SawxBlog

Making the Final Turn, The Red Sox Playoffs Begin Tonight

_{The Red Sox Playoffs begin tonight, with all eyes & hope on Jon Lester's arm.}

It's been written to an exhausting degree I know, but you have to tip your cap to the 2010 Boston Red Sox and their ability to endure and stay relevant in the playoff race, even if that relevancy hangs by a lonely baseball thread. Maybe us Royal Rooters of Boston have been tricking ourselves during these dog days, where despite all the reason, we've stood steadfast by our team, holding onto hope. And the players on the field have honorably done the same. There have not been any season changing win streaks where they've gone on a run and pulled out 11 of 13 wins. However, on the flip-side of that, there's been no major losing streaks either, and when looking across the baseball landscape the ailing Sox have been as steady as they come.

As I tweeted earlier this week, the Red Sox are tied for the fifth best winning percentage in all of MLB at .570. Yes I understand that two of those teams ahead of the Sox are in their own division, but still, you can't scoff at hard numbers like that. Despite the lack of major moves by management, along with the DL plague that fell upon the team, they've make no excuses, and they went to battle each and everyday. Aside from the Toronto blow-out last Friday they've been in just about each game they've played in August. I'm extremely proud of this inception of the Sox, however, as Tony Mazz wrote earlier today, pats on the back will no longer be enough. The wick on the candle's getting danger low.

Treading water has been an admirable feat, but now that the final head-to-head matches against the Rays and Yankees are upon us, we have to at the very least win every series. Mazz breaks down the different scenarios really well, and all I'm looking for is two wins this weekend, and I don't find it brazzen to say that tonights game is a "must win".

If we get this first win out of the way then we may be able to ride a horse called momentum through the weekend, and after that, the final turn down the stretch truly lies before us, and the Sox could end up suprising a lot of people. The odds are stacked against the Sox for sure, but it's always more enjoyable when the 50-1 horse charges past the leaders at the wire, and if the Sox want this storybook to end happy, they need to lower their head, chomp the bit, and start their charge now.

Tonight the playoffs begin for the Red Sox, and as the dirt flies and hoofs pound, I'm still clutching the long odds and holding onto hope, as we see if momentum truly can make this final charge.

Red Sox Claiming Johnny Damon Off Waivers Makes Jacoby Ellsbury Look Like the Idiot

Johnny Damon'S 2004 ALCS Game 7 Grand Slam will forever be an all-time Red Sox moment.

When Johnny Damon left the Red Sox for the New York Yankees, Sox fans were, to put it mildly, crushed. I certainly was heavily bummed out, as is evident in a 2005 post of mine where I wrote:

"Johnny Damon. He was the anti-Yankee and now he’s gone corporate, where he’ll be shaved, clean cut, and boring."

Damon certainly became clean-cut & shaved, and he was a whole lot less exciting while playing with the Yankees. He still was an absolutely stupendous player, but that's all he was on that team, just another baseball player. Now there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, it just stings me to know that he could have further cemented himself as a cult hero and icon here in Boston. Those opportunities aren't available too often in this city. But people completely LOVED Johnny Damon here. When he showed up to Spring Training in '04 as Captain Caveman he was instantly adored on a whole new level with every type of fan you could imagine. From the college girls in the grandstands who dubbed themselves the "Damon Disciples" - to the stat geek keeping score in bleachers, everyone just adored Damon, his teammates included.

Yesterday afternoon Jason Veritek, the Red Sox captain and clubhouse leader for years, had the following to say about his former teammate:

“It would be a nice opportunity, but we’ll let him do what he needs to do. Johnny, aside from being a great player, he makes athletic adjustments offensively. He plays hurt, he doesn’t always play at 100 percent. So much of it is how he plays the game. He plays the game right. It pushes the energy. He’s definitely an exciting player."

