Red Sox Reality Check

After spending much of the weekend at Dartmouth College's Family Weekend, I got some new perspectives on the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry. Well, maybe they aren't so new, but here are some thoughts from the enemy. Most are not holding Joe Torre responsible for the Yankee decline Most believe this slump to be a) temporary and b) related to injuries Some do wonder if Mariano Rivera could, in fact, experience an age-related decline While most respect A-Rod's meteoric start, they don't necessarily embrace him in the Yankee tradition Kevin Youkilis wondered whether Sox fans were too quick to judgment. At this point in the season, we have a larger sample size and we can note some observations. The reformation of the pitching staff has been the greatest contribution to the team's success The bullpen breadth and depth has improved via the return of Papelbon to closer (and his judicious use), and surprising effectiveness of Okajima, Donnelly, and Pineiro in particular. Timlin and ...

Last season Josh Beckett came to a new league and got the customary rude introduction. His ERA soared above 5 (5.01), and he had the highest WHIP ratio (walks and hits/inning pitched) since 2003. Yes, he did finished sixth in the AL in starts and had sixteen wins, his career high. But if you asked him if he were happy with his performance, i don't think he'd applaud. He could have sulked, but apparently he studied his mistakes, worked on his complementary pitches, and has developed an effective straight change and thrown his overhand Uncle Charlie to complement his 96 mph fastball. The results? He gets it. A five and nil April, with less predictability creating major problems for AL hitters. Meanwhile, while Coco Crisp heals and Jacoby Ellsbury continues to tear up Double A (.431, two for five tonight), Wily Mo Pena delivered a tape measure homer to spearhead a 5-2 victory. Jonathan Papelbon notched his sixth save with a four-batter ninth as the Sox head for the Big Apple. Comi...

Gary Thorne's 'revelation' that Curt Schilling's bloody sock effected a cheap, cinematic trick borders not on the ridiculous but the absurd. But wait, we now have a potential cottage industry for psychological advantage imagery that the Red Sox can exploit. Here's Jonathan Papelbon coming out of the bullpen, no machete at his side, just donning the Jason Voorhes goalie mask. Jason clearly represents one of Hollywood's best closers. The Sox like to vary their uniforms, for obvious commercial reasons. They had the stupid new hat design, the Spring Training red shirts with blue cut outs, the Green Shirts the other day, and of course, the early season uniform above. Can you see Wily Mo in the suit? Maybe it's just wrong on Pedroia. That's intimidation. "Zorro" batting gloves would be a nice touch. The logical figure to debut the gloves? "Don" Orsillo, from the broadcast booth. Now every 'trick' isn't going to work. The 'ar...

Curt Schilling has treated Sox fans to a metamorphosis of sorts this year. And while it hasn't always been pretty, the power pitcher continues to work on his conversion to a more complete, partially reinvented version...Schilling 1.1 Schilling has always thrown strikes as a mature pitcher, and he has traded strikeouts for balls in play, adding a changeup to his formidable repertoire. My college coach, Loyal Park, emphasized the use of the changeup to make people hit the ball, not miss it. "It's just that simple." Schilling went seven innings tonight with an economical 90 pitches, followed capably by the subcompact Hideki Okajima with two strikeouts and the truck, Brendan Donnelly who also retired three straight. As usual, Oriole Park held a lusty contingent of Bosox Boosters who enjoyed watching the Sox return to competence and winning. Alex Cora (.368) had a pair of hits at a homer, while Kevin Youkilis (3 hits) and Big Papi (2 and a key RBI) also added multihit game...

Julian Tavarez provides a soul-comforting presence for Manny Ramirez, but he hasn't replicated last season's salary drive starts, as the number five starter lost to Toronto ace Roy Halladay. The Red Sox fell behind early, scuffled to catch up, and just looked sloppy in the field as the Blue Jays overwhelmed them 10-3. The Sox scored three but committed four errors, while Vernon Wells had a good week with a 5-4-4-3 line including a home run. The good news? Hideki Matsui returned to the Bombers lineup, in time for their fifth consecutive defeat, as the D-Rays danced on the Tampa rivals 6-4. The New Yorkers plucked Phil Hughes from the minors to start Thursday, despite earlier promises not to rush their prime pitching prize package. Meanwhile, down in A, Greenville got smacked 8-0 despite a shutout relief inning from Josh Papelbon. Lancaster has the early lead over San Jose behind Justin Masterson, who hasn't allowed an earned run in the first three frames. Jacoby Ellsbury (.4...

