I'll be honest, I've taken the bait a lot in my baseball life. I've fallen in love, at times, with terms like the 'future,' and 'sustainable organizations,' and 'competitive windows.'

The buzzwords have resonated with me. I am normally prospect hoarder. I hate the idea of giving up several future good players for an ill-fated run with a current big-leaguer. I'm generally nervous about being burned.

Remember when the White Sox traded Fernando Tatis Jr. for James Shields? Case and point.

However, last offseason, when the Boston Red Sox sent Kyle Teel, Wikelmen Gonzalez, Braden Montgomery and Chase Meidroth to the Chicago White Sox for Garrett Crochet, I was all-in. It was a deviance from the norm for me.

I saw the Red Sox as an immediate contender and I saw Crochet as a difference-making piece in the rotation. He had two years of team control left, giving the organization multiple bites at the apple. He was young (25), and he didn't have much tread on the tires. He'd already had Tommy John surgery, making pending injury less of a concern.

When Boston gave him a six-year extension in April, I was even more giddy, given that they'd have even more chances to win, and that the chances for success would only heighten as Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer developed.

An 18-5 regular season with a 2.59 ERA should have had everyone else buying in too, but on Tuesday night, he put any remaining worries to bed with a dominant postseason outing against the New York Yankees in game one of the wild card series at Yankee Stadium. 

Crochet made history, becoming just the fifth pitcher in team history to have 10+ strikeouts in a playoff game. His 11 K's tied for the most ever in a Red Sox playoff debut, and the Red Sox won 3-1.

Crochet subdued the powerful New York lineup for 7.2 innings, giving up just one run and no walks. He hit 100 mph on his final pitch of the night, number 117, a number that pitchers just don't hit anymore.

And he did it all in the one of the most hostile environments in the sport.

If that's not an ace, I don't know what it is.

When they acquired him, it could have been seen as a risk. But after what we saw this season, and again on Tuesday night, the Red Sox clearly made the right decision to reinvest their future in him, rather than waiting for four more prospects to develop.

Boston is just win away from advancing to the American League Division Series and should they get there, that decision will be on display once again.

CROCHET, CHAPMAN FUEL GAME 1 WIN: The Red Sox got a big hit from Masataka Yoshida to beat the Yankees in Game 1, but the pitching of Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman really cemented the deal. CLICK HERE: 

GETTING AGGRESSIVE: With multiple pitchers set to leave in free agency or need time recovering from injury, the Red Sox are expected to heavily pursue pitching in the offseason. CLICK HERE: 

THE STREAK: Ten years in the league, nine years in the playoffs. Welcome to the life of Alex Bregman. CLICK HERE: 

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