A father nestled in the heart of Red Sox Nation
corresponds with a son trapped in the shadow of the Evil Empire.
This morning at my weekly softball game, I was surrounded by kindred spirits longing for a gift from the baseball gods.
"The Mets can still pull this off, right?" they asked me pleadingly.
I didn't know what to tell them.
I've been following the unprecedented collapse of the 2007 New York Mets with some interest over the past several weeks. On September 13, the Red Sox were 5.5 games ahead of the Yankees in the East. On that same date, the Mets were 6.5 games up on the Phillies.
Less than three weeks later, the Sox have the best record in the bigs and are preparing to host the Angels at home. The Mets, on the other hand, are simply going home.
Others in the national media mocked the cautious optimism of Red Sox Nation, who almost to a man refused to accept victory until it was mathematically assured. We do this because we have been burned before. Just as the Mets were this year.
If the tide had been turned for three more games, that could have been us.
So enjoy, Sox fans. Mets fans here are miserable, compounded by the agony of having obnoxious Yankee fans rubbing the injury in their face on an hourly basis. And in their time of need, I'm not sure what to offer them.
Don't take these playoff games for granted, friends. What befell the Mets could have easily befallen us. Hopefully the Sox will make the most of the playoff opportunity.
It's never easy for these Red Sox. Close but yet so far. They can't lose the division now when they are so close, can they? It's not as important that they win as that they don't lose. They've come too far to let the Yankmees overtake them yet again. To do so will subject us to another year of New York taunting if the Sox happen to get off to another lead next year. I for one do not look forward to that.
That being said, it really doesn't matter since they are in the "tournament" as Kevin in New York likes to say. So who will emerge as the big hero for the Sox in the postseason?
We all remember 2004. As that season wound down, Derek Lowe was buried so far in the Sox doghouse, you needed the jaws of life to pry him out. He was banished to the bullpen, where most of us figured he would quietly sit out his final days in a Red Sox uniform.
Well, as we all know, that was not exactly what happened. DLowe ended up being the darling of the postseason, winning the clinching game in all three playoff series. Who will be this year's top performer? Here in reverse order are my top three candidates.
3. Manny Ramirez. Sure it's not going out on a limb to tab Manny as a potential hero. He won the World Series MVP in 2004 and is not exactly going to sneak up on anyone. However, he is coming off a tricky injury and going into this week, hadn't played in a month. But it is the latter that I feel makes him a top candidate to catch fire. He needed the rest and has looked rejuvenated since coming back into the lineup. It would not surprise me to see him take off and carry this team for the month of October.
2. Clay Buchholtz. Also known as "the Secret Weapon", look for the rookie righthander to step up big time in the playoffs. The Sox have played this one nicely. They have kept him under wraps under the guise of limiting his innings, and that may be true. But I think the real reason was the Sox wanted to unleash him in the playoffs with as little history as possible. For a couple of weeks, he may be able to baffle some teams who will not have an extensive library of videotape on him. It's no secret that the Sox continue to apply the Patriot Way in their quest for another championship, and this move is typically Belichickian. (see, Moss, Randy). If it works out, Buchholz could be the eighth inning answer and perform a similar role to that of KRod for the Angels in their run to the 2002 World Championship.
1. Curt Schilling. My top choice to come up huge in the post season is old 38 Pitches. While he has not fallen to DLowian depths this year, he has clearly fallen into the "average" category. Why else would the Sox be debating whether to use Dice K or Schilling in game 2?
They can't be serious. Schill has been the Sox best pitcher in September and has succeeded in reinventing himself from the power pitcher he was to a pinpoint location pitcher. Add to that his extensive post season experience and success, and making him the number two guy is a no brainer.
Please spare me the great feats of Dice K. The Japanese High School Tournament? The World Baseball Classic? Pulleeease. Those may be "big games" but they are not "BIG GAMES", like oh, I don't know, say GAME SEVEN OF THE WORLD SERIES!!!! Yeah I think Curt qualifies as a big game pitcher and I know Tito understands that.
It says here that Schill comes out and personally carries this pitching staff in October. He has done it before and will do it again. First of all he relishes the big stage. Secondly, he needs this to propel him to another contract...with the Sox preferably, but with someone ultimately. He promised to bring a championship to Boston but I think he has a good chance to bring us another one.
So let's go Sox. Wrap up this Division thing so we can get on with the games that really matter.
I had a dream the other night. A vision, if you will.
I found myself alone in a pristine white clubhouse, baseball equipment peacefully resting in every corner and crisp white home uniforms hung in every locker.
