Red Sox Reality Check

Why does almost every ballplayer have to have some unique brand of facial hair? After awhile, I wonder whether the clean shaven look might actually express more individuality. For example, as a younger player, struggling to make a major league roster, Youkilis is fairly clean shaven As an established player, somehow it looks as though Youkilis' face has acquired some furry mammal. Almost every major leaguer wears batting gloves...but not everyone. I guess the argument must be for more comfort in cold weather, better grip in warm humid weather, and more endorsement opportunities in all weather. Coco Crisp doesn't usually wear batting gloves though, although he's looking a lot like Wally Pipp these days. Today the radio conversation centered about the role for Mike Lowell next year...In the newspaper, it sounded like John Henry has a warm, fuzzy spot in his heart for Lowell. Does the same pertain for his wallet? Would you really want A-Rod here? Or wouldn't A-Rod be bett...

We share finite space and time in an infinite universe. And in that space, we struggle together on a hostile planet to share moments of joy and sadness, achievement and loss, hope and despair. Amidst that vastness, our lives become united in our shared experience called Red Sox Nation. Red Sox Nation has never represented membership cards, Sox Appeal, or even the media frenzy surrounding tonight's celebration of an American League East champion ship. People drive a little more courteously, smile more easily, and food even tastes better when our boys win. We suffer the defeats less well, although the World Series of 2004 vanquished memories of Loserville. The 'panic button' never came out this year, and as close as the competition came, I always had the same assurance for coworkers and patients, "the Yankee fans experience what we formerly owned", the anticipation of something that would not happen, the corruption of broken dreams. Mariano Rivera, Sox nemesis incar...

I haven't written as much lately, not out of criticism but from other obligations. I haven't put up the 'Panic Button' JPEG all season (as far as I can remember), because there hasn't been a reason to panic. In 2004 the Red Sox had a flawed team and the GM corrected the problem with defensive acquisitions in Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientiewicz. This year, the team has shown consistency concerning inconsistency, as they can be world-beaters or invisible. Jacoby Ellsbury, Julio Lugo, and Coco Crisp have given the team some offensive dimension they have never had (at least in my 45 years of watching), real speed. When any of the three get on, you just sense that they are running. And Remy correctly points out (between cashing in scorecard money) that Ellsbury steals not only with speed, but technique. The franchise wants to manage expectations on Ellsbury, but you have to see what is out there, too. Yes, he does have some holes in his swing, but we hope that he can cu...

The Red Sox clearly admire the Patriots, especially their intelligence gathering, surveillance, and scouting defense operations. The Sox could have charged into the playoffs, guns blazing, but have taken a sub rosa approach, stealthily creeping toward Nirvana. Power hitter Manny Ramirez? Nowhere to be found. Manny could have a full beard or have shaved his head like the Dali Lama for all we know. Manny may have bought the entire '24' series on tape, promising not to return until he's seen every episode. Starting Centerfielder and Gold Glove candidate Coco Crisp, has the Hellenic Flu, after crashing into the turf so much this season. The Real J.D. Drew? Drew has played possum the whole season, only recently coming out of his self-imposed hitlessness cocoon in preparation for the second season. No more Nancy Drew to kick around. Julio Lugo? While we speculated that Julio had compromising photos of management to earn a big contract, he's had his moments the second half. W...

The Red Sox have shown admirable resilience...against the weak sisters of the American League. But you do have to beat up on the bad teams to get to the playoffs. As Mickey Mantle told Roger Maris during his 'real' home run chase, "hit 'em with your wallet'...and the Sox and Yankees do. Worries? Pitching consistency from the starting rotation after Josh Beckett. Curt Schilling has morphed into Rick Reuschel, as his fastball has moved into the 80s from the 90s. It's a lot harder to get people out with guile and experience than with the former and a 93 mph heater. Does Clay Buchholz have top of the rotation stuff? I made the Jim Palmer analogy here long before it became fashionable. Big Papi is now second in the AL in OPS at 1.033...and Kevin Youkilis seems to have a little life back in his bat, with 80 RBIs...and Ortiz has his 30+ homers and 100+ RBI. What about Jacoby Ellsbury, with 2 homers in the minors and 3 Navahomers for our Navahomeboy at Fenway. Somewher...

Walk off homers grab the headlines. I still remember feeling awful about Johnny Callison homering off the AL in 1964 during the All-Star game. Who would've thought it? What of last ups? Keith Foulke stabs an Edgar Renteria groundout and the Sox end eighty-six years of frustration in 2004. That will probably always be the number one finale for the current generation of Sox fans. Clay Buchholz's strikeout of Nick Markakis probably won't achieve the same legendary status, however exciting it was. In 1978, the great Yaz popped out to Graig Nettles to end the playoffs and the remarkable season that was. Rich Rollins popped out to Rico Petrocelli to send the Sox into waiting to determine the season's fate. In 1962 the late Earl Wilson pitched a no-hitter. I have this recurrent memory that Frank Malzone made a great catch on a foul pop to end the game. I don't know if I'm right. Was that the right game? Was it the last out? Hey, either way, I was only seven years old. ...

A star is born. The lanky Red Sox righthander, Clay Buchholz, called up for a spot start, fired a no-hitter tonight to baffle the Baltimore Orioles 10-0. Buchholz fanned nine, walked three, and hit a batter. Dustin Pedroia saved the no-no with a miraculous diving backhander to rob Miguel Tejada earlier on a groundball up the middle. As I've written before, he reminds me of a young Jim Palmer. Let's hope so.

As we turn the page on our baseball calendars, we find the Red Sox with a five game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East. And who among us would not have dreamt about this situation coming down the stretch? Emerson reminds us that "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Baseball's odyssey provides with a framework where we measure consistency over 162 games, not over a month, a road trip, or a series. We're talking about the intersection of run prevention and run scoring over baseball's marathon, not about winning a game in tennis parlance. What Red Sox fans (and Theo Epstein) must ask is does the team have what it takes to win in October? We lament last week's action as we always do when comparing baseball's Athens and Sparta. After the Red Sox annihilated a flogged and downtrodden Pale Hose, reminiscent of the Boston Massacre of 1978, the Red Sox came up short in the Bronx, leaving with their collective tails betwe...