THE At Bat

First of all, shame on me. This blog has sat fallow since early February. A book, a new job and a Facebook Group that is easier and more fun/engaging is partially to blame. But after last night's Red Sox game, I was inspired to do a short post on my main man, Dustin Pedroia.

I said earlier this year on Twitter that as Pedroia goes, so to will the Red Sox this season. And I still stand by that in spite of Elsbury's resurgence, Lowry's return after a year of battling a horrible illness and the arrivals of messieurs Crawford and Gonzalez. It's because Pedroia is the heart and soul of this Red Sox team (with a little bit of help from Youkilis).

For anyone who watched last night's game versus the Halos, you got the feeling that this game meant more than some of the other 27 games the Sox had previously played. No, this wasn't the Yankees but this was the Angels and more importantly, it was Jered Weaver. Yes, the same Jered Weaver that was attempting to break a 120 year old record by going 7-0 by May 2. Up until the 5th inning, it looked like Weaver might just break good old Sadie McMahon's record. A combination of good pitching by two young studs in Buccholz and Weaver -- neither of whom had brought their A game but both of which whose B+ game was better than most mere mortals and some stellar defense pointed toward a low scoring game.

Then came "THE" at bat. If you watched the game, you know which one I am talking about. It was Pedroia versus Weaver in the bottom of the 5th. There were two outs with runners on second and third and the Sox were down 2-1. This felt like it could be another 2-1 disappointment that would send our boys from Boston to a 12-16 record -- 6 games behind the Bronx Bombers. But you could see the determination in Pedroia's eyes. I said to my wife, Melanie, who was watching the game with me, "this game is going to come down to this at bat." Nine pitches into the at bat, Pedroia had worked a 3-2 count and had started fouling off everything.

Four pitches and nine minutes later, Pedey sent a seeing eye single up the middle and could be seen yelling, "YEAH... F@CK YEAH!" as he raced to first. Two runs scored and the Sox took the lead for good on their way to a 9-5 romping of their favorite whipping boy. Even better, the Sox bats exploded in the 7th demonstrating some of the power we were hoping for in the offseason, punctuated with a towering home run over the Green Monster by Big Papi. All was right in the universe again.

Two other VERY important notes that I am compelled to mention:

1. ONe of the main reasons this at bat was so clutch was that it drove Weaver's pitch count well up over 100, a critical part of the Sox's winning the game.
2. Alex Gonzalez made on of the ballsiest (and arguably the second most important) plays of the game by fielding a scorcher in the top of the 6th and gunning out Torii Hunter at 3rd on a bang bang play to keep the Angels from evening up the game right after the Sox took the lead.

Does this mean the Sox have turned their season around? Of course not. But it's a long season with exactly 134 games to go. As long as Pedroia stays healthy and keeps that fire in his belly (is there any other way?), I like the Sox chances.

Props to MLB Gameday for the screenshots.

I visited Fenway Park Today

It's looking good...

Entertainment vs. Competition

This morning on WEEI Dennis and Callahan interviewed "Not So" Big Papi. They asked him about how fans treated him last year, and whether he thought fans were down on him too soon in his early season slump. Ortiz, gracious as usual, responded something to the effect that the fans at Fenway have always been his biggest supporters, and that they understand the work ethic and enthusiasm he brings to the table. He also said the athletes have a clear understanding that they are there to entertain the fans, and that the fans expect to be entertained.

That got me thinking. Are professional athletes entertainers? Or are they here to win? If they think of themselves as entertainers, does that jeopardize their chances to win? I guarantee Belichick would never say that "do your job" = "be an entertainer." Thoughts?

Image: imdb.com

Big Papi on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Just in case you missed it...

Now the questions... Is it just me, or does Big Papi look lean/slim/fit in this video? What does it mean to the Red Sox lineup if he comes into 2010 like he played in the 2nd half of 2009? I'd love your observations.

Redsox and Yankees in 2010: Who you got?

Following the announcement of the Red Sox signing Adrian Beltre last night, a discussion broke out on Twitter about whether this was a good or bad thing. We bantered a bit about whether a one year contract or a move to the friendly confines of Fenway Park might be a good thing or a bad thing. Then my good friend (and fellow Big Papelbon conspirator), Tim Walker, dropped the bomb on us...

