Notice I don't title this post "How to Play Baseball, by the 2014 Boston Red Sox". That's because this bunch isn't playing baseball. They've invented their own game and it's so bizarre and convoluted that I can't even come up with a name for this odd mutation of the traditional bat and ball game played on a diamond shape field.
Rule 1: The guy throwing the ball and the guys behind him in the field are on opposite teams. The fielders must endeavor to keep the ball from reaching the white square bag where the runner, their teammate, is headed. This is called the Keep-Away Principle.
Rule 2: If a ball is hit in the air, the fielders must allow it to drop to the ground so that their teammates can run around the diamond and touch as many white square bags as possible. This is the Gravity Rule
Rule 3: When there are men on base, the batter has several choices. He can:
a) swing at balls thrown his way that he cannot reach with his bat
b) watch three balls thrown his way sail right over the white pentagonal plate
c) if he should inadvertently make contact with the ball, it's okay as long as one of his teammates in the field can catch it or pick it up and throw it to the white square bag to his right before his foot touches said bag. Proceed to bag as slowly as possible.
Rule 4: He who stands on a mound of dirt and throws the ball to the guy standing next to the white pentagonal plate must either throw it directly over the plate or so far away from it that the guy with the bat cannot reach it.
Rule 5: Points are scored by the number of dropped balls, men left in the vicinity of the white bags after three outs are made, and most balls thrown far away from the pentagonal plate. If the guy with the bat hits it out of the yard, the guy on this hill gets bonus points.
Got it? Now go put on some uniforms and try to figure out who's on whose team. Looks of confusion are worth 5 points apiece. Hands thrown up in the air in abject frustration are worth 10. Play...something!
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Was the 2013 Season a Fluke?
With the 2014 Red Sox picking up where they left off in 2012, as if 2013 never happened, it begs the question: was that World Championship season a mere fluke? The Red Sox last year were a talented group, but they weren't the most talented of all 30 teams in MLB. They won with some luck, career years from the likes of Daniel Nava, Shane Victorino, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz before his injury, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and a defense up the middle that included Stephen Drew, Dustin Pedroia, and Jacoby Ellsbury. They had a lot of team chemistry for sure, and a will to win that had not been seen in previous years, but all of that has disappeared with the change of the calendar year.
Is the player turnover from last season to this one responsible for the return to futility? Did all the mojo leave with Stephen Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia? Or did Bobby V-style bad karma come with the likes of AJ Pierzynski, Edward Mujica, Grady Sizemore, Burke Badenhop and Chris Capuano. Capuano is certainly not part of the problem and Sizemore, while he fooled the Sox into thinking he could be an impact player with a blazing Spring Training, isn't as big of a problem as Pierzynski, Mujica and Badenhop have been. Pierzynski, in particular, had an unsavory reputation precede him. Mujica and Badenhop have just been ineffective.
What of the young players that were supposed to make this season at lea st somewhat fun to watch? It seems Jackie Bradley Jr and Xander Bogaerts have been dragged down with the rest of the team. Bogaerts, in particular, is off to a disappointing start after being such a dynamic force in the playoffs and having a very solid Spring Training. His fielding has been woeful and his approach at the plate has taken a step back (Pierzynski School of Plate Discipline, perhaps?).
Let's be clear on one thing: I am not expecting the Red Sox to win a World Series every year. I'm not expecting them to repeat this year. I do, however, want them to at least be competitive, and by that I don't mean competing with the Astros for the top draft pick. I want to see Bogaerts and Bradley start to live up to their potential and stop being dragged down into the morass of malaise that has ensnared the rest of the team. It consumed the offense and defense first and now it's pulled the starting pitching right down with it. Lackey, Buchholz and Lester have all taken turns playing pinata in the last four games, with the only reprieve being a solid start from Doubront.
Another depressing reminder of 2012 is this team's atrocious play at home. So far, the last place team in the AL East has gone 4-7 at Fenway. So much for home field advantage! Like 2012, the 2014 Red Sox are one step forward, two steps back. One great year, sandwiched between what's looking like two miserable ones. It may still be early, but this isn't Spring Training. Unless MLB has changed the rules, April games count in the standings as much as games in September and the deeper the hole the Red Sox dig early in the season, the harder it is going to be to crawl out. Get your shit together, Red Sox, and get it together in a hurry. What's the point of going worst to first if you're going right back down to worst again?