Now I may be reading into this a little too much, but I'm seeing some stark things when looking between the lines there. First off, Damon's original replacement, Coco Crisp, never came close to filling in the void left by Damon. Coco's defense may have been better, but his offense was a definite downgrade. During Coco's three years with Boston, between 2005-2008, he hit for a .272 average with a .330 OBP. Meanwhile during those same years Damon hit .286 with a .362 OBP. Coco was then supplanted by a young upstart named Jacoby Ellsbury during the Sox march to their World Series victory in 2007. Jacoby was truly supposed to be the heir (hair?) apparent to Johnny Damon. He had the hustle, the knack for clutch hits, the speed, the tough AB's, I mean shoot, he even had the looks the chicks dug in Damon as well. It seemed set in stone that Jacoby would be our next Johnny, but that has seemed to change this year.

Now I've never had broken ribs, never had to play a professional sport with them, and am the farthest thing in the world from a "tough" guy that I can think of. But you'd have to be blind to not see how poorly and strange this entire season is playing out for Jacoby. From him being moved to Left, to his exile in Arizona, everything has seemed off-balance, and the grapes, right or wrong, appear to now be sour. Which brings me back to V-Tek's comments. Interesting choice of words there huh? A lot of people within and without the Red Sox organization think that Jacoby could have played a hell of a lot more games than he has. As it stands today Jacoby has played in a whopping 18 games in all of 2010, hitting below the Mendoza Line at .192.

Ask yourself this - would Damon, even at the advanced age of 37, have played in more than 18 games with the same exact injury this year? With the way his teammates were gushing about him yesterday, and his past track record, my guess would be yes, which leads me to describe the way Jacoby Ellsbury has handled himself this season in a single fitting word. Idiotic.

The Liar that is Roger Clemens, Indicted for Perjury

Clemens is finally getting burned.  (60 Minutes Screenshot/SawxBlog Illustration) Lying to your wife, the media, and baseball fans across the country are all pretty bad ideas. However, lying to the government and Congress while under oath, well - that's pretty much the worst idea. Today Roger Clemens' twisted web of lies have finally caught up with him, as he's now been indicted by a federal grand jury for indeed, lying under oath. I saw this one coming from a mile away, as this January 2008 post shows. Every time Clemens opened his big Texan mouth it was akin to gallons of gasoline being gushed upon a fire, bringing his lies that much closer to light, and now he's getting burned in a way that pride has no recourse for. To think, the best pitcher and hitter of my generation are loathsome frauds. God Bless Baseball, a true American sport.

Tim Wakefield, Pitching in for Kids in Boston - Limited Edition Autographed Lithographs

Wakefield at an on-field presentation on August 2nd. Tim Wakefield's charity - Pitching in for Kids in Boston, has recently partnered with Warner Bros. and Looney Tunes to honor Tim and his longevity with the Sox. They've created some limited edition autographed lithographs and hand painted cels that are now avaiable for distribution. They were recently presented on the field at Fenway to officially release this special artwork, and are now available to the general public. SawxBlog is proud to support this, and If intterested, please visit the below links, as it's for a great cause.

• Pitching in for Kids Website
• Knuckled Under by Wakefield Website
• Pitching in for Kids FB Website

Hall Ball - Sox Bat's Explode North of the Border

Bill Hall was locked-in last night in Toronto. (AP Photo) Second basemen ruled the Red Sox world on Wednesday. The day began with the great news that Dustin Pedroia would be playing two rehab games in Pawtucket over the weekend, to then return to play in Boston on Tuesday. The timing is perfect for this to happen, and can only add to the positive momentum the Red Sox seem to be gaining daily. The former MVP's glove, bat, and leadership are a welcome addition to the Red Sox pursuit of a playoff spot - especially with his battery-mate, Kevin Youkilis, being  out for the rest of the season. Speaking of Youk - he just had surgery on his thumb and is basically having to be "Hannibal Lectered" here in Boston. He wanted to fly to Texas this weekend to be around, and cheer on the Sox. Talk about an amazing teammate, you really have to continue to admire Kevin and the way he handles himself. He obviously loves the game as much as Dustin, and while he's dying inside being out of the lineup - he thinks he can still help, and I bet you he can. Pedroia, Lester, and Youk all exemplify what it now means to be a Boston Red Sox, and you just hope they can continue to set the bar high for years down the road. On top of all this, hearing that the Red Sox are showing up to the field hours early shows you that they're hungry - and ready for this home stretch. But for now, lets get back to our second basemen.

