Thursday, August 27, 2009

Ahhh Tim Wakefield is Back

It used to be that when Tim Wakefield took to the mound you never really knew what to expect. On the nights when the wind was blowing at Fenway Park and his knuckle ball was moving he was unhittable. On the nights when the air was still and his 80 mph fastball wasn't fooling anyone, you knew you were in for a long night.

That was until, this year. Tim Wakefield the all-star is as reliable as they come and last night proved no different. There was something comforting about having him on the mound that made me feel like order had been restored to the nation.

It was all well and good to get a couple of good starts from Brad Penny at the beginning of the season (see ya later by the way.) It was nice to have a dream scenario of Penny and Smoltz teaming up for a great season and one last hoorah with the BoSox. These were nice thoughts that didn't pan out.

Now, with Tim Wakefield back on the mound and pitching well it feels as though order has been restored to the starting rotation. I know, I won't get too far ahead of myself. There is the issue of will Dice-K return and return strong. There is the slumping Josh Beckett. But, going into the home stretch of the season, this is the way our rotation was supposed to look all along. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buckholz, Tim Wakefield and Daisuke Matsusaka. If these pieces start to fall into place, we're looking good down the home stretch.

So, Tim Wakefield was back on the mound last night and he pitched a gem. If only the bullpen hadn't blown it, we wouldn't have needed to see vintage Papi at the end to get the win, but win we did and win we must to make a final push and end up spanking the Yankees in the ALCS...AGAIN!!

Labels: Boston Red Sox, Clay Buckholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield

Friday, August 21, 2009

Red Sox v. Yankees Preview

My what a difference three games make. After getting swept by the New York Yankees and dropping two out of the three from the Texas Rangers, the Red Sox found themselves out of the AL Wild Card lead and on the brink of dropping out of the conversation as to who is the top team in the AL East, but some cool, fresh, Canadian air was all they really needed as they completed the sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays last night at the Roger's Centre.

Now order has been restored to the Nation that has collectively been holding it's breath over the last week wondering if the Red Sox bats would ever come alive and boy did they ever. The Sox sluggers put up 24 runs in the three games and not against any slouch pitching either. Remember when we wanted to get Roy Halladay? Ya, well, this week we got TO him and put up some big numbers on the big fella.

So, the state of our nation is...ok. While the bats are swinging and the injuries are mending we still have some major question marks going into this weekend series with the Yankees.

How will Brad Penny fair against one of the most prolific offense in the majors?

Will Junichi Tazawa be able to battle the Yankees bats to grab his second win of the season?

The question mark remains, Boston's pitching. The top 3 in the rotation are solid. No one questions Beckett, Lester or even Buckholz after his most recent performance, but the question mark remains the final two spots in the Red Sox rotation. If Tim Wakefield can come back in the next couple of weeks that will likely shore up the fourth spot, but that is a big IF at this point and Daisuke Matsusaka is on the verge of a return, but he is STILL a big question mark.

So for this Yankees series we hand the ball to our #4 and #5 starters of the moment. Will they be able to get the job done? They must, if the Red Sox have any hope of keeping in the hunt for the AL East crown...or the wild card for that matter.

Labels: Boston Red Sox, brad penny, Clay Buckholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Junichi Tazawa, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Tim Wakefield, Toronto Blue Jays

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

GUEST BLOG: Why The Red Sox SHOULDN'T Trade for Halladay

I get it. "Doc" Halladay is the sexiest "name" out there as we approach the 2009 trade deadline. He is seemingly the only pitcher in baseball who throws complete games on a regular basis. And if he was added to the Boston rotation, the Sox would have undoubtedly the best rotation in baseball, particularly with a 3-man playoff rotation of Beckett, Lester, and Halladay (Wakefield being the 4th).

I mean, look at the lifelong Blue Jay's career numbers, courtesy of baseball reference.com. 142-69 record in 300 games. FORTY FOUR complete games. TWELVE SHUTOUTS. 1410 strikeouts, compared to only 440 walks. That's a better than 3-1 ratio. Six time All Star, one Cy Young award, and 4 top 5 Cy Young finishes. You could easily make a case for him being the best pitcher in baseball.

But here are the most important numbers. 32 years old and parts of 12 Major League Seasons. Despite being at his athletic peak (he notched a career-high 206 strikeouts in 2008), he's not going to be there for long. As hard as he throws, and as deep into games as he goes, he has a very limited shelf life.

The Red Sox would have to mortgage their future to get Doc. They would have to give up arguably their best pitching prospect in Clay Buchholz, and likely their next best prospects in Michael Bowden, and Daniel Bard, possibly more. And that's assuming Toronto's GM JP Ricciardi would even deal his ace within the division. And you know Ricciardi is a smart baseball guy - he still has his Boston accent.