@adamcohen @jimstorer @aaronstrout @peplau @DougH Bigger picture: the #redsox will not contend for the division this year, and that's that.

Whoa! If Tim wasn't a fellow Red Sox fan, I'd consider those fighten' words. Of course Tim has a point and that isn't that the Red Sox don't have a chance in 2010. Just that they don't stack up well against the men in pinstripes. So this got me thinking. For one, if you look at the Red Sox starting rotation, I'm pretty confident that we have an edge over the Yanks, particularly in numbers 3-5 (I'll give the Yankees a "push" on Sabathia and Burnett vs. Beckett and Lester). Yes, the Yankees did sign Javier Vazquez but he wasn't that impressive with the Yanks back in '04 (arguably one of their better years minus their ALCS performance). But the Sox have Lackey, Wakefield, Dice K, and Buchholz with up and comers Michael Bowden and Boof Bonser to boot.


Tim was willing to concede to my point about the pitching but correctly asserted that the Sox lineup wouldn't hold a candle to the "murderer's row" that the Yanks have assembled. While I don't think that there is as much of a disparity as Tim points out (Youk, Pedroia, Scutaro, Drew and VMart are all pretty decent hitters in their own right), I can't in good conscience try and argue that the Sox have a leg up on the Yanks. However, I will make the point that other than last year, the team with the best offense in the majors over the last decade has NOT been the World Series winner. In fact, teams like the '01 Arizona Cardinals, '03 Florida Marlins and '08 Philadelphia Phillies all won with a combo of good defense, great pitching and some timely hitting.

To back up my claim, I've listed the World Series winner and then the top run producer (my take on offensive dominance) in the column next to it. While I know there are a 1,000 different other stats/measurements like RBIs, OBP, OPS, etc., I think this is a fair measurment:

• Year ----------------- Won WS ----------------- Best Offense (by runs)
  
• 2009 -----------------Yankees ----------------- Yankees (915)*
  
• 2008 ----------------- Phillies ----------------- Rangers (901)**
  
• 2007  ----------------- Red Sox ----------------- Yankees (968)***
  
• 2006 ----------------- Cardinals ----------------- Yankees (930)****
  
• 2005 ----------------- White Sox ----------------- Red Sox (910)*****
  
• 2004 ----------------- Red Sox ----------------- Red Sox (949)
• 2003  ----------------- Marlins  ----------------- Red Sox (961)
  
• 2002 ----------------- Angels ----------------- Yankees (897)
  
• 2001  ----------------- DBacks  ----------------- Seattle (927)*******
  
• 2000 ----------------- Yankees -----------------White Sox (978)********
  

*Red Sox were 3rd in runs w/ 872 in spite of losing in 1st round of playoffs

**WS winner, Philadelphia, was 8th in runs scored with 799

***WS winner, Boston, was 4th in runs scored with 867
****WS winner, St. Louis, was 14th in runs scored with 781
*****WS winner, Chicago (AL), was 13th in runs scored with 741
******WS winner, Florida, was 17th in runs scored with 751
*******WS winner, Arizona, was 7th with 818
********WS winner, NY (AL), was 10th with 871

At the end of the day, this is why we play the games, right?


Image credit: MLB

This Decade's World Series Winners

At some point in time, I "okay-ed" some sort of sports app in Facebook and so from time to time, I remember to look at the notifications. Most of them are shit but today's asked an interesting question... "Can you name the World Series winners from this decade?" Amazingly, I not only knew everyone of them but I also remembered who they played against.

Without looking, can you name all ten winners? And as an extra bonus, the losing team? For an extra, extra bonus, name that year's MVP.

Hot Stove Sox talk as Winter Meetings wind down

Plenty of interesting tidbits and questions surrounding our favorite baseball team:

1) News broke late last night that the Sox had agreed on a deal to send aging third baseman Mike Lowell to the Rangers for catcher Max Ramirez.

Although the 25-year-old Ramirez looks to have some pop in his bat (here are his minor league numbers), this strikes me as more a salary dump than anything else. Lowell is scheduled to make $12 million in 2010, and Theo Epstein & Co. clearly didn't think the 2007 World Series hero had enough left to play third on a full-time basis. I understand the decision, but will certainly miss having Lowell around. He's a guy you can't help but pull for.

2) Boston.com/The Globe is having a field day with Theo's line about the upcoming season serving as a "bridge" to more prosperous 2011 and 2012 campaigns.

