2013 World Series

I don't really have a ton to say about this one, but I'm glad I finally watched it. 2013 seems not only like it was a long time ago, but I was barely able to pay attention to the incredible Red Sox postseason run. (I spent most of October getting married or going on my honeymoon.) This DVD retrospective started the way the 2013 season did - with the Boston Marathon bombings in mid-April. Hey, it makes sense. The bombings - and really more so the response to the bombings (#BostonStrong) - went a long way toward shaping the narrative of the season and the playoff run.

The rest of that narrative? Well, Ortiz batted .688 in the World Series, which was insane. Shane Victorino had the best WAR on the team in the regular season, which is easy to forget now since he absolutely fell apart from 2014 onward. Jonny Gomes was - ugh, I hate to say it - maybe just maybe the heart and soul of the team, or at least its goofy mascot. (Everyone on the team growing a ridiculous beard was his idea, and he definitely injected some life and personality into the team with his dumb antics.) Xander Bogaerts had some big moments as a 21-year old. Stephen Drew was there. Jacoby Ellsbury was there. Saltalamacchia was there. Oh, and Mike Napoli - another guy whose contributions are easy to forget with hindsight since he struggled so badly after the magical 2013 season. Hell, even Dustin Pedroia  has struggled pretty badly in the aftermath of the 2013 season. This team really seemed to catch lightning in a bottle, capitalizing on late-career peak seasons from a handful of guys.

On the pitching side, there was the emergence of Koji Uehara (lights out closer who was never supposed to pitch on back-to-back days when the season started), the redemption of John Lackey (great season and postseason in his final year of a tumultuous stint with the Red Sox) and maybe even the early brilliance of Clay Buchholz (sub-2.00 ERA before getting  shelved for most of the season with some ailment or another). And of course, there was ace Jon Lester in his final full season with the team.

Also, this was Farrell's first season with the team. And they never lost more than three games in a row at any point, which is absolutely crazy.

It was a great year and I still can't really believe it happened. It stands alone as an island of sorts in a sea of rough times for the Sox, who otherwise haven't won a playoff game since 2008. And that trend looks to continue since they're 7-8 so far this year with more cause for concern than optimism. Oh well! We'll always have 2013. (And, more importantly, 2004. And '07 for good measure.)