Tito elected to sit Lowrie again last night, and he was rewarded early and often by Bill Hall for that decision. Hall ended up going 3 for 5 with 2 HR's and 4 RBI on the night, and the stat that impresses me most is that he saw a total of 27 pitches. That shows that he was having productive AB's, and was really working the Blue Jay pitchers. Almost equally impressive was that rookie Ryan Kalish, also pictured above, was second on the team with 25 pitches seen. Impressive indeed. Francona obviously loves Hall as a player, and since the All-Star break he's played in 23 of the Sox 27 games. It'll be interesting to see how he's used after Tuesday, however, his Troy Brown like versatility and unselfishness shouldn't make it a problem for him to still continue to be a factor on this team.

This is what it's like to root for the 2010 Red Sox. Each night seems to present a different hero, and it's about time that Bill Hall gets his just due. Lost in the mix by his great performance was another super solid performance by Mike Lowell (3 for 4 with 4 TB) and Clay Buchholz may indeed finally be all growns up (8.0 IP 0 ER). With Aerosmith playing at Fenway this Saturday, you just hope that the Sox can keep their Train a Rollin'.

 

Iron Mike Lowell Lifts Sox Past Jays

It's beyond good to see Iron Mike Lowell back in a meaningful manner. (SawxBlog Illustration) The Red Sox won their second consecutive game on the road last night, outlasting the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5. The game was a see-saw affair that saw none other than Iron Mike Lowell deliver the knock-out punch for the Sox, as his go-ahead home run in the eighth ended up being the deciding factor. I'm really beginning to embrace this season, as it's one of the most unique the Sox have endured in recent memory, and while it's been one long strange trip, it's been anything but boring.

From Big Papi's April struggles - to the DL Plague that has been sweeping across the clubhouse, giving birth to the Zombie Red Sox, who chomped out victories night after night with the most unlikely of heroes - to where we currently stand, firmly entrenched in rejuvenation mode - and no other player on the team spells out rejuvenation as crisp and clean as Iron Mike Lowell does. This is most certainly Mike's swan song, and it looks like he's going to go down swinging. Lowell has been a consummate professional his entire career, and in a weird way (or should I say strange), it may end up being a blessing that he was used so little for the first 2/3 of the year.

I'll preface this all by saying that it's in no way shape or form good that Youk went down for the remainder of the season. However, with Mike playing so little earlier this year, he may very well be able to get through September - and hopefully October, without limping between bases, which is what he's done as the leaves changed these past few years. It was sad to see him in such decrepit shape, but much like leaves eventually have to fall off of their branch, ballplayers eventually have to hang up their spikes. Mike knows this is his last hurrah, and if he has to fall of the branch, he's going to make the arc majestic, and as far as the Red Sox playoff chances are concerned, that's a thing of beauty the New England foliage could never rival. Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the playoff race - it's already been a fun ride, and it's about to get better.

The "Greatest Rivalry in Professional Sports" is Dead - The 2010 Red Sox Are Not

Jon Lester pitched like Jon Lester yesterday in the Bronx. (AP Photo) The Red Sox were able to salvage their series with the Yankees yesterday afternoon, propelled by a strong outing by Jon Lester. The 2-1 victory earned the Red Sox a 2-2 split with the Yankees, which I deem a certifiable success for the Red Sox. When you're on the road against the team with the best record in baseball and you split, you can't be disappointed. Especially when you've gained in the Wild Card race during the process. As the Red Sox have proven over the past decade, winning the division means nothing, it's just a different colored flag at Fenway. Making the playoffs is what matters, and winning the World Series is what matters most.