As my eyes adjusted to the scene, the door at the far end of the room swung open and the room was filled with light. A tall man in a baseball uniform with a bat over his left shoulder stood with his back to me, a squared "9" radiating in red on his back.
He turned and saw me. My jaw dropped as I stared in stunned silence at the legend. He crossed the room and looked me up and down with a disdainful air. He turned and spit; his saliva was absorbed instantly into the clean floor and left nary a mark. With a carefully calculated and disdainful tone, he began to speak to me.
"It came to pass, when Red Sox fans began to multiply across the country from coast to coast, that these people saw the Sox were good; and they took the team as their own to form Red Sox Nation.
"And we, the storied past of the franchise, saw that the inconstancy of the fan was great in the Nation, and that the bandwagon runneth over with pink hats. And it repented the legends of the franchise that we had made Red Sox Nation, and it grieved us at our hearts.
"And we legends said, 'We will destroy the Nation whom we have created from the face of the earth; both die-hard, and pink-hat, and the aged, and the young; for it repenteth us that we have made them."
He paused as his features momentarily softened.
"But you found grace in the eyes of the legends."
My mouth ran dry and I was lost for words; fortunately, his face hardened quickly and he continued at a more rapid pace.
"We have looked upon the fanbase, and, behold, it is corrupt; for all fans care more about 'Sox Appeal' and the President of Red Sox Nation than the play upon the field. And we say unto you, the end of all pink-hats is come before us; for the Nation is filled with bandwagoners; and behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of misery and bad luck to the team, to destroy all happiness and joy from the Nation, and every trace of pleasure will be taken from the Red Sox fans."
"What do you mean?" I finally interrupted. "Bad luck? Destroyed happiness? I don't understand...are you telling me you're going to make the Red Sox lose?"
He nodded sadly. "Not only will they lose, but they will lose in devestating fashion. Crippling losses, like those which have dotted this franchise for the better part of a century, will obliterate all hopes of a championship. New heartbreak will be piled upon the old."
"But why?" I begged, searching for a reprieve. "Why must we suffer this losing? Didn't we pay our dues during the final eight decades of the last century?"
The hardened figure's head drooped low as he resignedly nodded his head. "Yes, this franchise has already paid a debt," he began. "The account had been cleared. But that suffering and devestation served a much more important purpose - the Red Sox fan came to be known as the smartest and most impassioned fan in the country, solely because the abundance of losing served to deter any casual fans from supporting the Olde Towne Team. A sort of natural selection of true baseball fans, if you will.
"Unfortunately, that natural selection has been overrun in the past three years. We knew the team would become popular, but we never expected so many people would adopt this team just to be trendy. This is why the 2003 team had to lose - the 'Cowboy Up' gang was just too popular, and if they took home a World Championship, the Sox would be trapped in the mainstream for years and years to come."
My stomach dropped as I understood what was happening. "So you're telling me the Sox will lose this year simply to drive away bandwagon fans?"
"Not just this year, unfortunately," he replied. "The losing will continue, each more devestating than the last, until only true Red Sox fans remain."
"But that could take years!" I blurted.
"Yes, it could. And it will."
"And there is no other way?"
"None."
"Well if you're telling me for a fact that this team won't win for years to come, then why should I stick with them?"
At this, a smile finally cracked his face.
"For the same reason as all those Red Sox fans of the twentieth century - because it is your destiny."
"But be strong, and you will be rewarded," he said as he made his way back to the door. "A day will come where the Red Sox are no longer trendy. When the passionate baseball fans of yesteryear will replace the Johnny-come-latelies in the stands of that lyric little bandbox in Kenmore Square. When marketing will be unnecessary, and the game itself will be the one and only necessary selling point."
He stepped into the light and the door began to close behind him.
"But what about this year?" I shouted after him. "Can they pull it off?"
He poked his head back out just long enough to meet my desperate eyes. That smile once again crept across his face, as if he knew a joke that he wasn't willing to share. After a moment, he pulled his head out of my view and closed the door behind him.
As the Sox continue to stumble to the finish line, everybody is desperately searching for a scapegoat. Reading game threads on the Sons of Sam Horn or listening to talk radio, it's apparent that everyone is zeroing in on manager Terry Francona as the reason for the recent death spiral.
Looking at it objectively, there is simply no justification for blaming Tito.
Look, Tito drives me crazy some times when he rests Pedroia, probably the guy on the team who needs rest the least, or when he refuses to play small ball when it is obvious his popgun offense is on life support. But overall, I stand by what I said early this year: Tito is the best manager the Sox have had since Dick Williams in 1967.
