2013 BBS Awards: Team of the Year

This goes to the best team in Boston sports for the 2013 calendar year. And for the first time since the inception of the Boston Blood Sox Awards in 2006, this team will be honored by being named Team of the Year. The Patriots won this award in 2007. The Celtics won it in 2008. The Bruins in 2011...

And now in 2013, the winner of Team of the Year are the Boston Red Sox.

Expectations were low for the 2013 Red Sox. Simply finishing above .500 would have been considered progress.

The team was the most likable edition of the Sox since 2007. They were entertaining. They got big hits. They stole bases. They worked counts. They didn't like to lose. They hated losing. They didn't slump. They weren't satisfied with being above .500, or making the playoffs, or winning the division, or winning the AL. If there were another series after the World Series, the Red Sox would want to play, and would play to win.

After two of the most embarrassing seasons in recent Boston sports history in 2011 and 2012, the Red Sox redeemed themselves with one of the best years any Boston team has ever had.

BBS Awards: Red Auerbach Award for Best Coach/Executive

This award goes to the person off the field whose decisions and influence resulted in the most success on the field.

There were lots of great coaches and GMs in Boston this year. Obviously with a World Series winning team you have to consider Ben Cherington and John Farrell. With the Bruins going deep in the playoffs you must give Claude Julien and Peter Chiarelli some thought. With the Patriots doing well despite injuries, Bill Belichick deserves consideration. And Brad Stevens has gotten 110% from the Celtics.

But I think only one person had the most work to do, yet still reached the maximum level of success. He had to rebuild a broken team.

The winner of the Red Auerbach award for 2013 is Ben Cherington, GM of the Boston Red Sox.

The other guys I mentioned have all done great jobs. However none of their jobs were as difficult as Cherington's. Cherington had a blank team. There were no stud free agents available to bring in. As Cherington put together his team of decent, experienced players, I remember talking to my brother about how the Red Sox were "buying second place." I thought the Sox were trying to build an 85 win team, compete for a Wild Card spot, and keep the fans' hunger satisfied with snacks instead of a full course meal.

How wrong I was.

Ben Cherington took a last place team and gave it a chance. He added the right mix of veterans, leaders, followers, and solid ballplayers. And the team won.

2013 BBS Awards: Ted Williams Award for Red Sox Player of the Year

This award goes to the best player from the 2013 Boston Red Sox season. And what a season to look back on and remember.

The winner of this award is someone who in 2013 rallied both the team and the City.

The winner of the Ted Williams award is David Ortiz.

Honorable mentions to Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Koji Uehara.

Ortiz led the team in batting average (.309), homeruns (30), RBI (103), OBP (.393), SLG (.594), and OPS (.959). He was third on the team in runs (84), third in hits (160), and third in doubles (38). And that was just the regular season.

In the playoffs, he led the team with a .353 average, hit 5 homeruns, knocked in 13 RBI, got on base 50% of the time, slugged .706. All those numbers led the Red Sox. He scored the second most runs (12), and had the second most hits (18).

In an amazing year for an amazing team, he was the most amazing player.

Terry Francona Beats John Farrell for Manager of the Year

The Manager of the Year award was voted on BEFORE the playoffs. So before you unleash all that the rage, remember that John Farrell was not a World Series winning manager when this award was decided.

You can make the argument for either Francona or Farrell to win this. Both teams improved dramatically from 2012 to 2013. Both teams made the playoffs. Both teams surprised everyone.

This award is frequently bestowed on the manager whose team's success was the biggest surprise.

Which surprise was greater? Farrell and the Red Sox finishing with the best record in baseball? Or the Indians winning 92 games?

Both were pretty surprising. Vegas odds gave the Sox an over/under win total of 82.5 and the Indians 76.5 (source). The Sox were given 30 to 1 odds to win the World Series. Both teams far exceeded expectations.

The Red Sox did suck in 2012, but they also had a payroll twice the size of Cleveland's to help them improve. And star players like David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury. Farrell definitely changed the culture in the clubhouse, and was a key part to this team's turnaround.

Farrell did indeed do more than Francona, but he did more with more.

I still would have voted for Farrell. He was a key component to the rapid transition in Boston. The team shed diseased body parts, and Farrell was the healthy managerial organ replacing the gangrenous Bobby Valentine.

It's impossible for me to go back to before the playoffs and say who I would have voted for then. Because I didn't care about Manager of the Year back then.

And neither did you! So why does anyone care so much now?

