Regular Season Ends--On to the Playoffs!

Well, it was not a great way to finish what was, overall, a memorable season for the Sox. The team lost a pair to the O's after leading early in both. The final game had the Hose u0p five zip until the last of the 5th and then were ties at five and in the next inning behind 7-5, the final being 7-6. The Sox outhit the O's, but were unable to get the timely hit that would have given them their 2004-equalling 98th win. The two losses to the O's meant that the Birds are the only AL East team to win the season series against the Hose. Yesterday, Lester's outing was mediocre at best, while today's starter was Webster, who entered with a nine plus ERA, and pitched as if he were an ace, going three no-hit innings and leaving with the lead. After continuing the on-going shutout through the 4th, Dubront started the 5th and lasted just another third of an inning. When he left, he'd allowed five hits and a pair of passes, leading to five O's scores. In the Birds' 6th, first Thornton and then Demp each surrendered a run, accounting for the Birds' scoring for the day.
The Sox added one in the 9th to make it close, but, as we all know, close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades, neither of which was in the mix today at the park.
On a positive note, both Jake and Berry added homers and Berry also had his third swipe of the year, not bad when you remember he's only been up for a few weeks. Assuming the Sox keep Jake after his free agency, can we possibly see a fairly regular outfield including both of them, with Danny Nava in the third slot, all backed by occasional relief from the very clutch Gomes? 
Well, now that it's final, we look to the post-season and the AL wild card situation is not quite final. Three teams, the Tribe, the Rays and the Rangers, are all within a game of each other, Terry's Indians at the top of the pack. So, we could have a clearly defined pair for the wild card, or we could, at the other extreme, have a three way tie for the two slots, with the final determination being established by extra playoff games before the real playoffs begin late in the week. Really be something to see Terry back at the Fens facing the Sox. With the A's loss yesterday, the Hose have home field advantage throughout the AL League championship series.

Lackey, Sox Lack It vs. Rox

Well, the Sox winning streak of at least six games against the Rockies is over. Lackey took to the hill tonight and, although his numbers for the most part were winnable (is there such a word?), he made three bad pitches and paid--with three shots to the cheaps. Hose never recovered from the early onslaught, and lost 8-3. Of the few positive things tonight, Salty got a homer of his own and Bradley, continuing his very late season surge, got a hit and a steal. He's approaching the Mendoza line, in fact.
For those asking what difference it makes for the final few games since the Sox have clinched the Division, there are two reasons why it makes a great difference. First, the team with the best won-lost record entering the playoffs gets home field advantage through out the league playoffs. That, at the moment, is the Sox. But they're only one game ahead of the former Sox-laden A's for that honor, and missed a great opportunity tonight to expand that lead as the A's were beaten by the Halos down in LaLa Land, three zip. There are four games to go, and the Sox should not miss this opportunity. While they certainly have acquitted themselves well in road games, even against other playoff teams and contenders, their home record is one of the best in baseball this year.

Sox Win East Division Title!!

That about says it all for last night's game at the Fens. This is the first Division crown for the Sox since 2007, and we all know what came next then--a World Series championship! As for individual feats, Lester continued his second half brilliance, going seven and allowing only one hit. When he got in an early jam he really pitched out of it, going from bases loaded no outs to two on with two gone to out of the inning unscathed. Offensively, the team was led by Pedey, with  three  hits in 5 at bats, Bard, with three ribbies and two hit games from both Salty and Nava. Papi also picked up another ribbie on his quest to the century mark. From the Sox pen, after Tazawa gave up a two run shot to get the Jays within three, The Ninja came in to beat the Jays to death with his repertoire. He got a five out save allowing no further damage and closed the door, thus putting the exclamation point on the Sox Division Title.

Back to the Post-Season!!

