

Since 1967, the Sox have never been really bad for a really long stretch. They’ve had good players, healthy payrolls, and big crowds. They’ve pretty much been annual contenders for more than a half-century.

But between 1967 and 2003, they perfected the big tease, the near miss. They were a study in frustration. We were dying of starvation, and they would put a hot plate of tasty burgers and fries under our noses, then cruelly snatch it away.

It happened in 1972, 1974, 1977, and 1978. They lost the World Series in seven games in 1975 and again in 1986. They lost the one-game playoff. They lost the Bill Buckner Game 6 at . They lost at with a 5-2 lead in the eighth when Grady Little went too long with Pedro Martinez in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.

These were ghoulish, impossible defeats, seemingly scripted by Stephen King.

Everything changed, of course, with the long-awaited championship in 2004, and even two more followed. But still, you never lose the childhood fear that it can all go bad.

Hence, my Red Sox Will Blow It Syndrome (RSWBIS).

It’s hard to shake.

So, yes, I doubted these guys throughout the 2018 season. I did not trust the greatness. When they won 108 regular-season games, I wondered whether it was largely owed to an American League stocked with an unusual number of horrible teams. Sure, the Sox were winning, but they seemed to be playing the Orioles, Blue Jays, White Sox, or Royals every day.

At the end of the year, I looked it up, and sure enough, the mighty Red Sox had played sub-.500 ball against the rest of the American League playoff field (18-21 vs. Yankees, Astros, A’s, and Indians).

I remembered 2016 and 2017. Those Sox teams finished first in the AL East with most of these same players. And they went 1-6 in the playoffs, checking out in the first round both years.

The 2018 Sox did not have a pitcher who’d ever won a postseason start. Craig Kimbrel had never been on a team that won a playoff series. Mookie Betts had never driven in a postseason run.

They won their first playoff game against the Yankees, but it felt like a loss when a 5-0 lead was shaved to 5-4 in the ninth. Then the Yankees routed David Price at Fenway, hitting three monstrous homers in a 6-2 win. trolled the Sox, playing Sinatra’s “New York, New York’’ as he walked out of Fenway.

Here it comes, I figured. The big fall. The Sox would shrink and die at Yankee Stadium.

No. They came out on Monday, Oct. 8, and beat the Yankees, 16-1.

And they never stopped. From then until Oct. 28, they won 10 of 12 postseason games, seven of them on the road. They erased the 100-win Yankees and the defending world champion Astros (103 wins).

Still, I suffered one last relapse of RSWBIS in the World Series.

After the hideous Game 3 loss — the 18-inning marathon that ended at 3:30 a.m. Eastern time — I wondered whether this might be 1986 all over again. It had all the ingredients. ’s snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

I wondered whether the Sox would pay. When they trailed, 4-0, in the seventh inning of Game 4, I was having flashbacks of , Mookie Wilson, and Grady Little. My Depression Mentality.

Turns out, there was never any reason to worry about this group.

These were worthy champions who never doubted themselves. They were a postseason wagon.

They were not our fathers’ Red Sox.

Red Sox’ cramped clubhouse in LA bubbled over with joy

Owen Pence

LOS ANGELES — The Red Sox abided by a series of mottos during their 2018 championship season. They did much in the way of damage. The Sox pushed their poker chips all the way in. They took things one game at a time, flushed the rare poor result, and gave 110 percent.

That’s all fine and dandy.

But another saying deserves to be added to the list, one that captures the spirit of the team. With this ball club, there was no player, no teammate, no man left behind.

No scene better captured this than the claustrophobic and chaotic visitors clubhouse at Dodger Stadium soon after the Red Sox won the World Series on Sunday night.

Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, the undisputed leaders of a potent lineup, posed for pictures with bottles of champagne. Ian Kinsler, who held his head high despite being peppered with Bill Buckner comparisons following Game 3, wore a wide grin.

Game 4 starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who made a lasting impression by violently chucking his glove into some unsuspecting Dodger Stadium dirt, maneuvered through the cramped space with a large speaker affixed to his shoulder.

The tune that could be heard winding from the tunnels below the dugout and into the locker room was by the late Tupac Shakur. Rodriguez had selected “California Love” to commemorate beating LA:

“California, knows how to party

“California, knows how to party

“In the city of LA

“In the city of good ol’ Watts

“In the city, the city of Compton

“We keep it rockin’!

“We keep it rockin’!”

It was rockin’ all right.

Corks popped left and right. Cannonballs into a tub of melted ice and empty beer cans were caught on camera. Joe Kelly encouraged folks to spray the Korbel into his goggleless face, his eyes getting redder and redder, his yelps getting louder and louder. Mitch Moreland yelled across the room for media members to pass him more beer since it was too difficult to weave his way to the other side.

Amid the mania and mayhem, the plastic sheeting protecting players’ lockers from getting drenched fell down.

Drew Pomeranz stood calmly in a rare corner with elbow room, sipping Bud Light. Nearby, traveling secretary Jack McCormick held a beverage in one hand and puffed a cigar with the other. These guys were the smart ones, staying out of the way as clusters of intermingling players and media members infringed on each other’s personal space.

“It’s too small!” Andrew Benintendi remarked about the cramped quarters.

And yet, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski conducted interviews in a sharp red-and-blue polo shirt, his silvery hair somehow remaining neat.

Jon Shestakofsky, vice president of communications and education for the Baseball Hall of Fame, had no time to party. He was busy collecting artifacts to be out on display in Cooperstown as part of a World Series exhibit in November.

“We think about, what are the story lines?” said Shestakofsky. “When you look 10, 20, 50 years from now, what will people care about?”

The list of acquired items included Alex Cora’s hoodie, series MVP Steve Pearce’s Game 4 bat, winning pitcher David Price’s Game 5 jersey, Nathan Eovaldi’s cap and spikes, the ball/strike clicker used by home plate umpire Ted Barrett in Friday’s longest World Series game ever, and some Kelly specs.

Eventually, “Closing Time” was played as team members filed into the kitchen area and media members slowly filed out.

Strolling through the hallways below field level alongside family members was Red Sox owner John Henry, carrying a large cardboard poster that read, “World Series 2018.” The group was in a lighthearted mood, understandably so.

So much so in fact that Henry began to chant, clapping his hands to the beat of his voice: “No more stress! No more stress!”

What John Henry and Alex Cora had to say about a Red Sox White House visit

Hayden Bird

While the Red Sox emphatically answered every on-field question about the team in 2018, triumphantly winning the World Series in five games, a new series of offseason questions begin.

One of them is whether or not the Red Sox will go to the White House.

On that front, the jury appears to officially still be out, though there were two responses in the immediate aftermath of the victory.

Principal owner John Henry was asked by WEEI’s Rob Bradford shortly after the team clinched its ninth World Series title.

“We haven’t been invited,” Henry initially said. But he appeared more definitive in a follow up comment.

“I think we will,” said Henry, who also owns The Boston Globe. “This is a special team. We’ll see what they want to do, but I think so.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked about it in the final question of his postgame press conference.

Cora’s response: “We’ll talk about it later on.”

Cora recently defended Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after President Donald Trump tweeted criticism of his decision to remove pitcher from what proved a losing effort in Game 4 of the World Series.

In the past, Cora had mixed feelings about the president’s public responses after Hurricane Maria, and the damage it did to Puerto Rico (where Cora is from), despite the help the island received from the government.

“To be tweeting about 3,000 people and be efficient, it’s actually disrespectful for my country,” Cora said in September. “We see it that way. I know probably he doesn’t feel that way. And like I said, hey man, thank you for helping us. He went down there, he did what he did. I hate talking about politics and all that, but I think this is more than politics.”

“I respect him,” Cora continued. “He’s the president of the United States. But I don’t agree with a lot of stuff that he says about us.”

Since Trump has been in the White House, the Cubs and Astros both visited the White House. The Cubs visited twice, first during the Obama administration, and the latter trip occurring with Trump.

An inside look at how the Red Sox made a championship team

Alex Speier

LOS ANGELES — The completed photo gallery on the walls of Alex Cora’s office will include 119 images, snapshots that capture the remarkable on-field accomplishments of a Red Sox team that proved insatiable in its thirst for victories until finally it took the last game of the season on Sunday night.

Yet the photos of each win this year will not necessarily capture the full essence of the group or the feeling that existed among the members of the team along the way.

There were other moments that team members insist laid the groundwork for a remarkable cohesion. What took place behind the scenes helped lay the foundation for those moments that took place in plain view.

The tone-setter Even before the start of spring training, new manager Alex Cora started forging bonds with and among the players, as when he traveled to different parts of the country to meet with them either individually or in small groups. In January, Cora met with David Price, Chris Sale, Sandy Leon, and Jackie Bradley Jr. for lunch in Fort Myers, Fla., a get-together that made an immediate impression.

From that point forward, Price observed, he felt with Cora “a very unique relationship. We’re always in contact, even when we’re away from the field.”