 I honestly don't look forward to games between these two teams anymore, as a gross amount of hyperbole is thrown around ferociously by both the fans and media alike. The thunderstorm that was created when these two played each other in 2003 and 2004 has long since passed, and the streets have since been dry, and the games are simply no longer as intense. We've turned into these sad rivalry junkies since those games, clutching at the importance of each series to try and reach the glorious high that was obtained in those historic seasons. But instead of quenching the thirst of our competitive blood-lust, the "Greatest Rivalry in Professional Sports" has become a woeful parody of itself.

This is over-saturation at its best. I do believe in 2003-2004 the country as a whole was genuinely interested in the games between the Sox and the Yankees. But with the grand over-production by the Networks, and with seemingly all of their 19 regular season on National TV, the taste of the rivalry turned bad. I equate it to eating Cool Ranch Doritos. Unless you're hand-in-hand with the Taliban, it's a universal fact that they're absolutely delicious. However, there's a tipping point with them, and if you eat too many in one sitting, the taste changes from spectacular to chemical, and becomes repulsive in nature. That's what happened to the rest of the country, we fed them too many Cool Ranch Doritos. You couple this with the over hyping of the games on ESPN, as they cashed in on the hype of the rivalry, and a different kind of storm was set in motion.

This is when the bandwagon fans really started jumping on-board, and that's when Sox fans turned from lovable to loathsome. Yankee fans have been hated for years, but this hate was new to the "true" Sox fan, and it's something we'll have to deal with from here on out hopefully. I say hopefully because a large part of all this is due to the Sox success on the field. Which brings me back to my original point - this Series was far from a failure. The split actually ended up allotting the Sox to gain ground in the Wild Card, and kept them in sniffing distance of the Yanks. Think about it, if the Yankees could have swept or won three out of four they would have, for all intents and purposes, clinched the division. They would have gained four games on the Sox AND the Rays. Instead both teams jabbed at each other, and things are as uncertain in the AL East Tuesday morning, as they were on Friday night. The Red Sox as of this moment, have the 6th best winning percentage in all of baseball. Despite everything going against them in this strange year, they're still winning, and have never really had a stretch where they strung a bunch of wins together, and because of that, other teams should be a little scared.

Last time I checked the regular season ends on October 3rd (against the Yanks), and right now it's only August 10th. Four and half and Six games are nothing to scoff at, but as the Rays have shown - any team can get cold, and any team can get hot. There's no reason to believe the Sox can't string enough together to make a run at the playoffs, as their record proves, they're not a bad team. As far the Yankee's go, that final series, or possibly the one on September 24th may actually be worthy of hype - but until they play each other again in the playoffs, they're just baseball games - and wish other people could enjoy them as such.

Indians Fight Back, Rout Red Sox 9-1

The Indians celebrate after a convincing win at Fenway Park. (AP Photo) Another day passes for the Red Sox, and once again their momentum has seemed to have shifted. I tweeted last night during the game that "Rooting for the 2010 Red Sox is like dating a shadow. Yo-Yo vertigo." What I was referencing is the see-saw feeling they've been giving me when thinking about their playoff chances, as it seems to change on a daily basis. It's not like they're a bad team by any means, and if they were in any other division in baseball they'd be leading it or only a game or two behind. They're in the AL East though, and they have a lot of games in the loss column to catch-up on the Rays and Yankees if they want to stay rejuvenated and relevant. After last nights loss (what's up with Lester BTW...) the best the Sox can hope for is a split with the Indians, which is frankly very disappointing. After the momentum the Sox grabbed against the Angels out West you'd expect a more firm stand at Fenway, especially after the benches cleared two nights ago - but the Sox bats were visibly absent from round two, throwing no punches  aside from Papi. There's still two month to go, I'm just getting dizzy and tired of feeling like a yo-yo - if they're going to make a run, they've got to do it now, or the Strange year of 2010 will fade into a shadow of what could have beens.
 