And blaming him for what has transpired over the past month is simply illogical. Here are 11 reasons you can't blame Tito for the current Sox struggles.
You can't blame Tito for:
1. Manny being hurt/being Manny (take your pick). The Sox are 11-11 since the Slugger Savant went down. Unless you want to say Tito snuck into Manny's room in New York and pulled his oblique with his bare hands, it's tough to lay this one on him.
2. Youk getting hurt. The Sox are 1-4 since Youk went down after being hit. I've checked the replay many times. Tito was not pitching when Youk got plunked.
3. Big Papi's knee. When David Ortiz's knee pain eased up, he went on a homer tear. When the injury flared up again, Papi went into a slump. Not Tito's fault.
4. Eric Gagne being a fat steaming lump of dung. Theo pulled the string on this one (which EVERYONE in Red Sox nation cheered). It's not Tito's fault that the bespectacled one has personally blown four games.
5. Dice K hitting the wall. Tito tried to limit his pitches early in the year but was ridiculed for it since "Dice K always throws a lot of pitches." Well, guess what. The Dice man has never played a season this long, and you are seeing the results. Again, not Tito's fault.
6. Hideki Okijima running out of gas. You could make a case that Oki was used too much in the early going, but look back at Tito's alternatives at the time. Timlin was hurt. Delcarmen was blowing games in the minors and Joel Piniero was being groomed as a set up guy. What would YOU have done?
7. Coco Crisp getting hurt. Crisp had turned into the player we thought we were getting last year but the back injury brought him to a standstill. Tito's fault?
8. The sucking of JD Drew. This is Theo's albatross, but Tito has to inhale the stench every day when he makes out the lineup card. If Manny comes back for the playoffs and Tito pencils in Drew instead of Ellsbury, THEN I will join you in booing Tito.
9. Julio Lugo not hustling. Bad enough he's dragging around that .235 average of his. No excuse for not hustling in the game in Toronto. If he beats out the grounder, the whole complexion of the game changes. Again, this one is on Julio, not Tito.
10. Tim Wakefield getting hurt. Wake was on an unhittable run until his 41 year old body turned on him. He has given up 26 hits and sports a 12.08 ERA in 12 2/3 innings in three September starts. How is that Tito's fault?
11. Jonathan Papelbon turning into Heathcliff Slocumb. The unhittable Mr. Pap has just coughed up two leads in a row. Who would have predicted that? Certainly not Tito.
So to summarize. An already Punch and Judy lineup is ravaged by injury and Tito must insert some combination of Eric Hinske, Bobby Kielty, Kevin Cash, Brandon Moss et all to fill out a nine man batting order. A solid starting rotation disintegrated before his eyes as Wake got hurt and Dice K hit the wall. The strength of his team, one of the best bullpens in baseball, implodes in shocking fashion.
So explain to me again how any of that is Tito's fault?
Let me help you. It isn't.
Are we close enough for you yet?
If the Sox go 10-0, they win the East.
If the Sox go 9-1, they win the East.
If the Sox go 8-2, the Yankees need to go 11-0 to tie.
If the Sox go 7-3, the Yankees need to go 10-1 to tie.
If the Sox go 6-4, the Yankees need to go 9-2 to tie.
If the Sox go 5-5, the Yankees need to go 8-3 to tie.
If the Sox go 4-6, the Yankees need to go 7-4 to tie.
If the Sox go 3-7, the Yankees need to go 6-5 to tie.
If the Sox go 2-8, the Yankees need to go 5-6 to tie.
If the Sox go 1-9, the Yankees need to go 4-7 to tie.
If the Sox go 0-10, the Yankees need to go 3-8 to tie.
If they can phone in the rest of the regular season, so can I.
Ho hum. Another series with the Yankees. Another lost series with the Yankees. If the Sox wanted to gear it up for the playoffs, they should have started this weekend. They didn't. But all things considered, all the news was not bad coming out of another lost weekend to the Bombers.
Despite the weekend's disappointing outcome, the Sox will still probably win the division. Although after serving up a disgusting Monday Night White Flag Special (Cora, Hinske, Cash and another Wakefield meltdown) to the Blue Jays, the Sox appear to be really trying to kick this one away. But even with tonight's 6-1 sleepwalk, if the Sox stumble home 6-5, the Yanks will have to go 10-2 to catch them. And remember, thanks to their 10-8 season series edge over the Sox, the Yanks only have to tie to win the division. Hello 2005.
