Red Sox fans had to know that Theo Epstein’s build from within program was eventually going to creep back around and affect the team’s success one season. The team has developed such strict pitch/inning counts on young pitchers, that it was inevitable eventually one young gun would make an impact, then be held back despite the help he could give the big league club. There’s good reason for it, and the restraint definitely is in the best interest of the franchise’s future.
This will be the lasting memory of Clay Buchholz’s first spin in a Red Sox uniform, even if Boston wins the World Series. It didn’t have to be that way.
But it’s not in the franchise’s best interest now. Not only that, in the perilous case of Clay Buchholz, it may be a crushing blow to the team’s immediate playoff hopes.
By taking Buchholz out of the playoff equation, Epstein is essentially denying Terry Francona an ultimate playoff security blanket. While the team would intend to use Buchholz as an inning-by-inning reliever (think K-Rod circa 2002), it’s eminently possible that, should Tim Wakefield or Daisuke Matsuzaka falter badly in a start, or suffer an injury, sickness, you name it, Buchholz could have served as an incredible fill-in starter.
Admit it, you know it’s true. In fact, it’s more than true. If Buchholz had been on the roster, it’s probably almost inevitable that he either would have ended up with a playoff start, or at least worked the equivalent of one, entering in the second or third inning should another starter’s afternoon/evening go horribly wrong (think Matt Clement. Or don’t think it. That one is pretty painful to dwell on.).
In the end, that’s almost certainly what Epstein, assistant GM Ben Cherrington and the front office is thinking in shutting Buchholz down before the postseason even gets going. If Buchholz had entered a game and been as successful as most Sox fans - and baseball analysts, for that matter - assume he would be, it’s hard to believe that Francona would have been able to resist using him at every corner, particularly with the fatigue in the bullpen and ineffectiveness of important role relievers like Hideki Okajima down the stretch.
Does that make the move more understandable? Absolutely. There’s not even any question. Does it make it the right move? Not necessarily. If Boston feels it’s on the precipice of a World Series, how can it possibly justify keeping a golden bullet like Buchholz sheathed in its gun. Or stands, as the case may be. How can the Red Sox turn their back on a guy who’s been little short of incredible in his first few weeks on the job, give or take one horrible toss to third base in his third start?
How can the Red Sox forget about a pitcher who may have the second best stuff on a playoff team’s entire staff, better even than a guy who Boston paid $106 million for, throws six different pitches and was called a national treasure by the guy who paid $106 million?
That’s easy. They can’t forget about that guy. If they say they can, they’re lying. And while Epstein and even Francona may move on as if they know the full impact of this decision, there’s little doubt that it’ll haunt both if it ends up playing the decisive role in the postseason that it could.
It’s a big move folks. A big move. Now the Red Sox have to hope Hideki Okajima can return to form after his respite, Eric Gagne can channel his inner Dodger and Jonathan Papelbon can pitch like the mule he wants to be.
It’s almost impossible to get your head around, I know. But try anyway. Here it goes:
Today, the Yankees helped the Red Sox.
How great would it be to see that far left flag in red for the entire postseason? Pretty great, we think.
That’s right, thanks to a 4-1 Toronto win at Yankee Stadium, the Yanks got Boston a game closer to an AL East title, a game closer to ending that seemingly interminable run New York has had since 1995. A game closer to finally sticking the pinstripes with a set of final standings that force the flags above Yankee Stadium’s left field arch to fly a red banner emblazoned with “Boston” to the left of the navy blue sheet with “New York” on it.
Isn’t that, really, the best part of winning the division? Forcing the Yankees to fly a Boston flag in front of a Yankees banner for the entire playoffs? How great would that be? We don’t yet know the answer to that, because it’s never happened before. Ever. The last time Boston finished in front of the Yankees at season’s end, there was no Wild Card, so New York missed the playoffs.
This time, they’re definitely going. Well, not quite definitely yet. They’re still a win - or a Detroit loss - away from punching the final AL golden ticket out there.
Gratuitous editor’s sidenote alert! Isn’t the development of the playoff chases amazing? If consistency and season-long performance is any indicator of a team’s chances in the playoffs, it’s fair to say that the AL has all four of the best teams in the big leagues. There isn’t a single NL team that’s locked up a playoff spot yet. And of the three likely division winners - the Mets, Cubs and Diamondbacks - do any of them really scare you as a Red Sox fan? Really? The Wild Card winner, whichever team it ends up being, seems a much more significant threat. The Phillies have a devastating lineup that’s finally all healthy together, the Padres have the best pitching in the NL and are perhaps the only NL rotation that could compete with the Sox’s depth in a seven-game series. And then there’s Colorado, which won a midseason series … at Fenway. For what it’s worth, his performance in that three-game set, not to mention the Boston front office’s longstanding obsession with his OPS stats, would seem to make resurrecting a trade for Todd Helton a very likely possibility in the offseason if the current A-Rod to Chicago rumors are true.
