06 August, 2012

State of the Boston Red Sox

Last season the Red Sox were in 1st place with a 1.5 game lead going into a four game series with the 2nd place Yankees on August 30th. The Yankees win 3 of 4 and the Red Sox start a legendary collapse that will eventually drop them into 3rd place and out of the playoffs. The Sox go 8-21, including 9 losses in the last 12 games, over the last 6 weeks of the season. This implosion allows division rivals Tampa Bay to take the wild card. After the season ends, a story breaks that Boston pitchers (all highly paid) Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey have frequently been on the clubhouse drinking beer and eating fried chicken during games. This will eventually lead to manager Terry Francona (the guy who won two World Series in 3 seasons after an 86 year drought) being fired with contentions that he "lost the clubhouse." Theo Epstein the GM & architect of the championship teams negotiates his exit from the Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs.

The whole fried chicken thing may not seem like a big deal because the three culprits were pitchers and not everyday players. Had any one of these high priced pitchers pitched well during September (Lackey was 0-3, Beckett 1-2 and Lester 0-2. That doesn't count starts where they were left the game and didn't register a decision) then the story isn't a big deal but it started an avalanche that still has the Sox in its thralls.

Management decided to go in a different direction after firing players manager Francona. They opted for the no nonsense ways of Bobby Valentine. Valentine had success with the Mets and led them to the World Series in 2000. He had been out of MLB since being fired by the Mets after the 2002 season. From 2003-2011 he had been coaching in Japan, won a championship, and did some color analyst work for EPSN. Valentine is a good manager but he can rub you the wrong way make no mistake (there are times when he thinks he invented baseball) and there's a reason why he went several years without a job offer. Boston ownership thought that Valentine would be the person to restore order to the out of control clubhouse.

Suffice to say the plan has backfired so far. It's not all Valentine's fault though. The team has been ravaged by injuries (they've placed something like 27 players n the disabled list). Valentine has yet to hand in the line-up card he thought he was going to have before the season. Needless to say there's been a lot of headlines generated by Valentine. There was friction between him and Fenway favorite Kevin Youkilis that would lead to Youkilis being traded the Chicago White Sox. Youkilis' production had fallen off since 2009 and he had been battling injuries during that time as well (he missed 128 out of a possible 486 games between 2009-2011). In 42 games with the Sox in 2012 he was hitting a mere .233 and that led to his trade to Chicago. Personally I don't have a problem with the trade. Youk is only hitting .260 with the ChiSox raising his overall average to .245, so he's hardly lighting it up.

There have been detractors since Valentine was named the new manager. The voices that have been calling for his dismissal have been growing and getting louder over the course of the season. Today there was a  Gordon Edes article wondering if ownership should cut their losses with Bobby V and start fresh. I disagree. It's not Valentine's fault that the team has been ravaged by injury, or that staff aces Beckett and Lester have been lousy (though Lester has gotten better over last 2 starts but Beckett...), the bullpen is in disarray (it shown signs but still inconsistent) and lack of performance. Sure he's made questionable moves (as all managers do) and he's said something about players to the press (something Francona NEVER did) but the manager doesn't play the game. I do feel that the Red Sox should start fresh. There is a notion, more like a dream, that they can get on a run and make it to the playoffs (now that there is a 5th team that makes it). Besides, if they replace Valentine now, who do you get to replace him? I can't think of anyone. Heck, with all the injuries and problems the Sox have had I think Valentine has done a good job just keeping the team's nose above water. I say let's see what he can do with a healthy team and an intact bullpen.

There are some problems however that health won't solve. Carl Crawford, whom the Red Sox gave a 7 year $161 million free agent contract (a bad contract IMHO. His stats didn't warrant that type of deal), has underachieved thus far and now faces the prospect of Tommy John surgery that could sideline him for all of next season. Then of course there is Jacoby Ellsbury. Coming off an MVP type season last year, Ellsbury has been injured most of the season and will be a free agent at season's end. Ownership may be reluctant to resign Ellsbury (who will probably command a Crawford like deal) because of his injury and the fact that they've got a lot of money tied up in Crawford, whom they can't get rid off. Crawford was place on waivers recently and there were no takers. Boston needs to resign Ellsbury. Sure they may not print money like the Yankees but they're doing ok financially so they can afford it. Josh Beckett is also a problem. Since going 20-7 in 2007, Beckett was only 48-36 from '08-'11 and his missed approximately 18 starts over the same period. He's damaged goods (Beckett was also placed on waivers and had no takers). It's possible that Beckett could get it back between now and the end of his contract in 2015 but he's always been plagued by injuries throughout his career. There's also the John Lackey situation. Lackey is currently out for this season with an injury but has gone 26-23 with an ERA of 5.26 in seasons with Boston since signing a 5 year $82 million free agent contract with Boston after the 2009 season. Personally I never thought the guy was that good with the Angels (102-70, 3.81 ERA in 233 starts from 2003-'09. Hardly eye-popping) but the Sox ar stuck with him until 2015.

