Ryan Lavarnway, The Finger of Zeus

 _{Rookie Ryan Lavarnway played the game of his life, saving the Sox season for one night. (AP Photo)}

With a few friends at my apartment we watched the Sox game on mute as Wilco's new album, "The Whole Love" provided a soundtrack to the game. A few minutes before the first pitch I turned to Jesse and Josef and proclaimed that Ryan Lavarnway was going to not only have a huge night, but also hit the first homerun of his career. Their reaction was the same, both turning my way asking "Who?"

Back in March I wrote a post on Lavarnway, and have kept an eye on him all year. I thought he did well DH-ing during his first call-up, and when I heard he was getting the start at catcher I was excited. While I think Jarrod Saltalamacchia has done OK this year, he's been absolutely putrid in September, hitting only .162 while striking out an astonishing 27 times with only a single walk. Lavarnway is the opposite, and is known for his plate discipline and power. Our Starting pitchers have been garbage all month, and the only way the Sox have been able to win games is by scoring a crap load of runs, and Lavarnway helps increase those offensive odds.

What really pushed my excitement over the top is when I saw Lavarnway talking with Erik Bedard before the game. Seeing both of them in frame with the weight of the Sox season on their shoulders blew my mind. If you told a Red Sox fan back in March the Sox fate would be in these two guys hands, when so many high paid all-stars pocketed the Team, they would have laughed at you, but this is what 2011 has become. The odds of these two being paired together are as random as life, and there they were, mapping out a game plan, and trying to ignore the pressure bestowed on them. I again turned to Jesse and stated that the game had all the makings of legendary status, and the prophecy turned true, as Ryan Lavarnway wrote his first chapter in the book of Red Sox lore.

I was desperate for anything last night, and on his first at-bat I jumped off of my couch like an amateur as he weakly flied out to left. I still stood by my prediction though, and possibly inspired by a few 'Gansett's and the music of Wilco - I started calling Lavarnway "The Finger of Zeus", and the rest as they say, is history. Lavarnway went on to hit 2 HR's with 4 RBI all while playing some superb defense at catcher. We've seen this scenario as recently as May, when Tyler Seguin became a playoff hero for the Bruins - and I think not starting the kid tonight would be a huge mistake. Is he going to play as well as he did last night, most likely not - but there's no disputing he's a far superior offensive talent than Salty or Tek, and we need to score runs to win this month, no way around it.

Red Sox pitching is not going to allow us to win a 3-2 ballgame, so we have to throw caution to the wind here and start the kid again. It's not like Lester's been pitching great with Salty behind the plate this month, so I see high reward with low risk in starting Lavarnway. The Finger of Zeus already started with the Sox season on the line last night, and he ended up winning the game for the Sox - so who's to say lightning can't strike twice?

Comments

[Raoul Duke]

I couldn't help but watch the game last night, and while Lavarnway was awesome and showed us that he's probably the future... We almost blew a 4 run lead in the last 2 innings. We're supposed to have the 8th and 9th innings on lockdown! If we somehow make it into the playoffs, do we really let Bard keep pitching the 8th? Especially if it's just a one run game?

[Derek Hixon]

Good to see you're still with us Raoul, the winter's long, cold, and hard here - so I say grasp baseball as long as there's life.

Our pitching, especially our bullpen, is a mess right now - but it all goes back to the performance of our starters. They crapped the bed all month and the Bullpen's burned out now - no excuse for sure, but I do believe that's the reason.

I do believe you still bring Bard out there, if for no other reason because I don't think there's anyone better suited for the job. Who else would you rather see in the 8th?

[Raoul Duke]

I agree that it comes down to the starters for sure. But, if Bard's struggles continue into October, I'd rather see Aceves go the 7th AND 8th.

[Flex]

I watched some of the game as well. And I said to myself. Watch this kid is going to hit a HR and save these clowns season. You know how the rest went. I'd like to say that I know for a fact you'll lose in Tampa or that Lester will get blasted again. But I can't. Something tells me this kid from Yale is going to save your season and prevent the most Epic collapse in history. And you guys will squeak by adversity yet again. Frustrating from a Yankees fan perspective since I badly want to see you guys finish this at this point. But hey who would you play in the first round anyway?
It's going to be a real gem seeing john Lackey take the mound on Thursday if you guys win tonight. John Lackey vs the Rays for the season. 180 mil vs 40?mil for all the marbles.

[Flex]

Btw. If he does come up big... May I offer a suggestion for a posting title?
Where there's a WILL, there's a LavarnWAY.
Just saying. Ha
Enjoy these next few game(s) I'm sure they will be ulcer inducing.

[Sox Hater]

Na Na Na Na. Na Na Na Na. Hey Hey Hey. Good bye. And good riddance to you Massholes.