Still, all of this would make it seem that the Red Sox are in terrific shape heading into the playoffs, right up to the point when you consider who they’ll have to play. They’ve shown throughout the second half that they can’t beat the Yankees. They’ve played well against the Angels at Fenway, but will need to win games in the final six-pack here to ensure they can hold a home-field advantage and avoid playing surrounded by damn Rally Monkeys. And then there’s the Indians, who Boston has dealt with well, but who may be playing better baseball than anyone except, well, the Yankees.
All of this is to say that you have to grab what you can when you can. The Sox grabbed a huge division lead early in the season, and the monstrous Yankee charge in the second half is proving that it’s a damn good thing they did. The what they can grab now is a long-awaited AL East title. The when they can grab it is in the next week. Six games, five wins or Yankee losses needed to sew it up.
These guys are PRECISELY why the Red Sox need to win the division.
The playoffs are clinched, but that’s little consolation at a time like this. It’s time to channel Detroit, Chicago and even the Idiot Sox and get hot. Now. If they do, there’s no telling what comes next, and suddenly the second-half swoon would all be a distant memory.
The Detroit Tigers lost this afternoon. They got blown away by the Cleveland Indians, the third time in as many days that happened. As a result, they’re officially cooked in the playoff races. Hope you like game meat, there’s plenty of tiger to go around.
Oh Jim Leyland. We can’t figure out whether to send you a Thank You card or forward the Fuck You sentiment we had going right before the All-Star break.
A week ago, that would have been a sorrowful sentiment. The Tigers were clearly the Yankees’ main competition for the Wild Card. In fact, they still are, it’s just that the Wild Card race is now officially all but over.
Or is it.
As the Red Sox continue to plummet down the standings - in case you missed it, with the win this afternoon the Tribe pulled within a game of the best record in the AL - the Yankees keep getting closer and closer. In fact, now they’re 2 1/2 away. Not that you needed to be reminded of that.
The Detroit collapse shores up any concern that Boston could miss the playoffs. After all, it does still hold the best record in the bigs. But that doesn’t help keep the Yankees out of the playoffs.
And isn’t that the biggest litmus test in just how much, and how quickly, things have changed for the Sox? Two weeks ago Boston fans were focused on hoping the Mariners or Tigers would put together a run to keep New York out of the postseason altogether. Now, with Boston completely preoccupied with the surging Yanks, the question becomes one of confidence: Is it better to feel a sense of security that at least the Sox will be in the playoffs in some capacity? Or was it better to hold on to hope that the Yankees might be booted altogether?
If you’re picking door No. 1, you’re probably an average Red Sox fan, at least subconsciously doomed to the perpetual fear that the Evil Empire always has one last charge in it. If you’re picking door No. 2, you might want to go join the army. I hear they can use constant optimists like yourself.
Either way, it’s becoming fairly clear that Boston will be back in the chase for the first time in two years. Now Sox fans just need to decide whether to send Jim Leyland a card of thanks or sympathy.
If it had only been this SSS (Schilling Solo Shot), the Sox would have been alright. If only.
Ok, so it would have been one thing for the Sox to lose. But to lose for the second time in three days, in uber-dramatic fashion? They really could have cut their fans a little bit of slack.
Really, it’s Terry Francona who could cut Sox fans some slack. Both of the two Yankee victories over the weekend were pockmarked by questionable pitching decisions by Tito. Friday, it was leaving Hideki Okajima in for a second inning, then going to Jonathan Papelbon for a full six outs when he wasn’t mentally in the game. Yesterday, it was leaving Curt Schilling in the game because his pitch count wasn’t too high, despite the fact that he was approaching 100 and he was toiling in the eighth.
Didn’t Sox brass hang a former manager for an almost identical indiscretion with another ace? Some Grady guy with a Pedro on the mound?
Still, we digress. Certainly the season is anything but over. And certainly, the Sox are still in position to win the division for the first time in 15 years. A 4 1/2 game lead is significant with so little time left. But a 6 1/2 game lead would have been a nail in the coffin, all but ensuring that the race was over while simultaneously putting the Yankees’ shot at the wild card in serious peril.
Because Curt couldn’t take care of Derek Jeter in the eighth last night, he might get stuck facing him again.