Step down from your ridiculous high horse, Dan Shaughnessy. Most Red Sox fans are smart enough to understand that the team won't be true World Series contenders every season. A "rebuilding" year for this club still means 85-90 wins, and not dealing away too many top prospects does set the franchise up for better long-term success. And ... hello! The team has won two titles, been to two another ALCSes, and only missed the playoffs once in the last seven seasons. Let's keep it in perspective.

3) The Red Sox won't be opening 2010 in Australia, despite a report last weekend in the Sunday Telegraph that just such a deal was in the works.

While pulling for the story to come true (I lived in Australia for two years), I was certainly skeptical. You just know that Terry Francona and his staff would like a "regular" spring training for the first time in a while. The team played in Japan in 2008, and the World Baseball Classic threw off some plans last year (right, Daisuke?), so I'm betting the mere thought of taking his team halfway around the world again had to send Tito's blood pressure rising. Now the Red Sox ownership seldom sees a marketing scheme it doesn't like, so don't rule out the possibility of the team playing Down Under in 2011 or 2012.

4) With Lowell on his way out and Jason Bay still unsigned, there are still plenty of question marks about Boston's 2010 everyday lineup.

Who plays left field if the Sox don't/can't re-sign Bay and find the asking price for Matt Holliday too steep? What about signing Adrian Beltre to replace Lowell at third, or trading for first baseman Miguel Cabrera and moving Kevin Youkilis back across the diamond? Neither option looks particularly wise to me--Beltre would cost a ton while not putting up numbers much better than Lowell's, and Cabrera is a dangerous hitter but a guy whose contract would be just as obnoxious as Manny's was (plus, Cabrera just might eat his way out of the game at his present pace). So, just how does Theo plug the gaps?

5) And just can't resist this line: If form holds, the Sox will have three Ramirezes--none of 'em named Manny--and a Boof on their 2010 Opening Day Roster.

Man, gotta love the Hot Stove chatter, huh?

Jason Varitek's Upcoming Charity Dinner

This charity dinner, put on by none other than Mr. Varitek and his charity, sounds like a solid event. Details below:

Jason Varitek's Captain's Dinner. The proceeds for this raffle will benefit the Celebrities for Charity Foundation. The raffle includes


Winner and three (3) guests will enjoy Dinner with Jason Varitek, on December 17, 2009, in the Greater Boston Area with an intimate group of fans

• Winner and each guest will recieve an autographed baseball from Jason Varitek
• Winner and each guest may bring up to 2 items to be autographed by Jason Varitek
• Winner and each guest will be able to take a picture with the Captain, Jason Varitek

Tickets are only $2 each (min 5) and the proceeds once again benefit the Celebrities for Charity Foundation. Find more information about the raffle or to purchase tickets here.


Photo credit: http://kylepdiddy.files.wordpress.com/

Falling into Place

No, I'm not ready to declare that the season is over yet. Nor am I ready to say that the Red Sox are a lock for the playoffs. But what I will tell you is that they went a LONG way over the past few days at solidifying their chances for a deep playoff run. Two weeks ago, I wasn't sure this would be the case with Beckett struggling mightily, Buchholz looking good but having little track record behind him and the Sox bats wavering between scoring 10+ runs a game and none.

Fast forward to Saturday night's gritty five plus inning gem by Beckett (with the Sox bats erupting in the third inning for nine runs) followed by game one of yesterday's double header where poor Matt Garza pitched his heart out, only to get kicked in the crotch by Ortiz and Pedroia in the seventh. This combined with Lester's "ice water in the veins" eight innings of shutout ball in game two was a real shot in the arm.

So why am I so jazzed all of a sudden? Well, the Sox have a four game lead on Texas and Tampa Bay is all but eliminated from the Wild Card. And the Sox still have an outside chance at catching the Yanks (I know, I know, I sound like Kyle Flaherty here). Most importantly, Boston is looking like the dangerous offensive AND defensive team that we thought they might be at the beginning of the season.

