Red Sox Reality Check

The Dog Days of August became either the Dead Dogs, the Lie Down and Rollover Dogs, or the Beaten Like a Dog Days for the Sox as they tied the record of most losses (21) in a month by a team that entered in first place. Nonetheless, we have to ask is the glass half empty or totally empty? Let's presume that the walking wounded recover and that Jon Lester's health problem isn't serious. I think that leaves the Sox with a good core, and lots of money for free agency. The core? C - Varitek IF - Youkilis, Lowell (contract), Pedroia OF - Ramirez, Pena, Crisp (just never got totally 'right') DH - Ortiz SP - Schilling (1 year), Beckett, Papelbon, Lester RP - Delcarmen, Wakefield Yes, that leaves a lot of room for filler, including shortstop, at least one outfielder, and almost half the pitching staff. Can Edgar Martinez step up into the bullpen? Does Mike Timlin have anything left? As for the 'best' free agent pitchers, there's Zito, Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Se...

David Ortiz was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital for evaluation. By report he had a history of palpitations, and presumably must have had documented rhythm disturbance (likely tachycardia or fast heart rate). My comments are totally generic as I know nothing of his situation, prior health, medication use, or family history, information that his physicians will seek. As a broad overview, tachycardia is divided between supraventricular (sinus tachycardia, atrial fibrillation and flutter, reentrant nodal rhythms) and ventricular tachycardia. As a first pass, physicians will want to know about medication use (caffeine, alcohol, cold medications, etc. - nothing to suggest cocaine or amphetamines), thyroid or other metabolic disease, and chemical balance (calcium, potassium, magnesium) and whether there are clues from the surface electrocardiogram. Presuming the specific type of rhythm is known, physicians will try to determine whether circulatory (coronary artery disease), valvula...

To paraphrase the very doubtable Tom Cruise in Risky Business , "talent, there is no substitute." Yes, the Red Sox are showing up, but the JV Sox can't compete. Our boys have gone from among the top ten in the majors this year to the bottom ten. What happened? Chaos in the front office . Are lasting scars a part of the Lansdowne Landscape? It wasn't about the money, but autonomy, and the end result has been mediocrity. Balance becomes imbalance . For the first half of the season, the Sox led the league in defense, were in the top quarter in offense, and had enough pitching to compete. Yes, warning signs were out there, most notably the relatively narrow run differential. The Sox were able to win a lot of close games, thanks to defense and Jonathan Papelbon, but mean reversion caught up with both Papelbon and the Sox, coupled with other factors. Injuries . There's no crying in baseball, but the Sox plummeted with a combination of the prolonged absence of Tim Wakef...

Why do we insist on making baseball a morality play? As much as the most ardent fans among us may protest, baseball is a multibillion dollar entertainment business, its stars play a game and do not work miracles, and all in the industry, from players to peanut vendors have clay feet, like the rest of us. Let's argue it both ways. Players have bad days. They weary of the 'marathon', they argue with their wives and girlfriends (we hope not at the same time), they get injured, have slumps, and occasionally aren't good people but self-indulgent boors. Like the rest of us. Manny Ramirez doesn't bust it down to first base every at bat . Manny gets paid spectacular money to give his total effort. We expect him to prepare and perform at the highest level, satisfy the wishes of every reporter and every fan, and do it with a smile. Manny regularly produces forty homers, a hundred twenty RBI, hits .300 and plays a lot better leftfield than is generally appreciated. Do you give...

With another West Coast swing upon us, one thing Sox do not need is denial. Yesterday, and the recent series, is history, and the only thing that counts is winning today. We often hear talk about the baseball season being a marathon, and it may be, but to win a marathon one cannot fall miles behind with yards to go. What management and the team needs to focus on is winning today, not worrying about winning a series or a road trip. "Why do we fall?" "So we can learn how to get up," echoes Bruce Wayne in Batman Returns. What the Sox need to remember, is not so much the bat man, but the pitch man, starting with Kyle Snyder and continuing down through the pitching staff. Thirty-eight games is still almost a quarter of the season, and realistically, winning the division if the Yankees play just 22-19 requires the Sox to go 28-10 (hope I got the math right). That friends and foes alike is a tall order. If either the Twins or Chisox finish second in the central and go 94-...

