Filed under: Boston Red Sox
Ok so it really comes down to whether you are an optimist or a pessimist.
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you are a grizzled old Red Sox fan who sits at home watching the game constantly mumbling incoherent groans interuppted by intermittent curses and sips of your Budweiser, regardless of the score. Or perhaps you have red curly hair and are considered a “talented writer” and have written many books about the Red Sox. In either event, despite the Sox 6-2 start for this season, you probably have found a few things to groan about.
Let’s begin with Wells, who, after publicly stating he did not want to pitch in Boston, demanded a trade throughout the entire offseason, then rescinded his request when re realized he might not get paid, let up 7 earned runs in only 78 pitches and 5 innings of work in his 2006 debut. Boomer left the field to a plethora of boos and made many Sox fans wonder why we traded Arroyo instead of him. Just a few weeks ago it looked as if we had more starting pitching than we could use. Now with Papelbon taking over for the arthritic Foulke and Arroyo hitting homers for the Reds, we might need to bring up one of the kid prospects too early, which will of course destroy their fragile little baseball psyches when they’re clobbered for the first time in the bigs.
In the injury category, Trot Nixon is out for at least a few days which will of course turn into a few months at some point, while one of our better offseason acquisitions in Coco Crisp has hit the Disabled List alongside relief pitcher David Riske. This leaves Manny Ramirez, our $20 million clown show who is currently hitting .214, as our only starting outfielder left. Dustan Mohr, who was almost cut at Spring Training, and Wily Mo Pena, who turned a routine out into home-run two games ago, take over as starters. Oh but there is some good news, Julian Tavarez has just finished serving his suspension for bitch-slapping Joey Gathright. Unfortunately Tavarez is not showing any signs that he is any less crazy or that this situation will not happen again.
Kevin Youklis, the supposed “Greek God of Walks”, is looking more like Strike-Outicus, the Greek God of swinging and missing. Alex Gonzalez, meanwhile, has been an easier out than most National League pitchers. He makes me want to TiVo the game and watch it 20 minutes after the first pitch just so I can fast forward through his at-bats. C’mon, I bet even Jim Abbot could hit it past the pitcher if he batted. This team has no hope whatsoever and will be doomed to a third place finish in the American League East and will be parking their “2nd highest payroll in the majors” keisters on the couch come October.
If any of this sounded familiar you might be looking at the glass half-empty. Or more likely you know someone who is and have heard some of these complaints from them. Its pretty much guarenteed that every Red Sox fan has a relative, friend, or neighbor who might share these downbeat sentiments regarding our favorite baseball team. Its like having an uncle that shows up smelling of scotch at family gatherings or a neighbor that somehow ‘lost’ your favorite gardening tool. We all have one and they’re not going away. It’s ok though, because hopefully most of us are looking at the glass half-full. In which case we are probably excited that…
The Red Sox are off to a very solid start, at 6-2 and atop the American League East. Big Papi has already begun to make a case for MVP batting .379, while Mike Lowell has been an unexpected, but very welcomed surprise. Youklis is showing that he can play first base at the major league level and while his bat has been quiet, he will surely live up to his acclaimed On Base Percentage once he returns to his more appropriate spot at the bottom of the order. Manny has started out slow but everyone knows that Manny will be Manny so there are few concerns at just 8 games into the season. Varitek is at a steady .286 and is doing a great job helping everyone, particularly the new pitchers, get acclimated to the many intricacies of a typical Red Sox season.
Although Trot and Coco are both out, neither injury seems serious and both should be back relatively soon. In the meantime, this actually gives us a chance to see what slugging prospect Wily Mo Pena has, as well as the hero of the Canadian National team, Adam Stern. Aside from two bad games by Wakefield and Wells our pitching looks solid. Both Schilling and Beckett have made their cases to be the staff ace while Clement looks like he can take the mound again without seeing dead people. Papelbon has shown why he has been so highly touted, and putting him at closer will allow Foulke to ease back into the spot after knee surgeries. All things considered, things be good in the Red Sox Nation.
Although its very early, the start of the Sox’ 2006 season looks promising. And if your anything like me, you are raising your half-full glass to the thought of a very enjoyable summer as a Sox fan.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
No Comments so far
Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>