Well, it took four years, but the Sox are officially BACK in the POST-SEASON! The year's not yet over. There are still eight games to go in the regular season, and still other goals to reach and achieve. But this clinch tonight is oh, so sweet after the increasingly sever travails of the last three years. If anyone's memory requires refreshing, 2010 looked promising--until a record string of injuries gutted the lineup and left the Hose just short of the playoffs. The next year, 2011, should be spoken of with a spit on the ground--it was the great collapse, when what appeared a 'sure thing' for the Sox entering September became a punch in the collective stomach of Red Sox Nation and no playoffs. That led to Terry's "departure" and stories of beer and fried chicken. Then, as if the aforementioned weren't bad enough, 2012 arrived and with it Bobby Valentine, who from day 1 showed the direction his reign and the team's fortunes would follow--a very steep dive into the cellar and the worst Sox won-loss record since 1965 (that's 47 years for those of you who played hooky during math class)!
But 2013 began with a hopeful move. John Farrell was obtained as manager, and he re-established the spirit that Terry had fostered during the early 2/3 of the last decade. All of this led to tonight--as a first step only--and the return to the post-season. It has been a collection of many things. Jake has played almost as well as in his 2011 season, not so much power, but all of the speed on the bases. The Dustman has been The Dustman, hovering near .300 all year in spite of a thumb injury that happened on day 1 and would have sidelined anyone else for weeks, if not months. His leadership has been all Pedey as well. Papi, in spite of missing most of the first month and change with painful heel issues, has so far produced 28 HR's and 96 ribbies, and seems likely to pass 30 and 100 even without that lost time. Also, his season BA has remained over .300, and, barring a final slump, will finish there.
Pitching: Farrell's special expertise: Lester returned to his old form, particularly down the stretch. Lackey has come back from his lost season with elbow surgery to post a mid-3 ERA and look like the hurler he used to be, including his 16th career complete game tonight, a two hit, two walk gem, in which the first O's hit didn't come until the 7th. The Sox picked up Peavey at the trade deadline, and he's also provided solid innings to help the overall effort. The pen has, overall, been awesome. Exemplifying how the Sox refused to give in to adversity, when both closers they'd acquired in the off-season went down with season ending arm injuries, they gave the job to Uehara. He responded with a vengeance, at one point running off 37 straight outs.
There are too many other stories that make up important parts of this year so far, but you get what I'm saying. They're back and it was definitely worth the wait. My brother has continued to say all year that while he's very happy, the team still looks like a bunch of "spare parts". Well, Phillip, sometimes a machine needs a few spares to get running properly again, and it certainly looks as if the mechanical team of Cherrington and Farrell have a garage that would give the folks at Porsche a run for their money.
Tonight: aside from the already mentioned complete game victory by Lackey, everything came for the Sox in the 2d. In rapid succession, JD's little brother took the first pitch he saw into the center field cheaps to score himself and Salty ahead of him. This shot was followed by Jackie Bardley getting a solid two bagger, setting himself up to his eventual score when Pedey drove him in with a base hit. That was the offense for the Sox tonight, and it was enough. With the Rays' loss to Texas, the Hose now lead by nine with eight to play.

Uehara's Streak Gone

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. After 37 consecutive outs, Sox closer Koji Uehara finally was reached. I'd hoped that he would have made it into record territory, but it wasn't to be. Every closer in history, whether it was Rivera , Gagne or Eck eventually gets taken down, if only for the moment. The Sox proved that with Rivera, who, although the greatest closer in MLB history, somehow was more susceptible to Sox bats than any other team. Tonight it was Koji's turn. The Birds' Valencia led off the 9th with a triple, removing any doubt as to how much longer the streak would last. Then, the very next batter sacflied his pinch runner home with what would be the winning run. With that, Koji started a new streak by not only getting the fly out, but also retiring the next two batters on a grounder and a K. Three and counting. As the Hose only were able to muster a total of three hits the entire evening, one of them a leadoff 1st inning shot into the cheaps by The Dustman, the outcome was not too difficult to predict. Even so, the Sox had the tying run, Salty, on base in their half of the 9th, but couldn't get him home.
On the bright side of things, the Sox swiped three bases, two by Drew, and cut their magic number by one as the Rays also lost to remain nine back with only ten to play for the Sox. The Rays have a dozen left, I believe.

Farewell, MO -- Sox Sweep Yanks!

Well, tonight is an unusual one for Duffys. We've got a pair of things to cover, one the game and one the last time ever of one of baseball's all time greats at the Fens.