With Beckett, Lester and now Buchholz as a solid 1-2-3 punch (yes, it would be great to see two more solid starts out of Beckett), we're in good shape to match up with the "always hapless in the playoffs" Anaheim Angels of LA. And who knows, lightning may might rise up and strike Detroit who matches up pretty well with the Yanks and deliver us an ALCS party with Detroit and Boston as the lucky entrants. The bullpen is now back to form with a much needed shot in the arm from Billy Wagner and you have weapons like Martinez, Gathright, Green or Kotchman coming off the bench. Not a bad place to be. Most importantly, all the key guys are healthy (yup, just knocked on wood after saying that).

Am I being a bit cocksure? Yes I am. But hey, I've seen Francona work his magic under more adverse conditions. I like where we are and feel bullish going into October. Who knows, this could be the year where we do actually see Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots world championships in the same year.


image courtesy: http://www.maniacworld.com/

AL Stars P0wn NL's Best... Again!

Growing up, I remember watching nearly every MLB All Star game and if my recollection serves me properly, the games weren't scheduled to fit Fox or ABC's "Prime Time" schedule so I was able to stay up for the entire thing. Back then, I had my heart broken nearly every year because as a fan of the Red Sox, I was an "AL" guy. Yup, you know what I'm talking about. Between 1950-1987 (I was born in 1968), the NL won 33 of 42 times with one tie. That's A LOT of dominating.

Now it seems like the AL is equally dominating having not lost since 1996. And the good news is that the game now means something since it determines home field advantage for the Fall Classic. That didn't help the Rays last year but certainly helped the Red Sox in 2007 and 2004. If the Sox can hold on and have a shot at the World Series this year, it's a HUGE advantage to them to be able to play games one and two in Fenway.

So what's the deal withe recent AL domination? Is the AL really that much better than the NL? Does good hitting actually trump good pitching and defense? Inquiring minds want to know!

So Assuming We Don't Empty the Farm for Halladay...

A big THANK YOU to friend, Derek Peplau, for stepping up and asking the question, "How Badly Do You Want [Doc Halladay]." We were definitely on the verge of tumbleweeds blowing through Big Papelbon so we needed the injection of fresh content.

In the comments, Kyle Flaherty teed up the idea of the Red Sox needing a bat. Several of us agreed -- especially with Youkilis in a nasty slump (2 for 26), Lowell on the DL and Papi just starting to emerge from this spring/early summer's hibernation -- but who to go after?

While we'd all love to make a play for Pujols, he's most likely even more out of reach than Doc Halladay. Speaking of Halladays... how about Matt Holliday who has dropped off the planet for the A's. I'm guessing that a change of atmosphere could do him good and he could be had for a solid AA pitching prospect and maybe Kotsay.

What do my fellow GM-wannabe's think?

Baseball Summer Reading

Looking to get more up to date on baseball? Here are some "must reads" by two big baseball brains...

Tim Walker says, "Possibly the three best books ever written about baseball":

• The Glory of Their Times, by Lawrence Ritter
• Ball Four, by Jim Bouton
• Moneyball, by Michael Lewis (this is one of my -- Aaron Strout's -- personal faves)

Other excellent reads Tim recommends:

• The Bill James Historical Abstract of Baseball (This is a book to put on the nightstand and graze from.)
• The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams
• Nine Innings, by Daniel Okrent
• Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, by Jules Tygiel (*Outstanding* social history treatment of baseball’s integration.)

And from Kyle Flaherty:

• The Teammates by David Halberstam
• The Long Ball by Tom Adelman
• Past Time: Baseball as History by Jules Tygiel.
  

Daily Question for 3/31

From Tim Walker aka @Twalk:

Speaking as realistically (i.e. not as a homer) as you can, what record do you project for the Sox this year?

New Blood on the Olde Town Teams

It's hard keeping up with all of the exciting new acquisitions on the Boston's sports teams but for the ones I know about, I couldn't be more thrilled...

• Celtics: Stephon Marbury & Mikki Moore
• Red Sox: John Smoltz, Brad Penny & Brad Wilkerson
• Patriots: Fred Taylor (just confirmed that contrary to what I said in the video, Ray Lewis is staying put.)

Okay gents, let the comments fly!

Gotta Like Theo's Approach

That's right, the approach I'm talking about in the title of this post is that of a Mr. Theo Epstein, GM of yooouuuuurrrrr... Boston Red Sox. With a little luck in 2009, the Sox could have one of the two or three best teams in Major League Baseball...