It may not seem like it yet, but doesn’t it feel like that lost opportunity - the one that slipped through Boston’s fingers twice over the weekend - might just come back to haunt the Sox?
There are big wins, and then there are games like yesterday’s rout of the Yankees. The Red Sox might have won the division without it, but it sure as hell would have been a hell of a lot harder to.
Beckett was dealing in the Fenway shade, just as the Sox needed him to.
Naturally, a single win, regardless of when it comes, doesn’t make a season. But yesterday afternoon, a win might have saved Boston’s. Friday night’s collapse was the team’s worst since either the Papelbon blown save in last year’s Boston massacre or - gulp - Game 7 of that series in 2003. You know which one.
All of that made yesterday’s game, and particularly the performance of Josh Beckett, all that much more important. If there was any question which pitcher was the AL’s most dominant, it was answered yesterday. Ching-Ming Wang may have entered with the same number of victories as Monsieur Beckett, but his were more sporadic, even if they did come across fewer starts.
Beckett’s, on the other hand, have been consistent from Day One; they’ve all been dominant performances from the tall Texan. He’s flashed a more consistent curve ball than in past seasons. He’s had his heat right where it’s been during the best stretches of his career. He’s mixing strikeouts with smart contact baseball. And, perhaps most importantly, he’s doing it all and winning while staying healthy.
Perhaps the one smudge on Beckett’s record before yesterday was that he had yet to dominant the Yankees. Sure, he’d had wins against the pinstripes, but they’d always come in games where both teams had racked up runs, usually at the expense of Beckett’s pitch count early in games.
Not yesterday. Beckett mowed down the Yanks throughout, going a full six before leaving with a comfortable lead, a move that was made to save his arm, not to mention the arms of the bullpen heavy hitters, Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima among them. By that point in the game, Beckett had already picked up a psychic boost of his own, a bridge which was the key to the Sox picking up one of their own.
Now the question is one solely of momentum, and which team can grab it. The Yankees could make a huge power grab by taking two of three in the series and keeping Boston’s magic number at a lofty nine. The Sox could do wonders for their anxiety, not to mention the fragile psyche of all New England, by pulling out another win and cutting that playoff determinant down to seven games.
Finally, a nice day to look at the rivalry. What a difference a day makes, huh?
And if the old saying that momentum is only as good as the next day’s pitcher is true, well, figuring out who has momentum should be interesting. Curt Schilling vs. Roger Clemens? Sounds pretty good, huh? Now add in a scramble for a division crown, and you’ve got playoff baseball a few weeks early.
Time to dust off the old Rahhjahh chant Sox fans. Somehow we doubt that’ll be hard to do.
It seems safe to say that Daisuke Matsuzaka’s year has undergone a drastic shift in direction.
Dice-K has struggled the last couple of weeks, and there’s plenty of speculation that his season may be out of sorts.
A month and a half ago, Dice-K was being called a first-year phenom. After an occasionally rocky start, the Japanese ace was hitting his stride, and starting to show flashes of living up to the immense promise that greeted his arrival stateside.
Now, after three straight dismal performances - subpar isn’t strong enough - Matsuzaka finds himself soul searching and looking for a way to overcome the oncoming fatigue that begins to set in at a time when his Japanese season was traditionally just ramping up.
After last night’s stellar performance by Cancer Boy himself - and Jon Lester finally did show signs of being the impressive and occasionally dominant starter he was last year - it’s not a stretch to say that Dice-K has been the least impressive Red Sox starter of the past two weeks. Sure, Tim Wakefield had a rough outing Thursday, but he was coming off a back injury and hadn’t been scored upon in more than 19 innings before that. In other words, he had a nice get-out-of-jail free card to use.
At this point, the Dice-Man does not.
Here’s what it seems to come down to: Dice-K has all the pitches (perhaps too many, for that matter). He has the make-up to be a huge big game pitcher. Everyone’s seen it, and they expect to see it again. He has had incredibly one-sided outings as recently as last month.
Now, as he finds himself tiring down the stretch, falling back into monstrously long innings and high pitch counts, he needs to find a groove. He needs to find a way to get outs more consistently. He needs to find a way to mow batters down with more consistency. He needs to hit cruise control.
He needs to be the Dice-K the Sox saw at the World Baseball Classic last spring, and the Dice-K who dominated Japanese hitters for the Seibu Lions as recently as last year. He needs to do it for himself, to regain the strut and saunter that he arrived in Boston with.
It might seem like sacrilege because of their combined wins, but Dice-K and Wake have been the worst Sox starters of the group over the past week.
