Red Sox Reality Check

The Red Sox won't be going to the postseason, but they haven't mailed it in. Tonight they won their ninth consecutive home victory over the Orioles, holding off the Birds 4-3, with Julian Tavarez finishing the season at 5-4 and Mike Timlin picking up his ninth save. Trot Nixon had an ofer but hit the ball hard several times as he plays out his season as the Sox member with the longest continuous service. Nixon, plagued by injuries, becomes a free agent at the conclusion of the season. Mike Lowell had a pair of hits and closes in on 80 RBI to accompany 19 homers as he becomes a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. Lowell will also duel Eric Chavez for Gold Glove at third base, and turned in another gem tonight, making a leaping grab of a liner. Dustin Pedroia played shortstop tonight and turned in a sharp DP with Mark Loretta on a shot up the middle. Pedroia has impressive college and minor league credentials and continues to get his feet wet as he tries to make the leap t...

"Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan." John Henry remains the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox. Henry enjoyed remarkable success both in money management and professional baseball, as two of his teams have captured World Series Championships. Most Sox fans view Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino as the business operations side, and General Manager Theo Epstein as the head of Baseball Operations. We all have heard of the infighting between Lucchino and his proxies with GM Epstein over control of the baseball side of the house. Where does the post-mortem begin on the 2006 edition of the Boston Red Sox? First, we can examine the Red Sox as a business, with Forbes reporting Red Sox total revenue as $171 million in 2002. We know that Larry Lucchino runs the business side of the house, and the Sox have continually poured money into upgrading both Fenway Park's amenities and its capacity. According to Nintendorks (via Forbes) the Sox increased their rev...

We often hear about the importance of making adjustments to become a successful major league player. Opponents and high tech scouting will find and exploit weaknesses mercilessly. Are you tipping a pitch? Are you unable to hit the inside fastball? Are you a sucker for gas upstairs or the breaking stuff away? Players who want to have an extended career have to analyze and adapt to minimize their weaknesses while emphasizing their strengths. Fans need to make adjustments, too. We don't have to carry water for players who can't produce, or blindly worship 'laundry'. On the other hand, if the Sox put the Vienna Boys' Choir on the field, they might be great guys, but they won't win anything. As a fan, I can live with Manny Ramirez, who may not be a 24/7 effort guy, but whose results far exceed the marginal player, high effort guys like Steve Lyons. Guys like Lyons might hang around the majors for a lengthy career, through pluck and versatility, but you can't win ...

You have to ask yourself why you're still turning on NESN (or MLB.com) to watch the Red Sox. David Ortiz has assured that Jimmy Foxx's record has left the building, and the battle for second place in the AL East has all the intensity of watching your lawn grow. So why tune in? Because you're part of the Matt Clement watch? Because you can't get enough Bobblehead and brown tee-shirt talk from Don and Jerry? Play the kids the rest of the way. Can David Murphy generate enough to become a fourth outfielder? Would looking at Brandon Moss (Eastern League playoff MVP) be such a bad thing? Playing out the season leads into the Hot Stove League, and the Red Sox have plenty of work to do. An author in the Red Sox newsgroup noted that the Red Sox have only three players with above average OPS, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Kevin Youkilis, with Wily Mo Pena qualifying with limited at bats. Conversely, the AL East Champion had seven. And all media people can talk about is jettison...

Every day belongs to history, but not every day feels 'historic'. Last night David Ortiz, a Twins' castoff, tied the Red Sox single season home run record (50) of Jimmy Foxx, against the Twins. Tonight Ortiz eclipsed Foxx, slugging his record-breaker against the best pitcher in the AL, Johann Santana. Ortiz shot reminded me of the blasts Harmon Killebrew hit, carrying almost endlessly courtesy of backspin, this one landing behind the Red Sox bullpen. Later, the Sox fan favorite clubbed his fifty-second homer to punctuate the achievement. The 2006 season had become what might have been, instead of what we hoped it would become. An All-Star start turned into a second half nightmare. Inconsistency, injury and the serious illness of promising lefthander Jon Lester, made us pine for another time. Those of us on the wrong side of fifty have seen great sluggers of Red Sox history grace Fenway Park. I'm not quite old enough to remember Ted Williams swing in person, but his 521 ...

Has the Nation gone soft? Have our collective weakness atrophied that limbic enmity reserved for the Bronx Bombers? Is the theory that depression arises from anger turned inward become reality? The four game 'Armageddon' against the Yankees has become the equivalent of spring training, not even worthy of traditional 'salary drive' play. The reality show called "MLB" has kicked the Red Sox off the island. Maybe they swallowed too much sea water, or sprained their collective ankles, or just didn't want it enough. Partitioning the blame hasn't become the sport du jour, as, mercifully, it's football season. What went wrong? Maybe the season was doomed from the start, doomed by overconfidence in a "geriatric" pitching staff, overreliance on promising but inexperienced youth, and offensive holes that revealed themselves in a discouragingly narrow 'Pythagorean' equation, manifested as an inadequate run differential. Huh? The Red Sox won ...

