Red Sox Reality Check

We have the "official voices" saying, "don't get too excited about Andrew Miller, he hasn't been very good in the majors." Thanks for nothing. If you haven't written for a major newspaper or have your own show, you know nothing. You can't remember Billy Rohr, Bobby Sprowl, Ken Brett, David Clyde, or Brien Taylor. You add nothing to the discussion, because the chosen ones say so. Baseball, like most endeavors, is the sum of your individual experiences. Nobody writing blogs with a small following could ever express anything worthwhile. Actually, most of us should probably just crawl back into the sorry, dark holes from whence we came. But some fans, believe it or not, have watched, studied, or maybe even played and had the chance to succeed occasionally and fail more often because of our love of the game. Yes, none of us are going into Cooperstown, but assuredly, most of "Boston's elite" aren't going in either. Some of us enjo...

This week there's been an inordinate amount of Johnny Damon for the Hall of Fame talk. It reminds me of Bill James' book, "Whatever Became of the Hall of Fame?" Both Player A and Player B had lengthy major league careers. Damon is Player A. Player B didn't have the stolen bases that Damon had, but had over 300 more RBI so far, and 160 more homers, AND won eight gold gloves. Very few writers talk about Player B as a Hall of Fame candidate, yet Bill James talked about him as one of the best outfielders NOT under serious consideration. What do you think? Player B is former Sox right fielder Dwight Evans. Not that anybody's giving me a vote, but I like the overall excellence of Evans, a superb defensive player over the more limited but speedy Damon.

In addition to strong starting pitching, successful teams inevitably have a competent closer at the back end. Jonathan Papelbon struggled (IIRC) to a 3.80 ERA last year and had eight blown saves. Papelbon has made no secret about his intentions, in the Assante Samuel mode of "get paid". Yet, what has the Sox closer been doing lately? Coming into tonight, in his last ten appearances, he has worked 9.1 innings, and allowed 12 hits, 3 walks, 8 earned runs, and had 14 strikeouts, with 4 saves and a win. Tonight he allowed a pair of hits to start the ninth, and has come back by mixing his pitches...it's a 3-2 count with two on and Damon on deck... Strike three and the Red Sox win. Ugly, but a win nonetheless in the series rubber game.

Tim Wakefield has been with the Red Sox for what seems like a lifetime. He's the little girls with the curl, when he is good, he is very good...but... Conversely, Andrew Miller lives at the other end of a baseball lifetime. Miller is that tall, lefthanded power pitcher out of Robert Redford's "The Natural", only Miller has struggled to find that elusive command and control that makes electric arms into Cy Young candidates. Miller has a clause that allows him essentially to become a free agent if he isn't on the major league roster by TOMORROW. This folks, is a no-brainer. Miller has been lights out recently in the minors, harnessing that 97 mph heat and terrorizing International League hitters. Tonight in 5 1/3 innings, he allowed one run, one walk, and fanned ten. Including tonight, in his last four starts, he has pitched 25 1/3 innings, yielded 17 hits, 5 earned runs, 3 walks and fanned 26. There was talk that he should be a "nice guy" and wait ...

Sometimes the bloom is off the rose, or is it? Have the Red Sox simply become Yankees Light, outspending teams to win? If we examine the 'everyday' lineup, the Red Sox do have "developmental" players. Jarrod Saltalamacchia may not be a Sox farmhand, but he's not a 'purchased' hire. After Ortiz, Gonzalez, Youkilis, and Ellsbury, Salty has the FIFTH highest OPS among "starter".  Gonzalez. They had to lay out big bucks, but the FARM brought the player, with Anthony Rizzo, Casey Kelley, and Rey Fuentes all legitimate prospects.  Pedroia. Home grown. Problem is the 'under (sized) boy' is showing tread wear.  Lowrie/Iglesias. Out of the system...although Iglesias out of the country. Youkilis. System product.  J.D. Drew. Mercenary. Didn't work out exactly as planned.  Ellsbury. May not make the All-Star team but has a legit claim at this point.  CC (Crawford). Horrendous start, another mercenary, call it what it is.  After a start ...

Before the season, most fans would have "known" that catching would be the Achilles Heel for the Red Sox. The team opened with the aging Jason Varitek, and the unproven Jarod Saltalamacchia, the latter long a Sox target for potential. And the season didn't start well for the pair, with both flirting with the Mendoza Line and neither reminding anyone of Johnny Bench behind the plate. Where are we now? ...........................GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Varitek                31 94 13 22 4 0 3 13 11 28 0 0 .234 .321 .372 .693                            GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Saltalamacchia      41 131 17 31 7 1 5 18 9 34 0 0 .237 .296 .420 .716 We can distill it down to 30 runs scored,...

With the season almost forty percent over, which local players and AL players deserve election/selection to the All-Star team? Recently, we read that SIX New York Yankees led in All-star voting. Well, that's why they call it VOTING, although perhaps ORDAINING would fit. Of course, there is also team distribution to consider...which I'm factoring in. Catcher: Alex Avila (DET), Russell Martin (NY) First base: Miguel Cabrera (ANA), Adrian Gonzalez (BOS), Mark Teixeira Second base: Howie Kendrick, Robinson Cano (vote leader: Cano) Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta, Asdrubel Cabrera CLE (vote leader: Derek Jeter) Third base: Kevin Youkilis , A-Rod (A-Rod leads) Outfield: Jose Bautista (TOR), Matt Joyce (TB), Curtis Granderson, Carlos Quentin (CHI), Mitch Moreland (TEX), Jeff Francoeur (KC) DH: David Ortiz BAL  Zach Britton SEA  Michael Pineda OAK Gio Gonzalez MIN  Nick Blackburn P   Josh Beckett P  Mariano Rivera P  Jered Weaver P  Dan Haren P...