Who really cares? Francona never won the award here despite winning two World Series. Now Farrell wins the World Series and we're finding something to be pissed off about. I'm sure Farrell would rather have the team ring than the individual trophy. We had a parade for the rings. Cleveland won't do shit for the MOY award.

So stop whining, Red Sox fans. Francona did a fine job in Cleveland, the Indians had a good year, it's hard to argue that Francona doesn't deserve the recognition, so shut up.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Mark Duncan

Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes on Conan

Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes appeared on Conan last night. I have to say that Gomes has the crazy eyes. And Victorino's shiftiness and nervous energy kind of scares me at times.

They talked with Conan about beard-pulling, chemistry of the team, Jake Peavy buying a duckboat, Shane Victorino's high pain threshold...

Then they talked about how much the City of Boston meant to the success of the Red Sox this year.

Artie Lange was the next guest and he talked about his hatred of Alex Rodriguez. He also talked about his recovery from drug addiction, although he did so in a funny way.

Finally, just for laughs, here's a classic Conan clip of him playing in an olde tyme base-ball game.

Is it weird that I'm really turned on by how shy and demure one of the women is?

RED SOX WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!!

This is unreal. This team was picked to finish last in their division. Fans were hoping that they'd flirt with .500 and contend for a Wild Card spot. 108 wins later and it's duckboat time.

The bats finally woke up Wednesday night. Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli returned to the lineup. People not named David Ortiz got big hits. Victorino had a massive impact, going 2 for 3 with 4 RBI. Napoli hit an RBI single in the 4th. Victorino's 3-run double in the 3rd came with 2 outs. So Michael Wacha was only an out away from escaping that inning, just like he escaped the 2nd. Five of the Sox' 6 runs were scored with 2 outs.

It was only a matter of time before the bats woke up. And that the 22-year-old Wacha was knocked around. Who was going to adjust better after Game 2? Wacha to the veteran Sox batters, or the Sox batters to Wacha? The Sox lineup isn't loaded with stars, but it's packed with savvy players that know how to work at-bats and figure out pitchers.

The Cardinals did not figure out John Lackey. He wasn't dominant, but he made pitches when he had to. He allowed 9 hits in his 6.2 innings. He seemed to save his best pitches for the most important at-bats. He struck out Jon Jay with runners on second and third in the 2nd inning. He struck out David Freese to end the 4th, also with two runners on. Of the 9 hits he allowed, only 1 wasn't a single, and only 1 was allowed with runners in scoring position.

The Sox scored 5 of their 6 runs with 2 outs. Lackey shut the Cardinals down with 2 outs, at least until the 7th. Wacha's inability to get the third out and Lackey's ability to get it was the difference in this game.

What can you say about this team?

They never learned how to lose.

The 2011 and 2012 Sox found ways to lose. They seemed to go out of their way to lose. This team never learned how. They never lost more than 3 games in a row all season long. And they only had five 3-game losing streaks. Only one of those streaks came after the All-Star Game.

Losing was foreign to them. It was distasteful. They hated it. Once they lost they found a way to win the next day. They were 43-21 in games after a loss. That's a .672 pace, which would win 109 games in a 162 game season. In the playoffs they were 4-1 after a loss.

They found ways to win. When a reliever blew a save, the offense would rally. When the offense struggled to score, the pitching would bear down. Down 5-1 in the 8th against Detroit? No problem. David Ortiz will hit a Grand Slam to tie it.

Just magic. They made the city believe in them again. They made a cynic like me believe in them again. Faith restored.

I can't wait for Spring Training.

Photo Credit:
Greg M. Cooper/USA Today Sports

Jon Lester Officially an Ace

Monday night Jon Lester was promoted from being a very good pitcher, to being an Ace. What's the difference? Ace is frequently capitalized. It's the most powerful card in the deck. It's an honor bestowed to fighter pilots who shoot down 5+ enemy planes. And it's a designation reserved for starting pitchers who are the rarest of the rare. It's for pitchers who make winning easy for their team. And that's what Lester has done in this World Series.

Lester was ruthlessly efficient. He only needed 91 pitches to go 7.2 innings, or 3.96 pitches per out, 11.9 pitches per inning. He struck out 7. He allowed a solo homerun. He didn't walk anybody.

In the 2013 playoffs Lester is 4-1 with a 1.56 ERA. He's struck out 29 in 34.2 innings, and allowed 8 walks and 25 hits for a WHIP of 0.952 WHIP. Which is ridiculously low for a starter.