The sense of camaraderie built throughout the spring, particularly over concern for closer Craig Kimbrel’s infant daughter, Lydia, who required a heart procedure. When Kimbrel left the team in February, Cora and other members of the Red Sox remained in regular contact with him.

“He’s been a friend, he’s been a manager, and he’s put my feelings and emotions in front of a lot of things,” said Kimbrel. “You talk about family, my family at home, we went through a lot, but I was able to cling to the family I had around me here all year long, the guys I spend most of my time with. Those guys were big for me all year.”

The Red Sox performed extremely well during spring training as a positive atmosphere took shape. Cora freely talked about the championship expectations for the club, about his belief that the young players had a chance to achieve new heights. The team was buying in and took little time to start feeling close.

Two days before the season, the sense of shared purpose was solidified in what many members of the team referenced as a landmark event. Pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, in exchange for getting the uniform No. 57 (that of countryman and friend ) from third base , agreed to host a team dinner in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Fifty-six members of the team showed up.

“There’s been some powerful moments throughout the season, and that was the first one,” said Cora.

At the dinner, one by one, leaders of the team stood and spoke. The primary theme of the unscripted remarks was championships — what, for instance, Cora had seen in the 2017 Astros that allowed them to win a title, or what a championship would mean for starter .

Jason Varitek, who played on two Red Sox championship teams and is still with the club as a special assistant, discussed what it meant to him to be in the Red Sox organization and what the experience of being a champion in Boston felt like.

“We just spoke from the heart,” said Varitek, a former team captain. “I don’t know if I can verbatim remember my words, but it means the world to me. It’s the best place to play. It can also be the hardest, but it’s the best place — an unbelievable fan base. There’s no better place to win a championship.”

The desire for a championship permeated a number of players’ comments, perhaps most notably Price. The pitcher, of course, was coming off a difficult, controversial 2017 season that had made it common to suggest that he hated Boston.

“The one that stood out was David Price, to be honest,” said Febles. “He said, ‘You are the reason why I’m still in Boston. I’m here for you guys.’ Everybody said something, but that stands out the most. ‘I know I had a tough time with the media, but you guys are what makes this place special. That’s why I’m comfortable coming in, for you guys.’ ”

“David just said, ‘I just want to go out there, show them who I am, go to the World Series, and try to win an MVP,’ ” said Rodriguez. “He almost did it. That was special.”

Finally, the closer spoke. Kimbrel finished the night by saying that when he took the mound at the end of a game, he did so not for himself but out of a sense of responsibility and obligation for him teammates. His selfless view resonated.

“He was very powerful,” said Cora. “He really takes pride of, ‘You guys work for eight innings and then in the ninth it’s my job to secure wins and pick you guys up,’ and then the way he talked, it was emotional. It was a great moment for us.”

“That was the first sign that there was a very special chemistry with this team,” said assistant pitching coach . “You can assemble great talent, but chemistry is this thing people argue about. Is it there? Is it a real thing?

“I’ve been on a lot of teams. There were only a couple that had this kind of chemistry. And you don’t win 108 games without it.”

Cora is generally not a believer in team meetings. They feel clunky and intrusive on a game day. Typically, if he has a message, he’ll convey it either directly to an individual player or will mention something in a scheduled player gathering, such as the daily hitters’ meetings.

But during the season, there was one exception, as Febles recalled. The Red Sox won an afternoon game on a getaway day to conclude a series win. But Cora didn’t want the team to be overly satisfied with the victory after a stretch of some sloppy play and mental lapses.

Cora didn’t want to wait to address the matter.

“We were winning, but he didn’t like how we were playing,” said Febles. “He said, ‘For us to get where we want to go, we can’t play the way we’re playing. The way we’re playing is not what it takes to win.’ ”

Prelude to postseason Sometimes it was a subset of the team that reinforced the group commitment to a title.

Between the end of the season and the start of the Division Series against the Yankees, Mitch Moreland hosted a few players — among them former Rangers teammate Ian Kinsler and Rick Porcello — at his house.

For seven years, Moreland and Kinsler had carried the dull pain of an excruciating World Series loss from 2011, when the Rangers had been within one strike of a title. In 2012, Porcello had been on a Tigers club that lost the World Series to the Giants. Moreover, Porcello had never even pitched in a playoff game that his team won.

The veterans took a clear-eyed view of those disappointments.

“We kind of talked about what had happened in our prior postseasons, what we needed to do to overcome that,” said Porcello. “By the end of the night — seven, eight, 15 beers later — we all kind of came to the conclusion that we’ve just got to go out there and play our game. We’ve got to hold it inside, go out there, and get it done.”

Elsewhere on the team, coaches sought to offer motivational edges. Pitching coach Dana LeVangie and advance scouting assistant J.T. Watkins put together a video for a meeting with the team’s relievers.

“It was just headline after headline about how this was going to be the weak point of the Red Sox this postseason,” said Bannister. “It was unbelievable to watch it. I got chills watching it, because I knew how fired up these guys would get, how they’d respond to that meeting.

“It finished with every single pitcher on the staff blowing away all the hitters we were going to face in the postseason in every round. It was an unbelievable video. They did a tremendous job of putting it together.”

Once the playoffs were underway, the team likewise took stock of perceived slights — whether it was people who expressed doubt about the Red Sox’ chances in a specific series or social media incitements (the viral clip of Aaron Judge playing “New York, New York” on his way out of Fenway, Astros star ’s Instagram post tweaking starter Nathan Eovaldi, any trolling from an opponent’s account).

Those were converted into fuel.

“We just kept responding, stayed humble and low-key,” said Bannister. “These guys, they responded on the field. They did it all year long. That was the magic of this team.”

Heartbreak to heartened Game 3 of the World Series could have been gutting. The Red Sox had been one Kinsler throw from a 3-0 series lead. Instead, his error prolonged the game, the Red Sox failed to reward Nathan Eovaldi’s historic relief performance with a win, and the 3-2, 18-inning defeat felt devastating.

With a prevailing sense of emptiness after that contest, Cora stepped into the breach with words that proved powerful.

“Everybody went into that meeting with their head down,” said Febles. “After that meeting, everyone was clapping their hands, ready to go. He said, ‘As far as I know, we’re still up, 2-1. It took them 18 innings to beat us.’

“It was kind of a relief to the club, having those guys know, hearing Alex say, nobody feel bad. Then he had Nate stand up and everyone gave him a standing ovation.”

In minutes, the sentiment had been transformed. Exhaustion and agony from the loss gave way to a celebration of a remarkable, selfless, inspirational teammate’s performance.

As Red Sox mental skills coordinator Laz Gutierrez watched the transformation take place, he couldn’t help but have a sense of deja vu. In 1996, Gutierrez had been Cora’s teammate on a University of Miami team that was one out from winning the College World Series only to see closer Robbie Morrison give up a walkoff homer to LSU’s Warren Morris. Cora collapsed on the field in tears when the ball flew over the fence.

The defeat felt apocalyptic. Miami coach Jim Morris couldn’t summon words in a silent postgame clubhouse. Instead, it was Cora who did so, telling his teammates how much he loved them, how proud he was of what they’d done, how there was no pitcher besides Morrison he would have preferred on the mound in that moment.

When Gutierrez saw Cora find the words to uplift his team after the marathon Game 3 loss, he instantly recognized something.

“It’s reliving the same moment,” said Gutierrez. “His ability, his innate ability to know when to deliver a message, how to deliver it, and what the context of the message is.

“I’ve never been around anyone who does it better than him. His feel for the needs of our team and our players, I’ve never seen anything like it.

“What’s made this group so special is that they’ve put the group ahead of themselves, and Alex’s ability to cultivate that, to let it be part of the culture, and to promote it by highlighting Nathan’s contributions, his amazing contribution, says volumes to the group and Alex’s ability to deliver the right message at the right time.”

Triumph When the Red Sox won the World Series, as players spread across the field, the emotions were free-flowing and honest. Porcello repeatedly apologized for his inability to stop crying, and other members of the club likewise let tears flow as they reflected on a shared moment — the culmination of so many others.

Members of the team became emotional when discussing Price, with Varitek comparing the pitcher’s personal postseason history before 2018 to the experience that he’d felt as a member of the Red Sox before 2004.

Players seemed as invested in the joy felt by their teammates as they did in their own sense of accomplishment.

“It’s the relationships that you make while you do this, while you play this game that . . . that’s what makes this game so special,” said Price.

For the 2018 Red Sox, that sense carried across an entire season, helping to mold a wildly talented team into a champion.

* The Boston Herald

Halloween treat: Red Sox parade to roll Wednesday morning

Laurel J. Sweet

As Title Town gears up to honor the champion Red Sox Wednesday with the now- traditional Boston Duck Tours flotilla - on Halloween, no less - Police Commissioner William G. Gross reminds the million or so parade goers expected to attend, "We've been here before, so let's act like it."

Gross and Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced today the procession will roll off from Fenway Park Wednesday at 11 a.m., wind down Lansdowne and Ipswich streets, turn left on Boylston Street, and then left on Tremont.