A baseball season has its ups and downs, and almost predictably, the Red Sox dropped a 7-3 decision to the Blue Jays, coming off a five game losing streak of their own. So the symmetry of streaks fell with the Red Sox. Frank Thomas, a Hall of Fame hitter, struck the big blow with a Volvo Sign smash off loser Tim Wakefield, whom the Sports Radio Gang fantasized would be starting the season 15-1, a la 1995. Just as you may read some idiotic comments here, they fly like an eagle out of Nitwit Radio. After lambasting Joe Morgan for his broadcasting, Gerry Callahan immediately followed with a non sequitur that Coco Crisp's effort on A-Rod's homer was more impressive because he didn't catch the ball. Maybe Gerry was the one who hit his head on that one. On a sad note, author David Halberstam who wrote October 1964 , Education of a Coach , and other terrific books, died today in an automobile crash. Halberstam told stories of sports in the context of life, the former about the Ya...

On Sunday Night Baseball, the Sox swept their archrivals, 7-6 in a playoff intensity game against the disheveled AL East champions. It was BACK-to-BACK-to-BACK-to-BACK JACKS off Chase Wright in his fourth start at the AA level or above. Ramirez, Drew, Lowell, and Jason Varitek all hit tape measure shots in a stretch of ten pitches. And Jonathan Papelbon, working his fourth game in five days, was the "Anti-Thermos" cooling off A-Rod who fanned twice against Daisuke Matsuzaka, inducing a groundout to Lowell to end the game after delivering heat from 95-98 MPH. Matsuzaka had his ups and downs, with better breaking stuff, but still victimized himself with a few hangers, including Jeter's first homer of the season. Dustin Pedroia made a defensive gem in the eighth snaring a line drive to snuff out a rally, and had a pair of hits.

The early season showdown between Boston and New York yields tasty themes for fans, journalists, and columnists. Kings of the Hill . The Bombers have reigned supreme in the AL East for about a decade, and Hub fans can only hope that karma has changed. Since 2001 however, The Rivalry has spawned but one World Series winner, and the New York no longer cloaks itself in the mantle of invincibility. The Red Sox have the better starters, and all things being equal...sans resume'...Papelbon now exceeds Rivera in the Fear Factor. The New Guy . Admittedly, the Gothams bring their JV, without Matsui, Posada, Wang, and Mussina and and they have a fearsome lineup top to bottom. Pavano? The Connecticut Yankee has done little except draw a paycheck since moving from New England to New York. The Sox new guys, Drew, Lugo, "Darkman" Okajima, and tonight Matsuzaka have gotten their feet wet without taking on water. Okajima, content "to be a hero in the dark", threatens to take on...

Last summer while attending a conference in Vail, I got to talking baseball with a former Bomber employee who had worked out of Tampa. From a professional courtesy standpoint, I'll call him Mister X. Well, we got to talking about the playoffs, and I commented about how well the New Yawkers had played recently. Mr. X provided plenty of reassurance. He explained how Mr. Steinbrenner had fired him in the fall of 2001, without getting into the details. And he promised the Gothams wouldn't win the World Series. "It's the curse. My wife cursed them just before the 2001 Series." Alex Cora's looper over Derek Jeter Friday reminded me about the curse, which realistically has had pretty good staying power over the last six seasons. The finest embodiment of the curse came on the carbon copy by Luis Gonzalez in Game 7 against the Diamondbacks. So maybe all this DL stuff, bloop hits, and Okajima magic isn't accidental. Now you know.