Prior to 2004, reality muted expectations. July leads were expected to wane in late summer, and October surprises always brought disappointment. Then the glorious World Series victory of 2004, following the apocalyptic crash of Baseball's gods, the Yankees, changed everything. Twenty-five guys, twenty-five caps was banished by Theo and the Trio, the Bloody Sock, and the Idiots. Loserville no more. One championship, and you expect the taste every season. Like a cocaine addict, you've got the high of victory and you want more. You crave it; you demand it; you lust for it. Pinch yourself. What a difference. Following the recent homestand, all we hear is 'down the toilet, circling the drain, blow it up' and so on. The only question isn't 'are we printing playoff tickets' it's 'who's getting the tar and feathers?' Inevitably, people feeling victimized need to find somebody to blame. "It's Theo's fault for not making a big deal,"...

Last year, Fenway was 'America's Most Beloved Ballpark'. A radio ad today called it 'Boston Best Ballpark'. Tomorrow it will have to be 'The House of Pain'. The Bombers dispatched the Red Sox five straight, Cool Hand Luke cryin' shame, for the first time since 1951, ergo the worst beating of most of our lives. But let's not confuse justice with just is. The Yankees have a superior player to the Sox at every position except leftfield and DH, and in most instances it's not close. Yes, there is a payroll difference, and yes Jason Giambi still looks 'artificially enhanced', but those are still the facts. The better team won (even with two blown games), and the Red Sox are not one player away. Period. The absence of Jason Varitek has been telling and the truism about 'strength up the middle' didn't lie. Yes, Johnny Damon has added something extra to the Gothamaniacs, and even the most loyal Red Sox fan can't seriously croon, ...

We used to hear about WWJDD. Maybe the question we should be asking is 'what would Bill Belicheck do?' As the weekend goes along, it's looking a lot more like the Boston Massacre of 1978, where the Yankees scored something like 40 runs in a four game series. Unfortunately, the Bombers have already scored 39 in just three games. It's tempting to put the blame on those who cannot fix the problem, that is GM Theo Epstein and skipper Terry Francona. Does anybody think that they're not putting the best they have out there. The Sox don't even have the Wakefield on three days rest option, with workarounds for the rest of the staff. Maybe we're just suffering 'growing pains', as the youngsters (Papelbon excepted) haven't been able to deliver, and the veterans (Seanez, Tavarez, and Timlin) ain't what they used to be. The Jermaine Van Buren experiment has pretty much worn me down, and heck, I don't have to actually throw him. Options, aside from w...

Red Auerbach used to celebrate another Celtics' victory by lighting his famous cigar. Although occasionally close, the opposition never caused that cigar to explode. A C's victory inevitably ensued. Always. As the Red Sox are close, at least geographically, within the pennant race, they tempt us to remain brave, trustworthy, courteous and the whole host of Boy Scout adjectives. Especially when confronted by our antithesis of Red Sox Nation, the Evil Empire. We must remember that the Red Sox embody 'toying with our emotions', and a calamitous collapse, especially on Jimmy Fundraising Day, hardly seems an appropriately ambivalent 'pain trade'. Jason Johnson's performance earned him a bus ticket out of here, and Jon Lester's OJT stint at Fenway never engendered more pain. Are we in for another Boston Massacre reminiscent of 1978, the good old days of Butch Hobson and Bobby Sprowl? Sprowl's portside promise never delived a single win in parts of four yea...

So often the baseball season parallels the sport of rock climbing. I'm sure that elite rock climbers have periods where they feel invincible, and other times they must wonder why they accept the challenge. The NL East represented good handholds, favorable weather, and perfect health. Who could have guessed that Tampa and KC would have been the sheer face of cold, wintry death? The other day the Boston Globe had an absurd column asking whether the Tigers were 'real'. At this point in the season, the Tigers of 2006 eclipsed the World Series Champion, 35-5 starting Tigers, who were very toothy. Pitching, pitching, pitching. The Tigers have it in abundance, with live young arms, the kind the Sox are trying to assemble. The Sox acquired Eric Hinske in a waiver deal, which gives them some corner pop. What next, Shea Hillenbrand?