In any event, let's take a look back at the weekend with the Yankees and review - in reverse order- the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the three days.
The Ugly-
The Friday Night Meltdown. What made it worse is that it wasn't Gagne (the face on the milkbox), DelCarmen or Timlin kicking it away. This was Numero 1 and 2 - Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima who gave away what looked like a sure win. Paps can be given a pass, but OkiDokie is apparently toast. He looks totally gassed and if Tito thinks he can keep running him out there in the eighth through the postseason, I fear more of what we saw Friday night. Good thing we got Gagne, eh?
The Bad -
Losing two of three. Although the Sox avoided an unmitigated disaster by taking one game, the fact is that this team has proven it can not beat the Yankees. They have now lost four straight series going 3-9 and losing five of their last six against New York. You know these teams are heading for an ALCS showdown, and if you are a Sox fan, you need to be very, very worried about this team beating the Bombers in a seven game series.
The Mastery of Fat Roger. Also in the bad news column is the Sox inability to do anything against Fat Roger. In his last 12 innings, Clemens has allowed four hits and picked up two victories against the Sox. Against everyone else, The Fat Fraud is 4-6, but when he sees the carmine hose, he reverts to late 1990's form.
Youk getting hurt. The good news is that Youk will probably have a good time not playing. Manny seems to be enjoying it immensely.
Tumbling Dice K. Speaking of spent Japanese pitchers, Dice K must be watching a Jon Lester instructional video tape. Voiceover as the tape shows a pitcher sweating and grunting throwing one pitch after another: "The first thing you must do to be a successful pitcher is to throw as many pitches as you can early in the game as possible. This will tire out the opposition as they foul off pitches and watch you struggle to get anyone out. And all those baserunners will increase the chances that the opposition will pull a hamstring or be injured running the bases. Plus you will get to leave the game early and enjoy the action with your teammates."
The Good -
Josh Beckett. Thank god for Josh. The Yankees have virtually admitted that the only Sox pitcher that worries them is the big Texan. On Saturday, you saw why. He is unquestionably the staff ace and he proved it again by saving what would have been a disastrous weekend.
Jacoby Ellsbury. The kid can play and he has that look that says he plays even better when the pressure is on. He will have a huge impact in the postseason if Tito has the baseballs to sit JD Drew and play him.
Mike Lowell. Where would this team be without Lowell this season. He continues to produce in the clutch. Unfortunately, because of Theo's bungling of the roster last offseason, we are probably seeing the last of him in a Red Sox uniform. Let's hope this classy guy goes out with a ring and our undying appreciation.
The tooling of Petitte and Wang. Despite the two losses, Sox fans have to be encouraged with the way the Popgun Brigade worked Petitte and Wang. They will need more of that if they hope to upset the Yanks in the playoffs.
The Madduxification of Schilling. He will never throw the high heat again, but his pinpoint control, pitching intelligence and doggedness will make the Big Schill effective. His solid seven innings with a low pitch count shows he has been able to retool himself. Despite the one bad pitch to Jeter, he proved that he should still get the ball in the big games. He should be the number two behind Beckett in the postseason.
Eleven games to go and the magic number is still nine. Can they hold on?
For the better part of the last hundred years, Red Sox clubs have been notoriously one-dimensional. Any successful Sox team has featured an outstanding slugging club with spotty pitching and absolutely no speed. This was the blueprint, and the Yawkey era very rarely strayed from it.
Such a club was featured as recently as the 2003 edition, which featured both a record-breaking offense and John Burkett in must-win playoff games. Over the past several years, Theo Epstein has cobbled together a much more balanced club that can hit, pitch, run, and play defense equally effectively.
Looking at the general tendencies over the course of the year, however, one has to wonder if such a balanced team can get the job done in a five or seven game playoff series.
We all know good pitching beats good hitting. These Sox feature an imposing set of arms who have kept us competitive on a nightly basis all year. Unfortunately, the rotation is almost too even - each guy has an equal chance of pitching well, but each can also fall apart at a moment's notice. Who starts Game 2 in a playoff series? A case could easily be made for any of Schilling, Matsuzaka, Wakefield, Buchholz, or Lester. A case could also be made than any of these guys could not be included on the playoff roster.
At the dish, the same problem presents itself. Any Sox player could conceivably step up and get the job done at any time, but we have no one on whom we can really count to get the job done. I know the OBP attitude can drive some fans nuts, and such an attitude will also lead to leaving many runners on base, but it is the weapon of choice for this offense. They haven't changed all season, and they won't be changing now.