No Red Sox pair of wins over the Bronx Bombers can create disappointment. Moreover, we've seen virtually apocalyptic events over the past forty-eight hours. First, the Red Sox had consecutive bunt base hits. We're not talking Freddy Patek and Willie Wilson here. We're talking the Boston Red Sox. Second, the Sox had a pair of two-run deficits erased in consecutive innings against their AL East rivals. I guess 'it happens' applies. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. Spending money like drunken sailors (as a former Navy doctor I know something about this), the Sox have a premium price rotation, and the 'luxury' of economy at only a few positions, specifically first and second base. We used to lampoon the Spankees for their pecuniary propensities, but the Sox aren't any different. Pleasant developments category . Jason Varitek has regained his confidence and Coco Crisp has embraced his speed with bunt basehits, stolen bases, and solid defense. I doubt that...

Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are having a bit of debate over the merits of A-Rod, chasing the All-Time home run record, and off to a potentially record-breaking April. With 12 round-trippers already, the Bomber third sacker is only two away from Albert Pujols' April record of fourteen. But what about October, goes the saying? Here's a sampling of a few of these guys. I'll list the number of playoff series, at bats, and OBP, SLG, OPS, Homers and RBI A-Rod (9 series) 132 at bats, .362/.485/.847 6 HR/16 RBI Ortiz (8 series) 143 at bats, .383/.552/.935 8 HR/32 RBI Manny (16 series) 307 at bats, .353/.492/.845 20 HR/48 RBI Pujols (11 series) 189 at bats, .429/.593/1.022 13 HR/35 RBI Bonds (9 series) 151 at bats, .433/.503/.936 9 HR/24 RBI Conclusions? If you prorate to 600 at bats for a season of postseason, then A-Rod has the worst production, particularly with respect to RBI, while obviously Pujols has been fairly prolific concerning the OPS, but has only 3 more...

The Red Sox retooled their franchise in the offseason with an international cast, adding Daisuke Matsuzaka, J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo, and an unknown lefthander, Hideki Okajima. As they renewed their ancient rivalry with the Gothams, it was the lefty who saved the day. So often we abuse the term 'team effort', but that told the story, with a cast of heroes, most unsuspected. Curt Schilling struggled, yielding 5 runs, including a pair of A-Rod blasts. And the Red Sox trailed 6-2 going into the home eighth, when they 'erupted' for a Wee Willie Keeler rally, hitting 'em where they ain't, capped off by a game-tying triple by the newly minted Coco Crisp. Crisp later scored on an Alex Cora imitation Luis Gonzalez flare over Derek Jeter to send the Sox into the ninth ahead. The fateful ninth, no longer a source of angst or weltschmertz for Red Sox Nation, brought Okajima to face the heart of the Bomber lineup, Jeter, Abreu, and A-Rod. Okie induced a groundout from Jeter, A...

As I watch the NESN replay of today's game, the emotional aspects of the 'game' transcend the physical events. Sure, these guys make a ton of money, but most do care about winning and losing. Manny Ramirez homers in the eighth to tie the game, and he was excited as a dog with his head out the window on a Sunday drive. Buddy David Ortiz was at least as excited as Manny, giving him a Papi Bear hug in the dugout. Mike Timlin turned over a double play with Alex Cora in the middle for a big fist pump in the bottom of the eighth. Alex Cora showed his disdain for Lyle Overbay who took him out with an illegal slide, and evidently brought determination with him to the plate with a ninth inning game-winning triple. Dustin Pedroia's ninth inning bunt didn't advance the runner, and DP had some choice words for himself, "fine" or something like that. In a sense, Sox fans have lost a bit of our edge since the 2004 Championship. Many of us don't have the same hunger,...

We're only eleven games into the season, so grand pronouncements aren't warranted, but we can make some salient observations, based on 'truths'. 1. "Hitting is timing; pitching is about disrupting timing." Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, and Daisuke Matsuzaka have shown us the importance of changing speeds, and working both sides of the plate. Beckett in particular looks like he 'gets it', with addition by subtraction via taking a few MPH off his offspeed pitch. 2. "The best defense is a good offense." Fenway's home cooking brought back the offense, and as much as I argued against the obsession with Lugo, he looks pretty good offensively. 3. "The race is not always to the swiftest, or the battle to the strongest, but it pays to bet that way." The early argument was that the Sox played .500 against the weak sisters (KC, Texas, Seattle), but they put the hurt on the Angels, whom (I think) SI picked to be the AL Champion. The Angels ...