Is the player turnover from last season to this one responsible for the return to futility? Did all the mojo leave with Stephen Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia? Or did Bobby V-style bad karma come with the likes of AJ Pierzynski, Edward Mujica, Grady Sizemore, Burke Badenhop and Chris Capuano. Capuano is certainly not part of the problem and Sizemore, while he fooled the Sox into thinking he could be an impact player with a blazing Spring Training, isn't as big of a problem as Pierzynski, Mujica and Badenhop have been. Pierzynski, in particular, had an unsavory reputation precede him. Mujica and Badenhop have just been ineffective.
What of the young players that were supposed to make this season at lea st somewhat fun to watch? It seems Jackie Bradley Jr and Xander Bogaerts have been dragged down with the rest of the team. Bogaerts, in particular, is off to a disappointing start after being such a dynamic force in the playoffs and having a very solid Spring Training. His fielding has been woeful and his approach at the plate has taken a step back (Pierzynski School of Plate Discipline, perhaps?).
Let's be clear on one thing: I am not expecting the Red Sox to win a World Series every year. I'm not expecting them to repeat this year. I do, however, want them to at least be competitive, and by that I don't mean competing with the Astros for the top draft pick. I want to see Bogaerts and Bradley start to live up to their potential and stop being dragged down into the morass of malaise that has ensnared the rest of the team. It consumed the offense and defense first and now it's pulled the starting pitching right down with it. Lackey, Buchholz and Lester have all taken turns playing pinata in the last four games, with the only reprieve being a solid start from Doubront.
Another depressing reminder of 2012 is this team's atrocious play at home. So far, the last place team in the AL East has gone 4-7 at Fenway. So much for home field advantage! Like 2012, the 2014 Red Sox are one step forward, two steps back. One great year, sandwiched between what's looking like two miserable ones. It may still be early, but this isn't Spring Training. Unless MLB has changed the rules, April games count in the standings as much as games in September and the deeper the hole the Red Sox dig early in the season, the harder it is going to be to crawl out. Get your shit together, Red Sox, and get it together in a hurry. What's the point of going worst to first if you're going right back down to worst again?
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Where Have You Gone, 2013 Red Sox?
It is very early in the season, but so far, the 2014 Red Sox are making last season's World Championship run look like a fluke. Injuries are piling up out of the gate and the Sox are playing some listless, uninspired baseball in the month of April. If this keeps up, it's going to be a long, painful, 2012-esque season.
Perhaps the 2014 Red Sox are going the route of the 2013 Giants, who followed up their 2012 World Series championship with the dreaded "hangover season". Perhaps the magic had 10/30/13 expiration date. Perhaps this is the "bridge year" for the Red Sox that 2013 was supposed to be. One thing is certain: Right now, "every little thing" is far from "alright".
Perhaps the 2014 Red Sox are going the route of the 2013 Giants, who followed up their 2012 World Series championship with the dreaded "hangover season". Perhaps the magic had 10/30/13 expiration date. Perhaps this is the "bridge year" for the Red Sox that 2013 was supposed to be. One thing is certain: Right now, "every little thing" is far from "alright".
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Pre-Spring Training Red Sox Thoughts
As I write this blog, I am listening to the song that became somewhat of a theme song for the 2013 Red Sox: Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds". What started out as Shane Victorino's walk-up song caught fire in Red Sox Nation down the stretch and into the playoffs and came to symbolize what this resilient, bearded, determined team was all about. The 2013 Red Sox are a tough act to follow.
While the great majority of the team is returning (sans Ellsbury, Saltalamacchia, and possibly Stephen Drew), there are still a lot of questions surrounding the 2014 team. In case you've been living under a rock since August 2011, things have been rather mercurial around The Fens in the past two and a half years. First, the epic collapse of September 2011, then the ousting of Francona, the departure of Theo Epstein for the Windy City, the Bobby Valentine hire, the flotsam and jetsam that was the 2012 season, the Big Trade, and then, the phoenix-from-the-ashes rise of the Red Sox in 2013, capturing their third World Series title in a decade.
Going into last year, few expected the team to be a serious World Series contender, let alone win the whole shebang. The strategy Ben Cherington adopted was to build the team not with high-price, high-risk free agents, but with quality major-league talent that had the right mentality to succeed in the baseball-obsessed Boston market. Depth at the major-league level was key to Cherington and it paid off in the best way possible: A World Series title and the honor of being named Executive of the Year. Cherington also had to find the right man to lead the team after Valentine's catastrophic year at the helm.