This universal level of achievement has turned the Sox into a regular season powerhouse, as no one is expected to carry the team on their shoulders. Exhibit A is having the team's top slugger and cleanup hitter miss the finial month of the season without the club missing a beat. In the playoffs, however, the team will need someone to step up, not cover a gap.
But who is that person going to be?
So you can't wait until the postseason arrives? Well, I have news for you. The playoffs start Friday night in a 2 of 3 series against the relentless Yankees. And for all our sakes, the Sox better start playing like their postseason lives depend on it. Because they do.
Ok. Enough of the life and death struggles against the Devil Rays and mismatched sparring rounds with the cream puff Orioles. It's time to play some Big Boy Baseball, to paraphrase Michael Felger.
People are getting giddy that the magic number for making the playoffs is in single digits (7) and is fast approaching the same for the division crown (11 with the Yanks' ninth inning loss to the Jays Thursday night). So maybe this series with the Bombers isn't so important. They're both going to the playoffs, right? Wrong, Aaron Boone-breath. This series is CRUCIAL for a number of reasons and it's time for this frustrating Red Sox team to knock off the crap and play like "The Team With The Best Record In Baseball" should play.
So how much is at stake in this series? Let's take a look.
1. Winning the AL East. Let's start at the top. The Sox come into the series with a 5 1/2 game lead with 15 to play, which should be safe enough. But don't kid yourself. The AL East is not over. With another three game sweep, the Yanks can pull to within 2 1/2 games with 12 to play and anything can happen from there.
"Oh all they have to do is win one game," I hear you say. That's what we said two weeks ago when the Sox wet their unis in the Bronx and rolled over like a bunch of Fido's in the three game sweep. In fact, the Sox have now lost four in a row to the Yanks and 5 of their last 7. They haven't won a series against New York since mid May. It's time for them to turn this around. Forget winning one game. They need to come out and win the series and send the pinstripes packing down 6 1/2 or 8 1/2 games with 12 to play. That's a statement they need to make.
There is a ton at stake in winning the division foremost being home field advantage in a dangerous five game series and the ability to decide whether they want a compressed or elongated schedule for the first series. Even though they don't have a dominant number two pitcher, they may still opt for the longer series, as Peter Gammons pointed out, to make Jonathan Papelbon available for more games. Don't underestimate this advantage.
2. Eliminating The Yanks. The Yanks are still on the edge of making the playoffs and the Sox can help push them completely out. They come in with a 2 1/2 game lead in the wild card race. If the Sox can take two of three or sweep while the Tigers have their way with the Twins, the Yanks can find themselves in a real dogfight to even make the playoffs. And deep down, don't we really want to see them out of this thing before it starts?
3. Winning The Confidence Game. Yea, I know the Sox are on a roll with a couple of come from behind wins over the improving Devil Rays, but let's face it, the Sox have been shaky for a while. With three-fifths of their starting rotation disintegrating before our eyes, the last thing the Sox need is to get humbled by the Yankees AGAIN and find themselves backing into the playoffs. That is a sure recipe for an early exit.
No, what they need to do is snap out of it and beat the BeJesus out of the Yanks. Dice K needs to suck it up and have a good game. Beckett needs to be Beckett. And Curt Schilling needs to be Greg Maddux. The best case scenario is that they win Friday and Saturday and come into Sunday night's game against Fat Roger looking for a sweep. (Don't worry. You won't miss the Pats-Chargers game. I'm sure Bill Bellichick will be taping it.)
The inverse can be disastrous. If Dice K melts down again, and the Yankees beat Beckett again and Fat Roger silences the bloodthirsty Fenway faithful, this Sox team will be toast. Derek Jeter and the Yankees already feel like the Sox are a bunch of chokers who they can beat any time they want. The Sox have to shake that overconfidence, if for no other reason than to set the right tone for the playoffs.
So we all need to treat this like Round One of the post season. And it all starts with Dick K Friday night. That can be a frightening thought, but he's been billed as a "Big Game Pitcher." They don't get much bigger than this.
In 72 hours, we'll know where we stand. Will the real Red Sox please stand up?
After the huge come-from-behind win by the home town team tonight, the magic number has dropped to 13. With the second-place Yankees heading to New England this weekend, the Sox have a golden opportunity to cinch their first AL East crown in over a decade.
Here are the simple numbers regarding this weekend's three-game set:
If the Sox win 0: Magic number remains 13 with 13 to play
If the Sox win 1: Magic number becomes 11 with 13 to play
If the Sox win 2: Magic number becomes 9 with 13 to play
If the Sox win 3: Magic number becomes 7 with 13 to play
As of this writing, the Wednesday and Thursday night games are included in the "13 to play;" in a perfect world, the Sox would win their game tomorrow night and the Yanks would lose twice over the next two days, which would take three more off the magic number.