Perhaps even more importantly, he needs to do it for the Sox to have a shot at the Series. Like it or not, more of Boston’s success than any other team’s relies on it’s starting pitching. Dice-K is - at worst - the No. 3 pitcher in that rotation, so he’ll need a lot of innings, wins and dominance for the Red Sox to repeat 2004.
Tonight in Baltimore would be a good time for him to start.
As we prepare for the latest incursion by the senior blowhard of the Red Sox staff (cough, cough Curt Schilling, cough), with the latest Baseball-Reference preview, it’s hard not to turn the spotlight to one of his younger - much younger - teammates.
So far, Jacoby Ellsbury has been a hit with teammates and fans.
Jacoby Ellsbury has been as hot as nearly any big league hitter in both of his call-ups this season. Statistically, it’s undeniable. The only question is whether he can keep it up, and where the Sox can possibly find a spot for him if he does. Tonight that spot is No. 2, in this lineup:
Red Sox
1. Julio Lugo, SS
2. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Mike Lowell, 3B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Coco Crisp, CF
9. Alex Cora, 2B
SP - Curt Schilling
Blue Jays
1. Vernon Wells, CF
2. Matt Stairs, LF
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Frank Thomas, DH
5. Troy Glaus, 3B
6. Lyle Overbay, 1B
7. Aaron Hill, 2B
8. Gregg Zaun, C
9. John McDonald, SS
SP - Shaun Marcum
Ellsbury’s homer last night was his second in a Boston uni, tied for the number he put up as a member of the Portland Sea Dogs and PawSox prior to his arrival. With his speed and remarkably trusty glove, the youngster has been an absolute revelation, filling in a humongous chunk of the production lost with Manny Ramirez’s absence, while also solving many of the defensive problems often associated with Senor “Being”.
Still, that’s not the dilemma. What is an interesting conundrum is figuring out where Boston will put the Native American speedster when Manny returns. Not surprisingly, there’s a growing torch brigade campaigning for him to take over the everyday spot in right field.
That raises an interesting question all its own. Should the Sox A) Throw the $14 million man under the bus for one stretch drive? Or should they B) Stick with J.D. Drew as the everyday man and use Ellsbury as a pinch runner and sub extrordinaire?
The answer to that question is clearly A. And anyone willing to argue on Drew’s behalf clearly must be more than 100 miles away from the Boston metro area, otherwise they’d already be lynched.
Make no mistake, there’s little to no chance that Ellsbury can keep up his preposterous pace. He’s just not going to hit .430 people, it’s not going to happen. Now, that doesn’t mean that he won’t hit .300 or above, and it doesn’t mean that he won’t cause conniption fits whenever he reaches base, either.
And that’s the biggest reason to keep him in the lineup, at all costs. Ellsbury is the perfect, prototypical lead-off hitter the Sox have been desperate for all year. He’s exactly what Julio Lugo was supposed to be but hasn’t lived up to: a strong contact hitter who plays up to the stage on which he’s performing. He gets on base, he keeps rallies floating, he’s even used to hitting in front of perennial No. 2 man Dustin Pedroia.
Catches like this: Just another reason why Jacoby is an early fan favorite in the Hub.
So why not use the new No. 46 every day? We’ve got no answer for that. The question is whether Tito Francona and Theo Epstein will be able manufacture one. If their earlier full-court press for outfielder Jermaine Dye at the trade deadline is any indication, we’re betting that they won’t have one.
And that, in the end, may be the best Ellsbury development of all. Let the kid play. He may not hit every time, but he sure as hell is going to go down swinging while trying.
Josh has come up big most of the year, but his performance down the stretch may win or lose him the Cy Young.
With the Yankees embroiled in a sudden minor downslide, 2 straight losses, one of which came in a crucial game against fellow AL Wild Card contender Seattle, the Red Sox have yet another chance to run away. The finish the Toronto series tomorrow night, then have a trio of games at Baltimore - a team they just took two of three from, you may remember - to pad their divisional advantage. With less than 25 games remaining in the season, pushing what is now a 7 game lead out toward double-digits would seem to be a crushing blow.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that this particular Sox team has botched these “step on the throat” moments throughout this season.
Look no farther than last week. With a desperate Yankees club on the ropes a full eight games back, the Sox dropped three straight in the Bronx. With their best three pitchers on the mound. Ouch.
There was a similar reaction to Boston dropping the third and decisive game against New York on a Sunday night in June. The Sox had the lead in that one as late as the eighth inning, before set-up man Hideki Okajima and closer Jonathan Papelbon watched their work implode for one of the duo’s few mulligans of the season. Naturally, it wasn’t the best time to call one in.