Often we confuse symbols with their meanings. In other words, we honor the symbol, and forget what the symbol truly represents. And in the process, we naturally become 'conflicted'. For example, every nation honors their flag. Burning the flag may be morally repulsive, but not as repulsive as burning innocents in the name of a cause, whatever that cause may be. "We had to burn the village to save it." Or something like that. Let's consider 'Red Sox Nation'. The Boston Red Sox are a business, worth multiple hundred million dollars, with real employees, not only on the field, but front office, middle management, and lower echelon people with real lives. The Sox have debt service to carry, cash flow, public relations, and so on. The 'B' on caps, Red Sox logos on shirts, jackets, and sweatshirts inspires pride in fans, anger in some opponents' fans, and excitement in the merchandising department. Nobody would get terrifically excited if somebody bu...

The Sox stopped the Halos 10-1 tonight in a game closely contested until the eighth. My how times have changed. Bill James' theories about CLOSER BY COMMITTEE were ridiculed. The basic premise didn't involve the need for TALENT, but the time to use it in the critical juncture to win the game. And Terry Francona showed that he hadn't forgotten to read the manual. He brought on Jonathan Papelbon with runners on the corners with one out in the eighth, Sox leading by 3, facing the dangerous Vlad Guerrero and Garrett Anderson. Papelbon fanned the Angels rightfielder on four pitches and got Anderson to line out. Mike Timlin came in for the garbage time action as he gets back into his rhythm. John Lackey looked like he had studied Felix Hernandez for four innings, but the Sox got to him in the 5th, as Doug Mirabelli homered into the Sox bullpen. The Sox have to hope for a break in the weather to get the rest of the series with the Angels. Over on the Sox newsgroup, a poster asked ...

The old saying goes something like evaluate your team the first two months, find out what you need and acquire it the next two, and play for the playoffs the third. Trapped in our football mentality, we easily slip into temptation, needing to win every day - impossible in baseball. Last evening brought a great pitching performance by a young righthander, Felix Hernandez of Seattle. I don't think a single Sox player reached second, and it could easily have been a no-no, with any luck. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched okay, but diehards had to wonder about some of those hanging curves and whether the Bombers would go chasing the stuff downstairs. Last night was the second quality start defeat of the season (Wakefield had the other), as the baseball gods remind us of their vicissitudes. With the weather turning bad, we have to wonder whether the Sox will play again before heading to Toronto Tuesday. And people question the impact of global warming? I'm sure that auto-Mat must have wonder...

It was a perfect opener at Frigid Fenway, as the Sox, apparently aided by Bill Belichick's Florida presence, put two TDs on the board to paste the Mariners 14-3. Josh Beckett (2-0) delivered seven quality innings of two-hit ball, allowing no walks and eight strikeouts. Beckett fanned Ichiro three times on fastballs away. Jason Varitek added three hits to break out of his early season doldrums, Kevin Youkilis added three hits, and J.D. Drew hit his first Boston homerun into the centerfield bleachers. Terry Francona rested his regulars starting in the fifth inning. Brendan Donnelly was ejected in the eighth for hitting nemesis Jose Guillen. Mike Timlin pitched the ninth after having been recalled from a rehab assignment. Javy Lopez was optioned to Pawtucket to make room for Timlin. Tomorrow night features the Sox-Mariners on National TV (ESPN2) with Daisuke Matsuzaka making his Fenway debut.

I know that I'm beating a dead horse here, but I believe that relatively exhaustive statistical data shows that the quality start (six innings or more, three runs or less) produces almost 70 percent winning percentage. Conversely, the non-quality start has a far more mundane and much lower winning percentage. A reader writes that I forgot about Beckett's start. Although I was on vacation, the Box Score I read showed five innings and one run allowed, definitely an excellent start (who wouldn't take that every game?) but not by definition a quality start. Last year when I was following this, the team with the highest percentage of quality starts (which surprised me initially) was Detroit. It usually takes some digging to find this, but maybe I'm looking in the wrong holes. Anyway, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. I do agree that Beckett may be the key to the season, presuming solid starting pitching at the top of the rotation with Schilling and Matsuza...