I think that the main problem was that winning the World Series in 2004 & 2007 got nto the head of the franchise as a whole. When the Yankees won during theiry run, you never heard any bad publicity about their core guys: Jeter, Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neil, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Riveria (though they had some guys with baggage like A-Rod, Jason Giambi and Roger Clemens but that was mainly steriods). Those guys always acted professionally on the field, with the exception Jeter being on Page Six from time to time (mostly for the starlets he was being seen with). The Red Sox allowed themselves to get out of control. Maybe Francona should've been more forceful in 2011 but that's not his nature. I don't think Francona should've been fired but when a team has an epic collapse late in the season, someone's going to get blamed and it's usually the manager. Now the "children" in the dugout are responding to the domineering personality of Bobby Valentine. Too bad. Maybe the players should've taken a page out of the Yankees' book, been more professional and shown their manager the proper respect (to both Torre and Girardi). The players don;t like Valentine too bad. They crapped over Francona and now they have to pay. I still think this team with it's core (Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Adrian Gonzales and Ellsbury-just sign him!), the up & comers (Will Middlebrooks and Pedro Ciriaco) continue to flourish and the pitching gets straightened out can be a force in the American League. The Red Sox organization has no one to blame but themselves for this downfall.


Here are some tidbits of Red Sox history dating back to 1918. It's got some highlights & lowlights...