Jon Papelbon and the Red Sox have elected to 'shut down' the Red Sox righthanded reliever and closer in a precautionary move as the Sox have fallen out of contention for the Wild Card spot. Papelbon, holder of the Red Sox rookie record for saves and a dominant closer for much of the season looks forward to coming back as a starter next season. The Red Sox had many problems down the stretch, amidst poor pitching, injuries and illness, and a lack of offense, particularly with injuries to Manny Ramirez, inconsistency from the lead off spot, and aside from David Ortiz, almost no clutch hitting. Can the Sea Dogs' quest for an Eastern League title against Akron hold your interest while the Sox go down like a lead anchor? No, I didn't think so. Even the rivalry series with the Yankees has become something of a joke, with back to back day-night doubleheaders. I hope that all loyal Sox fans have laid in a heavy supply of caffeine to watch these games. Perhaps as bad as the near ...

The lightweight Kansas City Royals came into town, the same Royals who rarely win on the road, and mounted a ninth inning counter-offensive to defeat the Sox, 10-9. KC had a comfortable 8-3 lead entering the bottom of the ninth before Jason Varitek rifled his twefth roundtripper of the season into the pen, and David Ortiz stroked two out lightning into left to put the Sox up. An inspirational comeback victory, right? Unfortunately, sans Jonathan Papelbon (yes, subluxed would be a good Scrabble word), the bullpen couldn't hold it. After Manny Delcarmen got touched for three runs by KC, Mike Timlin surrendered a pair of Royal pains in the ninth to give the cellar-dwellers the win. Adding insult to injury, former Sox hurler Joe Nelson got the save. Last night's debacle provided a microcosm of the late season action. Inconsistent pitching, often inconsistent hitting, and a painful loss, rendered less important by the antecedent Sox collapse. I don't think that the Sox should be...

The Red Sox entertain the Wild Card pursuing Chicago White Sox tonight at Fenway Park . The Chisox are locked in a struggle with the Minnesota Twins for the final AL playoff spot. Along with the four dollar waters, the Sox must be handing out 'No-Doze' and Jolt Cola. But why? They could probably have paid for a new 'Sleep Laboratory' to help finance whatever the coming offseason seating addition will be. Tonight's action generated so much excitement that they not only showed a concession contractor asleep in the runway, they had sideline announcer Tina Cervasio wake him up and interview him. At least when Sean McDonough was the announcer, they had the courtesy or humility to flash an 'Inane Banter' bulletin. Aside from the 'wicked' beating the White Sox have dished out, we've learned a lot. Jose Contreras has one of the best forkballs in baseball. If I had a nickel for every time they've told us, I could retire. Jerry Remy will be at ...

Julian Tavarez just completed an interview on the Red Sox pregame show. Tavarez felt hurt by the booing and criticism that he and other Red Sox players received this year. He said that Sox fans boo whether the team was six games ahead or behind. He also noted that players are embarrassed when they play poorly and are doing their best. Tavarez hasn't overachieved this season, a 2-4, with one save, a 4.72 E.R.A. and a WHIP ratio of 1.59. But all that misses the point. It's always about the Benjamins. Fans who have paid the highest prices in baseball feel entitled to boo regardless of the feelings of ballplayers. Fans demand to be heard, irrespective of the consequences. And obviously, millionaires become easy targets for 'ordinary people'. Although I don't attend many games anymore, I've never gone to boo, heckle, or jeer professionals. That's not my nature, and while negativity doesn't help, although I'm not sure that cheering helps much either in b...

Do sports media have a credo for practicing their craft? Obviously, they report to their section editor or management, want to sell their product, and work within legal confines to avoid libel or slander. If they have a working relationship with a professional sports team, you'd think they'd want to preserve access to both management and players. Making dinner with last week's groceries isn't easier for writers than coaches. On one hand, you have true 'homers', guys who carry water for everyone and everything in an organization. On the other, we have guys who, sources or not, frequently write in the spirit of the 'hatchet man'. Somewhere in the middle exist those who inform, entertain, and maintain balance, reporting good news and bad, providing perspective and rationality in an irrational world. Pure shills are few and far between. Growing up on the East Coast, I've seen far more of the latter, where writers theme may be, "we eat our young...

I could probably write this column full time concerning sports medicine and internal medicine problems facing the Red Sox. But all I wish for the players, especially Jon Lester is recovery, regardless of the ability to play baseball again. All baseball fans wish Lester, who was diagnosed with lymph node cancer (lymphoma), the best possible recovery. The news about Lester overshadows the improving health of Varitek, Nixon, and Gonzalez, all of whom were projected to have rehab assignments at Pawtucket. Varitek homered tonight for the Pawsox while Nixon drew the collar. Last I checked, Craig Hansen pitched a pair of scoreless innings. What I really wanted to discuss was the 'Get Out of Jail Free' card given Terry Francona this year. Francona is an affable, sensitive, and media savvy modern skipper who has skillfully avoided confrontation with players and management during a most difficult season. Yes, he does have a core of professionals like Ortiz, Varitek, Lowell, Loretta, and ...