David Ortiz might steal World Series MVP away from Lester. Although co-MVPs have been awarded before (2001: Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson), and we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. However, Ortiz was 3 for 4 Monday night with a double and an RBI. He's hitting .733 in the World Series, with 6 RBI, 5 runs scored, 2 doubles, 2 homeruns, an OBP of .789, SLG of 1.267, OPS of 2.056. He hasn't struck out since Game 2 of the ALCS against Detroit.

David Ross was inserted into the lineup for his defense. His bat made the difference in this game. The ground rule double he hit in the 7th knocked in the game-winning run. And he nearly scored himself on a Jacoby Ellsbury single. It took a great throw from Shane Robinson to eliminate Ross at the plate.

Koji Uehara ended the game, of course. That's 7 saves in the playoffs for Uehara. His emergence as closer after injuries to Hanrahan and Bailey might be the most important development of a very special season for the Boston Red Sox.

Game 6 Wednesday night at Fenway. The Sox have a chance to clinch a World Series in their home ballpark for the first time since 1918. John Lackey faces Michael Wacha.

Photo Credit:
Jeff Curry-USA Today Sports

I'm So Sick of these Fox Broadcasts

The World Series is now essentially a best of three series. And the best part about that is that we will only be subjected to three more Fox broadcasts.

At best Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are boring. I'm tired of the shallow Wikipedia talking points for each hitter. Did you know Xander Bogaerts speaks 4 languages and started the year in AA? Did you know that Will Middlebrooks and Michael Wacha both grew up in Texarkana, Texas? Not Texarkana, Arkansas, but Texarkana, Texas!

At worse they're overly critical and then when events unfold to prove those criticisms wrong, they rarely acknowledge them. They criticized the decision to put Lackey in the game in the 8th (how much would they have drooled if Verlander had been used in relief?). Now I can't say I liked that move, I can't say I didn't like it. But I got it. I understood the sense of it. Lackey pitched well and Buck and McCarver didn't allow the audience to hear them eating crow.

Then they criticized the Sox for holding Wong on first. How did that work out for the Sox?

All McCarver has ever done is point out and then complicated the obvious. He sounds like he's reading a 1949 book on baseball fundamentals. And then he goes on tangents about anything and everything related to 1960s baseball and pop culture.

I think if Buck had a more youthful, more dynamic partner, he'd be okay. I actually like how he doesn't scream and shout, and allows the spectacle of the moment to be enjoyed by the viewer. He's not trying to make a memorable call, he's just working.

But Buck's measured pace doesn't blend well with Fox's hyperactive camera shots. Fox missed the last out on their live broadcast because they were busy showing various 1.5 second shots of anxious Cardinals fans with their hands on their face. Because that's how you build tension.

Tension in the World Series builds on its own, it doesn't need a director's help to be conveyed trough editing and camera work.

Fox baseball broadcasts are close to unbearable to watch, and should be used at Guantanamo to extract information from enemy combatants.

Red Sox Win Game 4 Unobstructed

This series just gets weirder and weirder. Saturday night gives us the first ever walk-off obstruction call in World Series history. Sunday night gives us the first ever game-ending pickoff in World Series history.

The 2013 Red Sox find a way to to support each other. When one player struggles or makes a mistake, the others make up for their teammate's failures. John Lackey, normally a starter, pitched a scoreless 8th inning, bridging the gap between Junichi Tazwawa and Koji Uehara when Craig Breslow couldn't get an out. That's how the Sox have done it all season. Even when your starter is hurt and only manages to pitch 4 innings, a guy like Felix Doubront enters the game and pitches 2.2 innings of quality relief. He was charged with a run, but that was Breslow's fault.

While some members of the Red Sox picked up their teammates, others stepped up and made the big plays that decided the game. None more than David Ortiz and Jonny Gomes Sunday night.

Ortiz is red hot in the World Series. He's 8 for 11 with 2 homeruns and a double. That double came Sunday night, leading off the 5th. After Ortiz reached second base, he looked into the Red Sox dugout and screamed words of encouragement to his teammates in English and Spanish. ¡Vámonos! He eventually scored on a Stephen Drew sac-fly.

Before the 6th inning Ortiz gave a motivational speech to his teammates in the dugout. And then Jonny Gomes hit the 3-run homerun that pushed the Sox to victory. How much did the pep-talk affect Gomes? There's no way to accurately measure that. Although in the postgame press conference Sunday night, Gomes beamed as he talked about Ortiz and his leadership.

Jonny Gomes hasn't gotten a lot of hits this year. But the hits he gets mean a lot.

