Sox Nest

We’ve seen this once before, a completely Red Sox-crazed country, with all of New England doing backflips to pay homage to the city and team that brought it joy.

Wait, this guy is our closer!?! God help us, he’s just impossible not to love, isn’t he?

Well, strap yourself in folks, here we go again:

- The highlight of the recent Sox madness, appropriately enough, was the Rolling Rally through the city. The fans and signs were all pretty terrific, complete with the K-Men and mobile Papelbon, and Jonathan Papelbon certainly didn’t disappoint, dancing three separate times along the route, including a kilted jig at City Hall Plaza where he roped in bullpen mates Hideki Okajima and Mike Timlin. Oh, and he got to dance to his entry song, “Shipping off to Boston” live from the Dropkick Murphys. Not a bad way to go, eh?

- In terms of preposterous trends in naming, the Franklin Park Zoo clearly has set the trend. After 2004, there was a rush on the name “Boston” for everything from hamsters to children. Well, a baby giraffe born during Game 1 of the Series at Zoo New England has been named Sox. Yes, Sox. No correct spelling needed folks. Thanks to Red Sox Monster for catching this one early, but it’s a pretty terrific trend. So, if you meet some poor alcoholic named Sox 35 years from now outside of Copley at 2:30 on a Wednesday morning, you’ll know how it happened.

- Among a host of ridiculous videos posted, Eric Wilbur may have found the best one on his NESN and Globe-connected Boston Sports Blog, a Mario Bros. themed and customized clip, fully pixellated, that shows the Rockies’ run through the playoffs, right up until they get squashed by good ol’ King Kooba, who’s a fully decked out Red Sox fan. Terrific stuff.

Everyone, meet Sox. Sox, meet everyone. And yes his name really is Sox.

- Of course, we’re also in for a panoply of Sox appearances on late night shows, too. Jonathan Papelbon, likely to be the biggest hoot of the bunch, is on tonight’s “Late Show with David Letterman”. We’d be shocked if he’s not jigging at some point. Shockingly, not only is Manny Ramirez talking to the media in the playoffs, he’s going to talk to America on a late night show, getting full interview treatment on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno on Friday. No word on whether he realizes that appearance will require a flight to LA. An, just to round things out, the ever-affable David Ortiz will represent Big Papi style on Conan O’Brien’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”. The pure weirdness of Papelbon and Letterman in the same room makes for almost surefire hilarity, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Big Papi and O’Brien actually end up being funnier. The comedic potential of all these appearances, of course, is pretty much uncharted. Lots of good TV watching in the nights to come.

Naturally, we’re sure there’ll be much more attention, craziness and Sox-based debauchery in the coming days, and we’ll keep you updated on it all.

– Cameron Smith, WHDH photo

Over the course of the year, Curt Schilling made it perfectly clear that if the Red Sox didn’t extend him, he’d test the free agency waters. So, it seemed a bit - how should we say … pushy - that he’d officially file his papers the morning of Boston’s World Series parade through the city.

Schilling has thrown a lot of good things Boston’s way, but he’ll need to see some good things tossed his if he’s going to stay.

Don’t get us wrong, Schill was definitely soaking it all in Tuesday, videotaping the parade while kicking back in a “We Did it Again” shirt on a duck boat. He was a prominent part of the promenade, and made no bones about the fact that he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Still, doesn’t such a quick move, when he had plenty of time to file the papers, seem like a bit of a “F-you” to GM Theo Epstein? And why, exactly, if Curt wants to stay in Boston so badly, would that be a good move?

We’re puzzled by it. In his weekly Tuesday morning spot on WEEI, Schilling was gracious and made it clear that a return to the Sox would be by far his top choice. Still, he also made it clear that, “It’s entirely possible that I’ve played my last game for this team.”

On his 38pitches blog, Schill has already enumerated a list of teams he and his family would approve of signing with. Naturally, as he’s committed to throughout the season, there’s no Yankees on the list, but there seem to already be classes of teams forming in his mind. Perhaps subconsciously, Schilling lists the first 5 teams (Cleveland, Detroit, Anaheim, New York Mets, Philadelphia) alphabetically, then does the same with a second flight before tacking Milwaukee on to the end (guess he doesn’t want to pitch for the Brewers, huh?).