Last season Jason Varitek went over the 1000 career games mark with the Red Sox. All Sox fans appreciate his contribution to the team, from his leadership to his study of the game and assiduous preparation. We remember those masterpieces caught with Pedro, and the triple against the Cardinals. We remember how you gave up your body landing in the fungo circle, and blocking the plate, especially against Eric Byrnes. And of course, we remember the "tough glove" administered to that petulant Bomber, A-Rod. We also know what our lying eyes tell us, that Jason is pressing badly at the plate. Whether it's injury or fatigue-related, Varitek's bat speed is lagging, and the bat head just isn't whipping through the contact zone. Relax. I'm sure that everyone has a solution - open your stance, get an eye examination, raise your back elbow, ya da ya da. Here's my suggestion, take a day off from the cage and the extra hitting, maybe watch something hilarious like Caddys...

As Tony Massarotti would say, it's the Fortune 500 - the guys making a fortune are playing .500. Seriously, in a great baseball game, the Sox hung on to defeat the Rangers 3-2 to close out their opening road trip. David Ortiz smacked his first two homers of the season, back on a 54 HR pace, and Curt Schilling provided 7 strong innings to win his 208th game, standing at 94th on the all-time list. Schilling's relief, Joel Pineiro struggled, before Javy Lopez got a needed out, and Jonathan Papelbon came in with a dominant close. Papelbon arrived with runners at the corners with one out and the Sox leading by one. He fanned last years All-Star MVP Michael Young and induced a weak pop by Mark Teixeira. In the Ranger ninth, Papelbon got another infield fly from Sammy Sosa before blowing away Hank Blalock and Brad Wilkerson on strikes. Papelbon's second save of the season came at an opportune time as the Sox trail the division-leading Blue Jays by half a game headed into an off da...

Can we take much away from the first five games the Sox have played? With 16 runs and generally not much power display so far, I want to believe that the Sox haven't turned into the NHL. Does anybody think that Ortiz and Manny won't hit? And the question marks that we all have, about Pedroia, Coco Crisp, and Varitek's offensive decline remain unanswered. The Sox can afford to carry Pedroia's defense if he hits, and if he doesn't, Cora can play. Wily Mo is an easy alternative to Crisp, and obviously there isn't any substitute for Varitek. It's simply not knowable at this point. Tonight's game isn't a MUST win. Is there ever a must win in April? But just more sharply executed baseball would be timely. The dirtiest four-letter word of all: HOPE.

"Sports doesn't build character, sports reveals it." - John Wooden First, I'll gladly admit that I feel I have a dog in this fight. Don Imus, media celebrity, slandered much of women's basketball with racist, sexist comments that do not emanate from clear-headed, intelligent Americans. I won't repeat them, you've heard them already. As a coach of girls' basketball and a parent of former players, I'm offended by Imus' ignorance. I can only say that our family learned a lot, about basketball and life the wonderful summer that my twins played for Shawanda and Eric Brown's Lady Dolphins , based out of Dorchester. They never felt that they were taking a chance, integrating white, suburban girls onto a formerly all black inner city team. They simply addressed the families, one of whom asked a question about problems. Eric, a muscular Boston firefighter, replied, "there won't be any problems." And there weren't. These girls, shar...

The Red Sox surely haven't performed as poorly at Texas as it seems, but today's 2-0 shutout proves Earl Weaver's adage about momentum in baseball lasting as long as the next day's starting pitcher. Tim Wakefield wasn't bad at all, coming up with the Sox' third consecutive quality start, allowing just one earned run in six innings and another run in the second inning courtesy of a Dustin Pedroia error. But the Sox offense was pretty much non-existent, with just three hits, one apiece by Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, and Coco Crisp. The Sox have relied on David Ortiz (.133) for a lot of the heavy lifting, and Big Papi has yet to get it going, hitless today after sandwiching a double around the Golden Sombrero yesterday. Let's just hope my 'extracurricular activity' hypothesis isn't true.

