The Astros are good. The Red Sox have learned this firsthand over the last couple of weeks, over which they’ve gone 1-5 against Houston, with another chance to lose Thursday. In the longer term, it looks, yet again, like getting to the AL pennant will run through the Astros in some way, and right now the Sox are not prepared to beat them.
If they are Boston’s boogeymen, the Sox are in good company. While Yankees fans still have choice words for Sox fans in and around the tri-state area (hello), their hatred for the Astros is palpable, and their hatred is encouraged by the team.