Have you stopped laughing yet? I hope so because I'm serious. Want to know why I'm not crazy? Well, here's six reasons for starters:

1. The Sox already had three of the top 25 pitchers (who are all under the age of 27 btw) in baseball. There names are Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsusaka. This year, Josh Beckett should have a healthy back, Lester will be one more year removed from cancer and Dice K will have two years of facing MLB hitters under his belt. I'm willing to wager money that those three go a combined 52-21 this year.
2. IF Brad Penny is healthy (this is where the "little luck" part comes in), he could be the best number four starter in the league. Arguably if he's healthy, he could be even better than he was in 2006-7 when he finished 3rd in Cy Young voting in the NL given the fact that he'll have a much better offense and an equally good defense behind him. I'm predicting he goes 15-10 this year (slow April and May will give way to a rock star June - October).
3. As our number five in the starting rotation, the Sox can choose from the likes of Clay Bucholtz, Tim Wakefield, Jon Smoltz or Justin Masterson. My money says they start with Wake/Smoltz depending on Spring Training and then either move a AAA arm into that spot or give way to Justin Masterson whom they claim will play a key role in the bullpen again (IMHO he's too valuable an arm to waste on the pen just like Joba Chamberlain was for the Yanks).
4. While it sucks that we didn't get Teixeira, it would have been tough to have to part with Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz or Mike Lowell given the fact that they are three of the most dedicated/hard working/clutch guys in baseball. In 2009 a little more "luck" is needed here given Ortiz and Lowell's injuries last year. My $$ says Ortiz comes back in the best shape of his life and Lowell eases into the season hitting his stride by July.
5. The Sox have a pretty freaking solid outfield offensively and defensively with Bay, Ellsbury, Drew and now Baldelli (one more request for "luck"). They also have one of the top five offensive/defensive infields s in the AL (assuming Lowell is healthy and that they trade Lugo for a box of baseballs so that Lowrie can play short).
6. Did I mention the bullpen? The Sox have the most dominant closer in baseball. A former dominant closer/starter in Smoltz, a stud in the making in Masterson (who I still want starting), a new stud in Ramirez and a mostly-good-but-still-young Delcarmen. Oh yeah, let's not forget Oki-Dokie who seemed to come on strong in the second half of 2008. On top of that, you know Theo will pick up another 3-5 "maybes" to compete in spring training.

Okay, so we have one glaring weakness (assuming health works in our favor) at the catcher position. While it was nice to get Josh Bard back, he's not much more than a nice upgrade over Doug "We Loved You Because You Could Catch Wakefield but Won't Be Said to See Your .201 Average Go Elsewhere" Mirabelli. Greg Zaun could be a decent stop gap for another year or so but really, they need to make a trade. here's the good news... with the acquisition of Smoltz, my money says they go after Jerod Saltamacchia of the Rangers with Bucholtz and one or two topp AAA prospects. I also wouldn't completely rule out 'Tek coming back for one more year, especially since Boras doesn't seem to be working his normal, "let me turn chicken shit into chicken salad" magic this year.

Have I got you fired up? At the very least, I've given all my BigP home boys some fodder to tell me why I'm off my rocker. Let 'em rip!

Photo: Courtesy MLB.com

What Do You Root For?

The Red Sox unveiled new hats and jerseys last night/this morning and my first thought was "so what." But soon I started hearing rumbling from my friends in Red Sox nation that they didn't like the change. The "B" on the hat is sacred and the red socks on the uniforms is cheesy, was what I heard from more than a few people.

I didn't really have a lot of time to think about it today, but it struck me when I was enjoying a beer o'clock conversation with my work colleague Derek.

In this day and age, the uniforms are what we root for... it's all we have left as fans. We long ago gave up the hope that a player would stay with the team for their entire career - free agency was the dagger in our heart there. So rooting for players is an annual affair, subdued by the revolving door also known as the "hot stove."

Team chemistry is annual roll of the dice, but those uniforms and hats... take 'em to the bank. We come to the Park year in and year out and feel an allegiance to a certain look, a certain color, a certain letter... quickly sewn onto a synthetic jersey somewhere in China. That's what being a fan has become.

So when Sox management has the audacity to change the logo and establish the "red socks" as de rigueu, we say "hold on a second."

As a business, it's certainly in their right to make some changes if it will help drive merchandise sales (the assumed reason behind the change). But the fans I'm talking to aren't buying it... whether it's a hat, an away jersey or a bumper sticker with the new logo. We're just fine with what we've got (or had, based on what you've just introduced).

