This thread isn't so much intended as a prediction thread as it is a place to discuss how the team's performance last year has shaped and influenced your expectations for this season and what you think the team will need to do in order to make you happy.
The Sox winning it all in 2013 was amazing, in no small part because it was both unexpected by most (certainly by me) and because it happened in the context of a really fun atmosphere and a general step forward for the organization in talent development as well as in on-field success.
In the Winter of 2012-13 I expected the Sox to struggle some in 2013 with an upside of competing for a playoff spot and then compete a bit more in 2014. If player development turned out to be aggressively successful, I expected the team to be very good in 2014 with a legitimate shot to go deep into the playoffs. If the younger players developed more slowly, I expected this level of competitiveness to emerge perhaps in 2015.
Now that the Sox went all the way in 2013 I am not quite sure how to think about this season. On the one hand, if they are second-tier competitive it'd be a disappointment compared to last year. But on the other hand, I also thought in the past that this year might be another stepping stone on the path to sustained success -- and I would have been happy with that.
The Sox winning it all in 2013 was amazing, in no small part because it was both unexpected by most (certainly by me) and because it happened in the context of a really fun atmosphere and a general step forward for the organization in talent development as well as in on-field success.
In the Winter of 2012-13 I expected the Sox to struggle some in 2013 with an upside of competing for a playoff spot and then compete a bit more in 2014. If player development turned out to be aggressively successful, I expected the team to be very good in 2014 with a legitimate shot to go deep into the playoffs. If the younger players developed more slowly, I expected this level of competitiveness to emerge perhaps in 2015.
Now that the Sox went all the way in 2013 I am not quite sure how to think about this season. On the one hand, if they are second-tier competitive it'd be a disappointment compared to last year. But on the other hand, I also thought in the past that this year might be another stepping stone on the path to sustained success -- and I would have been happy with that.