The 2014 Red Sox have most of their team back, along with John Farrell and the rest of the coaching staff. They acquired some more depth this off-season, once again staying away from monster contracts or farm-gutting trades. How will the extra month of play affect the players, especially the pitchers? Will Jackie Bradley, Jr. earn the starting spot in center or will Grady Sizemore stay healthy long enough and perform well enough after two seasons away from baseball to keep the prospect in Pawtucket. How will Xander Bogaerts do at whatever position he ends up playing (hopefully, shortstop)? Can Will Middlebrooks improve his approach at the plate enough to become a middle-of-the-order righty power threat? Or, should we settle for a viable major-league third baseman out of him? Will all the age behind the plate (two 37-year-olds) catch up to them?
The Red Sox, due to their major and minor league depth, are in good shape heading into the 2014 season and beyond. If they can avoid too much regression from the likes of Victorino, Napoli, Nava, Carp, Lackey, and Lester, if Doubront can finally put together a consistently solid season and if Buchholz can stay healthy, they have a good chance to be in the playoffs again. Can they repeat? Anything is possible, but very few teams manage to go back-to-back (and even fewer that don't play their home games in the Bronx). 2013 was a special, magical, endearing, redemptive season for the Red Sox, but soon the page will turn to 2014. Let's hope some of that magic rolls over into the new season.
While the great majority of the team is returning (sans Ellsbury, Saltalamacchia, and possibly Stephen Drew), there are still a lot of questions surrounding the 2014 team. In case you've been living under a rock since August 2011, things have been rather mercurial around The Fens in the past two and a half years. First, the epic collapse of September 2011, then the ousting of Francona, the departure of Theo Epstein for the Windy City, the Bobby Valentine hire, the flotsam and jetsam that was the 2012 season, the Big Trade, and then, the phoenix-from-the-ashes rise of the Red Sox in 2013, capturing their third World Series title in a decade.
Going into last year, few expected the team to be a serious World Series contender, let alone win the whole shebang. The strategy Ben Cherington adopted was to build the team not with high-price, high-risk free agents, but with quality major-league talent that had the right mentality to succeed in the baseball-obsessed Boston market. Depth at the major-league level was key to Cherington and it paid off in the best way possible: A World Series title and the honor of being named Executive of the Year. Cherington also had to find the right man to lead the team after Valentine's catastrophic year at the helm.
The 2014 Red Sox have most of their team back, along with John Farrell and the rest of the coaching staff. They acquired some more depth this off-season, once again staying away from monster contracts or farm-gutting trades. How will the extra month of play affect the players, especially the pitchers? Will Jackie Bradley, Jr. earn the starting spot in center or will Grady Sizemore stay healthy long enough and perform well enough after two seasons away from baseball to keep the prospect in Pawtucket. How will Xander Bogaerts do at whatever position he ends up playing (hopefully, shortstop)? Can Will Middlebrooks improve his approach at the plate enough to become a middle-of-the-order righty power threat? Or, should we settle for a viable major-league third baseman out of him? Will all the age behind the plate (two 37-year-olds) catch up to them?
The Red Sox, due to their major and minor league depth, are in good shape heading into the 2014 season and beyond. If they can avoid too much regression from the likes of Victorino, Napoli, Nava, Carp, Lackey, and Lester, if Doubront can finally put together a consistently solid season and if Buchholz can stay healthy, they have a good chance to be in the playoffs again. Can they repeat? Anything is possible, but very few teams manage to go back-to-back (and even fewer that don't play their home games in the Bronx). 2013 was a special, magical, endearing, redemptive season for the Red Sox, but soon the page will turn to 2014. Let's hope some of that magic rolls over into the new season.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Red Sox in 2014: Post-Championship Letdown?
When a team wins the World Series, after the honeymoon is over, there is the matter of how they will follow up that championship season next year. Repeating is an extremely difficult thing to do, seeing how so many things need to go right to win it all. That means that, for the vast majority of reigning champions, the following year represents some degree of letdown. Take the 2012 San Francisco Giants. They followed up their championship run with a supremely disappointing fourth place finish and a losing record. The 2011 Cardinals fared much better, advancing to the NLCS in 2012. The 2010 Giants missed the playoffs in 2011. The 2009 Yankees earned a Wild Card berth in 2010. The 2008 Phillies appeared in the 2009 World Series, but couldn't repeat. The last team to repeat was the Evil Empire itself, who threepeated in 1998, 1999, and 2000.