The parade, planned to span approximately two hours, will continue straight to Cambridge Street, passing by, but not stopping at, City Hall. It will conclude on Staniford Street.

Gross said parking restrictions along the route will take effect Wednesday at 12 a.m. That's also when police will start towing cars.

"All of those streets will be shut down so we can take advantage of a clear route," Gross said.

Walsh said the parade had to take place on a weekday to maximize the number of Sox players who could attend.

"This is an all-time great team that we had," Walsh said of the Sox, who trounced the last night 5-1 to claim a gentleman's sweep of the Fall Classic four games to one."Everybody contributed," Walsh said. "Congratulations to the entire team for your resilience and positivity ... They played with character all season long. Let's celebrate with character. Don't do anything on the streets of Boston Wednesday that you wouldn't do in front of your own house. Be respectful.

"Boston has certainly set a new tone around celebrations," he said. "We are a city of champions, so let's celebrate like champions."

Gross said fans can wear their Halloween costumes, but replica firearms will not be tolerated, nor will public drinking or real weapons of any kind.

As usual, officials advise not to try and drive into Boston, but to take advantage of public transportation. The MBTA will have added service on all branches, as will the commuter rail.

Transit Police Chief Kenneth Green said, "There are no known credible threats to this event" in the wake of Saturday's synagogue slaughter in Pittsburgh that left 11 dead.

"Please, if you see something, say something. Nothing's too small," Green said. "With your help, we can have a safe and enjoyable celebration."

At least the forecast should be no trouble. The weather looks to be pure sunshine with temperatures in the upper 50s.

* The Providence Journal

Sox’ 4th title run in 14 years a season for the ages

Kevin McNamara

LOS ANGELES — Baseball seasons have a unique flow — win some, lose some and pray for no rain.

Baseball is the summer sporting soap opera, especially in New England, where the become the default daily topic of conversation at the coffee shop, the corner tap and beaches from Kennebunkport to Misquamicut.

This Red Sox season, this 2018 championship season, offered Sox fans a glorious exception to baseball’s normal, confounding ways. This team captivated its fans from (a frustrating 6-4 loss at Tampa Bay) to a special Sunday night at Dodger Stadium, when the last game of the season ended with what’s become a familiar scene of Red Sox players piling on top of one another and spraying champagne and beer.

“This never gets old,” said Xander Bogaerts, the 26-year old from Aruba who now has two World Series rings. “It’s amazing. I have more rings now than a lot of these guys in here.”

Besides an overpowering offense that led the major leagues in virtually every major category, what made this team special was its remarkable consistency. They showed up, played hard and found ways to win, day after day, night after night. At Fenway Park or in other hardball cathedrals around the country, these Red Sox won like no other team in the franchise’s long history.

Fast start

Despite their Opening Day loss, the Sox jumped out to one of their best-ever starts with 17 wins in the first 19 games. That was a harbinger of things to come.

“Since day one, when we came back from that [opening] road trip, you had a feeling that the city was going to fall in love with them,” said rookie manager Alex Cora. “We were down, we came back, and people started to recognize that, hey, man, they fight all the way to the end. And that’s the way it should be.”

These relentless Red Sox took over first place on July 2, and by the All-Star break they were setting a historic pace (68-30). By that point, Mookie Betts was stirring up MVP numbers, pitchers Chris Sale and David Price were sailing along and newcomer J.D. Martinez supplied the needed thump in the middle of the batting order.

The only fly in the pie became what to do with Hanley Ramirez, a former power hitter who’d lost his juice. Cora didn’t see him as someone who’d accept a platoon role at first base, so the team cut him loose in late May — a decision many questioned at the time.

“When you have to make decisions, it’s always tough,” Cora said. “Sending guys down, taking them out of the lineup. The Hanley situation, that was a tough one. It’s not easy. It’s always cool to give guys good news. But it’s always tough to give guys bad news.”

But the loss of Ramirez’s bat wouldn’t derail the Sox. Instead, Mitch Moreland stepped into a full-time role at first base and earned the first All-Star nod of his career.

Midseason help

In the front office, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski didn’t address the weakness that most fans griped about — Boston’s shaky bullpen. Reliever Carson Smith was lost for the season after throwing his glove in frustration and hurting his shoulder. And Tyler Thornberg never became the reliable reliever Boston’s brass had hoped for. By the trade deadline, rather than a bona fide bullpen arm, Dombrowski added a right-handed bat — Steve Pearce — and another — Nathan Eovaldi.

Neither move qualified as a blockbuster deal, yet both played starring roles in October, with Pearce winning the World Series MVP award.

The only real hiccup on the field, the only moment where the naysayers enjoyed their morning coffee, occurred in late August. First came a three-game losing streak with two of the losses to a playoff team, the Cleveland Indians. After two wins came three more defeats, all on the road in Tampa.

Six losses in eight games lowered Boston’s division lead over the hated Yankees to six games and sparked bubbles of discontent. Why aren’t the Sox hitting? They’re feasting on an unusual number of hideous teams and can’t beat the good ones. Does Joe Kelly really need to ever pitch again?

But those concerns became nothing more than a speed bump along the road.

The Yankees had problems of their own and never could get closer than six games from the lead. The Red Sox would win a record 108 regular-season games and storm into the playoffs as clear favorites to win the World Series.

Sox-tober

October is baseball’s month of memories, the time when players become legends. Those are the games to shake bad reputations and establish new ones.

That’s just what happened for so many Red Sox, and no one more so than Price, the team’s highest-paid ($30 million a season) player. Despite a superb career, the fact that the 33-year-old had never won a playoff game haunted him. And his troubles against the archrival Yankees — including an 11-1 bombing in the Bronx in July, and then again in Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Fenway, a 6-2 loss in which he couldn’t get out of the second inning — didn’t make it any easier.

“It was tough, absolutely,” Price said. “To answer that question in spring training, over and over and over and over, and anytime it got to September, and then the playoffs. That’s tough.”

But when he took the ball again in the ALCS in Houston, he exorcised his demons and beat the Astros to punch Boston’s ticket to the World Series. His good fortune continued against the Dodgers, first in a win in Game 2 at home. With the chance to close out the Dodgers in Game 5 in L.A., Cora gave the ball to Price once again. Once again he was superb, leading the Sox to an easy 5-1 win.

The victory capped an 11-3 playoff run, including seven wins in eight games away from Fenway. The 2018 Red Sox finished with 119 wins, the third-most ever recorded in baseball history, and clinched their fourth title since 2004.

In the celebration at Dodger Stadium, the vindicated Price couldn’t help but gloat in front of the media cynics who had stalked him at every turn.

“I hold all the cards now,” he said, “and that feels so good. That feels so good. I can’t tell you how good it feels to hold that trump card. And you guys have had it for a long time. You’ve played that card extremely well. But you don’t have it anymore, none of you do, and that feels really good.”

Unflappable Alex Cora perfect for Boston

Bill Reynolds

Look up Zen master in the dictionary, and don’t be surprised if the face of Red Sox manager Alex Cora stares back at you.

Does he ever change his expression in the Red Sox dugout?

Does anything ever seem to bother him?

Have we ever seen him really upset, like some contemporary version of , wearing his emotions as he does his uniform?

In short, he is like some Zen manager, someone who always seems locked into the present tense, right in the middle of the moment, his emotions an opponent he defeated a long time ago.

In short, Alex Cora is someone who never seems out of the moment, certainly not during this magical Red Sox run that was capped off with a World Series championship out in venerable Dodger Stadium on Sunday night.

More important, he seems to have been born to manage in the hothouse that is Boston, where everything seems overheated, some old baseball soul that’s seen it all before. Isn’t that one of his great strengths, this ability to roll with his emotions, as if he long ago came to realize that there are a myriad number of things that happen on a that the manager has no control over, and that’s just the way it is, the breaks of the game?

But then when there are things he can control — like pinch-hitting Mitch Moreland in Game 4 of the Series () or turning to David Price in Game 5 (7 innings, 1 run, 5 ), or how about benching in the ALDS after Holt became the first player to hit for the cycle in the postseason — he always seems to make the right call. Never flustered, or fighting himself. It just all works out.

You can see that on television when the camera pans to him in the dugout, where he almost always seems the very picture of composure. Calm. Focused. Emotionally in control. Manager as the adult in the room. Billy Martin, it’s not. The stereotype of the coach screaming on the sidelines he’s not.

Instead, it’s a message of calm.

Instead, it’s a message of strength, one that says I am the manager of this team, and if I’m not freaking out, maybe you shouldn’t be either. One that says I am the manager of this team, and if I still believe, maybe you should, too.

Before Game 5, the one in which Boston went on to beat the Dodgers, 5-1, to end the season on the highest note, Cora said about dealing with his players: “I talk to them and I try to stay in tune with them. If I have something to tell them, I just sit with them. Very casual.”