In other words: The end is near, but don't get comfortable.
Before last night's game, the pundits all believed the East was a lock; a seven-run deficit later and many believed this team would probably get swept in the first round even if they're lucky enough to make the playoffs at all. Red Sox Nation has been burned before and is therefore more prone to wild bouts of skepticism, but a quick glance at the standings show that this team is the only franchise with a winning percentage over .600.
I know they are frustrating to watch. I know we have many question marks staring us in the face. I know we have some free agents that have underperformed and some marquee stars who are letting us down.
But in the end, this team wins games. I could parade some stats around, but those are easily dismissed when the going gets rough, so I'll try and keep this as simple as possible.
88 wins, 58 losses, 5 game lead, 16 games to play.
Now let's see if they can close one door.
As we head into the homestretch, we can see the playoffs on the horizon. Now would be a good time to take a look at what is currently encouraging with the Sox and what should concern us.
The bad news is that most of the downs concern the pitching staff. Not good considering we have banked all year on the fact that we will have the better pitching in the postseason. So let's start with the bad news.
The Downs:
Being totally objective, it's tough to look at the current starting rotation without breaking into a cold sweat. After Josh Beckett and maybe the resurgence of Jon Lester (of course it's been four starts against the Orioles and Devil Rays), the rest of the staff should definitely give you a case of the Calvin Schiraldis.
Dice K: The rookie phenom has clearly hit the wall, Tito's protestations to the contrary. He is pitching on fumes and desperately needs a rest. Hopefully Tito doesn't believe the claptrap he has been serving up and seriously considers letting Dice K miss a start or two. He needs to recharge the batteries or he will be useless in the playoffs. Watching him get knocked around by the O's and Rays, how do you feel about watching him against the Angels and Yankees? How do you say Oi Vay in Japanese?
Tim Wakefield: In recent years, Wake has spent a stretch of time on the DL with some injury or another. He has avoided that this year...until now. He is a warrior, but if his effort against the O's is any indication, he is not ready for prime time.
Curt Schilling: The transformation of the Big Schill from power pitcher to John Burkett continues. As we have said, if anyone can be effective with an 88 mile an hour fastball, that would be Schilling, but this clearly remains a work in progress. Again, how do you feel about running him out there against the Yankee? Perhaps the Bombers will drown themselves drooling. Or there might be an injury or two as they battle to get to the bat rack. Scary.
Manny Delcarmen: Talk about the girl with the curl. When he is good, he is very very good. When he is bad, well you know how that goes. When I see him go out there I always feel we are a couple of four pitch walks away from disaster.
Hideki Okajima: See Dice K above. Okidokie has already appeared in 62 games. His highest total EVER in Japan was 58. Time for Tito to lay off for a while.
Eric Gagne: On the one hand, it's nice to hear that he was actually injured and that is the reason he was getting hammered. (Please don't buy that drivel that he overworked himself trying to work out of his problem and that he was tipping his pitches.) A stud closer like Gagne becomes ineffective for only one reason: he's hurt. And we now find out that was the case. The good news is that if this layoff allows him to come back healthy, we may actually have the bullpen we hoped we had on July 31.
Manny Ramirez: The Sox are doing fine without Manny against the Weak Sisters of the Poor who they have been playing lately, but they will need Manny in the post season. Please note that when they played a good team i.e. the Yankees, they lost three straight without number 24. This time off can work one of two ways. If he comes back healthy and refreshed, he can do serious damage in October. If he is not recovered, his absence creates a gaping hole in the lineup that could be fatal come playoff time.
Kevin Youkilis: He continues to play gold glove first base, but he is rapidly become absolutely Drewish at the plate. For the second consecutive year, Youk has worn down in the second half. This is an issue the Sox brass really have to address as they make plans for the future. As for the near term, his strike outs have begun to make him look like Mark Bellhorn. Another potential hole in a swiss cheese lineup.
JD Drew: Enough said. Huge disappointment. Get ready for a lot of ground balls to second and an occasional walk with runners in scoring position.
But the news is not all bad. In fact there are a few encouraging developments heading into the postseason.
Jonathan Papelbon: Tito has used him brilliantly this year and he appears ready to put together a Mariano Rivera/Dennis Eckersley/Rollie Fingers (for you old timers) type of post season. The key is, can the Sox lightweight lineup get him enough leads to save?