Where will the 2014 Red Sox end up when all is said and done? After losing one of their best players, Jacoby Ellsbury, to the Dark Side (deja Damon, anyone?), it will be nearly impossible to replace his level of play in center field (except the arm, of course). Jackie Bradley, Jr. may well be ready to start in center next year, but he has very limited experience at the major league level and it's exceedingly hard to predict how he will fare in his rookie season. With the A.J. Pierzinski signing, they have two guys over 35 behind the plate. It's completely unknown what the Sox will get from Will Middlebrooks next year. Xander Bogaerts shows a lot of promise at short, but even he may experience some growing pains. The situation at first base is still up in the air, with Napoli a free agent and no major-league ready replacement on the farm.
Having promising young talent like Bogaerts, Bradley, and even Middlebrooks is a very good thing. Teams with an abundance of young homegrown talent such as the A's, the Rays, the Cardinals, the Orioles, the Nationals have been very successful in recent years. Blocking those high-ceiling prospects with expensive free agents can result in an aging team laden with albatross contracts. However, allowing the prospects to develop at the major league level could mean the team takes a step back next year.
The 2012 Nationals didn't win the World Series, but they advanced to the playoffs and won their first division title since they moved to Washington from Montreal (where they were the Expos). They also brought a division title and playoff berth to DC for the first time in many decades. Their 2012 season was nearly as magical as the Red Sox' 2013 season. The magic wore off for the Nats in 2013, though. The spent much of the season hovering around .500 and their late run was not enough to return them to the postseason. Their young talent struggled to reach the heights of the 2012 team. Yet, they are well-positioned to bounce back in 2014 and return to the top of the NL East.
Why am I talking about the Washington Nationals in a Red Sox blog? Besides their being my NL team, their 2013 could very well be what happens with the Red Sox in 2014. Such a step back would be disappointing after the Magical Tour of Beards and Baseball in 2013, but better the Nats' 2013 season than that of the Giants for the Red Sox in 2014.
Where will the 2014 Red Sox end up when all is said and done? After losing one of their best players, Jacoby Ellsbury, to the Dark Side (deja Damon, anyone?), it will be nearly impossible to replace his level of play in center field (except the arm, of course). Jackie Bradley, Jr. may well be ready to start in center next year, but he has very limited experience at the major league level and it's exceedingly hard to predict how he will fare in his rookie season. With the A.J. Pierzinski signing, they have two guys over 35 behind the plate. It's completely unknown what the Sox will get from Will Middlebrooks next year. Xander Bogaerts shows a lot of promise at short, but even he may experience some growing pains. The situation at first base is still up in the air, with Napoli a free agent and no major-league ready replacement on the farm.
Having promising young talent like Bogaerts, Bradley, and even Middlebrooks is a very good thing. Teams with an abundance of young homegrown talent such as the A's, the Rays, the Cardinals, the Orioles, the Nationals have been very successful in recent years. Blocking those high-ceiling prospects with expensive free agents can result in an aging team laden with albatross contracts. However, allowing the prospects to develop at the major league level could mean the team takes a step back next year.
The 2012 Nationals didn't win the World Series, but they advanced to the playoffs and won their first division title since they moved to Washington from Montreal (where they were the Expos). They also brought a division title and playoff berth to DC for the first time in many decades. Their 2012 season was nearly as magical as the Red Sox' 2013 season. The magic wore off for the Nats in 2013, though. The spent much of the season hovering around .500 and their late run was not enough to return them to the postseason. Their young talent struggled to reach the heights of the 2012 team. Yet, they are well-positioned to bounce back in 2014 and return to the top of the NL East.
Why am I talking about the Washington Nationals in a Red Sox blog? Besides their being my NL team, their 2013 could very well be what happens with the Red Sox in 2014. Such a step back would be disappointing after the Magical Tour of Beards and Baseball in 2013, but better the Nats' 2013 season than that of the Giants for the Red Sox in 2014.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Red Sox Postseason Ditty: "This October"
This is a parody of Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night"
This October
Late October at the Fens
The Red Sox are champions
This October…
This October
Next October…
This October
This October
Late October at the Fens
The Red Sox are champions
The World Series
they did win.
Let the champagne
flow again!
Tears of joy the
fans have shed
Soldier’s helmet on
Gomes’ head.
Players hoisting the
trophy
Big Papi is MVP
Beat the Cards in
six, clinch the series at Fenway!
Hooray!
For the first time
since nineteen hundred and eighteen.
Oh wow!
