Worst to First in a Year--SOX WIN SERIES!!

Beyond that title, there's not much to say that counts. This team last night finished what it has done all year long--play as a team, many heroes, lots of marvelous play and, most important, provided support and a foundation on which Bostonians and Red Sox Nation can bond. The win last night just caps all of this off. How fitting it was that in this finale, it was Vic who got the ball rolling, just as he did to the Tigers in that clinching game. It was equally fitting that even when the Cards' manager finally figured out that it probably would be a good idea to walk Papi rather than pitch to him, Papi still managed to lead the team's victory from those freebies deliberately dealt him. Jake added a couple of hits and The Dustman was, as usual, spectacular in the field, which brings us to the final inning. Koji was, even with the lone single he allowed, as good as ever. The Cards' best RISP hitter at the plate, trying desperately to keep them alive, and Koji delivered. Strike three; take a seat on the bench, Mr. Carpenter. This is our fucking city, as Papi had declared right after the atrocities of April 15, and we're keeping it!(along with the Commissioner's Trophy)!
Papi deservedly got Series MVP. He was so far beyond amazing, words cannot express. The team was wonderful--every night when someone needed a boost, a different member of the team was there to deliver.
So the season is now over, but Spring Training is only 3.5 months away. We'll see the season awards, some of them (Manager of the Year, Exec of the Year) pretty obvious. Will Papi get the MVP? We'll have to wait and see, but one thing is certain: in this Bostonian's heart he is every bit the MVP not just for the baseball game(s), but for the City, the nation and the World--truly an inspiration!
Wish I were in The Hub this Saturday to see the parade.

Lester, Koji Awesome--Sox Close to Within One

Tonight was a classic example of the Red Sox season.  The Sox outhit the Cards, nine to four. spreading the wealth from top to bottom of the lineup. The pitching was fully worthy of what you'd expect from John Farrell staff. It started quickly with The Dustman and Papi getting back to back doubles to score the first run of the game.  Lester held that lead until what was probably his one mistake, in the 4th, was taken deep by the Cards' Holliday. The game rolled steadily along, Wainwright doing his best to deny the Sox with what would ultimately total ten K's through seven, but in the 7th, the Sox broke the tie and drove home a pair for what would be the final, 3-1. The pitching was unbelievable! Lester picked up 7 K's in 7 2/3 and allowed not a single freebie--NONE! If that wasn't enough, fairly early on, with the Sox clinging to a paper thin one zip margin, a Card already on first and a bunt hit to JL's left, he couldn't possibly get the lead runner and getting the batter at first was at best going to be close. What does Lester do? OmyGod! What did he do!? He scooped up the ball, running toward first, with his bare hand and lobbed it over the batsman's head to Papi at first, just beating out the batsman for the out. Anyone who thinks Lester can't defend his position needs their head examined. Add this play to the glove throw he made against the Tigers in the ALCS and you've got Pedroia in Lester's body! By the time he left in the 8th, his WS ERA was a microscopic 0.59--the fifth lowest ever of any pitcher in the Series with at least 75 innings pitched. Then came Koji--and what else do you really need to know?
Then you have Papi. Until he made an out in the 6th (on a long fly to straight away center, however), he had tied (in the 4th) the all time Series record for consecutive times reaching base. The record, by Hatcher in the 1980's, is nine consecutive times reaching base. His line for the night was three for four, including the aforementioned two bagger in the first. The closest to the nine in a row is eight held by some guy named Gehrig back in the 1920's. Gehrig--wonder who he was--Oh, yes, Hall of Fame; held record for consecutive games played and had 493 career HR's until the disease named for him took him away from us. Pretty fancy company Papi's hanging with. The Sox DH/first sacker is 11 for 15 so far in this Series, an unworldly .733 for a batting average! Then, the final frosting on the cake--the bottom of the order gets together and adds a pair of final runs from Ross's ground rule double, assisted in the end by Ellsbury as they round to the top again.
What now? Now back to Fenway for Game 6, Lackey taking the ball. They are in a similar situation now to where they were against Detroit just over a week ago: back to Fenway leading 3-2, but knowing that the fact they have two chances for the ring doesn't mean they can back off. They have to keep coming just the way they have all season.  Two chances? Like Hell--don't wait--finish the job as soon as possible!

