QUOTE (Middle Buffalo @ Oct 22, 2015 -> 12:22 AM)
July 31, the Mets were 53-50. They added Cespedes and took off.
Toronto was 53-51. They added Price & Tulo.
Texas was 50-52. They added Hamels.
The Sox were 49-52. They did not add, but it's not inconceivable that Sale would remain dominant, Q would run into some luck and get some wins, and Shark would have a strong second half. If LaRoche, Melky and a few others play to their lifetime averages (which means getting hot for a few months), the Sox aren't as far out of it as they ended up.
Going forward, you have to hope Rodon continues to improve, and maybe Fulmer shows up and is as good as 2015 Rodon. That would put the Sox staff on par with the Mets. If they can add a few dynamic bats, who knows, maybe the Sox make a run next year. Baseball, like football and hockey, seems to be about getting hot toward the end of the season and making a playoff run.
The Blue Jays were one of the best teams in baseball even before those moves the results just hadn't caught up to how they were actually playing on the field which happens sometimes in baseball. I do think those trades helped ignite the team on a hot streak though but Toronto even before those moves was significantly more talented than the White Sox. While people like to bring up the Mets adding Cespedes as the reason for the turnaround they really essentially turned over half their lineup at the deadline or around the deadline as they also got Wright back from injury in August, d'Arnaud finally got healthy at that time and they brought up Conforto.