  • 2008-2011: The Sox get to their 2nd consecutive  ALCS in 2008 but lose to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In 2009 the Angels sweep them in the LDS. In 2010 they fail to make the playoffs and in 2011 they collapse, as mentioned above.
  • 2004-2007: The end of the Curse. The Red Sox are down 3-0 and on the verge of being swept out of the playoffs at the hands of the Yankees. The Red Sox then mount an epic comeback to win four straight against their longtime rivals. Coming back from a 3 games to zero deficit to win a series had never happened in MLB. After such an emotional win there were some who felt the Cardinals would be able to take advantage seeing how the Red Sox finally beat the Yankees and would be "emotionally spent." However the Sox kept on rolling and swept the Cardinals for their 1st championship in 86 years. After a bit of a hangover, the Red Sox sweep the Colorado Rockies to win the 2007 World Series.
  • 1996-2003: This is the era of Yankee dominance of MLB. Yankees win 6 AL pennants and win 4 World Series including 3 in a row from 1998-2000. Only out of this world pitching from Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks are able to defeat the Yankees in seven games. The Red Sox get to the playoffs in 1998, 1999 & 2003. They manage to advance to the ALCS in '99 & '03, both times defeated by the Yankees. If your keeping count, since the Babe Ruth trade, the Yankees have won 26 World Series championships and the Red Sox have won ZERO during from 1919-2003.
  • 1991-1995: From '91-9'94 the Sox finish a combined 19 game under .500. 1994 is marred by the strike that cancelled the World Series. In a shortened season the Red Sox make the playoffs (new playoff format with 3 division winners and a wild card) but are swept in the Division Series by Cleveland.
  • 1986-1990: Roger Clemens emerges as the dominant pitcher of this era. He wins the Cy Young in 1986 (also the MVP), 1987 and 1991. Boston makes the post season 1986, 1988 and 1990. The Red Sox have a lead ingame sox of the World Series against the Mets. The Mets are done for all intents and purposes. On the Shea Stadium jumbo-tron it congratulates Red Sox second baseman Marty Barrett for being the series MVP, then ► 1:45► 1disaster strikes. Red Sox lose the series in seven games. In 1988 the Red Sox have a 19-1 stretch over the summer after a managerial change and win the AL East. The Oakland A's then proceed to brush the Sox aside in the ALCS in 4 games. In 1990 it's Oakland again sweeping the Boston.
  • 1979-1985: More mediocrity.
  • 1978: Red Sox have a 14 game lead over the Yankees in July. The Yankees go on a monumental run and narrow the lead to four games by early September. During a four game series the Yankees out score the Sox 42-9 (known as the "Boston Massacre") winning all four games. By mid-September the Yankees have a 3.5 game lead on the Red Sox but the Sox go 12-2 (including 8 in row) to force a one game playoff with the Yanks. This is the Bucky "F*cking" Dent game. Dent, a light hitter if there ever was one, blasts a 3-run shot over the Green Monster off Mike Torrez. In the 9th, with runners on and 2 outs, "Goose" Gossage gets Yaz to pop up to end the game. Yanks go on the win the World Series. Jim Rice wins the AL MVP by terrorizing opposing pitching to the tune of a .315 BA, 46 HR and 139 RBI.
  • 1977: Red Sox win 97 games but finish 2.5 games in back of the Yankees. New York goes onto beat the LA Dodgers in the World Series (that's 21 championships since the Babe Ruth trade).
  • 1975: Boston wins the AL Pennant and faces the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. The Reds are the National League juggernaut from 1970-1976 (5 division titles, 4 NL pennants and 2 World Series titles) . The Red Sox win Game 6 in dramatic fashion. Bernie Carbo hits a pinch hit 3-run homer to tie the game and send into extra innings. Carlton Fisk hits his iconic home run in the 13th inning tying the series at 3 games apiece. Coming off an emotional & dramatic victory and playing at home, the Red Sox staked pitcher Bill Lee to a 3 run lead. In the 6th Lee gives up a 2-run homer to Tony Perez. With the score tied 3-3 in the 8th inning, the Sox bullpen allows the Reds to score and they lose game seven, 4-3 (for more info about the Red Sox during from 1975-1986 check out Beyond the Sixth Game by Peter Gammons. Excellent book). Also during 1975, Fred Lynn wins the Al Rookie of the Year & MVP awards (the only player to ever to do so). Jim Rice also has his rookie year but gets injured near the end of the season and is not a factor in the playoffs.
  • 1968-1974: A lapse into mediocrity.
  • 1967: Yaz wins the Triple Crown (led league in batting average, home runs & runs batted in), MVP and takes Boston to the World Series. Once again they lose to the St Louis Cardinals in seven games. Boston does not have an answer for the pitching of Bob Gibson, who befuddles Red Sox hitters en route to 3 wins in the series (on a side note, St Louis appears in 3 Fall Classics from 1964-1968, winning in '64, '67 and somehow losing to the Detroit Tigers in '68. Gibson during that stretch wins seven consecutive World Series games. Must give credit where credit is due).
  • 1959-1966: More futility as the Red Sox endure 8 consecutive losing seasons including 100 losses in 1965. However, a ray of sunlight emerges when future hall of famer Carl Yastrzemski makes his MLB debut in 1961.
  • 1948-1950: In consecutive seasons the Sox win 96, 96 and 94 games but can not take the AL Pennant. In 1948 they lose a 1 game playoff to the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees however manage to win back to back World Series titles in 1949 and 1950.
  • 1946: Red Sox post a 104-50 record and go to the World Series. After gaining a 3 games to 2 lead, the Sox drop the next 2 to the St Louis Cardinals (led by Stan Musial, perhaps the 3rd best player in the pre-integration era) and lose the series in seven games.
  • 1939: Ted Williams makes his debut for the Red Sox. The team's fortune start to change. Williams, along with Joe DiMaggio, are arguably considered the two best players of the pre-integration era post Ruth, Gehrig & Cobb.
  • 1919-1936: Red Sox have 18 consecutive losing seasons, losing more than 100 games 5 times including 315 losses from 1925-1927. During this same period the Yankees, led by Babe Ruth, appear in 8 Fall Classics winning 5 of them.The 1927 Yankee line-up is referred to as "Murders Row."
  • 1919: Red Sox trade Babe Ruth to Yankees so the Sox owner can allegedly fund a Broadway musical. The "Curse of the Bambino" begins.
  • 1918: Red Sox win the World Series.









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