Putting My Sox On Again

The official pose of the 2009 BoSox Starters.
(bostondirtdogs.boston.com)

And you thought I wouldn't write about the Sox again. OK. I know you did. I know I have intelligent readers. But I admit to you it's a little awkward that it has been 24 days since I wrote anything about my Mudville 9. That's because I felt like I had to be caught up in every stat and tidbit before I wrote about the team again. Being in another continent let's just say has a little to do with it. But after seeing Beckett toss another strong start against the Twins in today's afternoon delight, I feel as if I'm ready to get back on the saddle. As always, there are a few things on my mind with the team and with the sport, good and bad. I'll try not to be too mundane, considering we are in first place, by a half-game mind you, but still on top. But I think I see a little bit of the Simon Cowell in me coming out. Don't say I didn't warn you. But I'll sprinkle some positivity here and there, I promise. We'll start off with a story that that broke just before I even left the country a few weeks back.

Say it ain't so Manny. A female fertility drug?
(everyjoe.com)

While in the middle of M&M World in NYC, I decide to check my phone for the weather forecast for the upcoming days in Sweden. What I found was a headline that almost had me faint in a rack of M&M pajamas. "Manny Ramirez Suspended 50 Games For....." I didn't need to read the rest. If you know me, I'm probably the last person on Earth who liked Manny and defended him to his very last antics in Boston. I was the first person everyone called when the Bay trade happened, almost like someone consoling the mourning. Despite all the times Manny had frustrated the front office and his teammates (I'm finally willing to say he did quit on them), he had excited the Fenway Faithful with so "Manny" memorable moments, including 2 World Series Titles, one of which he was the MVP. I was sort of a closet Dodger fan for the last months of the 2008 campaign, as he was destroying National League pitching at close to a .400 clip. But the drug suspension news probably just completed the separation process between Manny and me. Sure he would be the one who would high-five a fan after a catch, or go behind the Monster to do I don't wanna know what. But performance enhancers? I immediately wanted to get into defense mode, but realized from the many revelations before that it's pretty hard to defend someone who has been proven to have broken the steroid rules (See: Roger Clemens*, A-Rod*). The fact that I haven't put an asterisk to Manny probably shows I still have some sentiment, but this moment in time clearly showed me that I had to get rid of it. The weirdest part is that they found he had traces of a female fertility drug in his system. What? A FEMALE fertility drug? I guess I wouldn't leave it past Manny to have something that foreign in his system. Apparently, this is what is used to mask the steroids for testing. But still. WOW. Since the A-Rod* situation however, I just feel that anybody could be cheating, and that's the way it is. I don't even care anymore. This era of baseball happened, some high-profile names got busted, and we are beginning to move on. It's just frustrating to have to suspect every star player in the sport of drug use, and these recent findings don't help at all. However, I do feel that a majority of the players in the league do it the right way, and that the combination of testing, national shame, and the awareness of the health issues involving these drugs deter many from even wanting to use. As for the purity of the 2004 season, we'll we don't have evidence that he was using anything at that point. That's the only thing we can go by. But this just reminds us with the most painful fact of the steroid era that we will have way more questions about it than we can ever answer.

Well, apparently Papi still has his health, but that's it.
(espn.com)

It's great to get off the plane after a satisfying vacation and find that you favorite team has played well enough to capture first place. Most of the headlines I received when I was abroad were more from the surface. I was pumped when we swept the Blue Jays (who I predicted to be fourth in the East, possibly last), who are now in a huge tailspin. I saw that Jason Bay was tearing the cover off the ball, opening up more of a place in my heart for him (with the help of the indiscretions from you know who). But after getting back and settling into pure baseball mode again and reading everything that is happening, I wondered how they were still in first place. For starters (har, har, har), the starting pitching, which was supposed to be our bread and butter, is more like our moldy cheese and salami right now. The Sox came into today's game against the Twins with a gi-normous 5.36 ERA amongst their starters (26th out of 30 in the MLB). The supposedly dominant trio of Beckett, Lester, and Matsuzaka have combined for an 8-10 clip with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP (Still looking at those numbers in disbelief.). While Beckett is showing some signs of turning it around, Lester (6.07 ERA) is far from showing any evidence or consistency that he is ready to become the next dominant lefty in the game. Dice-K (8.82 ERA) is making it more difficult to expect more than 5 innings out of him, while pushing me further to buy a WBC voodoo doll. I'm about one more bad start away from convincing Tito that having the bullpen pitch the whole game could be a better idea than to trot one of those guys out there. Smoltzy can't come quick enough. On top of that, we're seeing a legend continuing to fade in front of our eyes. Papi's currently batting a measly .194 with a .297 in both OBP and slugging. Can you say, YIKES? Ever since his 1st dinger of the year on the 20th, he has gone 3 for his last 27 with only 1 RBI. So bad that he had to be dropped to 6th in the batting order for the first time since he was a Twin several years back. What's even more disheartening is that you know it's getting to him, as evident with him breaking his bat off his leg in this afternoon's game. You would think that homerun would have sparked Papi's confidence, and he would emerge as something of his former self. Nevermind being in the twilight zone, he has become the twilight zone. The Big Man doesn't seem like he has the same aura anymore, a mere ghost (Why can't I get cheesy Patrick Swayze movies out of my head?). As much as any Red Sox fan right now, I'm still hoping for the best, but at the same time must see the reality (gulp) that this could very well be it for a once dominant force in the batter's box. With all this, you would think that the Sox could easily be in 4th right now. But here come the rays of optimism I promised you.

