BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox were destroyed in the first two games of their series against the Indians, and they called a team meeting here Saturday.
Momentum in a short series like this can turn with one swing, one play, one pitch, and if the Red Sox seize the lead early in Game 3, backed by the Fenway Park crowd, the pressure could shift to the Indians quickly. As the Red Sox went through their workout here Saturday, they were loose and chatty, with David Price taking ground balls at second base, Chris Young challenging teammate Mookie Betts to catch two balls flipped to him with the same hand — apparently Young has a special talent for this — and third-base coach Brian Butterfield good-naturedly cajoling his third basemen to barehand bouncers hit in front of them and complete throws to first.
The journey of the 2016 Red Sox could go on, but it's also possible that this will be the last day of Boston's season, and the 2,493rd and final game of David Ortiz's career.
For big-market teams like the Red Sox, the offseason almost always is a time of major turnover. But the 2017 unit won't have many changes; the core will remain in place, other than the retiring Ortiz.