Do the Sox have a significant advantage in the division? Absolutely. Do they have the chance to run away with the chase over the next week? Undoubtably. Have stirring performances from rookies Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury jarred the team back to impressive wins twice in recent days? Sure.
But does that mean that Boston will clean up the mess they’ve caused themselves by not closing the door when they needed to in the past? Not necessarily. And let’s be honest. At this point in the schedule, the very existence of an AL East race at this point of the season can’t sit well with Boston fans.
Paps had one slip up against the Yanks, another would hurt considerably more.
In fact, let’s just call it what it is: the Red Sox may be on the verge of putting away a collective sense of pathos the size of New York itself with a strong week. Or they can feed into all the problems that have plagued an entire region for decades.
Here’s hoping they choose wisely and play accordingly.
Well, even Wakefield can’t get a decision every time, right? Maybe Clay Buchholz can.
Tonight the Sox had better hope he can, or else the losers of four straight will become losers of five straight. Rosters couldn’t expand fast enough, and now that they have the young phenom will get his second start of the season.
Clay Buchholz got a win in his first start, and another tonight would go a long way toward cementing his legacy with Sox fans.
Last time out Buchholz was dominant when he could locate his pitches. If he can find the corners of the plate today, he may return to more of the form that made him the minor league’s most strikeout efficient pitcher this year.
The Orioles found a way to rock Mike Timlin last night, all after Wake had struggled with control. All that really means is that Timlin will be out of action tonight, a concern since his worst outings this year have come after he’s been out of action for extended periods of time.
Combined with the lack of use of the team’s prime relievers in the Bronx, it’s fair to assume that tonight the Sox will have all bullpen hands on deck, or all Pirates of the Caribbean pitching in, as the case may be. Naturally, that includes Julian Tavarez, who has been terrific in long relief and spot starts since losing his slot in the rotation.
Boston caught a break last night with the implosion of Phil Hughes. Who knows if they can catch another one tonight, with Tampa Bay anything but a reliable thorn in the Yankees’ side.
Hear that Clay? How ’bout a nice 9K day. The Sox’ll take that one, that’s for sure.
If ever there was a blueprint for bouncing back from a sweep, this would be it, wouldn’t it?
Is this what you thought a Radhames Liz would look like? Well, it should be. And just think, if you reversed his first and last name, you might get a fashion designer!
The Red Sox return home to Fenway, perhaps the most hospitable home climes in baseball in dire need of some home cooking. And who do they face? The lowly Baltimore Orioles.
Just how badly is Baltimore playing these days? Consider this: they’ve lost nine straight. That means that they haven’t won a single game since interim manager Dave Trembley was given a very full-time extension. Superstar shortstop Miguel Tejada has reverted to looking like a mini-Manny, part-pouty about being on an awful team and part just trying to focus on getting his own hits.
Even the few good things the birds had going for them, a strong young corps of starting pitching most prominent among them, have gone south. Instead of Jeremy Guthrie, who just hit the DL, Tim Wakefield will start tonight opposite a second-time rookie starter. Good luck with the baptism by fire, Radhames Liz (nice name, huh?). Seriously, even Baseball-Reference doesn’t really know what to expect from him.
Then there are the good things going for Boston: 1) Wakefield is on the bump, trying to become the first 17-game winner in the bigs. Sure, a knuckleballer is still a sure recipe for indigestion, but if ever there was one to feel slightly secure with, it’d be Wakefield over the past month. 2) The Red Sox should be plenty mad. Not only did they get swept out of the Bronx by the Yankees, a rookie reliever tried to drill one of their best batters in the head! Twice! (Don’t worry, we’ll delve much more into this in a later post). 3) If you discount the last meeting between the two teams when Baltimore was on fire, the Sox have owned the Orioles this year. Heading into the series, knowing that the Yankees have misfits Tampa Bay in New York, the Sox should realize that they absolutely have to pull out two of three or better.
Then again, this is the same team that just finished a three-game series with six runs, the same team that allowed opposing pitchers to hold onto a no-hitter through at least six innings twice in a 24-hour period.
Doug Mirabelli is expected to return Sunday, which means this is probably the last hurrah of Kevin Cash, who lived up to his name while catching Wake.
And this is a pitcher who doesn’t know how to not get a decision … literally. Wake has pulled down a W or L every single time he’s taken the bump this year, and is well on his way to a major league record for decisions in starts.
That shouldn’t end tonight. Sox fans just have to hope that he ends up back on the right side of things, bringing the team along with him for a change.