Well, I went almost to the end of the known baseball universe (Vail), but I'm back to wonder whether I'm a jinx. Speaking of jinxes, I recently met a man. Mr X. (names are changed to protect the innocent) who was a former employee of the New Yorkahs. El jefe Steinbrenner found it necessarily to terminate his business relationship with said individual. Unfortunately for Steinbrenner, that was a serious mistake, as Mr. X informed me that Mrs X put a curse on the Bombers (2001). You don't believe in curses? The results seem to speak for themselves. Small children in New York have never known that Championship Feeling. Enough Schadenfreude. As for the Sox, after the debacle known as Tampa and KC (my excessive nocturnal entertainment theme), the Sox came back to pluck the once-proud Orioles. Alas, the Tigers invade Fenway tonight and the Law of Averages is catching up with the Sox so far, as the Tiger losing streak is softening, just in time to disrupt the Sox. All those naysay...

The bad news was the extended security check at Logan. The good news was that they didn't force us to divert our plane to Kansas City. The Royals, one of the worst teams in MLB, have the opportunity to sweep the Red Sox tonight. Say it ain't so, Joe Castiglione. At least it hasn't been one thing, it's been everything. Maybe Curt Schilling can continue his amazing streak of avoiding personal two-game losing streaks and pull the Sox out of this tailspin. Doug Mirabelli homered tonight, so anything is possible. Warm and sunny in Vail, although the air's just a little thin; probably like in the Sox offices these days.

Mal: Fellow called Badger. Harrow: I know him. And I think he's a psychotic lowlife. Mal: And I think calling him that is an offense to the psychotic lowlife community. --From Firefly, the Series It ain't easy being green, or a Red Sox fan. You'd think that the magical 2004 season with cataclysmic collapse of the Bronx Bombers and a World Series title would erase the angst from the collective consciousness of Red Sox Nation. Fat chance. Management takes heat for not taking on enough salary (extensions of Ortiz and Beckett, anyone), for not trading prospects for overpaid ragarms (sorry Kip Wells), and being acused of general indifference to the Sox plight. Try this one on for size. The current version of Sox, Stardate 2006.112 isn't good enough to win the AL East, never mind the whole enchilada. The number three starter is Jon Lester, who might be a top of the rotation guy someday. He's not today. Not his fault, as he's pressed into a role that is a stretch f...

With an off day to refuel the Sox, let's take a look at the offensive production of the team, comparing not TEAM versus TEAM statistics, but position versus position production. DH - There are five DHs who qualify, with the top 2 in OPS being, Travis Hafner 1.060 and Jim Thome 1.050. Wait. David Ortiz leads in runs created (100) versus 97 for Hafner and 91 for Thome. Obviously, not a problem area. C - Among 9 qualifiers (plate appearances) Jason Varitek ranks eighth with an OPS of .743. Joe Mauer (.970) and Jorge Posada (.875) dominate. 1B - Kevin Youkilis is 4th in runs created (77) and 6th in OPS (.842) but leads AL first basemen in runs scored (76). Better as a leadoff hitter than in the five hole. 2B - Mark Loretta is seventh in OPS (.743) but leads in runs created (62). Okay, so he's not Joe Morgan, but Joe Morgan isn't playing anywhere else in the AL either. SS - Alex Gonzalez came billed as good field, no hit. Alex is 6th among AL shortstops in OPS (.762) and tenth i...

David Wells comes into tonights game at number 64 on the All-Time Wins list. I've gotta give him major respect for that. Wells doesn't have a ninety-mile an hour fastball to complement his control and his curveball anymore. He's out there on guts and guile, not on gas. He can still occasionally fool the young punks, but they're clearly catching up to him, hardly surprising at age 43. Wells has only given up one earned run so far, as he was a victim of a David Ortiz miscue at first, and his declining stuff. He reminds me of the old lion, being pushed out of the pride by young challengers. And so it must be. Terry Francona seems to have a pattern, pitching Hansen, Delcarmen, and Timlin in front of Papelbon when the game is on the line, and the 'Z' squad, Tavarez and Seanez when the Sox struggle. Too bad Casey Fossum couldn't get guys out when he was on the Sox. Anybody notice that Dustin Pedroia is in the lineup at third base tonight for the Pawsox. Obviousl...

