The 2014 San Francisco Giants are not the 2013 Boston Red Sox. You know it. I know it. Jake Peavy knows it.
While preparing to start Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals, Peavy was asked to compare his current Giants squad to the Red Sox club that won last year’s World Series. According to Peavy, the teams have some similarities but mostly are unique.
“It is a completely different makeup — the cast of characters — between the two bunch,” Peavy told reporters Thursday. “At the end of the day, the thing that reminds me the most about the two teams are the way they play the game. This team plays the game all out, all in, 27 outs, everything that you can give — anything that you can do to make a difference in your team winning that night. That is the concept that we as a group go out and play with. And it took us a little while.”
Peavy, whom the Red Sox acquired at the 2013 trade deadline, went 1-9 with a 4.72 ERA in 20 starts with Boston this season. He wasn’t as bad as his numbers indicate — he was victimized by a lack of run support on several occasions — but the Red Sox ultimately shipped the right-hander to the Giants in exchange for pitching prospects Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree. Peavy is set to become a free agent this offseason.
Peavy has turned his year around in a big way, going 6-4 with a 2.17 ERA in 12 starts with San Francisco. The 33-year-old earned the nod for Friday’s series opener against the Nats after Madison Bumgarner guided the Giants into the NLDS with a gem in Wednesday’s NL wild card game.
The Giants’ participation in October baseball isn’t stunning. San Francisco has won two World Series titles in four seasons (2010, 2012). But the Giants hit a rough patch in June and July, forcing Bruce Bochy’s bunch to dig deep, something the Red Sox did all last season.
“I certainly have a great taste in my mouth, in watching a team that maybe wasn’t the favorite, wasn’t the most talented team, find a way to win a world championship,” Peavy said. “I don’t think anybody is picking us at this point in time to do much of anything. You know, but this bunch believes in ourselves. We have a group of guys in here battle tested. Not going to be afraid of any moment, any big situation. It was the same last year.
“There are similarities, a lot of differences as well. The mindset, and the attitude that the team plays with is a lot the same, which is comforting to know.”
The 2014 Giants aren’t the 2013 Red Sox. They are their own team, looking to carve out their own legacy.
Photo via H.Darr Beiser/USA TODAY Sports Images
