SawxBlog

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.

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.

Sox Fall Just Short - Despite Oritz 9th Inning Grand Slam

David Ortiz rounds the bases after his 9th inning Grand Slam. (AP Photo)

It would have been ideal for the Sox to steal yet another late inning victory, but somehow even in defeat they managed to keep the positive momentum rolling. David Ortiz has now officially entered into the Big Papi zone, and he's been a large reason why the Sox feel relevant again. Here's to hoping this momentum turns into a win today.

Bill Simmons Writes His Annual Red Sox Article - Red Sox Friday Link Round-Up

The Red Sox trade in their road grays for home whites for a few days. (AP Photo)I'm in full-on recovery mode from last nights Hercules and Love Affair show at Great Scott (amazing time) - and have decided to make it a lazy Friday, and will be providing what I deem good links from around the web. One link/article I will comment on though, is the latest article over at ESPN by Bill Simmons. 

It's his annual Red Sox article which always seem to get me riled up, and - well, this time is no different. The reason they bother me so much is because I think he's way out of touch with the Red Sox these days, and when his Sox articles are written, they always get top billing over at ESPN, as can be seen by their homepage on the left. The rest of the country then takes his opinions as fact - and that's the end of the story. Most likely I'm just being a hater here, and there are some really interesting stats and opinions in his latest article (i.e. - When he breaks down the time of Sox games over the years) - but the meat of what he's writing about here has already been written about ad infinitum by other Red Sox bloggers.

Saying that the post-2004 Red Sox are boring is nothing new - shit, I wrote a post in May saying basically the same thing he wrote today, just with 30,000 less words. The formula he uses to write these articles is getting a little too predictable as well:

• Mention how awesome Boston *used* to be when he lived here in the 90's, when Fenway was really Fenway, and not the cleaned up nice place it's become.
• Talk about how numerous "e-mails from home" back up whatever position he's writing on.
• Mention the 2004 World Series, because apparently it's impossible to write about the Sox and not mention that, because - ya' know, writing a book on it wasn't enough.
• Talk about the 90's some more.
• Mention talking with his Dad (this pertains to ALL of his articles that have to do with Boston)
• Throw in the obligatory "Yankee Friends" angle at some point, because we all know that over at ESPN you can't mention one team without talking about the other.
• Talk about 2004 and the 90's some more.

All that said, it's most definitely an interesting read, but if you don't have 30 minutes, just skip down to the last part where he talks about the increased time of Sox games, that's worth it. Saying we need to get rid of the DH though? Completely Retarded. I guess this also bothered me because the Red Sox are on the crest of a good run. We're getting people back off of the DL, we just swept the Angels, they're playing in Fenway for the first time in 11 days, and there's real optimism surrounding the team around the city of Boston (where I live...) for the first time all year. But now ESPN's plastered with how the Sox are boring, and will be a talking point on all their talking head shows heading into the weekend. Sigh.

The Links:

• ESPN:  Slicing up the Red Sox's boring pie - By Bill Simmons
• Boston Globe: Little Sox chatter as trade deadline approaches - By Peter Abraham and Nick Cafardo
• Boston Herald: Lower ratings don’t tell Red Sox’ story - By Steve Buckley
• Comcast SportsNet: MLB Trade Deadline Live Chat with Sean McAdam
• Surviving Grady: Of Mice And Men - By Denton
• Boston Globe: Lowell ready to be activated - By Peter Abraham

Carpe Diem: Scutaro Kicks Out the Slams, Opens Door for the Rejuvenated Red Sox

Youk freaks Scutaro out after his go ahead Grand Slam in the 8th yesterday. (AP Photo) During the long and arduous journey that is a Major League baseball season, there are numerous moments that help define a baseball team, and often these moments aren't properly revealed until later in the year. These moments act like hinges, and upon these hinges are doors, and after these watermark events occur, that door can swing one way or the other - it's all dependent on the resolve of the team. The first "hinge" for the 2010 Red Sox occurred like the changing of the seasons. It wasn't a swift singular moment, but more of a steady change, and that change was the rash of players the Sox were marching to the DL - what I'm speaking of here is of course the Red Sox Zombie Apocalypse of 2010.

This was the first moment that the Sox could have folded - however, they did not allow that door to swing shut, and with a fixed purpose players like Darnell McDonald and Daniel Nava played well above their ability, and kicked that door wide open - charging through it with an abandon, and seizing the opportunity. I attended numerous games at Fenway during this time, and it became a running joke in the bleachers that the 50/50 raffle   was going to be changed so the winner was rewarded the opportunity to play a few innings with the Sox. The names of players in our lineup changed everyday and were often unknown, with the most frequent question echoed throughout the grandstands being "Who's that playing <insert position here>?" But this collection of no-names, veterans, career Minor Leaguers, and Independent  ballplayers kept winning - scoring more runs than any other team in the league, and posting one of the better records as well. But we all knew their pace couldn't last - and it didn't.

The wheels started to fall off as soon as the Sox were a 1/2 game out of the AL East, just a few weeks before the All-Star break - the most obvious hinge of the baseball season. The law of averages started creeping up on the subs, and the wins were becoming harder and harder to come by. Then after the All-Star break with the 10 game road trip beginning with little fan fare, and the Sox looked like their days of treading water may be ending. The door was closing. But true to life, all down times present an opportunity if looking with the right eyes, and as our Zombie affliction started to turn, with player after player coming off of the DL - you started to see a different Red Sox team, the one we've been expecting all year. This was the second hinge of the year for the Sox, and over the past week the Sox have been pushing open that door - and much like Nava's Grand Slam opened the door for the M*A*S*H Unit Red Sox, so did Marco Scutaro's Grand Slam in the eighth inning yesterday for the next incarnation of this team.

This was the Red Sox sending a message to the league - despite being in the most competitive division in baseball, we're not going down without a fight - and if you were counting out the Sox in July (I'm certainly partially guilty of this) then you haven't been paying attention to baseball for the past decade. Scutaro kicked that door open yesterday, and has ushered in the next stage for the 2010 Red Sox. They're no longer the Zombie Red Sox. They're no longer the M*A*S*H unit Red Sox. They're now the Rejuvenated Red Sox - and it looks like they're getting ready for some dogfights in the dog-days.