Considering the fact that he’s just looking for a one-year deal, it’ll be interesting to see which of those teams bite. Clearly, the Indians and Tigers are only a pitcher away. If that. Schilling could walk into either clubhouse and be slotted as the No. 3 starter right away, with the offensive production behind him to make a huge difference. The same can be said about the Angels, though to a lesser-degree. Anaheim clearly needs more offensive pop, but Schilling has always pitched like dynamite there, so it wouldn’t be shocking if they made a run at him.

The Mets and Phillies are perhaps the most intriguing clubs among the top list. Both would require a move back to the NL, but that would make Schilling that much better. It’s possible that he might get another four, five extra wins out of such a move, assuming he stays healthy. And, naturally, a move to the Mets would fill in the gap left there by Tom Glavine, while also reuniting Schilling with Pedro Martinez, and tension in the process.

That’s where things get truly intriguing. It’s possible that the Mets or Phillies (who could REALLY use a Schilling return) would be willing to throw $12-13 mill at the Big Schill, the number he was searching for in the preseason. There’s no way Epstein is going to match that. But what if Epstein offers Schilling $8 million? Would he be willing to take the $4 million pay cut to stay in Boston and finish his career with a “B” on his hat? It’s hard to tell. Only Schilling truly knows the answer to that question, and he’s not telling anyone.

One thing seems almost certain: The Red Sox will offer Curt something. And at least a couple of other teams will offer him something, too. Probably more than Boston will. That’s where rubber will meet the road, and we’ll find out if Schilling meets the road, too, based on his decision.

– Cameron Smith, 38 pitches photo graphic

Now that all the celebratory champagne has started to dry, the Red Sox have to start to think about some business. And first on the to-do list is the reigning World Series MVP.

Dr. Double has a lot to celebrate: A World Series MVP and, in all likelihood, a rich, multi-year contract coming up.

From a sentimental standpoint, resigning Mike Lowell is a no-brainer. Dr. Double hit .400 in the World Series, was nearly as effective in the two earlier playoff series and was Boston’s best clutch hitter throughout the season. He out RBI’d David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, for God sakes, and he even led the team in home runs at the All-Star break. Clearly, Lowell hit his stride, and he did it at the best possible time: during a contract year.

That being said, for every immense positive Lowell has brought the Sox over the last two years, there’s a potential downside to his re-acquisition. Coming off the best season of his career, the articulate and thoughtful third baseman will almost surely demand a three or four-year deal. He’s only 33 now, but even a three-year deal would push him beyond 35, the age threshold the Sox have set for keeping players under multi-year contracts. Boston was willing to get creative in re-signing catcher Jason Varitek, creating a clever, one-time clause that works as a default no-trade provision, and it’s likely Lowell would demand similar treatment because he’s been so comfortable playing in Boston.

So, let’s look at the overall parameters. To keep Lowell, the Sox will have to chip in a raise from his current salary - $9 million per year - and they’ll have to commit to at least three years, meaning they’ll be paying a 36 year-old somewhere in the $10-12 million range in 2010. Additionally, they might not be able to trade that 36 year-old, so they have to be absolutely certain that his power numbers won’t take a dip, considering his slot at one of the corner infield spots.

Of course, that’s when the other side of Lowell’s track record comes in. Dr. Double got off to a blazing start in his first Fenway season, too, but he tailed off badly after the break, leading some to question his stamina and durability. He quieted those concerns in 2007, but additional age can take it’s toll, particularly when one season goes for another entire month, as this year did with a World Series.

So, if you’re Theo Epstein, what do you do? It’ a truly tough issue, and it’s not made any easier by the fact that the fans have clearly said their piece. A petition circulating online had more than 8,000 signatures for the Sox to keep Lowell, and that was just two days after his MVP trophy was first handed over. Throughout the parade route through Boston streets this afternoon, fans waved signs imploring management to re-sign Lowell. At one point, Varitek got even more people involved, taking one of the signs and waving it himself.

And perhaps that move itself is symbolic of the true turning point in the Lowell debate. When Varitek was brought back aboard, a big part of management’s willingness to accommodate his needs was based on how he thrived in Boston, how he was devoted to the team and fan base and his importance with the pitching staff and in the clubhouse, as a leader. It’s why the team insisted on emblazoning his jersey with a captain’s “C”, the first given out in more than 20 years. Lowell has a similar role with this team. He’s one of the leaders, one of the even-keeled performers who truly thrives in Boston. He performs better when the team desperately needs a hit, and he was so effective that he emerged as one of the best No. 5 hitters in the game, the protection for Big Papi and Manny that the team thought it was getting with J.D. Drew.