The Red Sox first
faced the Rays
Price and Moore’d
seen better days
Maddon’s team got
out-Fenway’ed
This October…
Series moved on to
the Trop
Salty beaten by
catwalk.
Koji’s human—we
forgot!
They dispatched the
Rays in four
Peavy just let one
run score
And then Koji slammed
the door
This October…
Then the Tigers came
to town
Game 1 saw the Sox shut down
Oh no-o-o!
Do it all again!
Next October
Do it all again!
Game 2, Papi hit a slam
Game 3, Lackey was the man
Napoli hit a home run
All they needed was just one.
Game 4 turned into a loss
Peavy no longer was boss
In Game 5 Nap led the way
Red Sox just one win away
Shane Victorino hit a grand slam in Game 6—Yeah! Oh Yeah!
Beat the Tigers and headed to the World Series! Sweet!
This October
So the two best teams got in
Each with 97 wins
In the Fall Classic again
This October
The Sox blew Wainwright away
Cards’ bad defense made ‘em pay
Beltran took Papi’s slam away
This October
Wacha held the Red Sox down
And their defense screwed around
Breslow’s mojo left the mound
This October
Game 3 did not go well at all
Lost on an obstruction call—Now what the hell?
Next October
Do it all again!
Next October
Do it all again!
Buchholz throwing
86.
He pitched four and then Felix
Papi’s pep talk hit the
spot.
Jonny hit a three run
shot
Lackey pitched out of
the ‘pen.
Koji’s pickoff sealed
the win.
Game 5, Lester was an
ace.
Put the Cardinals in their place.
For Game 6 they were
back at Fenway Park
Sweet home! Oh yeah!
Lackey on the mound,
Victorino knocks in four! SHANF!
Yes they went from
worst to first
Boston Strong, no
talk of curse
And the Red Sox won the purse
This October.
Three World Series wins, nine years
Reggae music in our ears
Fenway Park erupts in cheers!
Next October
Do it all again!
Next October
Do it all again!
Friday, November 1, 2013
Heartbreak Never Came
As much fun as it is to see my team in the playoffs, those games are STRESSFUL to watch! The level of emotional investment is as sky-high as the stakes in October. They literally turn me into a crazy person and I have the tweets to prove it. There was virtual (and actual) hand-wringing and a few tweets I'd like to take back, like the one during Game 4 where I wished the Red Sox had never made it to the World Series. Yes, I actually tweeted that and I'm happy to eat a heaping dose of cyber-crow. Watching the offense struggle against Lance Lynn while Buchholz was walking a tightrope and the Red Sox came into the game facing a 2-1 deficit was making me apoplectic. Rational thought and that thing called perspective (and where a baseball game, even a World Series baseball game, fits into the grand scheme of things) goes out the window during those moments when you're living and dying with every pitch. The stress! The angst! The futile attempts to prepare myself for October heartbreak that seemed to lurk in the shadows! I needed that pep talk from Papi as much as the team did.
But that heartbreak never came. Not when Koji proved himself very much human by allowing Jose Lobaton to deposit his pitch into the Ray tank for a walkoff homer. Not when Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer were mowing the Red Sox offense down strikeout by strikeout. Not when the Tigers tied up the series by lighting Peavy up like a Christmas tree. Not when Craig Breslow threw the ball away. Not when a horizontal Middlebrooks was ruled an obstruction and Allen Craig limped home for the winning Cardinals run. Not when Buchholz's fastball sat in the mid-80s. Not when Wacha was looking dominant early on and the Cards were hitting rockets off of Lackey. Not when Lackey was given one more batter and walked him. The Red Sox got past all of that and, like Linus's Great Pumpkin, October heartbreak never showed up. Not in 2013. Not for the Red Sox.
But that heartbreak never came. Not when Koji proved himself very much human by allowing Jose Lobaton to deposit his pitch into the Ray tank for a walkoff homer. Not when Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer were mowing the Red Sox offense down strikeout by strikeout. Not when the Tigers tied up the series by lighting Peavy up like a Christmas tree. Not when Craig Breslow threw the ball away. Not when a horizontal Middlebrooks was ruled an obstruction and Allen Craig limped home for the winning Cardinals run. Not when Buchholz's fastball sat in the mid-80s. Not when Wacha was looking dominant early on and the Cards were hitting rockets off of Lackey. Not when Lackey was given one more batter and walked him. The Red Sox got past all of that and, like Linus's Great Pumpkin, October heartbreak never showed up. Not in 2013. Not for the Red Sox.
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