Joe Maddon is one of the most highly-respected managers in baseball, and given how much time Chaim Bloom spent with him in Tampa, you can believe there were some lessons he gleaned from the skipper.
Among them: Be patient.
September has been a tumultuous month for the Boston Red Sox as they fight for a playoff spot. There have been some really nice stretches, most of them in yellow uniforms, but also some down stretches that have prevented them from taking a stranglehold on the American League Wild Card race.
The entire time, the Red Sox have known that they are a playoff-caliber team, and staying the course has been key to putting themselves in position.
"One thing that (Maddon) would say, usually in the context of individual players, is, 'Don't let it get away. Stay with it and eventually it comes back to you,'" Bloom, the Red Sox chief baseball officer, said Friday, via The Boston Globe. "That's so important to the players and it's important to us, too."
Right now, the Red Sox are riding a little higher. They beat the Washington Nationals on Friday night, putting them in sole possession of the second wild card spot. They trail the New York Yankees for the top spot by one game, but are ahead of the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays by one game. The Sox control their own destiny, so if they win their next two games, they will play in the Wild Card game.
Coincidentally, the Red Sox need Maddon now more than ever, as his Los Angeles Angels are in Seattle facing the Mariners. The Angels beating the Mariners on Friday night put Boston in control of its own destiny, but more victories over the next two days can help secure the Sox's playoff chances.