Somebody give this man a moniker!
(mlb.mlb.com)

This afternoon, I read a small article on boston.com on how the Red Sox are in first place despite some of the glaring issues like the ones previously mentioned. For me, a few things come to mind. First off, how 'bout Mikey Lowell? Once considered a dead man limping, as of now he is on pace for a season arguably better than his 2007 campaign (ESPN Proj: 28 HR, 115 RBI's, 52 2Bs, 195 Hits, .524 SLUG). No one expected this. Not the scouts, not the Nation, probably not even Mikey Lowell himself. But I won't complain. His "I'm back" game was the April 25th game against the Yanks where he drove in 6 to help Boston win a slugfest. Not a bad time for an "I'm back" statement game, huh? Knocking on wood that nothing "Bo Jackson-esque" happens to him in the future. Who also would have figured that Jason Varitek would have 10 times as many homeruns right now as Big Papi? I think I feel the world flipping upside down on its axis now. I mean, you have to realize that 'Tek hit more homeruns this afternoon than Papi has hit all season. Sure his average is .248, but I sadly would have taken that from him last year (54 points over Papi now), and he is sure to smash his '08 total of 13 HR by the All-Star break. Then there is the combo of MVPedroia, Youkilis, and Bay who have just carried the offense brilliantly in '09. Right there, the Sox potentially have 3 MVP candidates that could sit dead-center in their lineup and pick up where Papi left off. The Nation would love it if the Big Man got back to form, no doubt. But I think the Sox are in safe hands with this trio. The trio have totaled so far 153 hits, 62 extra base hits, and 260 total bases. All that, and Youkilis was on the DL for a short period. You can't talk about this year's Sox team without talking about the insane job the bullpen has done this year. A 2.99 ERA coming into Thursday's game is solid enough for first in the majors amongst bullpens. The combination of Okajima, Masterson, Delcarmen, Saito and Papelbon have done there jobs in the back end of the 'pen (scary just to even look at). But how 'bout Ramon Ramirez? Brought in by the Crisp trade, all he has done is allowed 2 ER in 24.1 IP, a .139 average against, and has even saved a game this season. I'm sure there are teams who are dying to have him as a closer, and yet he's our 6th-7th inning guy. Not to mention that we have a kid called up right now who can throw triple digits. We just need to give the kid a nickname. I don't think Daniel Bard provokes that much fear on the loudspeaker. Not yet anyway. Not that I'm a conspiracy theorist or anything, but I think the Sox brass is secretly hoping this kid pans out just so they won't have to pay Papelbon the big dough and have his shoulder go out on him in the 2nd year of a 5 year multi-million contract. Just throwing it out there.

Look in those eyes. I think he sees October.
(bostonsports.mlblogs.com)

So there you have it. Like in every season, there are the grave concerns that waltz together with beams of hope. That's the beauty of this game. Even as the Yankees come surging from the dead, I look at the team and know that we could fend them off throughout the summer. The fact that we have beat them in every matchup this season doesn't hurt my confidence either. But regardless, it is those beams of hope that make the long haul turn out much more gratifying in the end. The length of the season is detrimental physically and mentally in some ways, but for the players teams who can create moments in that period of time, the feeling is extra euphoric. Even if an injury (just ask Kirk Gibson, '88) or a whole season (J.D Drew, '07) has brought you to the abyss, there are so many opportunities in this game to become the hero. Thriving in spite of that super-long grind is what makes a championship season in baseball so much more rewarding than in other sports. So as I leave for the Mid-Atlantic to get the first look at Matt Wieters, I will have no doubt have my eye on Papi, Lester, and Matsuzaka, for there is still plenty of time for redemption. Many complain that baseball has such a long season, but for many others, they're glad it works that way.