Before the Red Sox dig in to begin the so-called “second half” (98 games down, 64 to go) Friday afternoon against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, please, if you will, allow for one more look back.
Because what happened with the Red Sox before the All-Star break — 10 consecutive wins, capped with a four-game sweep of division rival Tampa Bay — was special beyond a standard torrid midsummer hot streak. And it needs to inform how Craig Breslow and ownership proceed from here.
Three of those wins against the Rays — Ceddanne Rafaela’s Manny-style, Monster Seats-clearing walkoff on Friday night, masterful Garrett Crochet’s shutout Saturday, and Brayan Bello’s Sunday gem, punctuated with a standing ovation days after Alex Cora, seeming more like a proud dad than a manager, removed him in the seventh inning — still echo off the walls of Fenway Park, days after they happened.