David Ortiz: Either through some key adjustments or just by getting more healthy, Big Papi appears to be rounding into his old Hero self. The pop appears to be back and if Manny can slip in behind him, we can hope for another clutch post season by Ortiz.
Coco Crisp: This is double good news. Coco is picking up his his hitting to go along with his yearlong outstanding defense just in time for the playoffs . That bodes well for the Sox in October. For the long term, Coco is increasing his trade value daily, something that will pay dividends in the offseason when Theo deals him. It is obvious that with the play of Ellsbury and the Albatross Drew contract that Crisp is the odd man out. I hate to see him go, but if he can bring back a couple of young pitching and a catching prospect, that would work out fine. Maybe Theo can work out a reverse Beckett, trading Crisp but making them take Drew's contract as well. Won't happen. Theo can't trade with himself.
Jacoby Ellsbury: Something tells me he will make a serious impact in the post season. As much as we all like him, however, he is not going to be a substitute for Manny, so let's not get carried away. That said, it will be nice to have him and his five tool game on the bench. Maybe Tito will stand up to Theo and play him instead of Drew.
Dustin Pedroia: The AL Rookie of the Year continues to hit, play defense and give this team the dirt dog edge that left with Trot Nixon. I really expected him to go out after Daniel Cabrera even though he was giving up a foot and a half. The fact that he didn't proves that he is smart as well as talented.
Mike Lowell: When you open the Baseball Dictionary and look up "Salary Drive" you will see a picture of Mike Lowell. He is making himself hundreds of thousands of dollars a day with his continued stellar play. From the beginning of the year, when the debate was how much less than 9 million would he accept to now when he has probably priced himself out of Boston (Shouldn't he be looking for Drew money at 14 million per year?). That's unfortunate since he has become the go to guy on this team. Short term, that bodes well for the postseason. It will be sad to see him go, if he leaves.
Overall, it will come down to pitching, as it always does. Tito has three weeks to get the staff ready. Time to build momentum for October.
The magic number is 14.
The other day, I was discussing J.D. Drew with a fellow Sox fan who is less than enamored with the enigmatic right fielder. When I took up the cross that the J.D. defense has become, the fan responded with something that got my mind working.
"I don't just root for guys because they're on the Sox. They have to earn it."
I'm sure by this point we've all heard the old Jerry Seinfeld and/or George Carlin bit about how all sports fans are just rooting for the laundry; the players change, the management changes, and the stadiums change, but the fan base and the name on the uniform stay the same. But do we blindly root for this laundry, or does the personnel in fact change our rooting interests?
For me personally, all players are "innocent until proven guilty," as it were. If they are playing for the Olde Towne Team, I will wholeheartedly support them until they give me a reason not to. I am strongly against booing somebody in the home stadium if they are unable to perform, although I wholeheartedly endorse booing for off-field transgressions, press statements, contract issues, or obviouslack of interest. It is under this caveat that I still continue to support J.D. Drew. For better or for worse, he is our guy, and during his tenure in Boston I will continue to support him.
When crossed, however, I am unforgiving in my lack of support. Jay Payton found his way into the doghouse for his dugout temper tantrum. Grady Little lost my support because of his general demeanor, and even his descent into indifference took over fifteen months. Roidney "HG" Harrison has now gone down the same path - I hope the Patriots succeed, but I won't admire him ever again because he is a cheater, just like Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Shawne Merriman.
But when guys just flat-out suck, I feel that they still deserve our support. I may be in the minority here. I know my father applies to the "Sucks Until Proven Good Here" theory of fandom, supplemented with the "Has To Be Better Than The Guy We Have" corollary (currently being applied to the exciting Jacoby Ellsbury).
What is the proper methodology? In the end, no matter how much we as a Nation bitch about Drew, we will be thrilled the moment his patient bat wins us a big game.
But the moment he is no longer a member of the Sox, all the negative energy I've kept patiently under control can be released safely (for example: screw you, Wily Mo Pena). Until that day, he is one of us, for better or for worse.
And for all of our sakes, I hope its for the better.
Musings while watching the Sox cough one up to the Blue Jays
Is JD Drew EVER going to come through in a big situation? He failed again tonight whiffing with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh with the Sox leading 4-3. As the $70 million bust returned to the dugout Tito tapped him on the behind in encouragement. He should have whacked him in the back of the head with his fungo bat.
