This Is a Disaster
I haven’t posted in a while because I have been speechless. Speechless because I injured myself. The bile from vomiting continuously the last two weeks temporarily scalded my means of verbal communication. Granted I still could type. But I was just too upset.
Its almost impossible to describe the feeling. I can barely get myself to crawl to the television to watch another Sox blunder or drag myself to the computer to check updates, scores, or opinions. It many ways its far worse than a playoff loss. Thats a much quicker, more humane way to go out. At least you competed. You met some goal of the season and achieved what most teams did not. Yet this slow, painful plunge from contention to mediocrity and (gasp) eventual early, post-seasonless termination is beyond unbearable. Its bleeding a dawdling, deliberate death with each passing out-of-position/too-many-injury game being another pint of blood lost in the painful path to season ending failure.
I can’t watch. I can’t expose my own eyes to the twinge of witnessing Kevin Youkilis drop a ball while playing left field. Or knowing that Mark Loretta’s last days as a Red Sock might be playing first base. Or watch Manny take another day off because an MRI stated that Manny has just given up while his partner in bat actually had to go the hospital because he was so stressed about losing to the Yankees. I feel like Joe Pesci at the end of Casino watching my brother get pummelled by a baseball bat in a deserted corn field.
And yet I can’t turn away. These are the same guys I have known and loved since April. And with the weather still nice and the NFL more than a week away, I can’t pull myself from the now agonizing depths of baseball mode. Whats worse is that six games back with four still to play against the Yankees doesn’t seem impossible on paper. Yet with one flick of the remote I am engulfed yet again with hopeless despair. In the most critical month of our 2006 season, the Sox have flopped, floundered, and failed their way to a valid pursuit of the worst August record in Red Sox history and a possible third place finish in the AL East. We have been nothing short of abysmal, getting swept by the Royals, the Yankees, and now the Mariners. We have more guys on the DL than in the lineup and our manager is coughing up blood(literally). Its Armageddon in Red Sox Nation with no hope to relieving the excruciating hurt in the weeks ahead. Which begs me to ask the question..
Why do I still believe?
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
Walk Papi? Manny Wins It
And thats why you cannot walk David Ortiz in extra innings at Fenway folks. In today’s game versus the Orioles, Baltimore “unintentionally” walked David Ortiz in the bottom of the 10th inning to put two men on with the score tied 7-7. It was Manny Ramirez who delivered this time hitting a single to drive in Kapler from second base(who was originally held but scored on a booted ball in the outfield). This hit not only scored the winning run but it kept Manny’s consecutive game hit streak alive which now stands at 27.
I can only imagine what Fenway was like when Papi got up with the winning run on first in the bottom of the tenth. Even though it was just a single by Manny, this just adds to my argument of why you can’t walk Ortiz in situations like this(although I probably would if I were a manager). And thats why they’re the best 3-4 in baseball folks.
All Important Homestand Record: 2-0
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
It’s A Start
So tonight’s 9-2 drubbing of the Orioles alleviates some of the pain from the past roadtrip. The 5 game losing streak is over at least. The bats came alive tonight knocking in 9 runs without one home run. Wells pitched solidly(surprisingly?) and even left to a standing ovation from the Fenway Faithful in the seventh.
What I don’t understand is that with a 9-1 lead, Francona had Hansen warming in the bullpen but eventually put in Kyle Snyder for the last inning plus. How does this make sense? Is this not a perfect time to put in designated mop up clowns Seanez and Tavarez? Maybe save everyone else for a close game. Instead Tito puts in our long relief guy(who we have desperately needed to be rested on many occasions) to do mop up work for an inning when Jason “Good for a Few Innings, Maybe” Johnson starts tomorrow. I don’t get it. Of course Synder gave up a dinger to his first hitter. Wonderful.
It can’t be too bad though. A 9-2 win is good in my book any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Lets hope the rest of the stand goes this way.
Really Incredibly Important and Crucial Homestand: 1-0
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
Awful Roadtrip
‘Oh man. This Kansas City series was nothing short of a disaster. We got swept by the perennial basement dwelling Kansas City Royals and finish our roadtrip with a 1-5 record and a 5 game lossing streak. Sweet. All this in the middle of a Yankee coup into first place and a Twins and White Sox overtaking of the wild-card. This is not good folks. This series with the Royals was about as frustrating as kinetically possible. Our go-to, healthy, reliable, and steadfast pitchers were all essentially responsible for the losses. Lester recorded just his second loss on Tuesday night, Papelbon blew a Beckett win last night, and Schilling gave up the tying and eventually game winning runs in the bottom of the eighth after the Sox entered the inning with a lead.