In 2013 David Ortiz has taken on more of a leadership role. He isn't just everyone's friend in the clubhouse. He's expecting more from his teammates and pushing them to push themselves. After the game he spoke about what he told his teammates before the 6th:

"Let's loosen up... What got us to this level is doing what we normally do. If you run, run. If you play defense, play defense. If you hit, hit. If you pitch, you pitch. That's all it takes to win games. And it clicked."

I'm not looking forward to Craig Breslow's next appearance. He's looked dreadful in this series. Without him the bullpen gets stretched very thin. That means the starters must go deeper into games.

Hopefully that's exactly what Jon Lester does Monday night. He faces Adam Wainwright in a rematch of Game 1.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Chris Lee

Red Sox Bresblow Game 2

In the ALCS against the Tigers, the Red Sox bullpen was a relative strength. Against the Cardinals, that advantage is no longer there. I'd venture to say that St. Louis has the edge with their top-level relievers. Craig Breslow had been very good in the playoffs. Last night he blew it. He entered a 2-1 game with 2 on and 1 out. His pitching didn't preserve the lead, and his throwing error didn't preserve the tie. Breslow blew it.

Offensively, the Red Sox only managed 4 hits. Give credit to Cardinals rookie Michael Wacha for that. David Ortiz collected 2 hits, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia had the others for the Sox. The Red Sox 5 through 9 hitters combined to go 0 for 17 with 8 strikeouts.

Give credit to the Cardinals pitchers in this one. Wacha was excellent. Then Carlos Martinez pitched 2 great innings, striking out 3. And closer Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side in the 9th. I was hoping Mike Matheny would pull Martinez when Ortiz came to the plate in the 8th. Ortiz hit a single, but I think the move to keep Martinez in the game was correct. He was mowing the Sox down.

The Red Sox could have stolen this one had Breslow done his job. Even if he kept the score at 2-2, then anything could have happened. I don't want to peg one loss on just one pitcher. Especially since most of the hitters did nothing. But Breslow didn't do his job, and it cost the Sox a win, and a 2-0 advantage going to Missouri.

Although I do have a feeling that if the Sox see Wacha again, they'll do much better against him.

Also remember that the Sox started the ALCS 1-1, and that ended well.

Now this series is 1-1. Which isn't the end of the world. The Sox lose the DH because stupid NL fans like watching pitchers bunt and strikeout. That's entertainment to you people? Anyway, Jake Peavy takes the mound against Joe Kelly Saturday night. Kelly was 5-7 this year, with a 3.53 ERA. In the NL. So hopefully the Sox can tag him for a few runs and Peavy can pitch well against an NL team, which he has done this year.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Take Advantage of Cardinals Sins

Both the Cardinals and the umpires had a rough 1st inning. At least the umpires were able to confer and undo their mistake. Unlike the umps, the Cards didn't come together as a team and help each other out. They kept making mistakes. The worst was Adam Wainwright calling for an infield pop-up, then just standing there as the ball fell between he and his catcher.

The Red Sox took advantage of these mistakes, as they've done throughout the playoffs. Mike Napoli's bases clearing double took advantage of Pete Kozma's fielding error in the 1st. Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz knocked in runs in the 2nd after Wainwright let that ball drop.

Wainwright's pitching was worse than his fielding. If not for his right-fielders making two great catches, he might have given up 9 runs. Carlos Beltran robbed David Ortiz of a Grand Slam in the 2nd, and Shane Robinson took away extra bases (at least a triple, maybe more) from Dustin Pedroia in the 5th. Even when the Sox made outs they hit the ball hard off Wainwright.

Ortiz and Pedroia combined for 4 hits, 4 RBI, and 4 runs. If not for those catches by St. Louis right-fielders, they would have combined for 6 hits, and perhaps 8 RBI and 6 runs.

Jon Lester pitched brilliantly. He set the tone early, allowing only one baserunner in the first three innings and striking out 4. In the middle innings he had to work through some jams. In the 4th he escaped a bases-loaded, 1 out situation by inducing a double-play ball. A double play which he initiated, 1-2-3. He finished the game with 8 strikeouts and only walked 1 Cardinal, allowing 5 hits and 0 runs in his 7.2 innings.

Lester has been Ace-like in the postseason, starting each series with a topnotch performance. In ALDS Game 1 he went 7.2 and allowed 2 runs, striking out 7. In ALCS Game 1 he lost 1-0 but pitched well, 6.1 innings and only 1 run allowed. And now this start in the World Series opener. He's 3-1 in the playoffs with a 1.67 ERA. If baseball had a Conn Smythe type of trophy for postseason MVP, he'd be the leading candidate.