What about you? What do you think about the hat and uniform changes. Should Theo Epstein and his team have asked you first?

I look forward to your comments, which will undoubtedly be better than this post. Thanks!

Red Sox Clinch: Why Are We Not More Excited?

Shame on me for not getting this up sooner. It truly demonstrates that we Boston sports fans are getting too lackadaisical in our passion for our sport's teams when our team makes the playoffs and we can't even take the time to do a quick celebratory blog post about it. I guess that's what two World Series wins, three Super Bowl wins (four appearances) and an NBA Championship in the span of seven years will do to you.

Rewinding to that last statement, I'm thinking that maybe our seeming complacency has less to do with being lackadaisical and more about high expectations for our local teams. Thinking back to the early eighties, I remember many Boston Celtic sports fans waiting until late February/early March to really check into the season. It wasn't because they didn't love the Celtics but rather they expected that they would be in the playoffs. In fact, they assumed that anything short of making it to the finals was a disappointment. That may come off as arrogant or detached but it's a reality. I believe it's one of the main reasons we as Red Sox fans have hated Yankee fans and Cowboy fans so much in the past. By the way, we're obviously starting to inspire some of this same hate in other fans (thanks to friend, Adam Cohen, for passing this along).

With all that said, I am very excited that the Sox are in the playoffs. It's been a little bit of an odd season as some of the posts on this blog have noted. The season opening in Japan and then pausing for a few west coast exhibition games was a weird start. Then we seem to have hit a disproportionate number of west coast games early on (I'm an early-to-bedder most nights so I can't stay up until 1:00 AM watching those games). Plus, the Sox seemed to be in cruise control most of the season in spite of the Rays besting them in August and September. Still, this is the fifth time in six years the boys from Beantown have been to the post season and I'm thrilled.

The big question now is how will we fare? Personally, I'm a little nervous but feeling better every day. Getting JD Drew back into the lineup last night was huge. More important is nursing Lowell back to a quasi-healthy state. I think we'll end up missing Manny's "clutchedness" in some of the big at bats but it seems like Youk and Pedroia are starting to fill some of that need. Also, Ellsbury is coming on at the right time. Pitching is mostly good and with the addition of Masterson to the core bullpen team, it seems like we're finding some stability beyond just Papelbon in the late innings.

There's no doubt that the Angels will be tougher this year than in years past. The Sox dropping eight out of nine to them this year is testiment to that fact. The Rays are also a force to be reckoned with although I'll be interested to see how they do in their first year ever in the playoffs. As we've seen in the past, having "been there" before matters more than ever in October although we've seen another team from Florida win twice over the last 12 years in spite of being a "rookie" team.

So ladies and gentlemen, stock up your refrigerators and your snack cabinets and grab your remotes. Hopefully we're in for a long ride over the next several weeks. Any predictions for a Manny vs. Ortiz world series?

Photo credit: Moon Battery

Steady at the Helm: The Terry Francona Story

"Story" might be a stretch since this is going to be a short blog post but the point of my title is that Terry Francona's success at the helm of the Red Sox is worthy of much more ink than he's received to date. I'm not implying that people are dissing him but merely that he is one of the most underrated managers in baseball (and possibly all sports for that matter).

After two World Series wins and three trips to the post season (soon to be four) in his five years as manager of the Red Sox, it's hard to argue with the fact that Terry Francona is a good manager. What makes him special, however, is his ability to stay calm under pressure. By pressure, I don't just mean in the game but during the season. I'll argue that it's this ability that allowed the Sox to win the WS last year and is what will get them deep into the playoffs this year.

Unlike former Yankee manager (who as many of you know now has the pleasure of coaching "Red Sox West" aka the LA Dodgers), Francona doesn't burn out his bullpen. He doesn't panic and keep guys off the DL when they need time to heal. Francona isn't affraid to run with a rookie even when he's struggling mightily (remember how poorly MVPedroia started off last season?) or to stick with a veteran that needs to work himself out of a deep slump (hello msr. Varitek). That's not as much of a knock on Torre as it is a compliment to Francona.