And since these guys have been our studs all year, its impossible to get that upset with them, despite the immense dissappointment and frustration that is caused by getting swept by the Kansas City freaking Royals. I can guarantee this roadtrip will come back to bite us in the ass come September when these Division and Wild-Card races come down to the wire. All three of these KC games were very winnable games. In fact we SHOULD have swept them. These are certainly the games we need to win if we are going to compete for the playoffs.
I know I can’t dwell on the Papelbon blown save or Schilling loss. But its not as if some of the other guys are stepping it up either. I can’t even express to you how bad Tavarez and Seanez are. They are beyond awful and Gawd-awful and have entered the realm of pathetic, incompetent, and utterly futile. Seanez has even been demoted to mopping up the mop up guys. During Tuesday night’s loss to KC, Seanez was forced to play after Francona pitched the kitchen sink the night before. And God forbid he keep the deficit to one run. Instead he allowed a homer in the eigth that prevented the Sox from playing small ball for a run in the ninth when Coco and Papi got aboard with one out. We then had to swing away rather than try to manufacture a single run that would have tied the game had Captain Suck-head(Seanez’s new nickname until I come up with something more creative and mature) actually done the job he’s paid for.
And don’t even get me started with Tavarez. The worst part about him is that on rare occasions he will actually give off the impression that he is worthy and able to pitch in the Major Leagues. Francona, blind by these false ilusions of competancy, will actually play good old Julian in crucial situations. Such as Sunday’s game against the Devil Rays, where Tavarez entered a tie game in the tenth inning. Francona probably envisioned Tavarez pitching a few strong innings of extra-inning relief until the Sox could get a run or two across the board while everyone watching knew that the Sox had essentially conceded the game. Sure enough Tavarez allows a game winning home run to just the second batter he faced. At least he didn’t waste anyone’s time with an artificial front of him actually being capable of doing his job.
Those two guys really are the only Sox players I dislike. In fact I absolutely LOVE this team. They rank up there with some of my favorite Sox teams of recent memory. And despite all the injuries, I 100% believe they can contend with any team in the league. But they are definately in a skid and they need this upcoming homestand to quell any premature notions that this season is beginning to slide away.
It certainly will not be easy. The Sox host pesky Baltimore, Detroit with the best record in baseball, and then the Division leading and eternal rival New York Yankees. If this homestand doesn’t say gut check, I don’t know what does. Pop the Ripped Fuel and turn up the warm-up music folks, its time for our Red Sox to show their huevos.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
Injuries Might Cause Some Problems
The Red Sox announced today that starting catcher and team captain Jason Varitek will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery this week and will be out for about a month. This is a detrimental blow to a team already battling a sleu of other injuries. Just a few days ago Trot Nixon was placed on the DL while half the pitching staff seems to be perpetually hurt as well. Foulke, Wakefield, Wells, and Matt Clement all seem to be struggling with their respective injuries.
Doug Mirabelli will take on everyday catching duties to replace Tek. Mirabelli is hitting .182 in 30 games with the Sox. As much as Varitek was having an off year, he was entirely more effective than Dougie’s .182. One of the more depressing facts is that Josh Bard, the ostracized backup catcher that struggled mightily to catch Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball and was traded to get Mirabelli back, is hitting .348 with a .420 On Base Percentage with the Padres. Red Sox fans were pratically tortured watching Bard’s futile effort to catch Wake, but no one would argue that he is a better catcher than Doug, and certainly a better bat. Its just another example of how injuries can cause a lot of unforseen problems.
The Sox are going to have to start playing some good baseball during the dog days of August if they want to keep their lead in the East. With the Yankees picking up Abreu and possibly getting Matsui and Sheffield back they could be a incredibly dangerous lineup. I think guys like Wily Mo Pena, Mirabelli, Coco Crisp, and even Alex Gonzalez have to start playing like they have something to prove. With only three reliable starting pitchers and a bullpen built for one inning set-ups, some things are going to have to start coming together.