Uehara Picks--Sox Even Series!

Well, this makes two consecutive sudden heart stopping endings in this Series! After last night's debacle, the Sox had to come away with a win. To complicate matters for the team, Bucky, tonight's starter told John Farrell before the game that he wasn't feeling totally right and had "one more start" left in him. So, he went to the mound to try and give the Sox as many innings of good pitching as possible, with as little damage as possible. He did all that and more! Although he lasted just four innings, he allowed a lone unearned run in the 3d after an error by Jake in right center trying to field a St. Lou hit. Other than that, he limited the Birdos to a total of three hits and a like number of freebies, balanced against a pair of K's.  The Sox pulled even in the 5th on a leadoff double by Papi, followed by a pair of passes and a sacfly from Drew to knot the score.
Meanwhile, Doubront, already having pitched last night, came on to pick up Bucky and went 2 2/3 innings, at one point retiring eight straight Cards batters, while only allowing a single run. He also grabbed three K's, and ended up the man with the W on the evening. His WHIP on the evening was an incredible 0.375. When you add in tonight's performance to last night's, the man has done an awesome job!  Other than the one double that led to the lone run he surrendered, he was virtually untouchable. When he finally became touchable, Tazawa came on and slammed the door on any further Cardinal activity for the moment--inning over!
However, before all of this happened, the Sox turned things around offensively in the 6th. Two men on, Gomes comes up, not yet having a hit in the Series. Even the team unbeaten streak in playoff games he starts ended last night at seven in a row. What to do?! Start a new streak! What else! On a 2-2 count, he takes aim, swings and drives the ball on a high, no-doubter arc off the back wall of the Sox pen--Sox, 4-1! An inning later, after Dubront and Tazawa finish, the score is still in the Sox favor, but now 4-2. Lackey, in his first relief appearance since 2004, and no, not for the Sox then, comes on and throws a perfect inning. End of 8th and still 4-2, Sox. After the Sox finish their half of the 9th, Uehara comes on and quickly sandwiches a pair of outs around a deep single by last night's winning run scorer of the Cards. Then, the Cards baserunner is replaced by a very good baserunner, Wong. The man has great speed and is very tough to throw out on a steal. Solution? Simple if you're Koji Uehara. Pick him off! It all happened so fast that the pickoff was done and the inning (and the game) was over before you could even fully grasp the fact! The replays clearly showed how good Koji's move had been though. Usually, a successful pickoff is a matter of inches. In this case, Wong was nailed a good foot and change off first when the tag was artfully applied by Nap. I'm not sure if a Series game has previously ended this way, but if it has, you can be certain it hasn't happened very often. 
With the game in hand, the Sox have now regained the home field advantage and are even in the Series at a pair of games apiece. A win tomorrow would leave them in the same place they were after Game five in Detroit in the ALCS--and wouldn't that be sweet!

Game 3: Cards Literally Steal Game--With Umps Help!

Tonight's game was a nail biter all the way. But the finish was stolen from the Sox! The Ump, De Muth (same guy who made that idiot call at second against the Sox in Game 1), called obstruction against Middlebrooks as the Birdos allegedly scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th, which would make the team from St. Lou the winner--EXCEPT FOR ONE SMALL THING THAT NO-ONE TALKS ABOUT--the Cards baserunner, who was tagged by Salty BEFORE he reached home, NEVER TOUCHED HOME PLATE!! He didn't touch before the tag, during the tag or after the tag. When Salty applied the tag, the runner was over a foot shy of the plate, and after lying there, still without touching the dish, he left the field without touching it. Unless someone can show me a replay with the runner touching the plate, he NEVER SCORED--because one of the basic rules of baseball is to score, YOU MUST TOUCH THE PLATE! So he didn't score because he never touched home! Even with the obstruction call, if you agree with it, he still had to touch and failed to do so. So, in reality, the game should be in the top of the 10th, Sox batting, score still 4-4. This blown call by De Muth is as bad as Don Denkinger's  a number of years ago against the Royals. Definitely NOT the way a World Series game should end, no matter who the winner is.

