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1 1/2 & Hellhounds on Our Trail
No reason for panic, Red Sox fans. Just because the Yanks are now only 1 ½ games behind us with 11 games to go, just because they are peaking while the Sox are sliding, just because injuries have some good Sox bats out of the Sox lineup and fatigue has overtaken our pitching staff.
Youk says "Ouch" as does the Nation
You don’t want to back into the post season, you want to go into the post season with momentum. The Sox have precious little time to generate any momentum, only 11 games.
The magic number to make the playoffs is 3, but the magic number to win the division is 9: that’s combination of wins and loses for the Sox and Yanks.
Manny’s stubborn oblique injury still keeps him out of the lineup. Youk’s sore hand and swollen thumb is keeping him out. And Coco Crisp’s cranky back is keeping him out.
Our pitching staff is tired, especially the Japanese contingent, Dice-K and Oki. Our storied trade deadline acquisition, reliever Eric Gagne, has been a complete bust.
The biggest disappoint of the season: the trade of Trot Nixon for J.D. Drew and his 6 year 60 million contract. What were they thinking? I’d rather have Trot hitting .260 any day than Drew and for a third of the money. Trot bleed red and was a certified Yankee killer; this Drew seems to have no fire in his belly, no personality and has not earned his salary this year. Bad trade.
Julio Lugo. Not as bad as Drew, at least he plays the game with passion, but com’on he’s hitting .249. To his credit he’s stolen around 30 bases and driven in 71 runs, but how many victories have they contributed to. We let Alex Gonzales go, the best defensive shortstop in the game because he hit .250. Bad trade.
Coco Crisp. It’s been a pleasure to watch him patrol center field and make spectacular play after spectacular play. And he’s finally got his batting average up to the .270s. But we expected that great defense and a .300 BA to go along with it. Tell you one thing, he’s no Johnny Damon. Bad trade.
I love to watch Youk and Lowell play the game. Youk is a quintessential Red Sox playah (like Trot Nixon). I’m happy that Mike Lowell is having a career year with a .329 average and 108 RBIs, especially going into a contract year with free agency looming. How does that work anyway, a lot of guys have great years when playing for a new contract.
Mike Lowell
And Papi, for Christ’s sake people refer to him as having an off year when his BA is around .320 with 30 homers, 104 RBIs and 45 doubles. Only in Red Sox Nation can that be considered an off season. Plus he’s been playing with a balky shoulder and a knee that will require surgery at season’s end.
Tell ya the truth, I never thought this Red Sox team was that good, even when they were 14 games ahead of the Yankees. Trouble is, nobody else is that good either. No team is dominant this year, being strong up the middle with great pitching 1 to 5.
Honestly, this is a difficult Red Sox team for me to love. For the most part they seem to be a little bloodless.
Let the Kids Play
One bright spot has been the play of the kids they brought up from Pawtucket, especially Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchhloz, and John Lester.
Jacoby Ellsbury
Bad News
As I write this, Timlin came in in relief in the bottom of the 8th against Toronto and loaded the bases, then Papelbon came in and gave up a grand slam home run. The sox lose 6 to 1. The Yankees are winning.
The Sox may go deep into the playoffs, they may even win it all, but it will not be something that I hold dear to my heart. Not this team.
Posted at September 19, 2007 10:29 PM