March 2010
Red Sox Heart And Soul HInges On Pedroia
When Dustin Pedroia injured his right wrist making a patented diving stop, New England’s Baseball Anxiety Meter surged into the red zone. In a crazy sort of way, we have come to take our diminutive second baseman for granted as the heart and soul of this Red Sox team. He is the personification of its grit and determination, the pesky pain in the butt other teams love to hate. Oh, and did I mention he has been AL Rookie of the Year and MVP in his short 4-year career? Add in two All-Star appearances and a Gold Glove for good measure. The Red Sox are in their typical “Katie Bar The Door” media outreach, claiming only that there was“swelling” on the back of this wrist and that there is no “problem”. Right. All we really need to know is the other tidbit they threw out at us–El Caballito will undergo X-rays today to determine the real extent of the injury. Needless to say, this could be the biggest piece of Red Sox news all year–one way or the other. If Pedroia is out for any lengthy period of time, or even if he is hampered in his “take no prisoners” playing style, it could spell doom for this already marginal offensive team. Let’s hope the Red Sox ‘Ministry of Information’ is telling the whole truth this time and there really is no “problem”.
Red Sox Future On Display In Ft. Myers
A lot of us in Red Sox Nation (this writer included) have fretted over the potential power outage in the 2010 Boston lineup. And when Sox GM Theo Epstein floated the term “bridge year” it sent chills up and down our collective spine.
But, the truth is, building a competitive baseball franchise is played out over many seasons. And, if you look carefully at the goings on in Ft. Myers, you can begin to see this team’s future take shape. In fact, the “core” is already in place: Pedroia, Youkilis Lester, Buchholz, Bard and Ellsbury are all homegrown fixtures that can anchor the team for years.
And then there are the kids on the cusp of contributing: Josh Reddick (having his second straight monster spring), Jose Iglesias (finally, the SS of the future), Casey Kelly (another potential dominant arm), and Ryan Kalish (Trot Nixon redux). And, if there is any justice in the world, 19-year old phenomRyan Westmoreland (the organization’s top positional prospect) will fully recover from his surgery and star in Fenway for years.
All in all, Theo’s Grand Plan for keeping this team in the mix over the next decade is firmly in place.
Dice-K’s Time To Deliver For Red Sox
The Two Sides Of Red Sox Nation
Yesterday, the two sides of Red Sox Nation were on full display for all to see. You know, the “all is forgiven, you can come home now” side shown to Nomar Garciaparra; and, the “you ungrateful slime, may you rot in Flushing” side shown to Jason Bay. As the denizens of Bankruptcy Field met the Red Sox yesterday in Port St. Lucie, it became clear that there were more members of ournation than theirs in the seats. And, when our erstwhile left-fielder stepped to the plate, he heard a clear strain of boos mixed in with the limp cheers. Welcome to your post-Boston life, Jason. Here’s Nomar’s cell phone number. It says here that Jason Bay does not deserve this fate. Sure, he spurned the watered-down offer from the Sox (after supposed medical concerns came to light), but can you really blame the guy for taking his one shot at the brass ring? I’m sure if you wake him up at three in the morning and ask him quickly if he’d rather be at Fenway or LaGuardia Lite, he’d come down on our side. Bay was thrown into a no-win situation when he was brought here to replace Manny Ramirez, and he somehow turned it into a win-win. We should just be thankful that we got a year-and-a-half of solid performance from him and wish him well. Even though we know he will probably never again attain the heights he did with us.
Remembrance Of Things Nomar
A friend called last night to let me know that NESN was televising a game from 1999 in honor of Nomar Garciaparra’s retirement as a Red Sox player. It was a game against the Mariners that my friend and I actually attended together. The reason it’s so memorable is simple: Garciaparra cranked two grand slams that night–something that has never been equalled at Fenway. It’s easy to forget that it was a different time at Fenway in 1999. While the grand old park would be celebrated as the host of that year’s All-Star Game, the stands were only sparsely populated on that particular night–in fact, the NESN broadcast clearly shows that most of right field was a vacant wasteland of empty seats. Nomar stepped into the box in the first inning with the bases juiced. The infamous glove, toe-tap ritual was a sight for sore eyes. He was in his prime. He would end up hitting .357 that year. The next year, he was even better–.372. He was a hitting machine. When he carved an opposite field line drive into the right field bullpen, it reminded me of how pure a hitter he was. Not a patient hitter, but an accomplished one. Terry Francona, who managed Nomar in the Arizona Fall League, noted that he could slash to all fields even way back then. Had he stayed healthy and a member of the Red Sox, I have no doubt he would be Cooperstown-bound in 5 years. As it is, he will always be the young, aggressive, athletic superstar we all pinned our hopes on in the late nineties. Nomar Garicaparra was the Red Sox then, and he always will be.
fenwaynationchief
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