Sox Win Game One: Lester Throws Gem; Sox bats Hot; Cards Help With Three Errors

Well, this Game 1 was not as close as the Game 1 against the Cards was in 2004. That one ended with a Sox win, 11-9.  Tonight, there was a bit more margin, 8-1, Sox. In fact, it was eight zip, Sox until Dempster allowed a solo shot by Holliday in the 9th. Lester was awesome, allowing just five scattered hits and a walk in 7 2/3 innings, for a game WHIP of 0.78, while allowing no runs.
Meanwhile, the Hose were accumulating runs from the 1st inning on. They picked up a quick trey when a Sox double play grounder instead was muffed by the Cards SS, leaving the bases loaded for Nap to come and try to beak on top. The umps had at first ruled that the Sox runner going to 2d was out and that the Cards fielder had dropped the ball trying to do the relay throw to finish out the DP. However, after what seemed like a dozen video replays of the play, followed by a discussion among all umpires working the game, the call was reversed and the Sox had bases loaded with just one out. It then took a swing by Nap to empty the bases even faster than they'd been filled, and give the Sox a three zip lead in the 1st.
As the game progressed, the Sox good fortune continued. In their half of the 2d, Drew hit a high infield pop that the Cards hurler, Wainwright, called for. However, their catcher, Molina, ran out to try for it and both guys backed off and it fell untouched not quite halfway to the mound for a hit. Shortly after, Pedey drove in a run, and Papi brought in the 5th Sox run on a sacfly to the deepest part of right field that was caugfht by Cards right fielder Beltran as he smashed into the low bullpen wall. He later left the game due to severe bruising of his ribs and was taken to the hospital for A-rays and examination. As for Papi, he later got a pair of hits, the second of these being his 16th career HR in the post-season for another pair of runs.
As for the Sox symbol of the year, the beard, in addition to all of the players wearing beards, many fans had costume versions of all shapes and sizes, including a few worn by women that were shocking pink.
Lackey goes tomorrow against Cards wonder boy Wacha.

Sox Going to Series!!!!

The Headline above says all you really have to know about tonight's game. The details are not necessary. Basically, the two highlights of note were Victorino's 7th inning game winning slam over the Monster, and Koji's continuing near invincibility. Beyond that, it was a typical 2013 Sox team effort. Everyone had a part; everyone contributed; and the whole team ,organization and Red Sox Nation benefited. John Farrell has done a masterful job taking over all of the diverse parts of this team and making them work. As I said a few weeks ago to my brother when he said the problem he has is that the team is all "spare parts", even a Porsche needs spare parts from time to time. But once they're assembled in the right order nothing beats the result.
CONGRATULATIONS to all. Now, on to the Series!