In fact, Lowell was so good that it took the pressure off of Drew, finally allowing him to hit the way the team envisioned he would. When a player is so good under particular circumstances that it makes everyone else better, that’s when you know he’s invaluable, perhaps even irreplaceable.

All of that means that Lowell truly is invaluable. Irreplaceable even. And the fans are right. Re-sign Mike Lowell. Do that, and things really may fall into place.

– Cameron Smith, MLB photo

It’s over, thanks to Jonathan Papelbon and co.

It’s over, thanks to Dr. Double Mike Lowell’s home run checkup. And Bobby Kielty’s off-the-bench pick me up. And Jason Varitek’s game-calling.

It’s over, thanks to an overwhelming performance from rookie lefty Jon Lester, the man who was on chemotherapy a year ago, yet now got through nearly six innings of shutout ball to thwart the Rockies.

It’s over thanks to unbelievable fan support, even in the Rocky Mountains.

It’s over, despite multiple attempts by the Yankees to steal thunder with a managerial and A-Rod announcement.

It’s over after a complete whitewash in Colorado, which suddenly went from unstoppable force to National League also-rans.

It’s over, thanks to Terry Francona, who is the first manager in history to win his first eight World Series games.

It’s over, thank God, with all the drama, or lack thereof in half of the World Series.

It’s over, and God bless Boston … and the Red Sox.

– Cameron Smith

First off, here are the specifics: David Ortiz is going to start at first base, leaving Kevin Youkilis and his OBP near .700 on the bench. Jon Lester returns to start Game 4, his first game since the final throws of the regular season. And Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury will try to follow up on one of the most dominant performances by rookies batting 1-2 in the order since, well, just about ever.

The Red Sox are a win away from a World Series title. Jon Lester could close out it tonight, and there’s little doubt he knows what’s at stake.

Oh yeah, the Sox can win the World Series with a victory, too. Probably worth mentioning.

With last night’s impressive outing from Daisuke Matsuzaka, hit-and-miss evening from the bullpen and savior act by the Red Sox bats, Boston moved within a win of its second title in four years. But despite all the good things that happened, the win also exposed the Red Sox for problems today. The bullpen is taxed, proven by Hideki Okajima suddenly becoming hittable, at least by Matt Holliday. And in a strong pride factor for Colorado - this is a team that DOES NOT want to get swept - and the Rockies should be favorites tonight.

Of course, that doesn’t take Lester into account, or Colorado starter Aaron Cook, for that matter. Both are former cancer victims, recovered to continue impressive careers. Lester has youth and a left-handed approach that differs from all the other starters the Rockies have seen from the Sox. Cook, meanwhile, has moxie but has not pitched in well more than a month. Try and get your head around a prediction from that matchup. Who knows what’s going to happen?

Then again, who ever knows what’s going to happen? Who saw that performance from Ellsbury and Pedroia coming? Good, sure. That good? Come on.

It was almost as hard to see a 3-0 lead coming too, which should give Sox fans a good feeling entering tonight. As always, that hardly means a win tonight and potential sweep is going to happen. But it has to be a good feeling.

– Cameron Smith

We’re at that point in the season, the one where a single win ends it all, makes the difference between glory and purgatory, ultimate merit or the sudden mediocrity afforded to teams sent back to the pack to wait for 2008.

Let the record show that in each of the last six times such a game has presented itself, from Game 5 of the ALCS on, the Red Sox have come out on top. But perhaps because of their precarious start in the championship series, they may understand better than any other team that they can’t allow a dangerous Colorado team off the mat in Coors Field tonight.

Boston is on the verge of an incredibly special accomplishment, a second title in four years, moving into the elite air of the Yankees as the only organization to earn multiple titles in such close proximity over the past decade plus. Some writers are already saying they are on the verge of supplanting the Yankees as the AL East’s dominant power, likely a bit premature at the moment, yet still an evolving and intriguing possibility.

What’s equally significant is that Boston could win a second title and keep so much of the identity it forged in 2004, when it mounted the most miraculous comeback in sports history to steal the World Series from the Yankees and, shortly thereafter, the Cardinals. Their backs were firmly against the wall, with breaks falling to the Indians left and right, and yet they rallied, won, then won at home to send Cleveland back to Lake Erie.

A new generation of Sox players has found itself tested in the playoff crucible alongside David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, long the team’s most reliable options. Again, this supporting cast has proven dangerous and effective and - in the case of newcomers Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury - lethally efficient.