And speaking of failing, Kevin Youkilis then struck out right after Drew to leave the bases loaded and kill a golden opportunity to put the game out of reach. Predictably, the Jays went on to tie and then win the game. Poor Youk has been in a steady death spiral in the second half for the second straight year. After being the team's most valuable position player in the first half, Youk has fizzled down the stretch again. I thought he did some intensive training in the offseason so this wouldn't happen again. He'd better get a new trainer this year.
Thanks to a late surge by the Sox it appears they will make the playoffs one way or the other. But after talking all year long about how this team was built for the playoffs, shouldn't we be worried about the starting rotation? Beckett as the staff ace is the real deal but where do you go after that? Dice K is clearly out of gas in his first major league season in a five man rotation. Maybe if they can clinch early enough they can get him some much needed rest. Schilling is painful to watch and is a couple of starts away from being Mike Mussina. Tonight's effort against the Jays has been typical. He looks good for a while, then the 88 mph fast ball starts jumping off opposing bats like mortar rockets. Tim Wakefield has arguably been the number two pitcher on the staff but do you trust his back or knuckleball in a short series? They may have to. This is clearly a concern.
Why does Tito persist in resting Pedoria while running Lugo out there every day. Pedro is 23 years old. HE DOESN'T NEED ANY FREAKING REST! Since we now know that Theo is dictating decisions from the executive box, could he be mandating that his man crush Lugo has to stay in the lineup? What other possible logical explanation can there be?
I would never say this team does not need Manny, because they do, but hasn't the team looked crisper and more alert since he left the lineup? The outfield defense went up a couple of notches and there haven't been as many adventures on the basepaths. The lesson is that although Manny is one of the best right handed hitters in baseball history, he is not indispensable.
As for next year, where do we put Jacoby? I like Kevin in New York's idea. Send Drew into the offseason with a first basemen's mitt and tell him to come back ready to play first. Or does Theo have to clear that with Scott Boras? Unfortunately, because of the way Theo has mismanaged his payroll, either Youk or Lowell will not be back and that would probably leave the classy Lowell out in the open market. But since Drew and his albatross salary is not going anywhere, what choice do they have? Disgusting.
In an earlier post I urged the Yankees to make a race out of the AL East to get the Sox battle tested in anticipation of the playoffs. Looking at the numbers, the Sox clearly have played better when they have been challenged. They have played 54 games when their lead was 6 games or less. They have gone 35-19 in those games for a .648 winning percentage. In the 85 games where their lead has been larger than 6 games they have gone 49-37, a .563 clip. They obviously need to be pushed, something that will happen every night in the playoffs.
Don't you enjoy watching the Jays without Frank Catalanotto or Ted Lilly? Or when Reed Johnson is not playing? Although Gregg Zaun and Vernon Wells continue to be real pains in the butt.
Magic number is still 17 and we go to Baltimore for four while the Yankees vacation in Kansas City for three easy wins. This is not over. Don't you know deep down that it will come down to a frosty October series between the Sox and the Bombers for the right to play a four game exhibition series against the National League for the Championship?
With the September 1 roster expansion and subsequent infusion of youth on the Boston roster, an unnecessary level of expectation and pressure have been placed on the Sox superstars of tomorrow. And those expectations are not going to be tempered when one rookie casually tosses a no-hitter, followed by another going deep and securing the day's top Web Gem in a single game.
Can I make a request, though, Red Sox Nation?
Please stop saying you want these guys here because they are "exciting."
All I've heard and read in the Boston media over the past week or so is how "exciting" these guys are to watch. Jacoby Ellsbury has been the most prominent recipient of this comment, and I'm getting tired of it. The young center fielder is here because he put up an OBP of .360 in Pawtucket this year, complimented with a .298 batting average and .380 slugging and excellent defense.
If I wanted exciting, I'd watch an action movie. I want wins, and Ellsbury may contribute to that.
When the team was slumping, many wanted Jacoby to be brought up to the big club, which is a sentiment I agree with in theory. However, while others wanted him to do impossible and irrational things like "providing a spark" (what does that even mean?), I wanted him in a "Dave Roberts" capacity. And even that concession came with a caveat - if we called him up before September 1, who do we let go? Granted, in hindsight, we should have let Wily Mo go in the offseason; in real time, however, we were stuck with him and it wouldn't make sense to dump him when Ellsbury so desperately needed at-bats in AAA.
But now Ellsbury is in Boston with no repercussions. He's gotten all the playing time he could in the minors, and we don't have to move anyone to get him on the roster. He is a solid young player who may be next year's Pedroia, and he can provide a late-inning defensive replacement and/or pinch runner to the 2007 edition.
And of course he accomodates all those thrill-seekers with all the corresponding "excitement."