Isn’t that Cora’s great managerial strength? The longtime utility player from Puerto Rico who paid his dues as a player and never enjoyed the brightest spotlight, but one who always watched and learned.

Isn’t this the message he sent out all season, through all the twists and turns, all the endless little emotional journeys through such a long, long grind? This sense of calm, the message that regardless of what happened yesterday, we are going to come to the ballpark today and we’re going to leave the drama somewhere else. And didn’t that become this team’s identity, all but from the beginning of the year?

In retrospect, that was Cora’s great gift to this team, the lack of intrigue, the lack of drama. Doing a great job as the manager of the Red Sox should never be taken for granted, not here in New England, where long ago second-guessing the manager became its own art form, the unwritten paragraph in the job description. Are there any ardent Sox fans who don’t think they could manage the Red Sox if you gave them a little help?

That just comes with the territory — some handled it well, others bristled in the glare.

But there’s little question Alex Cora did an amazing job in this place where history says there are easier jobs than managing the Boston Red Sox.

If he never manages again, his place in Red Sox history would be assured, the first nonwhite manager in the long history of the Red Sox, and winning the World Series in his first season. Did you get that, Hollywood?

Truth is stranger than fiction?

It is in this incredible saga of Alex Cora.

Good for him.

* MassLive.com

Bill Belichick congratulates Boston Red Sox on World Series title: 'They've set the bar awfully high'

Meredith Perri

Before discussing the New England's 25-6 win over the Buffalo Bills Monday evening, Patriots coach Bill Belichick paid homage to the 11th Boston-area team to win a championship in the past 18 years -- the Boston Red Sox.

"First of all," Belichick said, "big congratulations to Dave (Dombrowski), Tony (La Russa), Alex (Cora) and the Red Sox for a great season, championship and just a fabulous year."

The Patriots and the Red Sox make up nine out of those 11 championship teams, with the Sox picking up titles in 2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018 and the Patriots earning their banners in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, and 2016.

"They set the bar awfully high," Belichick said. "It was a good weekend in Boston."

Watch Belichick's press conference in the video below. He begins speaking at the about 18:15.

'They call it Title Town for a reason': , Gordon Hayward congratulate Red Sox on World Series

Tom Westerholm

BOSTON -- After watching the Boston Red Sox roll to yet another World Series victory -- their fourth in 14 years -- members of the Boston Celtics said the Red Sox' success was motivating.

"They set the standards about what's expected here in Boston and what we're trying to accomplish," Aron Baynes said. "It's a great thing for the city and a great thing for the players to be able to go out here and enjoy it for the next couple of days. It's going to be fun for the city, and hopefully we can feed a bit off that excitement as well."

"I've talked multiple times about how team-oriented they were," Brad Stevens said. "We pointed to Brock Holt's performance in the New York series, and then you look at Jackie Bradley Jr., who was the ALCS MVP, doesn't play until the last half of the game last night. Then Mookie Betts struggled all the way through, and yet clearly was an unbelievable leader, smiled and people got great motivation from his presence. Just go down the line with all those guys. The pitchers. It was incredible. I'm really thankful that in my time here I've been able to watch a couple of championships with my 12-year-old son. That's hard to beat."

Stevens has said repeatedly he draws inspiration from Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who helped guide the club to an incredibly successful season. Stevens said he was in attendance at the team's first meeting in Spring Training, where he first saw Cora's personality shining through.

"You could tell he had a special way about him," Stevens said. "It takes a lot for everyone to sacrifice a little bit more for the team, but that environment was something special."

Stevens has preached about the Celtics following the Red Sox' example for good reason. Like the Red Sox, the Celtics have a lot of stars who will need to sacrifice in order to succeed, and like the Red Sox, those sacrifices could lead to a special season.

"Big congratulations to those guys, they had a great year," Gordon Hayward said. "It's only right they won the whole thing. They call it Title Town for a reason, so now we have to do our job."

Hayward was asked about the renewed Boston/Los Angeles rivalry.

"It is cool, that was actually a little bit before me, but it's definitely still I think really cool -- you've got East Coast, West Coast in baseball too," Hayward said. "Indianapolis, we only have a A team, so I wasn't a huge baseball guy growing up but I got a chance to go over to Fenway both when I came to visit and I threw out the first pitch, so I'm happy for them."

* RedSox.com

World Series champs parade set for Wednesday

Manny Randhawa

In the wake of their 5-1 Game 5 victory over the Dodgers to win the World Series on Sunday, the Red Sox plan to have a championship parade on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET in Boston.

The parade will go down Lansdowne Street, take a right onto Ipswich Street, left onto Boylston to Tremont Street and onto Cambridge Street and New Sudbury Street. There will be no rally at City Hall Plaza.

The victory clinched the franchise's fourth World Series title since 2004 following an 86-year championship drought. Steve Pearce was named the World Series Most Valuable Player after hitting a game-tying homer and a game-breaking in Game 4, followed by a pair of homers in Game 5.

Alex Cora led the Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 regular-season victories and a World Series title in his first year at the helm, becoming only the fifth rookie manager in MLB history to win a championship.

5 offseason questions for World Series champs

Ian Browne

The reality for a World Series champion in 2018 is that questions for next season are already underway due to the imminent start of free agency.

So as the Red Sox prepare for their fourth victory parade since 2004 -- which is set for Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET -- we can try to answer some of the questions you must have heading into the winter.

One order of business was taken care of already, as infielder Eduardo Nunez exercised his $5 million player option for 2019. Though Nunez didn't have the regular season he or the team expected, he was a key contributor when it truly counted, belting a three-run, pinch-hit homer to break open Boston's win in Game 1 of the World Series.

Nunez provides depth for the team at three positions (second, short and third) and his problematic legs should hopefully be stronger by next season.

Now, on to the issues the Red Sox will be examining as they try to become MLB's first repeat champion since the Yankees won their third straight in 2000.

Who are the key free agents?

Closer Craig Kimbrel, setup man Joe Kelly, World Series MVP Steve Pearce, postseason hero Nathan Eovaldi and second baseman Ian Kinsler are all eligible for free agency.

The player with the least likely chance to come back is Kinsler. Veteran leader Dustin Pedroia is expected to return from his problematic left knee issues in time for Spring Training. Nunez and Brock Holt both give the Sox insurance at second in the event Pedroia suffers another setback.

An elite closer who has created a possible path to the Hall of Fame, Kimbrel will explore the market for the first time in his career. It remains to be seen if the Red Sox will spend what it takes to retain a premium reliever, given a payroll that is already projected to be well above $200 million.

Of all of Boston's free agents, Pearce seems like the best fit to return in that he complements left-handed- hitting first baseman Mitch Moreland perfectly.

Eovaldi and Kelly both boosted their market values with stellar postseasons.

What is the team's primary need?

While the bullpen redeemed itself and more in October, the fact that Kimbrel and Kelly are free agents makes this area of the team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski's top priority heading into the offseason. If Kimbrel leaves, there's a chance the Sox could re-sign Kelly and make him the closer. Kelly has a home in Southern California so he could explore interest out that way. Though Kelly would be the first to admit his 4 1/2 seasons with the Red Sox have been inconsistent, he enjoys the Boston experience and has thrived in pressure situations.

Matt Barnes is another candidate to close, as is . Expect Dombrowski to be more likely to search for a reliever on the trade market than free agency.

How do the lineup and rotation shape up?

Aside from Kinsler, who was essentially a platoon player, the Red Sox have their entire championship starting lineup under contract for next season. If Pearce is re-signed, every key player will be back.

The rotation is also in great shape, with ace Chris Sale, David Price (assuming he doesn't exercise his opt- out clause), Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez slated to return. The big question here is Eovaldi. The righty was a stud in his "rover role" throughout the postseason and it will be interesting to see where his market goes given his health problems in the past. Knuckleballer provides added rotation depth, as do lefty Brian Johnson and righty Hector Velazquez.

Could long-term extensions be on the table?

The Red Sox have a loaded team next year capable of winning it all again. But if Dombrowski wants the Sox to be championship-caliber for the years to come, he might want to start exploring contract extensions for some of his stars.

Sale is entering the final year of his contract. The same goes for shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Mookie Betts, the team's best all-around player, has two arbitration-eligible years left. Red Sox fans would be comforted if the club could make in-roads with him on an extension. Star defender Jackie Bradley Jr. is also under the club's control for two more years. Expect Dombrowski to try to find common ground with at least some of these players this winter.

Are there any non-tender or trade candidates?

Right-hander Carson Smith didn't put himself in good graces when he subluxed his pitching shoulder slamming his glove down after a bad inning. He created even more discord when he mentioned workload might have caused his shoulder to separate. Smith is definitely a non-tender candidate.

It will be interesting to see what the Red Sox do with /utilityman . The club loves the job that Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez do behind the plate, and Swihart was used sparingly the entire season. His switch-hitting bat and the fact that he can catch could entice other teams to trade for him. The Red Sox could definitely use a prospect or two to fortify the farm system.