Into this spotlight dances a young, enigmatic starter with a chance to close what his forebears have started. When Jon Lester, he of wins and no decisions across 17 straight starts, takes the hill tonight with a chance to come full circle, from a cancer diagnosis just more than a year ago to a World Series start and, he hopes, a title. They’re that close. One good performance away. Lester got rid of jitters in Game 2 of the ALCS and rebounded to pitch admirably in Game 4 of that slate. Of course, the fact that he’s pitching at all is admirable, but he won’t hear any of it.

Instead, he wants to focus on his start. In fact, that’s all any of the Red Sox will say at the moment. They want to keep focused. They’ll need to. The last team that lost a bit of that, whether you feel it was the 2004 Yankees or 2007 Indians, never reached the finish line they could see so clearly.

This team can see it ahead, it’s just a long, strong game away. Still.

– Cameron Smith

If tonight’s matchup scares you a little bit, it probably should. The Rockies may be reeling, down 2-0 in the best-of-seven World Series, but they’re coming home for Game 3, and they’re coming home to a crowd with an appetite for intimidation and winning streaks, not necessarily in that order.

Daisuke Matsuzaka will get a chance to hold a bat a couple of times, but it’s what he does to Colorado players wielding them that will chart the latest chapter in his postseason biography tonight.

Look, it’s no secret that Denver isn’t exactly St. Louis or Philadelphia, let alone a true baseball haven like Boston or New York. These aren’t your father’s Rockies because your father didn’t have Rockies. Colorado fans aren’t long suffering because they haven’t been around long. Only by Marlin and Diamondback circumstances can they be considered unlucky, and to that extent they deserve some credit. The Rockies may not sell out every game, but they do have loyal fans. The Red Sox are likely to discover that tonight.

Then again, neither the Rockies or their fans have discovered Daisuke Matsuzaka, either. The Japanese ace turned American waffler enters the World Series after batting an even .500 in the ALCS. He turned in a lackluster outing in Game 3 which put a severe damper on Boston’s expectations and, eventually, required their second near-miraculous comeback in four years. Yet he atoned for that bad, or at the very least, poorly timed, outing with a strong Game 7, 2 runs across five innings and a win in the team’s biggest game of the season. As a performance, under those circumstances, Dice-K’s Game 7 was worth a lot, and it went a long way toward quieting the critics that have attacked Theo Epstein and the Boston front office for over bidding on the Japanese star with five - or arguably six - pitches.

Still, despite his last game out, this is Dice-K’s chance to truly put a stamp on his season. A Win tonight would put the Rockies in a chokehold, their backs firmly against the wall. A bad Matsuzaka outing aloss, meanwhile, would give new life to a team that hardly needs room to breathe to resurrect a season, as they’ve proved time and time again. Ask the Dodgers. Or Diamondbacks. Or Padres. Actually, don’t ask the Padres, that might push them over the edge. We don’t need any suicides on our heads here.

While the attention may focus squarely on David Ortiz’s latest maiden voyage at first base, cameras cocked waiting for the lightest misstep, the real gleam will come from Matsuzaka or be extinguished by him. After all, as pitching goes, so goes the series. So far, Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling have gone very well. If Matsuzaka goes well tonight, all will remain well back in the Fens, a place as cold and damp as Coors Field, yet much cheerier, at least at the moment.

– Cameron Smith, AP Photo

When Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound at Coors Field tonight, he will have answered questions about his guts and guile once in the postseason already. Still, his first response - a resoundingly solid, if not spectacular, five-inning outing against the Indians in Game 7 of the ALCS - was enough to quiet alarms that he had crumbled under the expectations of a monstrous salary and posting fee. But it wasn’t enough to answer all questions about whether he truly is a big game pitcher, at least in the major leagues.

It’s chilly in Colorado, but Daisuke Matsuzaka will have a chance to make a lot of his detractors warm to his performance and potential.

That, after all, was the primary reason the Red Sox splurged on his services over the winter. Matsuzaka filled a pressing need: a No. 2 or No. 3 starter, and he did so with immeasurable flair and panache. For the tidy sum of $103 million, the Sox expected to add a shutdown starter who possessed five, arguably six, pitches and a resume chock full of victories in notable international contests, let alone his historic high school exploits.