Sox Score Early--Pen Makes It Count

Well, tonight, for the first time in the ALCS, the Sox not only scored first, they had a big inning. Sending eight men to the plate, they started off with a missile to dead center by Nap that stopped flying when it was 460+/- feet away and well beyond the fence--one zip, Sox. As the progression of Sox batters continued, they added on another three runs, just missing a fourth when Ross tried to score by colliding with the Bengals' catcher--just sheer brute force. The Tigers player managed to hold the ball for the out, but he was injured enough so that he had to leave the game a couple of innings later, being replaced by Pena, who was not as good. This would help the Hose as things moved on. The Sox added a fourth run in the following inning on a wild pitch from Sanchez, making their lead four-zip. Sanchez wasn't bad; he just wasn't even close to what he'd been in Game 1. The lead stayed there as the game progressed through one more inning, but in the 5th the Tigers broke through, getting a single run. They duplicated this output twice more in the following two innings, leaving the score at 4-3, Sox after seven. From there on out it was the Sox pen against the very potent Tigers lineup. First Tazawa gave up the Tigers' third run, but limited the damage by getting Cabrera to ground into a no outs, men on the corners DP that effectively ended that threat. This was the third Sox DP of the night. Tazawa had induced an equally amazing DP the previous inning with two men on, and a run in to end that inning. In the 7th with the two from the DP gone, Breslow came on and got Fielder to harmlessly ground out. He duplicated this feat with Martinez leading off the 8th, and then gave way to Uehara, who would go for a rare five out save.
KU wasted no time in KO'ing the Tigers, getting K's on both batters he faced in the 8th. After a Sox threat in the top of the 9th to add insurance came for naught, KU continued his KO by setting down the three Tigers batters he faced in the 9th, thus simultaneously avoiding having to face Hunter and Cabrera with men on, and slamming the door on the Tigers. Sox go home up three games to two. Bucky is set to face Scherzer on Saturday, and IF necessary, Lackey will face Verlander in what would be the Sunday finale.
Sox heroes tonight: the team. Special emphasis goes to Nap, for a three hit night, starting with his shot and followed by a ground rule double, Ross, who was two for three and Pedey who also had a pair of hits. Jake gets mention even though he was 1-4, as he maximized the results of that. He picked an early ribbie in the important 2d inning and later on added a pair of swipes, his 5th and 6th of the post season.

Boston Strong--Sox Win in Motown!

Well, I know you haven't seen much here since the end of the regular season. I've been running around counting penguins, blue footed boobies, tortoises and iguanas in the Galapagos Islands, and getting playoff results ain't exactly easy, given the logistics, internet reception, and time differences (depending exactly where you are at a particular moment). Thanks to texting, I was aware of the results of each Divisional playoff, but few details, other than Papi's pair of shots. Same story in the first two games for the AL crown vs. the Bengals.
Which brings me to the title, Boston Strong. For years, decades, in fact, there has been a phrase that fully expressed the Celtics and their unrelenting drive to win, even in the worst of situations. That phrase is "Celtic Pride". Well, starting this season, a new phrase has arisen in Boston sports to rival Celtic Pride as an expression of a team's determination to never give up, and, more important, to press on for the win, no matter what the obstacle. That new phrase is BOSTON STRONG.  Created in the aftermath of the devastating bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon as a way to rally the spirits of the Hub and, in turn, its sports fans, it has been as constant as the Northern Star in guiding Sox fans and the team they loyally follow, all spirit directed at victory, no matter what.
How else to describe Papi's grand slam in Game 2 against the Tigers two days ago, which tied the score after the Hose had been down, first five zip, and then, 5-1, and looking at a possible two zip game deficit? Even better, what else could it be than Boston Strong that lifted Nap's game winning shot into the right center cheaps at Comerica Park tonight in spite of the gem-like offerings of the Bengals' starter, Verlander?
There the Sox were, few hits and fewer opportunities, as Verlander kept tossing up K's, ultimately 10 in all. Finally, after being among those ten Verlander K's earlier on in the game, Nap worked the count to 3-2. Finally, a pitch in the high end of the zone and out over the far corner of the dish; a pitch that allowed the Sox first sacker to get full extension of his arms and, POW! It's even more interesting that Nap got it. This is because his first career homer way back when he was a rookie came against the same Justin Verlander.
Offensively, the rest of the lineup didn't produce much, merely three hits. But that run turned out to be enough. Bolstered by a start by Lackey that was almost as sparkling as Verlander's, with 8 K's in 6 2/3 innings and just a walk free four hits allowed, and followed by its very good pen. Breslow and Tazawa between them allowing a single hit and a pair of freebies over an inning of work, were then followed by Uehara for a four out save. He allowed a hit, but simultaneously nailed a pair of K's while facing three of the four most dangerous Detroit hitters. Boston Strong, indeed!