WS hero Nunez set to pick up 2019 option

Matt Kelly

A day after completing his heroic role for the 2018 World Series champion Red Sox, utility man Eduardo Nunez is set to pick up his option, worth $5 million, for next season, according to MLB.com reporter Jesse Sanchez.

Nunez, 31, compiled a .677 OPS over 127 games in the regular season, but proved critical for Boston with timely hitting during the team's title run -- most notably when he knocked a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the seventh inning to give the Red Sox some insurance against the Dodgers in World Series Game 1. Nunez hit .231 (6-for-26) and drove in four runs in the postseason.

Nunez's return gives the Red Sox positional flexibility again in 2019 and could prove particularly helpful while second baseman Dustin Pedroia eases himself back into regular playing time. Nunez logged 74 games at second base and 45 games at third and also has extensive Major League experience at shortstop. The 2018 season marked the first World Series title for Nunez, a career .279 hitter and an All-Star in 2016.

After 21 years, Dombrowski reaches top again

Ian Browne

LOS ANGELES -- Dave Dombrowski gleamed on Sunday night as he roamed around the turf at Dodger Stadium in the aftermath of his Red Sox winning the World Series just a bit earlier with a 5-1 victory over the Dodgers in Game 5.

With his family and close friends next to him, Dombrowski said, "It took us a while, but we got it, didn't we?"

It was the most Dombrowski thing ever to say. His triumphs and his losses are something he's always shared with those closest to him. This journey was also theirs, especially his wife, Karie, his daughter, Darbi, and his son, Landon.

And this moment was particularly sweet for the architect of what is the winningest team (119-57 including the postseason) in Red Sox history.

Dombrowski's first and only previous World Series championship had come 21 years earlier when he was running the Florida Marlins, who were in just their fifth season of existence.

In the 21 years between celebrations, Dombrowski had come close a few times, especially with the Tigers, when they lost in the World Series in 2006 and '12, and also had a gut-wrenching American League Championship Series defeat to the Red Sox in '13.

The pain of those losses has been replaced by elation.

"This is why you're in the game," Dombrowski said. "It's the best feeling you can possibly have from a professional perspective, and sometimes you wonder if it's ever going to happen again. We've been close a lot of times. My family is here, too. It's just as good as it gets."

Though Dombrowski didn't take an at-bat or throw a pitch in the World Series, his fingerprints were all over the accomplishment.

Winning pitcher David Price -- from postseason failures to postseason brilliance in the blink of an eye -- was magnificent in the clinching Game 5. In his first Hot Stove offseason with the Red Sox, Dombrowski signed Price. At times, the move came under scrutiny. But Price came up big this regular season, and in October.

Chris Sale, who served as the closer in the World Series clincher, was the ace Dombrowski acquired in a blockbuster prospects-for-superstar trade with the White Sox a year after he got Price.

World Series MVP Award winner Steve Pearce was the right-handed bat Dombrowski acquired at the end of June. His job was to belt lefties around. Pearce did a lot of damage against righties and lefties in the Fall Classic.

The emerging hero for Boston throughout this postseason was Nathan Eovaldi, the flamethrower Dombrowski got in July when everyone else thought he should acquire an impact reliever.

And let's not forget J.D. Martinez, the slugger Dombrowski signed during Spring Training to put a good team over the top.

When reminded of those moves, Dombrowski started being Dombrowski again and deflected the credit.

"I'm happy because I think they made us a better club, and I tip my cap to our scouts and big league staff that recommended them to us," Dombrowski said. "They were all involved in that. We made a lot of collective decisions at that time and we thought they'd help our ballclub as they ended up doing, and we knew we had a good club, so we were trying to see if we could make a difference at that time. It's apparent the way these guys performed."

Yes, the victory celebration made all of that very apparent.

Nobody enjoyed Dombrowski getting his due -- and another ring -- more than his close friend, . The two men worked together with the White Sox what seemed like a lifetime ago, then went their separate ways and reunited this season, when Dombrowski hired La Russa as a special assistant.

"He's been so close," La Russa said. "He had a chance with Detroit, it looked like it was going to happen. The pressure was on him personally, because he wanted to be the leader of [another] world champion. Personally it was very important. The way he is, he shares it with everybody upstairs, everybody downstairs. He's not going to take any credit but he's a wonderful leader."

Red Sox owner John Henry had worked with Dombrowski when they were both with the Marlins and used to have a slogan back then, "In Dave we trust."

With Boston en route to back-to-back last-place finishes in 2014-15, Henry trusted Dombrowski again and hired him to run the Red Sox.

That decision worked out quite well.

"Well, look at who was the Series Most Valuable Player," said Henry. "Steve Pearce. Without him and David Price, we wouldn't be standing here right now. We wouldn't be standing here right now if David didn't turn in two outstanding performances. Nate Eovaldi did an incredible job.

"Look at the job Dave Dombrowski did. Steve Pearce. And we're set up for next year. Could we be better set up for next year?"

Once the parade is over on Wednesday, Dombrowski might take a deep breath or two. Then he will get started on that whole next-year thing.

But those thoughts were far out of his mind on Sunday, as Dombrowski took some time to savor the moment. He had only had one like it before in his baseball life.

"It's an emotion, and you don't get to this point very often where you can just let it go," Dombrowski said. "There's always that next pitch, next out, next game, and now it's next year, and we'll worry about that in a few days."

* WEEI.com

Dave Dombrowski on David Price opt-out: 'I hope he's back . . . it's in his court'

John Tomase

LOS ANGELES – The clock is officially ticking on David Price.

The Red Sox left-hander, who won the World Series clincher on Sunday to permanently dispel his reputation as a postseason choke artist, has five days to decide whether or not to exercise the opt-out on his contract and become a free agent.

Opting out now would void the final four years and $127 million on his deal and make Price a free agent, but at age 33, with some arm troubles in the recent past, there’s no guarantee he’d make that money elsewhere.

In any event, the decision is his.

“I hope he’s back, for sure,” said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. “We haven’t even thought about it, but that will be something we’ll think about. I think David will think about it. It’s in his court. He’s got five days after the World Series, and of course I’m hopeful he’ll be back with us.”

Price has stated repeatedly that he doesn’t plan to opt out, but he was not asked about his contract after pitching the Red Sox to a 5-1 victory in Sunday’s Game 5.

Though he hasn’t pitched to expectations since joining the Red Sox on a record eight-year, $217 million contract – failing to make an All-Star team or earn a vote – Price more than compensated this postseason, winning the clinching games of the ALCS and World Series.

He then sounded a note of defiance in his postgame press conference, noting that, “I hold all the cards now,” when it comes to the postseason narrative that had once defined him.

"My confidence was never altered through however many seasons I've been to the playoffs, however many times I've failed in October, however many times I failed in the regular season or against the Yankees," he said. "My confidence was never altered. I always had belief in myself and my abilities. To be able to come through on this stage and in October for myself and for my teammates, I know I can do it now. And it's always a good feeling to have. It's just good to know."

* Bostonsportsjournal.com

Red Sox felt a duty to win it all after record-setting season

Sean McAdam

As they gathered with family and friends on the Dodger Stadium infield and late Sunday night, there was, of course, a palpable sense of accomplishment for the 2018 Red Sox.

The baseball season is long and grueling, and the expanded playoff format undoubtedly takes its toll, so it was only natural that the players celebrated their five-game victory over the Dodgers, the culmination of a journey that began back in February.

But beyond the sheer joy, there existed something else: relief.

Relief that not only was the eight-month slog over, but also, because the Red Sox had succeeded in finishing the job at hand by winning the Series. And relief, too, that they had validated the 108-win regular season by establishing their post-season supremacy.

Amidst the popping of champagne and communal hugging that went on in the cramped visitors clubhouse, there was also the sense that, in winning the franchise’s fourth title since 2004, the players had confirmed what they — but few others — had believed all along: they were worthy of the title of the best team in the game.

Even as they established a franchise record for most wins in a season, the Sox were greeted with skepticism. The 108 wins were nice, sure, but to many, they were a reflection of the stratified nature of the game in 2018. The implication was clear: the 108 wins were the result of too many inferior, rebuilding opponents in the American League, and not a true representation of the Sox.

The Red Sox listened to this bit of rationalization for much of the second half of the season and took it to heart, so much so that when the postseason began, nearly a month ago, they were intent on finishing the job, so as to validate what they had accomplished over the previous six months.

“Coming into this postseason,” said shortstop Xander Bogaerts, “108 wins, I know there was a lot of talk, a lot of expectations for us to win it all, or else the season was a waste. Everyone in here did their best and we came out on top. It’s been an amazing season in general and to end it this way … it doesn’t get any better than that.

“We had an amazing regular season and we came through in the playoffs. One hundred and eight wins, obviously that’s historic. But you get added pressure from that because you had the most wins (for a single- season) in Red Sox history, right? There was that added pressure, ‘Oh, you guys had the most wins so now you’ve got to win it.’ And for us to win it, that’s amazing.”