Through the first half of the season, it looked like Boston was on the winner’s side of that bargain. Dice-K keep batters mixed up and miffed, mowing down hitters at the second-fastest clip in the American League while working around problematic innings of walks and timely hits to rack up 12 wins. He easily could have had 15, if not for matchups against opposing aces on their best, like Seattle’s Felix Hernandez.

The second half was far different, making Matsuzaka’s former Japanese squad, Seibu, look like thieves of Sox owner John Henry’s money. Dice-K struggled, then fell into pits of awful pitching. He was shellacked by the lowly Baltimore Orioles. He looked like he was done, his fastball losing velocity and location.

Then, after a few extra days of rest, he bounced back. It was Matsuzaka’s night on the mound when the Sox clinched the AL East. A week later, he had a solid, if brief, outing against the Angels that set the tone for a 2-0 series lead in the ALDS. Then, in the aftermath of severe disappointment in ALCS Game 3, he bounced back for five innings and the all important win in Game 7, setting the stage for his start tonight.

It’s almost impossible to predict which Matsuzaka will show up tonight in Colorado. It could be the dominant ace from overseas, the one who commands five or six pitches and isn’t afraid to use any of them in any count. It could be the meek, shell-shocked Dice-K of the second half, waiting to duck to avoid a line drive in between pitches.

Or it could be the pitcher on the mound in Game 7, an amalgamation of the two, occasionally dominant, occasionally struggling, but always mustering enough moxie to get a big out. If that’s the guy who shows up, Boston should be in good shape.

– Cameron Smith, AP Photo

That’s a huge win, no matter when it comes.

Don’t get us wrong, it doesn’t hurt that Curt Schilling’s dream-weaving through 6+ innings came in the World Series, and that it was enough to get Boston a very significant 2-0 advantage heading to the Rocky Mountains. That makes it even bigger.

But at the end of the line, the game would have been a big one if it happened in late June or early July, too. Hell, it would have been a great win in April. Between Schilling’s deft work around a rocky first inning - he hit leadoff man Wily Taveras and looked as if he might give up a lot more than an RBI-groundout to Todd Helton - and the bullpen fire fighters like Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon, who combined for one of the most dominant relief appearances in nearly a decade of World Series’, Thursday’s win set a strong tone for the Sox.

Whether that tone will continue is another question, with weather, parameters, and all kinds of motivational factors in the balance - think Matt Holliday wants his eighth inning on the basepaths back? - but they have something they didn’t have in the ALCS: control.

– Cameron Smith

OK Curt Schilling, the world is watching. Again. Are you ready for another close up?

Curt Schilling: playoff veteran and notable big game presence, is on the hook for Game 2. That’s where he’s always wanted to be in the past, and Boston knows it needs him to be there again.

A day after Josh Beckett was so dominant that he drew comparisons to Bob Gibson, the aging former ace takes the hill in Game 2 with a chance to give Boston a dominant advantage in the World Series.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that he had an almost identical opportunity a little less than two weeks ago, with the Indians reeling, down 1-0. That one didn’t work out too well. For the record, that’s the lone smudge so far on Schilling’s 2007 postseason resume. He looked dominant against an anemic Angels lineup in Anaheim, just as he did in the 2004 ALDS. And he bounced back from his rough start against Cleveland to win the do-or-die Game 6, setting the stage for all of the Game 7 heroics that sent the Sox back to the series.

But even Schilling now admits that he doesn’t know which pitcher is taking to the mound when he walks out there anymore. He’s not the power pitcher who took control of the 2004 postseason and all but willed Boston a world title, with a handful of assists, of course. Instead, this is a guy who has to be perfect with his location and pitch sequence to get by with fastballs that cruise in at 92-93. At best.

In short, this Schilling is hittable, that one wasn’t.

Luckily for Schilling and the Sox, this Boston team enters Game 2 absolutely clubbing the baseball. Last night they got to Colorado starter Jeff Francis early - see Dustin Pedroia’s lead-off homer - and often. And Francis, by all accounts, is the absolute ace of the Rockies’ staff. Now Colorado is relying on a young pitcher with electric stuff but an equally flippant personality to resurrect it’s hopes of a Fenway split.

With the way Ubaldo Jimemez has pitched in the postseason, that could very well happen. But if Boston’s bats show up with as much patience and power as they did last night, it might not even matter.

If it does matter, then the focus shifts squarely back to Schilling, warts and all. In the past, that’s exactly where he’s wanted it. Now, Boston fans have to hope he has a few more games like that in him.

– Cameron Smith