Nehru jackets, bell bottoms, miniskirts. Fashions come and fashions go. But classic elegance and starting pitching escape fashion trends with an immutable permanence. The Red Sox have always sought to alter the balance of power in the AL East. They accomplished it in 2003 with a Thanksgiving Day dinner which yielded Curt Schilling. And last winter, they reaffirmed their commitment to escalation of the uncivil war with the Big Apple taking a big bite by acquiring the plum of free agency by outbidding the baseball universe for Daisuke Matsuzaka. Yesterday, the offseason spending spree yielded its first dividends, with Matsuzaka dominating the Kansas City Royals with a ten-strikeout performance. Part of you says, "it's only April...it was really cold...Mike Sweeney didn't play...it's 'only' the Royals...", but the Angel on the other shoulder says, "the balance of power is broken", and your counterparts south and west are sweating visibly, preparing ...

Called it. Almost. A seven inning one run performance by Daisuke Matsuzaka, with generally clean relief by J.C. Romero and a dominating close (the cheapie three run lead variety) by Jonathan Papelbon gave the Sox a series win. And winning series is the way to do it. Matsuzaka overpowered a KC lineup devoid of Mike Sweeney racking up ten strikeouts en route to his first major league win. And Doug Mientkiewicz won´t be around to abscond with the baseball, now that he´s shagging in Gotham. The Sox offense isn´t in high gear, but spread around eleven hits, enough to bring around four runs, although so far sounding more like Deliverance`s dueling banjos than the 1812 Overture Sox fans anticipate. And now it´s on to Texas, which ín the Happy Gilmour tradition hasn´t always been a happy place for the Sox. My theory is that the road winning percentage is inversely proportional to the number of strip joints available, with Arlington being a recognized center of cultural nihilism.

The Red Sox snapped the curse of Bob Woolmer with a 7-1 payback to the Kansas City Royals last night at Kaufman Stadium. Josh Beckett did a fine Wade Miller impersonation with 5 innings of 94 pitch two-hit baseball, and Kevin Youkilis drilled a two run homer to help power (8 hits) the Bosox offense. Meanwhile, the pesky Bombers got rained out against Tampa Bay. The Mexican sports programs highlighted A-Rod's garbage time homer on opening day, and the local news version of the Miami Herald cited Carl Pavano's (awful) effort as leading the Gothams to victory. Ouch. Today, we'll (you'll) get to see Daisuke's debut. Lets hope that he'll deliver a Toyota-like jolt to the Red Sox economy. As they say, if you want economy, you have to pay for it. So how about 7 innings from Daisuke, a setup hold from Brendan Donnelly, and Pap's first appearance and save!

Boo-bird Dan Shaughnessy wasted no time throwing Curt Schilling under the bus, blasting the 'Blogmaster' who had a disastrous first outing. Shaughnessy never met a disappointment he didn't like, as he probably still hasn't recovered from Loserville defeating the Yankees and capturing the World Series in 2004 with an eight game winning streak. Admittedly, Shaughnessy is 'a columnist' not a reporter, so he'd rather squeal around in the mud than actually chase sports news. And to celebrate his Mad Media style, why don't we just pick on him for a day. His favorite column has always been the Cheap Shot, although he's also got a reliable second, the comparison column, for example Boston versus Kansas City, lobsters versus prime rib, you get the drift. To give the devil his due, it can't be easy to get interviews when you're Mr. Negativity. One former Boston beat writer confided that Manny frankly told him that Manny would simply never give the writ...

Pakistan got bounced early by Ireland in the world cricket championship, and the Pakistani coach was found dead in his hotel room. Pakistan was one of the top teams in the world and Ireland described in SI as the Kansas City Royals of cricket. Well, even a blind pig finds and acorn, as the Royals ruined the Sox 2007' debut with a 7-1 thrashing of the locals. Curt Schilling lacked his customary command, and Gil Meche showed the relevance of the 'quality start', as only a Big Papi double marred his shutout bid. Schilling must have thrown 35 pitches in the first inning and it never seemed to get any better. Inconsistent umpiring behind the plate didn't help, but it went that way for both sides. The Royals have some sticks including Mark Teahan, Mike Sweeney, and young Alex Gorden, but it was little Tony Pena, Jr with a pair of triples who did the most damage. I don't know if I were fortunate or not to catch the game on the Spanish ESPN channel, but it looked pretty ugl...