The alternative wasn’t pretty to contemplate. After all the regular-season wins and all the work, what if it had gone for naught? What if the Game 4 comeback hadn’t effectively put the Dodgers away? What if all the commitment wasn’t fully realized in October? How would history regard them then?

The remarkable thing, now that it’s over, is that the Red Sox were never really threatened. Through three rounds of the postseason, the only time they trailed in a series was when they dropped the opener of the ALCS at home to Houston.

They never trailed in the Yankee series. When they were even after two, the Sox asserted themselves with a 16-1 thrashing of New York, in Yankee Stadium, a win so convincing and thorough that it seemed to break the Yankees’ spirit.

In the ALCS, the Sox got even in Game 2, then once more did their most impressive work on the road, taking three straight from the defending world champs — on the Astros’ home field, no less — to wrap up the pennant.

And while Game 3 presented its challenges, the Sox rebounded from what could have been a crushing defeat by storming back to score nine runs in the final three innings of Game 4 to wrestle back control of the World Series.

After that, it was merely a matter of closing things out.

Whatever external expectations the Sox felt were mitigated by the calming influence of their manager, who was able to provide support and perspective. He had warned them way back in February to stay true to themselves and block out the external noise. He had advised them to not let anyone else define them.

“Alex Cora is so great at squashing any kind of feeling (from the outside) and getting his players ready to play for every individual game,” said Ian Kinsler, “that that helped calm us.”

And allowed them to finish the job that they didn’t dare leave unfinished.

* The Athletic

Red (Sox) Rover: Alex Cora’s bullpen innovation has a name, does it have a future?

Chad Jennings

Every baseball revolution needs a name, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora just happened to be sitting in a press conference room at Minute Maid Park when he came up with the title for his own bit of postseason innovation.

“We also knew we were going to have a rover,” Cora said before Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. “Yeah, I just made that up. A rover. I’m en fuego today.”

Part starter, not quite a closer, and definitely not an opener, the rover was Cora’s term for the starting pitcher he tucked into the bullpen for every Red Sox game this postseason. The rover was not a regular- season starter converted to a full-time relief role (every playoff team has at least one of those), and it was not an erstwhile ace who could pitch out of the pen with a series on the line (that, too, had been done time and time again).

The rover was an active member of the rotation, pitching high-leverage relief innings between starts, and the Red Sox would not have won their ninth World Series title without it.

They used a rover in eight of their 14 games this postseason, including seven of their 11 wins. They only twice won a game by four runs or less without using a rover to get crucial outs. The entire postseason rotation pitched out of the bullpen at some point, including ace Chris Sale, who handled the ninth inning of Sunday’s World Series clincher. The rest of the Red Sox relievers stood at the bullpen gate and applauded as he stepped onto the field and jogged to the mound.

“It’s an instant shot (of adrenaline),” Sale said. “Every hair on your body is standing up and you don’t feel a thing. I appreciate the fact they handed me the ball in that last inning, and like I said, A.C. has been able to navigate throughout this entire season doing all the right things and making all the right moves. And that’s why we are where we are.”

Baseball has seen plenty of starters pitch in relief during the postseason. Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and had iconic playoff appearances out of the pen. Clayton Kershaw and pitched in relief just last year, but those were special circumstances with a series on the line. We remember those moments for a reason, precisely because they were special and unusual.

The Red Sox made those moments the norm, a part of their daily plan to win one game at a time.

“I think it’s just a different mindset,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “And I think it just shows you the importance of trying to win today’s game.”

Or, to put it another way:

“Because if we don’t get it done, we don’t get to pitch again for four months,” regular rover Rick Porcello said. “And everything we did for the entire year is all of a sudden over. So, to me, I’d much rather have to throw the shit out of my arm now and have it feel shitty for three months (later) than hem and haw about whether I’m good to go and sit there feeling good the entire offseason. This is it. It’s do or die.”

If necessity if the mother of invention, then the Red Sox’ own bullpen issues might be at the root of their postseason innovation.

“I believe they did this because they had to,” one executive said. “Their bullpen was weak.”

Fair enough, but Dombrowski pointed to the July 31 trade deadline and said the Red Sox were discussing this sort of thing way back then. The Red Sox did not trade for a reliever despite glaring uncertainties in the late innings, but they did trade for Nathan Eovaldi to fortify the rotation, believing he could slide into a key relief role come October. Eovaldi wound up making two postseason starts while pitching in relief four times, including each of the first three World Series games. Even after his marathon relief appearance in Game 3, Eovaldi went back to the bullpen and declared himself available for Games 4 and 5.

“That’s why,” Dombrowski said, “when people said, ‘You really weren’t doing anything for your bullpen,’ I kept saying, well, that’s not how we look at it.”

Baseball is always looking at pitchers differently. From the workhorse starters of the early 1900s, to the lockdown closers and left-handed specialists of the 1990s, to the super of the past half-decade, the game’s pitching strategies have constantly evolved. This season introduced the “opener,” an experiment that flipped upside down the very nature of starters and relievers by having a nominal handle the first inning.

In that tradition, the rover seemed to be a natural next step. Instead of a reliever in the first inning, it was a starter in the late innings, a role specifically designed for the modern game in the playoff setting.

“In the past you were so starter-dominated that you were looking for your starters to go seven innings,” Dombrowski said. “Nowadays, if you use (starters) in the pen and they go four or five (on the days they start), you’re ready to turn it over to the pen. But if you’re doing it and then saying, ‘OK, in a couple of days, he’s got to go seven,’ you’d have a lot more difficult time doing that. It’s just a different mindset. How many guys out of all the starts have given seven innings? Not just us, but in the big leagues? It’s not too many.”

There were 33 playoff games this year, which meant 66 starts, and only nine of those starters lasted seven innings, including both Kershaw and David Price in Sunday’s Game 5. Price, by the way, had declared himself available to pitch in every single game this postseason. He warmed up for two innings during Game 4 of the ALCS, didn’t get into the game, started the next day and pitched a gem that clinched the pennant.

“They were all prepared,” Cora said. “Porcello, Nate, Chris and David. They knew that somebody had to come in and get us three outs on a nightly basis. But with David… he was available the whole time. The whole time. From the division series to the championship series to the World Series, there was a (nightly) text: ‘I’m ready for tomorrow. Count on me. Use me.’”

The Red Sox handled their pitching staff quite differently in the regular season. Sale went over 110 pitches only twice after doing so 14 times last season. The Red Sox were so cautious in avoiding overuse, they even held back in spring training bullpen sessions and put their regular starters into exhibition games later than usual.

But the postseason was a different beast, and the rover was a way to adapt to the needs of a short-series while using the same personnel required to grind through a 162-game season.

“If they got to the postseason and they were just out of gas, you’d probably have a harder time doing it,” Dombrowski said. “But we tried to preserve our guys in many ways, and we also know… that guys throw between starts (so this schedule wasn’t as different as it seems).”

It also was not entirely novel. Last year’s Astros used Verlander out of the bullpen in the division series clincher, then used starter Charlie Morton for the last 12 outs of World Series Game 7. But those were the special circumstances of Johnson, Martinez and Bumgarner. Lance McCullers and Brad Peacock also pitched as both starters and relievers during the Astros’ championship run, but those were adjustments to fit the moment or to fit a specific need. The Astros starters were not perpetually straddling that line between rotation and bullpen the way the Red Sox rovers did.

“Not like this,” Cora said. “Not like this. Last year, first of all, most of the guys were struggling in the bullpen. This year, not really. They’ve all thrown well.”

Cora would know. He was the Astros bench coach last year, and he orchestrated the Red Sox playoff run this year. And he was right, the Red Sox bullpen pitched well, exceeding the expectations of many outside observers who saw it as a point of weakness. Even with closer Craig Kimbrel erratic, the bullpen thrived behind regular setup men Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier who could be used earlier than usual because there was a spare starter to bridge the late-inning gap.

“All of a sudden,” bench coach said. “You had these guys like Porcello coming to us saying, ‘Alex, I’m going to be in the bullpen tonight, and I can give you an inning.’ It freed Alex up to know, not only was he thinking of it, the players were also wanting to do it. Then all of a sudden Eovaldi wants to do it. And then David Price is like, ‘Yeah, I’m in there too.’ It frees up the thinking. Now, you’re not questioning what you’re doing, because you know the players are all on board with what you’re doing.”

All told, the Red Sox won nine postseason games that were decided by four runs or less, and in seven of them, they used a starting pitcher as a reliever. Porcello did it twice, so did Sale, Eovaldi did it four times, and Price did it once. World Series Game 3 was the only time the Red Sox used a starter out of their bullpen and didn’t win. By using Eovaldi in long relief that night, the Red Sox were forced to scramble for a spot starter in Game 4, but they had a full bullpen at their disposal. It was the Dodgers who had two relievers unavailable for Game 4, and that seemed to cost them as the Red Sox rallied for a win.