The Red Sox have won 9 straight World Series games, and haven't lost a game in the Fall Classic since 1986.

John Lackey takes the mound Thursday night to face rookie Michael Wacha. Wacha only started 9 games this year. He's been lights-out in the playoffs, with a 3-0 record, a 0.43 ERA in 21 innings, striking out 22, allowing only 8 hits, and only walking 4. So to say he's doing well is something of an understatement. The Red Sox need Lackey to continue to perform at the high level he has pitched in the postseason.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

How Absurdly Ridiculous Boston Sports Have Been in the 21st Century

The Boston Red Sox have only been to the World Series 12 times in their 113 year history, and 3 of those appearances have come in the past 10 years. From 1919 to 2003 the Red Sox only made the World Series 4 times.

It's not just the Sox who have enjoyed recent success. Since 2001 Boston teams have played in the championship round of their sport 12 times. The Patriots have been to 5 Super Bowls, the Red Sox have played in 3 World Series, the Celtics in 2 NBA Finals, and the Bruins in 2 Stanley Cup Finals. And they've all won at least once. The Pats and Sox have won multiple times.

You have to take a step back to appreciate it. It's hard to remember what Boston sports were like in the year 2000. Let's look back.

The Curse of the Bambino had recently turned 80, and the Sox hadn't been to a World Series in 14 years. Meanwhile, the hated Yankees were winning championship after championship.

The Patriots had NEVER won a Super Bowl, and only been to two. Who remembers how that felt? So when you're whining about a 5-2 team with no receivers, think about what it was like when Pete Carroll was the coach and the team almost moved to Connecticut. And before that, St. Louis.

The Bruins were mired in their own 28-year championship drought. The closest thing to a Stanley Cup in Boston was when Ray Bourque won with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001. The B's failed to qualify for the 2001 playoffs, as well as the 2000 playoffs.

Rick Pitino's Celtics were 36-46 in the 2000-01 season. In 1998-99 they were 19-31 (.380), and in 1996-97 they were an appalling 15-67 (.183). In the year 2000, the Celtics hadn't seen postseason basketball since 1995.

All that has changed now. It started with new owners. Since Bob Kraft purchased the Patriots in 1994 and saved them from moving to St. Louis, the team has been to 6 Super Bowls and won 3. They've also built a new stadium, replacing the aluminium eyesore that once sat next to Route 1 in Foxborough.

The Red Sox were purchased by John Henry and partners in 2002. Since then they've revamped Fenway Park, and invested heavily in player development. Their aggressive pursuit of a World Series title was what brought the likes of Curt Schilling to Boston.

Wyc Grousbeck and partners bought the Celtics in 2002. And while Jeremy Jacobs has owned the Bruins since 1975, when the NHL instituted a salary cap he went from being considered a stingy owner to a smart one. His "carefulness" with money would become an asset to the Bruins, not a detriment.

There have also been a set of GMs, executives, and coaches that are responsible for the success of these teams. Danny Ainge assembled the Celtics team that won the 2008 NBA title with Doc Rivers at the helm. Cam Neely has been a force in the Bruins front office and Claude Julien has been a rock behind the bench. Theo Epstein brought new ideas to the Red Sox. Terry Francona and now John Farrell instilled confidence in the players they managed. And of course there's Bill Belichick, who will go down in history as one of the best coaches pro football has ever seen.

And let's not forget the players. An impressive crop of stars, along with numerous solid role-players, have propelled these teams to their levels of success. Marquee names like: Tom Brady, Ty Law, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas.

Then there are the steadfast leaders: Patrice Bergeron, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Mark Recchi.

Then there are the indispensable role-players: Kendrick Perkins, Shawn Thornton, Adam Vinatieri, Jonny Gomes, Koji Uehara, Shane Victorino, Bill Mueller, Mark Bellhorn, Mike Timlin, Craig Breslow, Doug Mirabelli, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Doug Mientkiewicz, Mike Napoli, Orlando Cabrera, Xander Bogaerts.

And then there's the fans. We demand success. Look at how unhappy Patriot fans are with a 5-2 record and no Super Bowls since 2004. Look at the Red Sox in 2011 and 2012, and how much venom we fans had for them, and how we forced ownership to rebuild. All the teams in Boston compete with each other for our attention, our TV ratings, and our money. So they all know they must put a competitive product on the field/ice/court, or we'll spend our time and money elsewhere.

It's been a fun century to be a Boston fan. We have owners that want to win. Executives and coaches that know how to put together teams to win. And players that have the ability AND the hunger to win.