One of the things that ultimately did Torre in in New York was the pressure from Steinbrenner to win at all costs. It forced him to constantly ride his best 2-3 relievers in the pen ( I remember a dozen times over the last few years where Torre brought Rivera in for 4+ out saves, mainly because the Yankees early season losses constantly put the team in must win situations starting as early as August). This ultimately lead to the Yanks exiting the playoffs early (see 20002, and then 2005-2007) because by the time they got into the playoffs, there bullpen was so worn out they didn't have the horses to win in tight games.

Francona on the other hand has taken extremet caution with players like Beckett, Papelbon, Schilling, Wakefield, Dice-K, Lowell, Youkilis, Ortiz and others during the regular season, sometimes seeming to thumb his nose at opportunities to win the division and instead settling for the Wild Card. Even this year, up until a few games ago, it appeared that the Sox were headed for the Wild Card but with Tampa Bay hitting the wall and Boston getting back some of their studs (Beckett, Lowell, Youkilis and soon, Drew), a win tonight against Texas would put the Sox just 1 1/2 games back in the division with six left against the Rays.

Now I must also give credit where credit is due to Theo Epstein who has not only completely restocked the Sox farm system (4th best in the majors) but made the tough decisions like trading Nomar in 2004, not emptying the bank for Johan Santana and ultimately pulling the trigger on the Manny for Bay trade at the trading deadline this year (a deal that apparently has worked out well for both teams with the Sox a near lock for the playoffs and the Dodgers with a 1/2 game lead in the West). It doesn't hurt to have owners with deep pockets but the Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers have equally deep pockets and look how they've faired up until this year.

What do you think? Is Terry the man? Or is he just lucky?

Late Summer Doldrums

Anyone else having a hard time getting into the BoSox? Don't get me wrong, I still check the box scores every evening/morning to see if the Sox have made up ground on the Rays and I do watch more games than not but I'm having a hard time kicking it into gear. Given the fact that we're moving into the stretch playoff run, I need to turn that trend around soon.

Same problem with the Patriots. I'm not worried that they've now lost three straight pre-season games. In fairness, I'm more concerned with Tom Brady's foot injury than anything given the fact that we all know that the Pats fate remains firmly in the hands of Tommy B. I have started to engage with football ONLY because I've had to do my pre-season picks (I'm in three leagues this year - my brothers, Derek Showerman's and Peter Kim's).

I know that once the first real football game starts, I'll start to kick it into gear. I also know that as the nights get colder and we drift toward the end of September, my heart will start racing with every close late inning game. Maybe part of the issue is the fact that the Rays are the ones leading the AL East this year. I am happy for them but don't really see them as a real competitor... yet. The Yanks are the ones I like to loath and they've clearly been ravaged by injuries, poor investments and a general lack of team spirit this year. The Angels still don't scare me either. I know they have more arms and bats in their always competitive lineup but given their past October woes, I still don't see them advancing to the WS this year.

What do you think? I'm sure Mssrs. Cohen, Storer, Strout (John), Quinan, Humbarger (Halos fan), Person, Sukernek and Haslam have something to say. My bro-in-law, "Redfish" should also give us an NL pennant race update (he's a Marlins fan). Let's bring it in the comments!

Do the Right Thing

Remember that movie from the early 90's? It's not essential that you do - but the title of that movie seemed apropos for this post given the number of times people DON'T do the right thing these days.

The "thing" of which I speak is the act of giving back Manny Ramirez's 500th home run ball on Saturday, something which may have cost the brothers Woo from Nahant, MA, $500,000. Yes, you're reading that number correctly - that's the sum of money that Eddie Murray's 500th HR ball fetched 12 years back. And no, the Woo brothers aren't Manny haters. They are just good all around guys.

When I first read this story in the Boston Globe on Sunday, I turned to my wife and said, "you know, stories like this give me faith in mankind." I truly meant that. Once in a while, it's nice to see someone just do something nice vs. what's in their best financial/personal interest.

Ironically, Manny has more money than God (well, maybe not that much, but at $20 million/year, you get the picture) so many people might say, "screw him. If he wants the ball, let him pay me!" Instead, the Woo brothers opted to give the ball back to Manny saying simply, "this is his accomplishment."

What I love about the ending of this story is that Manny has decided to "Pay it Forward" (couldn't resist using another movie title here) by agreeing to auction off his 500th HR ball and then donate the proceeds to charity. Wow! Another story that restores faith in mankind? You betcha. Just another case of Manny being Manny.