Matt Williams On Baseball column: Time for Boston's baseball club to wake up

Feb. 27—Projected Red Sox pitching ace Eduardo Rodriguez says fans shouldn't sleep on the team as it gets ready to return to the diamond.

It's an interesting choice of words, since anyone who cares about baseball in Boston would've been better off hibernating through last summer's disaster of a season. A winter strategy that amounts to shedding payroll, trading away starting outfielders and adding middling starting pitching hasn't exactly been a trip to a Java Joe's, either.

Is there any reason for the Fenway Faithful to bother getting out of bed this spring?

Yes — and his name is Alex Cora.

The Red Sox weren't great on paper last summer, but they were a lot better than the .400 baseball they played; that's a pace for almost 100 losses in a full season. The unwatchable baseball they played came from bad starting pitching, poor effort and a lack of engagement from star sluggers.

It's a little shameful that the team didn't play harder for then-manager Ron Roenicke, seeming resigned to losses when opponents raced out to early leads. Bringing back Cora, banished last spring after Major League Baseball's investigation into sign stealing when he was with the Astros, sort of rewards the players for their malaise.

It's nevertheless the right call and a reason for Boston baseball fans to wake up.

This team is not going to sleepwalk through any games with Cora in the manager's office. He's too competitive a guy and too contagious a personality to allow the lack of fire we saw in 2020 to permeate the clubhouse again.

The team on the field is good enough to compete — and Cora has the force of will to make it.

Don't think so? When the heart of your batting order is Xander Bogaerts, Raffy Devers and J.D. Martinez, scoring runs shouldn't be an issue. Whether they bat 2-through-4 or in the 3-4-5 slots, that's a good a power trio as anybody in the American League.

Worried about the rest of the lineup? The outfield shouldn't be an issue. Alex Verdugo fairly easily replaces the shipped out Andrew Benintendi, and if he winds up leading off might be an even better table setter for the Big Three.

The platoon of Hunter Renfroe and Friends should be able to match Jackie Bradley Jr.'s not-so-mighty slugging; St. John's Prep may have a few guys capable of hitting the .239 that Bradley did. Catcher Christian Vasquez can be counted on to keep some big innings going hitting behind the mashers.

The right side of the infield is a little worrisome. OK, it might be a black hole offensively. But this isn't 2003-04, when you need nine .300-plus hitters to compete; the Sox have enough to be in the top half of the AL in runs.

So it comes down to the pitchers.

It's asking a lot for Rodriguez, with a career earned run average of 4.03, to lead a staff. Filling it out with Garrett Richards (3.62 career ERA, but he's 32 years old) and Martin Perez (4.71 career ERA) isn't great, but it's better than last year. At the very least they should get through the first few innings without the wheels falling off.

The bullpen? Tell me how Matt Barnes is going to be and I'll tell you if the Red Sox hover around .500 or actually contend for a playoff spot. He's never had double digit saves in his career, but Boston believes he can be a top tier closer. If that's true, then having Ryan Brasier and Adam Ottavino is setup roles is a fairly decent late inning arrangement.

If their view of Barnes is wrong ... look out below.

Still, the doom and gloom about baseball boss Chaim Bloom turning the operation into Tampa North is over the top ... losing Mookie Betts and aging pitchers David Price and Rick Porcello was out of his control. He should get Chris Sale back from Tommy John surgery in a few months, which may stabilize the pitching staff.

For now, he's retained the important power core of Bogaerts and Devers, a duo just about any team in baseball would be thrilled to build around. As long as those two are in Boston, it's not a complete fire sale and teardown.

If admitting that this team isn't a World Series contender is 'sleeping on them', then you can call me Rip Van Winkle. If sleeping on them, however, is expecting a 60-win season, then you need to set the alarm clock and hop out of bed.

There's enough talent to be in the mix for a wild card spot and play meaningful games in August and September. The only way Boston falls short of that is if they sleepwalk through another season ... and Cora's influence will be like blasting "Reveille" on a bugle to make sure that doesn't happen.

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You can contact Matt Williams at MWilliams@salemnews.com and follow along on Twitter @MattWilliams_SN.