“You’re built up for 100 pitches,” Eovaldi said. “So, if you could break it down to 10, 20 pitches, I feel like it’s OK. You don’t really take that much of a toll.”

Without taking a toll, the Red Sox gave themselves the best of both worlds: a potent starting pitcher and a dangerous late-inning reliever. The strategy might never see the light of day in the regular season, but in the high stakes of the playoffs, with off days built into the equation, it could be baseball’s next step in the ongoing bullpen revolution.

“There was a plan from the very beginning,” Dombrowski said. “(Cora) maneuvered it tremendously. Brought guys in. We never ran short, even with an 18-inning game. And then you ended up — how ironic it is – that we’ve got Chris Sale on the mound in the ninth inning (of the clinching game).”

Wipeout . of Manny Machado. World Series over.

Long live the rover.

Where do these Red Sox rank among the Boston championship teams this century?

Steve Buckley

Another trophy is about to be placed atop the Boston sports mantel. And you know what that means: It’s time to reshuffle the deck (including David Price’s hard-earned trump card) and take a stab at ranking the combined 11 league championships won by the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins over the past 16 years.

Where does the Red Sox’ 2018 World Series waltz past the not-ready-for-primetime Los Angeles Dodgers rank in Boston sports history? Is it bigger, better, more bad-ass, than what the 2007 Red Sox accomplished? And when one takes the other teams into account, how do the 2018 Red Sox compare with, say, the 2010- 2011 Bruins? The 2004 Patriots? The 2007-08 Celtics? Or was that the 2009-2010 Celtics? No, that’s the one where Kendrick Perkins got hurt and the C’s lost Game 7, right?

So much winning!

This is why everyone hates Boston.

Anyway, let’s get to work. What follows is one observer’s rankings of Boston’s 21st century championship teams. But first, some points of order: 1) these are for fun and amusement only, and 2) it’d be foolish to base the rankings on statistics alone, since all the analytics in all the world can’t make the case that the 2018 Red Sox are “better” than the 2003 Patriots.

The only fair methodology is based on some simple questions: Fifty years from now, which teams will still be generating buzz? Which teams will still be inspiring aging fans to endlessly yap to the grandkids about exactly where they were when this or that championship game was played?

And, kinda sadly, which championship teams might disappear into the ever-thickening fog of history?

To repeat: This is why everyone hates Boston.

The great, big, fat envelopes, please:

1. The 2004 Red Sox. It’s a no-brainer to begin with a team whose players referred to themselves as The Idiots. The Sox’ four-game World Series sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals gave Boston its first baseball championship in 86 years, which meant that, as catcher put it, “We’ll never have to hear ‘1918’ again.” And who’ll ever forget the history-making comeback against the in the ALCS? After rallying from a 3-0 series deficit to shock the Bombers, the World Series turned out to be a rubber stamp for the Red Sox.

2. The 2001 Patriots. It’s hard to believe there was a time when the Patriots were not the most hated team since Darth Vader and his stormtroopers, but it’s true: The ‘01 Pats were apple-cheeked, exciting, and, in the weeks and months following the 9-11 terrorist strikes, easy to embrace. (“We’re all patriots,” Pats owner Robert Kraft famously said.) This was the season Tom Brady became a household name. It was the season the Pats knocked off the Oakland Raiders in the controversial Tuck Rule Game at soon-to-be- demolished Foxboro Stadium. And, yes, it was the season Adam Vinatieri’s last-second field goal against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI earned the Pats their first championship.

3. The 2016 Patriots. (Or, as they will forever be known, the 28-3 Patriots.) The greatest comeback in Super Bowl history led to the first game in Super Bowl history, which ended with James White’s two- yard run to lift the Pats to a 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. But the “34-28” will be less remembered, if it’s remembered at all, than the 28-3 — as in the deficit from which the Pats rebounded. “28-3” takes its place as the most memorable game-still-in-progress score in sports history. (Runner up: New York Giants play by play man Russ Hodges saying, “Brooklyn leads it 4-2,” just before Bobby Thomson belted his three-run “Shot Heard Round the World” off at the Polo Grounds on Oct. 3, 1951.)

4. The 2014 Patriots. It’s not quite up there with, “Do yo believe in miracles?” but Al Michaels’ call in the last seconds of Super Bowl XLIX — “The pass is intercepted at the goal line by Malcolm Butler!” — will always be sweet play-by-play music to Boston sports fans. The Pats were all but certain to go down to defeat against the Seattle Seahawks, with quarterback Russell Wilson needing only to hand off to wrecking-crew running back Marshawn Lynch for a one-yard, game-clinching touchdown run; instead, Wilson attempted a pass to Ricardo Lockette. Enter Butler, an undrafted, unknown rookie who sniffed out the play and snuffed out the Seahawks. You could wallpaper your den with hard-copy editions of all the newspapers that went with “The Butler Did It” headlines.

5. The 2013 Red Sox. It was just five days after the Boston Marathon bombings. One terrorist was dead; the other — cold, dirty, cowering — had been dragged out of hiding and was now behind bars. That’s when from the Dominican Republic became Dave from Southie, leaning into a microphone during a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park and speaking these words: “This is our fucking city. And nobody’s gonna dictate our freedom.” The rallying cry galvanized the city and guided the Red Sox through the season. Their roster having been overhauled by GM Ben Cherington, and with first-year manager John Farrell on the top step, the ‘13 Red Sox took out the Cardinals in a six-game World Series for the franchise’s third championship in 10 seasons.

6. The 2010-11 Bruins. Just as the Red Sox had had it up to here with the snarky remarks about “1918,” anyone who played for Boston’s National Hockey League franchise had to be tired of hearing about the — wait for it, wait for it — Big, Bad Bruins. The 2010-11 Bruins ended all that, as a new generation of skaters roared through the Stanley Cup tournament, including a grueling seven-game series against the Vancouver Canucks in the Cup final. Goaltender Tim Thomas, a journeyman in the early days of his career, delivered a Gerry Cheevers-like postseason for the ages, making saves that still seem impossible. (Yes, we’re thinking here about Thomas’ stick save against the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Steve Downie in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.)

7. The 2007-08 Celtics. The first sign that something magical was going to happen was when Boston native Donnie Wahlberg went live on ESPN and said that something magical was going to happen. And magic did happen; though the Celtics didn’t get the lottery pick they had hoped for leading up to the draft, it didn’t stop president of basketball operations Danny Ainge from doing some Red Auerbach-type deal-making to acquire Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. He joined them with veteran Paul Pierce to form a new Big Three, and the following June the Celtics wiped up the Garden floor with the Los Angeles Lakers to win their first championship since the Bird-McHale-Parish crew in ‘86.

8. The 2018 Red Sox. Sucks, doesn’t it? Yes, this is absolutely the greatest Red Sox team in history. Yes, they rolled the Yankees in the Division Series. Yes, they dethroned the defending World Series champion in the ALCS. Yes, they exposed the Dodgers in the World Series. Yes, Alex Cora emerged as one of the game’s next great managers. Yes, J.D. Martinez brought a big bat and big leadership skills. Yes, Mookie Betts should be MVP. And you bet: David Price won three postseason games, including the World Series clincher, which means he now gets to hold all the cards. But remember: This is a “Most Memorable” exercise, and we must not be governed by recency bias. Nobody is questioning the greatness of Alex’s Army, but on the Memorable Scale can these guys top the seven teams listed above?

9. The 2004 Patriots. Their 24-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville was their third championship in four years and fueled the debate that the Pats were a “dynasty.” And with coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady still on the job as we approach the halfway point of the 2018 season, the dynasty talk remains a relevant discussion.

10. The 2003 Patriots. What these guys bring to the table is proof that what happened in 2001 (See No. 2 on our list) was not a fluke. The 2002 Patriots didn’t even qualify for the playoffs, which means it was entirely appropriate to dismiss the ‘01 bunch as one-hit wonders. But then came a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII; while the dynasty talk was a year away (See No. 9), the Pats had announced to the world they planned on being around for a while.

11. The 2007 Red Sox. There is no shame being last on this list. The ‘07 Sox did, after all, win the freakin’ World Series. Dustin Pedroia was Rookie of the Year. had a Cy Young-caliber season. won one last World Series start. Mike Lowell, reluctantly obtained from the Florida Marlins in the Beckett deal, was World Series MVP. And, yes, they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS. Lordy, was this ever a fine ball club. Alas, the Pats were en route to a 16-0 regular season at the time, and by the next spring the Celtics were pantsing the Lakers in the NBA Finals. The ‘07 Red Sox are the middle child of Boston’s championship teams . . . and, because of that, another reason why everyone hates Boston.

Alex Cora an inspiration to his brethren in the Boston coaching fraternity

Joe McDonald

Alex Cora guided the Red Sox to the 2018 World Series championship in his first year as a manager. The former utility infielder has been a student of the game for nearly his entire life. When he wasn’t playing, he would stand near the bench coach or manager in the dugout and learn how to manage a game.