Covering the latter first, tonight was scheduled as the final possible time Mariano Riviera would ever pitch at Fenway, barring a post-season appearance if the Stripes were to get that far. So, the Hose had a special pre-game ceremony to recognize the man and his achievements. Yes, he is a member of the Evil Empire. Yes, there have been times when he  closed out a NY victory over our Sox. But, more important, he's the best ever at his position, bar none; and he's also a true gentleman--in my Yiddish parlance, a mensch. Unlike some other stars in the game today (I needn't name names--they're known to all), Mo does his job. He gets called, he pitches and more often than not, he shuts down the opponent. Period. He's done it 651 times in regular season and 42 times in the post-season, the latter number being interesting as it's his uniform number. By the way, the number's being retired when he leaves as well because it's Jackie Robinson's and MLB decreed that after any current player wearing it had retired, the number would be permanently retired in honor of Jackie. Even that is fitting that the last player to wear it is Mo. So, before the game began, the Sox had an on-field presentation ceremony for him. The entire team assembled on the field and, with Pedey, Papi, Lester and Uehara making the presentations, the Sox gave him a painted portrait of him celebrating a save, a Fenway seat from 1934 that had his number, 42, on it, an autographed bullpen rubber, and, perhaps best of all, his Green Monster pitcher's number. What that last item is, is a solid steel plate about two feet square that has his uniform number on it. As the scoreboard at the Fens is a manually operated one, whenever a pitcher enters a game, at Fenway or at any other game anywhere, their number is hung next to their team's name on the board. When they're replaced, the relieving pitcher's number replaces theirs. The numerals are painted in white against a background of, what else, green. Mo's was presented to him and it had an extra that no other numbers have. It was autographed by every member of the Sox.  If all of this weren't enough, the managing brain trust owning and operating the team then appeared and gave Mo a check, amount unannounced, but you can be certain it's substantial, as a donation from the Red Sox foundation to the school for disadvantaged children that Mo's foundation has established in his home nation--Panama. Ceremony over, the game then began. But throughout the evening, the camera kept returning to the Yankee bullpen area where Mo could be seen patiently autographing anything and everything that fans thrust at him. It was always a smile, a signature, best wishes and move on to the next one. No fees for the autographs were charged; no-one was refused; and everyone was happily satisfied. Because the Stripes never got close enough to warrant his appearance on the mound, he finished the Fenway portion of his career in the pen.  But he will never be forgotten. When the game was over, and all players had departed for their respective locker rooms, where was he to be found? Still standing in the Stripes' pen, pen in hand and still patiently signing autographs: a smile, a signature, best wishes and on to the next. He truly is one for the ages.
Now, as for the former item, the game, Sox swept the series, the victory being the sixth of the last seven games they've played the Stripes. Bucky was making his second start since coming off the DL and he wasn't particularly sharp for the first few innings. But, as he got into the 5th and 6th, he got better, until he looked so good in the 6th (his last), there was open discussion if he might not be allowed to go further by Farrell. However, Farrell isn't considered a master at handling pitchers for nothing. Bucky was gone since the start of June and is just coming back into regular rotation. No reason or need to push him too far, too fast. He gave up a lone unearned run in the top of the 1st due to his own error, a misguided pickoff attempt at first sending the runner, Granderson, to third, followed by a ground ball out. Including the original walk that got the Grandy Man to first to begin with, Bucky allowed just a pair of hits and four passes, while taking down four by K. He gets his 11th win, and reduced his ERA to a minuscule 1.51, the opponents' BA dropping to .190.
Having started off behind for the first time in a few games, the Hose then wasted no time at all getting even and reclaiming the lead. In their half of the 1st, they quickly started the ball rolling. After a leadoff out by Pedey, Nava reached on the first of a pair of doubles, a part of his four hit evening. He was followed by a ribbie single from Papi, who, in turn, was plated by a solid shot to the center field cheaps by Nap. Suddenly, it's Sox three, Stripes one, and it got better (or, if you root for the Evils, worse) from there as the evening progressed.
The final was 9-2, Sox, and the second Yanks run was in the 9th on a defensive indifference advance, followed by a base hit. But that was it for the night. Sox leaders tonight included Nava's aforementioned four hits and Nap's homer. Also important were Papi's pair of RBI-producing hits and Bogaert's pair of hits, a two bagger included. The win put the Sox at a new season high 33 games over .500, and left them 9.5 games over the Rays, who lost today, with eleven to play. I'd misquoted games left last night as eleven when it correctly was a dozen. But after tonight, it really is just eleven. The W was also the Sox' 17th out of 20 games, a winning percentage of .850.

Early Barrage Supports Lester Gem

Well, contrary to last night's methodology, today the Sox reverted to a much easier, less tension filled sway to win. Get four runs early, add some insurance later and let John Lester handle the baseball. After a scoreless 1st, the Sox sent a half dozen to the plate and put the first run on the board. They followed this with an additional pair of runs in the 3d, when seven Sox batsmen went to the plate and batter by batter moved the two runs around. It began with Pedey's single and Vic's sacrifice. Papi wasted no time and dropped his 36th two bagger into left to plate his 92d ribbie. This score was shortly followed by consecutive singles by Nap and Gomes, plating Papi with the Sox third run. Score: three zip, Sox. After the teams swapped single scores, the Sox still held a three run lead until the 5th, when the Sox added an insurance score for what became the final score, 5-1. 
The rest of the way it was Lester tossing a cool three hit gem over eight innings. He K'd five against just a pair of freebies. His game WHIP was a stunning 0.625. He's now got 14 wins on the season, and a chance at possibly tow more by season's end.
Today's win is the Sox 16th in their last 19 games, and the fifth out of six against Mr. Hankie's Yankees. It's also the eighth straight series the team has won. In addition to grabbing a game on the Stripes, the Hose picked up one on the O's, who lost to the Jays. As for the Rays, their game started later and, as of the moment, they lead two zip in the bottom of the 3d. Worst case, the Sox maintain their 8.5 game lead over the Rays, with just eleven to go. Also, if you like looking for omens, with the win today, the Sox are now 32 over .500. The last time they had that big a W-L margin was the final day of the 2004 season, and we all remember what happened then.