The Sox got a big win at the Juice today, on Cowbell Night. Sox fans had a chance to ring in the beginning of the road trip, sparked by a pair of Ortiz homers, winning 3-2. It's not easy to get into the manager's head, but let's try. The Sox pitching is scuffling, based on today's report that Schilling's 7 innings were the first seven inning start since July 20th. Is that possible? Tim Wakefield's absence hurts the rotation a lot, as Schilling, Beckett, and Lester are now the top three, with Wells and Jason Johnson major question marks. Papelbon and Delcarmen are looking like the top two out of the pen, followed by Timlin and Hansen, with Snyder the long man. Corey, Tavarez, and Seanez are looking for roles. At least one must go to allow the Sox to have more position player depth, especially if Lowell remains injured. Lefty Phil Seibel is in the wings at Pawtucket, and one wonders if Chris Smith can be far behind after today's initial performance. Ortiz now ...

I want to believe, that most professional athletes are larger than life, All-American he-roes. In addition to their athletic prowess, they're good to their families, have a sunny disposition, don't take alcohol, drugs, or performance enhancers, and they might even be kind to kids and like animals. I'm sure some meet these stringent goals, but probably no more than doctors, lawyers, butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. So, do we need some classification to help us identify the wheat from the chaff? Please feel free to use it for athletes, rock stars, and dog catchers. I'm not going to give examples because frankly I don't know many pro athletes, and if I did, I don't think I'd rat them out. 1. Bunyanesque. Larger than life, all-around good guy. 2. Delightful rogue. Flawed but intriguing personally. 3. Lothario. See below for married players. 4. Philandering hypocrite. Kinda speaks for itself. 5. Shylock. Tightfisted rich guy. 6. Self-absorbed narcissist...

You'll never see, "Eat BLANK" on Family Feud, either the new or the old version. Many Red Sox fans have failed to appreciate the hitting genius of Manny Ramirez, author of 9 consecutive years of at least 30 homers. Or the invaluable protection that he provides to David Ortiz. Well, a lot of Red Sox fans need to EAT CROW. No, Manny isn't a paragon of concentration, occasionally failing to run out a grounder, or pausing to admire his batting handiwork. But great players have great statistics , and that fits Ramirez to a tee. Ramirez is tied for third in the AL in homers, and came into the season with an on base percentage of .409 and slugging percentage of .599. He far exceeds the expected Hall of Fame standards and Hall of Fame monitor for career production, found at www.baseball-reference.com. Among 'similarity scores' to Manny's career or by age, you find Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Duke Snider, and Joe DiMaggio. I never saw Snider or DiMagg...

We're the Diehards, the Sox fans who have endured years as the fan equivalents of bridesmaids, only to enter Nirvana in 2004, and expect, well. polygamy. It doesn't exactly work that way. Championship teams need talent, execution, health, luck, and especially pitching. The everyday Sox lineup has 'extreme' talent in David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Even accounting for injuries, those are the players who can start for every team in the majors. Trot Nixon (offensively) and Jason Varitek (especially concerning preparation and handling of pitchers) have their moments, but neither are consensus All-Stars. The rest of the Sox infield have performed admirably, and better than expected. But Mike Lowell is not Mike Schmidt and Mark Loretta isn't Joe Morgan, although Loretta turns the DP as well as any second baseman I've seen. Alex Gonzalez has far exceeded expectations with the bat, and has fielded brilliantly. Coco Crisp hasn't been the player the Sox hoped for. Some...

I enjoy listening to WEEI, a.k.a. Sports Radio, a.k.a. 'Nitwit Radio'. During today's AM 'drive' (I live close to work), the only thing I heard was commercials. The only one I remember was an advertisement for a hospital. Maybe that's appropriate for the Red Sox these days, with Jason Varitek hurt and Trot Nixon, too. Of course, this afternoon, the PM nitwits, including sportswriters, were insisting that the Red Sox should have given up the young pitching for Andruw Jones. who is signed with Atlanta through 2007 . Undoubtedly, these same baseball geniuses would be lambasting the Red Sox for losing too many 9-7 games after the departure of the kids. But that's their game, right? I'm trying to recall the number of successful baseball GMs who had previous careers as prominent sportswriters. Help me out here. What's not to love about Red Smith, Peter Gammons, George Frazier, and Thomas Boswell? Sports journalists leave indelible marks on their communit...