​BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – AUGUST 06: Caleb Durbin #5 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates with Jarren Duran #16 and Ceddanne Rafaela #3 after hitting a walk off RBI single against the Chicago White Sox during the thirteenth inning at Fenway Park on August 06, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images) | Getty Images For years the Red Sox hoarded prospects the way my old upstairs neighbor hoarded newspapers. Piles and piles of newspapers, each one somehow too precious to part with. But after a stunning hot streak legitimately vaulted the Sox into the playoff race, the front office flipped the script. Ownership finally remembered they’re a big-market team, and pushed their chips into the middle of the table.Was Craig Breslow’s performance at the deadline a shock? You bet. Pre-deadline, I predicted in this very space that Breslow and John Henry would run back a tired line from recent years: they’d do some buying, some selling, and wait for reinforcements to return from the Injured List.In my entire life, I’ve never been so happy to be wrong.A Massive Philosophical ShiftCraig Breslow didn’t just nibble around the edges of the trade market, either; he blew up the entire narrative that Boston is afraid to make big trades. Because others have already written in depth about it, I won’t analyze what has been called the “blockbuster” trade for catcher Adley Rutschman—other than to say I’m in favor of it. I won’t lament the departure of Marcelo Mayer because personally, I never warmed up to him—but I won’t talk about that right now either. We wanted the front office to do something, and they did it. This is what doing something looks like.And it’s glorious.The front office and the clubhouse have turned what looked like a bad hand into a hot hand. Contrast where they were in June with where they stand now.What a Difference a Month MakesThey recently wrapped up a sweep of the White Sox, scoring 12 runs on Thursday and coming back five times from scoring deficits to finally win in walk-off fashion in the 13th inning. All this after having swept the Dodgers—the Dodgers! I also wrote that there was no way (I literally wrote “No way.”) that they could out-play the Dodgers. But the Red Sox showed it can be done. They provided such a teachable moment that the Cubs went and swept the Dodgers in the very next series; how about that?After the 12-11 win to sweep the White Sox, they came in hot against the Athletics, kicking off that series on the following night with a resounding 13-1 win. What happened to the team that couldn’t hit to save their lives in March, April, May, and June?They just ended a nine-game winning streak and are aiming for a tenth consecutive series victory—a feat the franchise hasn’t accomplished since 1912.This team is historic in so many ways. Let’s revel in it for a moment (again), shall we?15-Game Winning Streak: which tied the franchise record for consecutive wins, matching the ma