Point-counterpoint: Can Red Sox avoid another second half collapse this time around?

A -game winning streak has Red Sox fans energized about the second half of the season Herald beat writers Mac Cerullo and Gabrielle Starr break down the company s chances to secure a playoff spot Starr The - Red Sox return from the All-Star break in current times having finished the first half in peak form a -game winning streak their longest since and back-to-back-to-back sweeps of the Nationals Rockies and Rays four games In the final week before the break they won multiple one-run games something they struggled to do for greater part of the spring and Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet pitched the first complete games of their respective careers Really it s just been a blast which frankly you can t say about the majority of the last several Red Sox seasons But now the Red Sox are about to be tested in a big way And historically the post-All-Star break malaise has been killer They held a Wild Card going into the break last year too and then it all fell apart when they returned They haven t completed a winning season since the last time they snuck into the playoffs in the final year of the two-team Wild Card format Related Articles OBF Super Sox soaring into the second half with renewed hope Red Sox Midseason Record Card Roman Anthony other rookies earn high marks Red Sox Midseason Assessment Card Garrett Crochet passes with flying colors MLB Draft Red Sox load up on pitching select college arms MLB Draft Red Sox select RHP Kyson Witherspoon with No pick Cerullo It s striking how similar a spot the Red Sox are in compared to last year This time last season the club was - and a season-best games over They had just finished a huge series win over a top playoff contender the Royals and held one of the three AL Wild Card spots just as they do now But things pretty much went straight down the tubes as soon as the break ended with the club getting swept out of the gate by the Dodgers before injuries started piling up in the bullpen Tough road ahead Cerullo The schedule isn t going to do the Red Sox any favors this year either Coming out of the break the club is set to face the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies on the road followed by the Dodgers at Fenway Park All three teams are first in their respective National League divisions so we re going to find out right away if this latest Red Sox run is the real deal Starr That west coast trip right after the break last year was a real punch in the gut especially the way those games in Los Angeles went And then they went to Colorado and lost two of three to the Rockies who were on their way to a - finish You re right this is arguably a far tougher gauntlet according to Tankathon only the Rockies and Reds have higher Strength of Schedule numbers than Boston whose remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage Two of their remaining six road trips take them all the way out to California too and they re both within the span of a month But I think this is also a tougher Red Sox organization in that they ve shown a lot of fight lately and they re deeper than last year Cerullo That s the key By this point last season the Red Sox were already going on more than a bullpen battle a week and once Justin Slaten and Chris Martin got hurt the whole house of cards fell apart This year they ve only used a true opener once and Craig Breslow has already made a couple of under the radar bullpen additions that have proven helpful Starr That being stated how far this group can go will still depend on what else the front office does before the bargain deadline Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan has been speculated as a prospective Red Sox deal target ahead of the upcoming exchange deadline AP Photo Abbie Parr How aggressive will Sox be at deadline Cerullo I think we can both agree the Red Sox will be buyers Breslow has been pretty adamant about that dating back to the Rafael Devers arrangement and now that they ve won straight it would be crazy to stand pat or sell So what do you think should be at the top of Breslow s wish list Starr Starting pitching has been the common thread in each of Boston s four championships this century You can never have too much rotation depth and with Hunter Dobbins done for the year and Tanner Houck being a question mark it seems like an obvious need A big bat certainly wouldn t hurt especially since the Red Sox no longer have Devers for their two series left against the Yankees I bet Gerrit Cole loved that arrangement Cerullo One thing I ve really appreciated is we haven t heard any talk of Houck coming back as selected kind of arrangement deadline boost or really anything at all about Patrick Sandoval Starr Remember in when the Red Sox tried to frame Trevor Story and Chris Sale coming off the injured list as the same thing as adding at the deadline They really tried to sell that and no one bought it Cerullo Sale s annual second half return almost became a running gag by the end Starr Remember in August when Alex Cora basically commented Sale didn t need a rehab assignment because the Red Sox were playing the Orioles who ended up finishing the season - Sale struck out with one hit and no walks over five shutout innings then didn t pitch again until Sept The Red Sox may be deeper than they were last year but they definitely don t have the bandwidth to let any of their starters get that much rest Cerullo No so if the Red Sox only do one thing at the deadline bringing in a credible No starter to slot in behind Garrett Crochet is key We ve heard plenty of talk about Minnesota s Joe Ryan and he d be a perfect candidate but there are plenty of other options as well Washington s MacKenzie Gore would be a home run and a rental like Arizona s Zac Gallen would be worthwhile too As far as bats Josh Naylor and Rhys Hoskins would both provide specific badly needed power in the heart of the lineup Both would be rentals though Hoskins is hurt so that would make him a bit more like Kyle Schwarber in where the probable payoff comes later Starr One thing no amount of analytics can guarantee unfortunately is how well a competitor will do post-trade Schwarber turned out to be phenomenal and every time I see him hit another bomb for the Phillies I wonder what the last several Red Sox seasons would have looked like with his bat in the lineup I d describe Breslow s attempt to bolster the bullpen last summer as more than half-hearted but definitely below full throttle The Red Sox parted with specific top prospects to get Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia who had been very solid for their previous teams Not only did they both fall apart here they truly went on the IL within about two hours of each other on the same day Cerullo Breslow definitely has to aim higher this year They have plenty of depth now they need specific dudes Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is on pace to blow past his career-high in innings pitched Can he avoid running out of steam down the stretch Matt Stone Boston Herald Biggest questions Cerullo So I feel like this year s band is much better equipped to make a strong playoff push down the stretch than the past sparse seasons but baseball is a tough sport and something could inevitably go wrong If there s one thing the Red Sox should worry about with this group what do you think that would be Starr This roster has so several rookies so I like the idea of adding players with postseason experience They did that during the offseason by signing Alex Bregman and Walker Buehler though the latter is another big question mark for the second half Winning in Boston is also definitely its own unique thing and the only participant who d in fact done that is now playing in San Francisco Cerullo I think Roman Anthony Marcelo Mayer and Carlos Narvaez have all done a great job as rookies but you re right the season is a grind and we have no idea how they ll hold up as the calendar turns to August and September My biggest concern is related but deals with someone else Crochet has been outstanding but he s already nearly surpassed his career-high in innings pitched having thrown after throwing last year the year before and none in If there s anyone who is built to carry an ace s workload it s Crochet but he s entering uncharted territory and the Red Sox absolutely cannot afford for him to run out of steam Starr I vividly remember us discussing Crochet s usage before last year s deadline when the White Sox were listening to offers and the Red Sox were linked to him Since Crochet got to Boston during the offseason he s spoken a lot about not wanting to be on a leash his words in the second half but we ve already seen the occasional load management championship plan for him such as his May start when Cora pulled him after innings and pitches However as we noted earlier an athlete s wellness can turn on a dime So really one of the only avenues to protect Crochet is to bolster the rotation around him Cerullo And even if Crochet keeps it up there s no guarantee that Brayan Bello or Lucas Giolito will keep pitching at the level they have in the past few days Starr There never are any guarantees really If there were baseball would be pretty dull Cerullo Ain t that the truth Jarren Duran of the Boston Red Sox puts the Wally head on Roman Anthony after Anthony's two-run homer during the fifth inning of a MLB event against the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park Photo By Matt Stone Boston Herald