Could Houston and Boston meet in the playoffs for the third

year in a row?"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Houston Astros NewsGame ThreadsHouston Astros Minor LeaguesAstros Game DayPodcastsThe AL Rest Matt Adams Jersey , Part 4: How Do the 2019 Red Sox Compare to the Astros? New,9commentsCould Houston and Boston meet in the playoffs for the third year in a row?CDTShareTweetShareShareThe AL Rest, Part 4: How Do the 2019 Red Sox Compare to the Astros? Troy Taormina-USA TODAY SportsNow that we’ve covered the three non-rebuilding teams in the AL West, why don’t we move on to the other big names in the American League that will be in conflict with the Astros in 2019? And what better interdivisional opponent to focus on first than the one that’s faced the Astros in the postseason for two years running, the Boston Red Sox. The Boston Red Sox2018 in ReviewThe Red Sox rolled through the season, breaking a 106-year-old franchise record with 108 wins, more than all but a handful of teams throughout history and the most anyone has managed since the Mariners’ record-setting 2001. They turned that dominance into an 11-3 postseason that saw them capture the team’s ninth World Series title, tied for third-most in MLB history.What’s New in 2019Almost all of the core players from 2018 will be back this year. The single biggest exception is probably closer Craig Kimbrel, who’s still a free agent but could conceivably come back. The bullpen depth behind him is also thinner, with set-up man Joe Kelly heading to the Dodgers and swingman Drew Pomeranz going to the Giants. Neither was great in 2018, but they’ve both been really good as recently as 2017 (and Kelly seemed fine in the postseason, at least). Swingman knuckleballer Steven Wright will also be missing half of the season on a PED suspension.On the flipside, midseason acquisition Nathan Eovaldi will be sticking around for a full season. Fellow midseason pickups Ian Kinsler and Brandon Phillips are gone, however. Outside of Eovaldi, the closest thing to a significant signing the Red Sox added this winter were a bunch of minor league deals. The most notable of those is probably Jenrry Meija, the once-promising Mets closer who has thrown just 7.1 innings in the majors (and only 20.1 counting the minors) over the past four seasons due to repeated PED suspensions. In fact, he was the first player to draw a permanent suspension under MLB’s drug testing policy, but is back following appeals for reinstatement. Who knows how good he’ll be after four years Kevin Long Jersey , but it’s interesting if nothing else.Key Players in 2019Since the team is largely the same as the 2018 version, and most of the players are still young, expect to see a lot of the same stars leading the way this year. Chief among them is reigning AL MVP Mookie Betts. Some regression is likely just because of how good he was last year (both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference WAR have it at over 10 wins), but there’s still a lot of room to be worse than that and still be All-Star level, so the Sox should be fine either way there.Similarly, the top of the rotation is set with Chris Sale, who has finished in the top-five in Cy Young voting for the last six years running. And while David Price hasn’t looked totally like the Cy Young winner he once was since signing with Boston, he’s still an above-average starter, and forms a formidable 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Eovaldi help round out an overall pretty strong rotation.Back on the offensive side of things, J.D. Martinez has found another gear the last two years, and had a career year in 2018 at age 30. Even if age keeps him from repeating that mark, Xander Bogaerts and Andrew Benintendi are both still young and above-average starters with the potential for more, and 22-year-old Rafael Devers is still early enough in his career to fulfill that early potential he showed in his first call-up two years ago.Really, if there are any weaknesses on this team, they’re in the depth. The bottom-third of the lineup seems pretty weak (which could suddenly become a much bigger problem if there’s an injury, or Devers and Jackie Bradley Jr. struggle to hit again) http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey , and the bullpen has gotten even sparser after being mediocre last year (up until the postseason, that is). How do they measure up to the Astros?This is a little tougher question than it is for divisional rivals. The only way the Red Sox will be competing directly with the Astros for a playoff spot is in the Wild Card standings. The Red Sox might need that, given the strength of the best AL East teams, but no one in the AL West looks as good as even the Rays, let alone the Yankees. And even in the playoffs, there’s a less-than one-in-three chance of facing the Red Sox in the Division Series.There’s no sense in worrying about October right this second, though. I think these two teams are close, but I would definitely take the Astros to go further in the postseason (if only because they’re less likely to need to go through the Wild Card round). And while it’s hard for me to totally separate this ranking from my biases as a fan, I also think they’re the stronger team going into this year as well. The Red Sox had a lot go right last year, while the Astros had a lot go wrong, yet they still only came out five games apart. And that’s not even getting into the fact that the two’s Pythagorean records were actually flipped (the Astros’ run differential had them at 109 wins, while the Red Sox were at 103). Plus, it feels like Houston made more moves to improve this offseason, while Boston felt like they were mostly just treading water and left some spots on their roster feeling slightly thin. It’s not the lopsided comparison that we saw with the other AL West teams, but I still like the Astros’ odds in 2019 versus one of the strongest teams they’ll be up against. If hired as general manager of the New York Mets, Doug Melvin likely would keep Mickey Callaway as manager.The former Texas and Milwaukee GM has his second interview Tuesday with the Mets, meeting with owner Fred Wilpon and his son, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon. Agent Brodie Van Wagenen and Tampa Bay senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom are also finalists for the job.Callaway replaced Terry Collins after the 2017 season and the team started 11-1 Ryan Zimmerman Jersey , then was hobbled by injuries and finished fourth in the NL East at 77-85.“My feeling is that he probably deserves a chance to do this again,” Melvin said during a telephone news conference. “I want to sit down if I get this job and talk extensively with Mickey and see his philosophy and that. But I think he does probably deserve a chance because he’s been a good baseball guy.”Sandy Alderson was hired as Mets general manager in October 2010 but took a leave of absence in July when he had a recurrence of cancer and said the team’s poor record did not justify him returning. The team’s baseball decisions have been made since by the trio of assistant general manager John Ricco and special assistants Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi, all reporting to the Wilpons.“I’ve been given the freedom to, if I want to bring people in,” Melvin said. “But I don’t want to jump to conclusions that I’m going to go and get rid of a bunch of people and go and bring in 10 people that I know.”Now 66, Melvin was general manager of Texas from 1994-01 and of Milwaukee from 2002-2015. He shifted to an adviser’s role in August 2015 as the Brewers were headed to a 64-98 record, saying then: “The job has grown to the point that it’s probably suited to somebody younger than me.”“That’s probably how I felt at that particular time,” he said Tuesday. “But now that I’ve taken a little bit of a break from the day-to-day activities, I’m energized and excited at the challenges.”Melvin said he showed the Mets a 2010 article in which he predicted relievers would be used as starters in the major leagues. As early as 2004, he said, he was contemplating using relievers to start games in the low minors.He would increase the Mets’ analytics staff, which has three full-time employees.“I don’t believe you can go 100 percent analytics and I don’t believe you can go 100 percent scouting, player development without analytics,” Melvin said. “I don’t know the whole analytics staff, but it can be probably improved up upon and maybe staffed up a little bit.”Melvin detailed how he would fit in under the Wilpons.“They gave me the authority that if I was the chosen one to make the decisions that I thought was in the best interest of the organization,” he said. “I told them I would never allow ownership to be caught off guard with anything, pick up the paper and see that we signed somebody that they didn’t know about.”