Fight Club: Rejuvenated Red Sox Going to Go Down Swinging

John Farrell holds back Adrian Beltre, saves Jensen Lewis' life. (AP Photo/SawxBlog Illustration) I've been calling 2010 the year of the strange, and yesterdays events did nothing to sway me from this position. Aside from Big Papi, Kevin Youkilis has been one of our most consistent and healthy players. He's also taken on a more visible role as a clubhouse leader. He's always the first the both congratulate a teammate, watch any walk-off win and this is plain to see, and criticize a teammate (even though these guys are supposed to be robots with no opinions). Look no further then his skirmish with Manny in the dugout last year, and him calling out Jacoby Ellsbury's disappearing act this year. So when it was announced yesterday afternoon that he would be the latest Red Sox to ride on the good ship DL - it was a huge blow to the team.

I was in such a dire mood that I was muttering to Kris before our softball game about how "the season was over". It just seemed like the straw the broke the baseball teams back. But then the game was played, and before I knew it, they had pulled me right back in, and once again - I believed. While 2010 has been strange for the Red Sox, it's been the strangest for Iron Mike Lowell. He's almost been traded 15 times, is the richest cheerleader in the league, been injected again & again with cortisone just so he can round the bases, wasn't traded at the deadline, and has been moved from third over to first. Worst of all for Mike is that he's had to swallow a lot of pride, in what he knows is his last MLB season. Not a storybook finish, and not a reflection of the great stand-up ballplayer he's been his entire career. But last night, true to strange form, he belts a two run HR in the very first pitch he sees. Is it possible that losing Youk for a few weeks could be a positive for the Sox? Getting Mike AB's and making him a part of this team could go miles - and it's just great to see him in the line-up. Simply put, if you're a Red Sox fan, you love Iron Mike Lowell.

So OK. We lose Youk, but gain Mike Lowell. We also learn prior to the game Jacoby's coming back today. Allright...I'm still not doing back flips but you have my interest now. Then the Florida Marlins connection kicked in - and Josh Beckett stepped on the mound. The Indians are by no means the '27 Yankees, but Josh was smoking it last night, and he quelled any fears the Nation may have had about his health. Plus he was most likely the craziest in the scrum that happened in the eighth inning (did you see Lackey in it too?!?!? I can't believe I'm beginning to like that guy). Beckett's best when he's an angry deer killing Texan pirate - and he was waving his bloody Jolly Rogers flag at full mast yesterday. The skirmish may be yet another kick in the ass to get this team closer together and playing with everyday urgency. With our pitching staff set-up and playing as they are, there's no reason to count your Sox out. 5.5 games and 2  months of ball is a hellofalotof time, believe on that.

So the day that started bad ended up giving me hope - and now I believe yet again. Strange indeed, strange indeed.

Walk-Off Weekend for Red Sox

Youk Celebrates with Scutaro after another walk-off win for the Red Sox. (AP Photo) The last two days aren't exactly how you draw them up - but the Red Sox will take any win they can get, as they continue to keep battling to stay relevant in the 2010 playoff race. The secret to the Red Sox potential success looks to be coming to the surface now, and if the Sox want to be playing games that mean something in September (which is only a month away now) then they're going to have to rely heavily on their starting pitchers.

We're really beginning to see the type of efforts out of our starters that we expected coming into the season, and I dare say we now have one of the hottest and deepest starting rotations in the league. I'm literally confident each and every night now, no matter the starter - which is a great feeling to have. Clay Buchholz is proving that 2010 is indeed his breakout season, as he out aced Justin Verlander yesterday afternoon - not an easy task by any means. In his 8+ innings he only allowed 3 hits and never gave the Tigers the chance to gain a true rhythm. Jonathan Papelbon, who I have to admit, is not the same guy he used to be - almost ruined the great vibe in Fenway, but once again, the Sox found a way to win and pull out the 'W' - and that's a trend I hope to see continue, as we march into August.