As Randy Booth of overthemonster.com puts it, Sox GM Theo Epstein was faced with a similar dilemma last year, when it would have cost Jon Lester and then some to get another stud, Johan Santana. And Theo (forgive the pun) balked, because the price tag was too steep.

This is clear evidence of a new "stay the course" mentality in Boston that's taken shape with the new regime, particularly over the last 5 years. If today was July 29th, 2004, I'd be all for trading for Halladay. Before the "Curse" was broken, we had to win now at all costs. Our aging fathers and grandfathers were concerned that they would never see a championship in their lifetimes. 86 years of torment had been passed down through the generations. We had to win, to satisfy the older folks, and if anything, to stop those damned chants of "1918" emanating from the Bronx.

But life is different now, after not one, but two World Series Championships. The Sox want to win now AND later. And they are not going to mortgage the next 5-10 years just to say they've won THREE titles since the Yankees last put up a banner. If the Sox added Halladay, they'd be the odds on favorite to win the 2009 World Series. They'd have to be. But then, what happens when Doc becomes a free agent? What if the Yankees outbid us? Where does that leave us for 2010, and beyond?

Now that the animalistic appetite for a championship has been quenched - again, twice - the Sox don't need to mortgage the farm to win this year. And besides, with a rotation of Beckett, Lester, Wakefield, Buchholz, and Penney (sorry Smoltz), I think we've got just as good a chance as anyone.

- Jag

Labels: Boston Red Sox, Brad Penney, Clay Buckholz, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, New York Yankees, Roy Halladay, Tim Wakefiled

Friday, September 5, 2008

5 Reasons The Red Sox Defied Odds To Be Contenders

It’s the beginning of September and the 2008 Red Sox appear to be hitting a stride, right at the perfect time. It doesn’t feel like 2007 though does it? That’s because it’s not. In 2007, everything was going well. Sure there were some ups and downs, but nothing like what’s happening this year. Here are the 5 reasons the Red Sox should not be contending for the top spot in the AL East.

5.) Pitching: At the beginning of the season there were some high expectations for the pitching staff of the Red Sox. Josh Beckett was the ace and there was no questioning that. Dice-K was a VERY strong #2. Then there was to be Jon Lester, Clay Buckholz and Timmy Wakefield, and that’s not even mentioning Schilling who was out from the get go. Now the rotation looks totally different and we’re not even certain if Josh Beckett will be our ace in the playoffs (although here’s hoping he’s back.) We’ve pieced it together with any number of incarnations over the last 5 months and we’ll ride that right into the playoffs.

4.) Injuries: There was David Ortiz at the beginning of the season (who some thought might be at the end of his career…I’m lookin at you Timmy.) Then there was Mike Lowell, who is finally coming back and will hopefully contribute for the playoffs. JD Drew out with a lower back strain and let’s not forget Julio Lugo, ok let’s forget that, that didn’t have much of an impact. With all the injuries this team has suffered, they have somehow found a way to put together a team of former bat boys to grab the second spot in the AL East (on their way to the first.)

3.) Manny Being Manny: Yes, it’s true, the Red Sox probably shouldn’t have been in this position in the first place. The distractions that Manny caused throughout the first half of the season would have de-railed any team, from pushing down the traveling secretary, to punching Youk and finally bad mouthing the ownership in the press, Manny did everything he could to get this team off track and it just didn’t work.

2.) Starting In Japan Didn’t Help: Yes, I know, it was at the beginning of the season. Yes, I know, the Spankmees did it two years ago. It did however affect the start of the season. It didn’t get the team off on the right foot and that is never good for a season. They have, of course, since rebounded, but it didn’t help.

1.) Tampa Bay Devil Chickens: These idiots didn’t help the Red Sox cause this season. It’s the same story though, it’s just a different team. The Red Sox are in second place and ready to make a push at the end of the season. During the season however, this group of Rays constantly stood in the way of any progress the Red Sox were looking to make. Everytime the Red Sox would win, so to would the Rays. Sometimes, when the Red Sox lost, the Rays would win and that was even worse. They have stood in our way long enough and on Monday night, the takeover begins.

Given the adversity this team has faced over the course of this season, it’s surprising to many that they are even in the chase for first place in the AL East, but not to die-hards. Nope, we knew they were going to do it, right? Nobody questioned whether they would comeback and take over first place. Nobody thought they wouldn’t take first place away from the Rays, right? I know I know, it hasn’t happened yet, but if you ask me this team has no business even being in the hunt and yet, they are there, resilient as ever, charging toward the top of the heap. GO SOX!!

adam@wickedpissadude.com

Labels: Boston Red Sox, Clay Buckholz, David Ortiz, JD Drew, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Manny Ramirez, Tim Wakefield

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