The Red Sox brought up Ken Huckaby from Pawtucket to back up Mirabelli. Kyle Snyder will also head to the bullpen making Johnson the fifth starter. Francona said this is actually more of a compliment because Snyder will now represent the long relief man the Sox have desperately needed. Since Snyder has only been good for under 5 innings in his starts and some of our starters may need to be pulled early due to ineffectiveness, this is actually a decent move.
Lester goes tonight for the Sox. After CC Sabathia beat the Sox with eight strong innings last night, we could use a win. Maybe just a good old fashioned blow out would be just what the doctor ordered. Well, besides arthroscopic knee surgery.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
This Guy is Unreal
Big Papi has done it again. This time with a walk-off three run dinger in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Red Sox over the Cleveland Indians 9-8. If you weren’t paying attention this weekend, this is Ortiz’s second walk-off hit in three days, as his RBI single in the bottom of the eleventh inning Saturday helped the Sox beat the Angels. You can’t make this stuff up. Ortiz’s game winning hit parade is like something out of a back-yard game of pretend where you are up to bat in the bottom of the ninth and trying to drive rocks over your neighbors fence with a wifflebat to win the World Series.
Sometimes it’s difficult to comprehend exactly how clutch this guy really is. Not only do his hits come in critical points of each respective game, they also happen to come at critical points in a pennant run as well. Both Ortiz’s game winning hits this past 72 hours have occurred on the brink of a second place standing in the AL East. The hated Yankees are lingering ominously as the Sox cling to a rickety one game lead. Thank God for Papi or else Red Sox Nation might be digging through the medicine cabinet for that last Zanex or Percoset.
Saturday’s game was an emotional roller coaster. In the fifth inning the Sox were down 6-3 and the Yankees were up 1-0 on Tampa Bay, meaning the Sox 1st place lead would be no longer. But the Sox bats came through tying the game up 6-6 in the ninth while Devil Ray bats clobbered Randy Johnson in later innings. Then Papi worked his magic in the eleventh producing the game winning hit and preserving the BoSox lead in the East.
Sunday’s game was just a disaster as the Sox got spanked 10-4 by the California Angels of the Greater Los Angeles Area or Something. Schilling just plain sucked and we will leave it at that.
Monday saw the return of David “Boomer” Wells and boy was it a sight for sore eyes. Or knees. Or ears. Or whatever. After giving up 8 earned in less than five innings, Kyle Synder came in and actually cleaned up Boomer’s mess by pitching 4+ innings of shut-out ball giving up only one hit. The Sox put two on in the ninth with Gonzalez squeezing out a hit and Kevin Youkilis walking. Loretta popped out and Papi came to the play to deliver a three run shot for the game winner.
This guy is seriously unbelievable.
After Saturday’s game I actually tuned into ESPN radio and heard two of the host debating about David Ortiz. One was saying that in no game-tying or game-winning possible situation could you pitch to David Ortiz. Even if you walked the tying run in by intentially walking Ortiz its better than the alternative. With Big Papi’s resume, its hard to argue. However there are two words in the English language(I think its English) that counter that argument. And they are: Manny Ramirez. So I understand not pitching to Ortiz. Why give him the chance to win the game after he has delivered time after time? The answer is that there is not Papi without Manny. Teams are forced to pitch to Ortiz because pitching to Manny is just as dangerous if not more. Manny’s average is 30 points higher, he has better overall stats(except game winners), and he is possibly the best right handed hitter in the American League. The fact is that if they did walk Ortiz in all of those game winning situations, Manny might have very well delivered himself. Granted the Angels did walk Ortiz in the bottom of the ninth on Saturdays game and Manny grounded out to end the inning and force extras. But get this; Manny has the most Runs Batted In since 1995 of any active player. And he has delivered a few clutch hits himself. Perhaps not 0f the caliber of Ortiz, but maybe that’s because of the opportunities. Also if you want to walk Papi to load the bases, think about this first: Manny has the most Grand Slams of any active players as well. Hmm.
Am I arguing that Manny is better than Papi? Absolutely not. Maybe I think that teams should keep pitching to Papi. Maybe I don’t. Or maybe I just hope they do so I can keep seeing one of the most clutch professional athletes any of us have ever seen keep doing what he does best.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