A natural born leader, it was evident that one day Cora would become a successful coach and manager.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, a former first-round selection (No. 18th overall) in the 1983 NHL Draft, had his once-promising career stifled by injuries and only played a total of 36 games during six seasons with the Blackhawks. He knew he wanted to stay in the game, so he started to think like a coach.

It led to a brief coaching stint with the Washington Capitals (2002-04), then through the American Hockey League before he landed back in the NHL as an assistant with the Bruins before taking over the head job with 27 games remaining in the 2016-17 season. The Bruins have enjoyed success under Cassidy and the coach hopes to one day add his name to an already impressive fraternity of championship-winning coaches/managers in Boston

Still, the thought of winning a title in this city during his first season as coach, as Cora did with his Red Sox, would’ve been mind-blowing for Cassidy.

“Here in Boston? It would’ve been heaven,” he said. “I would’ve been able to walk away and go live on a nice, sandy beach.”

Of course, he wouldn’t really walk away after winning a championship; he loves his job and the game too much. But, the idea of winning a title in Boston is something Cassidy thinks about often.

“I know it sounds cliché, but it would be a dream come true,” he said. “I’m sure it is for Alex, so good for him.”

It’s well documented across the professional sports landscape that average players often make for the best coaches. It’s also true on the flip side: true superstars often underwhelm as coaches because the game came so easy for them that it becomes a challenge to translate that to younger players.

“If you’re not a stud, you have to be a student of the game and you have to be prepared,” Cassidy said. “The manager (or coach) has to be able to trust you that you’re on top of things and you’ve got the information right. That just bleeds into coaching, eventually, because you become detailed oriented and you’re able to understand a lot of facets of the game. That’s why there are a lot of different guys, not in the star category, that have success [as coaches].”

The recent history of coaches behind the Bruins’ bench serves as a perfect example of this trend. Prior to Cassidy, Claude Julien guided the Bruins to a Stanley Cup championship in 2011, but as virtually a career minor leaguer, he finished with only 14 games played in the NHL.

Dave Lewis preceded Julien as Bruins coach and suffered through a difficult 2006-07 season in Boston. Lewis played over 1,000 games in the NHL but was not a very good head coach. Prior to Lewis, former player Mike Sullivan had success as a coach with the Bruins and eventually won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins. Sullivan played 11 years in the NHL, but cracked the 20-point barrier just once.

There are a few players on the current Bruins roster that could likely have success as a coach if they decided on that career path once their playing days are over. When asked, Cassidy quickly thought Patrice Bergeron, even though he’s a superstar, could be a successful coach one day.

“It can be stressful,” Cassidy said. “I love it, but it’s not for everybody. [Bergeron] would be one that comes to mind, for sure.

Torey Krug?

“Yeah, I could see it,” Cassidy said. “He understands all parts of the game very well. You’ve got to love the game, so that brings in [Brad Marchand], but I don’t know if Marchy has the discipline to not enjoy life so much.

“David Backes has a good understanding of the game and he likes to think the game. He’s a guy that could transition into coaching or management.”

Players also have a solid sense of which of their teammates could make the transition to the coaching ranks. Many of their choices were consistent with Cassidy’s.

“Backes would be mine,” said Bruins forward Sean Kuraly. “He pieces the game together. As far as a team, he’s good at putting together a plan for five guys. He’s smart how he sees the game. His career has been based on using his teammates to help get the job done. Someone like that can communicate well with others.”

Kuraly fits the profile of the type of player that can have success as a coach. He’s best in a bottom-six role as a grinder and agitator and can specialize on the penalty kill if needed. However, he has no plans on coaching.

“I don’t know if I would want to,” he said. “It’s hard. You have to be the bad guy sometimes, too, and I don’t know if I would want to do that. There’s always a time when you think, ‘Really? You’re yelling at me for this?’ It would be hard.”

Krug’s choice was simple.

“Selfishly, me,” he said with a smile. “I’d give myself the nod. Coaching’s a grind. Those guys put in a lot of hours, watch a lot of hockey, but it’s definitely something I’ve thought of. It depends on how long I play and how I’m feeling afterwards.”

Krug is a student of the game and he’s insightful when he discusses it. At some point during his career, he will wear a letter on his sweater full-time as either an alternate captain or captain. He has all the qualities of the type of player that could succeed as a coach, but he’s not necessarily thinking about coaching at the NHL level.

“In college, you’re shaping kids’ life, which is pretty cool. You get to teach them a lot of cool things along the way, but it’s definitely something I’ve thought of,” he said.

Players that can make that transition have an eye not only for the game, but also for those critical moments when a decision can create a turning point, or momentum swings in that team’s favor. Communication is a major factor. The best coaches are firm but genuinely respect their players, make each one of them feel important and believe in them in different ways.

“You’ve got to have the desire, too,” Krug said.

Alex Cora always had the desire and now he’s the manager of the World Series champion Red Sox. It’ll be interesting to see which former player is next.

* Associated Press

Baseball Hall of Fame to unveil new Red Sox artifacts today

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The Baseball Hall of Fame has acquired another group of artifacts from the postseason.

Among the items to go on display are a bat used by World Series MVP Steve Pearce in Game 4, a jersey worn by David Price in Game 5, game-worn glasses used by Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly during the postseason, a cap and spikes worn by Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi throughout the World Series, the ball-strike indicator used by home plate umpire Ted Barrett during Game 3 — the longest game in World Series history — and a hoodie worn by Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

The artifacts will be unveiled publicly in the Hall of Fame's Bullpen Theater on Tuesday afternoon.

Champion Red Sox return to Fenway Park with World Series trophy

BOSTON -- The World Series champion Boston Red Sox have returned to Fenway Park, carrying the championship trophy they won a night earlier.

A caravan of buses arrived at Fenway on Monday night, less than 24 hours after the Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 to win the World Series in five games, giving the organization its fourth title since 2004.

A couple of hundred fans and about a half-dozen TV cameras were waiting for the team.

Fans started cheering when the buses arrived and roared when catcher Christian Vazquez got off the second bus holding the trophy.

Manager Alex Cora got off the first bus and held his index finger aloft to acknowledge the crowd. The players grabbed their luggage and left in their vehicles -- with Brock Holt tooting his horn as he drove off. Many waved to the crowd, but none spoke.

Cora left the park wearing a gray sweatshirt with a hood over his head, walking down the street briefly unnoticed before he was followed and surrounded by about a dozen fans. He stopped a couple of times to sign autographs.

He was asked, "How does it feel to be a world champion?"

"Different," Cora said before he strolled away.

The city of Boston has planned a parade of Duck Boats for Wednesday.

Steve Pearce hit two homers and drove in three runs in the clincher, earning World Series MVP honors.

Red Sox fans celebrate latest title; parade on Wednesday

BOSTON -- In what has become a championship tradition in the city, the Red Sox will climb aboard duck boats for a parade to celebrate the team's fourth World Series title in 15 years, city officials announced Monday.

The parade Wednesday will begin at 11 a.m. at Fenway Park. The team is expected to return to Boston later Monday with the World Series trophy.

The 2018 baseball season might well go down as the year relievers became starters. But Boston flipped the script in the Fall Classic to take home the hardware.

Mayor Marty Walsh said that he expected large crowds for the parade and that traffic and parking restrictions would be in place, along with tight security. Police said alcohol would be prohibited along the parade route and no one would be allowed to carry weapons of any kind.

"We've been here before; let's act like it," Police Commissioner William Gross said.

The tradition of players climbing aboard the amphibious duck boats, one of the city's most popular tourist attractions, to celebrate championships dates back to 2004, the year the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1918.

In all, the city has had 11 sports championships since 2002, with the winning five and the Boston Celtics and each winning once during that period.

"Boston has certainly set a new tone around celebrations," Walsh said. "Maybe it's because we have a lot of them or maybe it's because of the way we conduct ourselves."

Jubilant fans, many of them college students, spilled out in the streets late Sunday and early Monday morning after the Red Sox's clinching 5-1 win over the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Boston police said the crowd was largely well-behaved, and only one arrest was reported. A 22-year-old Connecticut man was charged with malicious destruction of property after climbing a light pole and punching the plastic light fixture, causing the lens to break, officials said.

Police closed off several streets around Fenway Park. A World Series championship banner was unfurled outside it just before dawn.

A crowd of about 2,000 students also gathered to celebrate following the game at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MassLive.com reported. A spokeswoman for the university said there were no arrests and no injuries reported.

The city, however, has experienced incidents in the past during spontaneous celebrations, some leading to deaths.

In 2004, Emerson College student Victoria Snelgrove was struck in the eye with a pepper-ball pellet fired by police trying to disperse a crowd celebrating the American League Championship Series win over the Yankees. The city later paid a $5.1 million settlement to the Snelgrove family and agreed to never use that type of weapon again.

A settlement was also reached with police and the parents of David Woodman, a 22-year-old Celtics fan who stopped breathing and later died after being taken into custody on a public drinking charge during street celebrations after the team's 2008 championship.