R.I.P. Johnny Pesky

Johnny Pesky described himself once: "I wasn’t a great player. I was a decent player. I knew the game, I’d like to think. I know I had a lot of fun."

He wasn't an earth-shatteringly great player. He only managed to stay in the Majors for 10 seasons (although he missed 3 due to military service in World War II). He was a career .307 hitter with an impressive .394 career OBP, but most of his success came early in his Major League tenure.

He didn't have much power (his career high in HR was 3, and he had 17 career homeruns). He only made one All-Star Game. And it's likely that his good numbers were due significantly to hitting in front of Ted Williams.

And that doesn't matter. Pesky was much more than a player.

Johnny Pesky was a 92 year old baseball lifer who spent over 6 decades working for the Red Sox. He was a player, a manager, a coach, an instructor, an executive, and a living symbol; a personification of this team's history.

He passed away at the age of 92 yesterday. The Red Sox will wear black armbands for the remainder of the season to honor him.

I'm glad he was able to participate in Fenway Park's 100th Anniversary celebration.

Baseball was Pesky's life and livelihood. I wish more players on this current edition of the Red Sox cared about the game as much as players like he did.

And hopefully the soulless marketing mavens on Yawkey Way won't turn Mr. Pesky's death into an opportunity to cash in.

David Ortiz Sums Up the Red Sox Attitude Problems

Talking about the progress of his Achilles injury, David Ortiz had this to say:

"If you go back and play sore, of course (it could tear) because it's not just healing, it's not ready. And I don't want to run that risk either. I'm a free agent after this year, and I don't want to have to go into surgery as a free agent. So it's, 'Let it heal and play when you're ready.'"

David Ortiz is more concerned with his free agency than with winning in 2012. Josh Beckett is counting his days off. Bobby Valentine is announcing beer bans that don't really exist. John Lackey is following this team around leaving a trail of Bud Light cans strewn behind him. Dustin Pedroia still acts Terry Francona is the manager.

Everyone on this team, except for some of the young guys, and some of the role players, is not likable. Some are downright despicable.

David Ortiz talking about his injury and how he doesn't want to hurt his 2013 free agency? I'm all for playing when you feel ready to play, but citing contract status as a reason to not play? Would he risk injury if the Sox extended his deal? If so, then he's just a selfish d-bag.

Winning simply is not the #1 goal for many people on this team. That's the problem. It's not bad chemistry, or lack of discipline, or poor character. Almost everyone on this team has individualistic goals, and very few on this team consider winning to be the top priority.

More Good News and Bad News for Red Sox

The good news is the Red Sox beat the Indians twice. The bad news is they lost to the Indians twice. The good news is that Jon Lester is no longer a problem. The bad news is that Will Middlebrooks is probably out for the season.

The Red Sox are a remarkable example of harmony and balance. I'm starting to believe in Eastern philosophies based on how fortune evens out for this team. Every good player is countered by a bad one. Every return from injury is countered by a fresh malady.

I'll start on a positive note with Jon Lester. A few weeks ago I never wanted to see him pitch for the Red Sox again. But he's turned it around without any fanfare or significant difficulty. He hit rock bottom and bounced right back.

Since July 22nd when he gave up 11 runs in 4.1 innings, he's made 4 very decent starts. He's 1-2 in that stretch, but he's given the Sox a chance to win each night.

Did you know the Red Sox have scored the 2nd most runs in baseball? They've scored more than the Yankees and only 5 fewer total runs than Texas. But it comes in lumps, not as a steady stream. This 4 game series, for instance, the Sox scored 22 runs. 14 in one game, and 8 in the other three.

The inconsistency of the Sox offense is forgivable considering the daily incompleteness of the lineup. No Ortiz and no Middlebrooks is a significant drain on run production. It's like a V8 engine with only 6 cylinders working.

So forgive the offense for their inconsistency, but starting pitching is what wins. And loses. Neither Beckett, Buchholz, or Lester has had a full season they should be proud of. Lester has improved, and Buchholz has come on strong. As a whole, though, these three guys have disappointed.

The Sox have today off, then start an important 3 game series in Baltimore. The Orioles are 6 games in the loss column ahead of the Sox for a Wild Card spot. Hard to believe this is August, and the Sox are that far behind the O's.

This is a chance to cut into that lead. 5-9 Josh Beckett faces 10-7 Wei-Yin Chen. I did not expect to be writing that sentence ever.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

50 Games Left for Red Sox

Is it me or has this season seemed much longer than 112 games? Every week feels like a month, every month like half a season.

With 50 games left the Red Sox are only 6 games in the loss column out of the Wild Card. That deficit isn't insurmountable, certainly not given the time the Sox have to close the gap. Even if there are 3 teams the Sox need to leapfrog over while closing that gap.

To use a brutally overused sports cliche, the Sox control their own destiny. Especially since 30 of the 50 games on their remaining schedule are against other teams vying for the AL Wild Card spots.

They play the Athletics 3 times, the Angels 6 times, 9 pivotal games against the Orioles, 6 with the Rays, and 6 against the Blue Jays. If they do well in these 30 games, especially the 9 against Baltimore, then they should make the playoffs.

It's a mixed blessing to face these opponents as it means that the Red Sox will spend most of their last 50 games playing good teams. Apart from these 30 games against Wild Card contenders, they'll play the Yankees 9 times. The only "breaks" for the Sox will be this 4 game series in Cleveland, 4 games against the Royals, and 3 games in Seattle.

I hate the phrase "control their own destiny" so I'll try another way to describe the position the Sox are in: They're responsible. It's on them to beat these Wild Card contenders. They'll have no one to blame but themselves if they fail to beat them.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Beckett: The Worst of What Red Sox Do Worst

Whatever clubhouse problems Josh Beckett may or may not be a part of, the simple on the field facts are that he has undeniably and unequivocally sucked this season. Yesterday afternoon he gave the Sox 5 innings, 8 hits, 8 earned runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 3 homeruns. And that ERA of his is once again flirting with 5.00 (4.97 to be exact).

Among starting pitchers that have enough innings to qualify, he is 86th in ERA. Only 12 starters have worse ERAs.

How long does this guy continue to get the ball? How long until he has a roster spot? How many pitchers out there can give the Sox what Beckett gives them, only for less money, and with less drama?

This loss typifies the Sox season. One part of the team did very well (the offense), but their efforts were sabotaged by other parts of the team (Beckett and the bullpen).

Adrian Gonzalez hit 3 doubles, each time knocking in a run. Cody Ross hit a homerun and knocked in 2. Will Middlebrooks hit a 3 run homer. 9 runs should be enough to win.

But Beckett dug a huge hole for his teammates. And when they were finally clawing their way out of that hole, the bullpen dug it deeper. Clayton Mortensen didn't do his job. Then Alfredo Aceves allowed a sacrifice fly that gave the Rangers the lead. He nearly allowed a 2 run homer after that.

Aceves wasn't meant to be the closer on this team. But they let a pretty good one go. Then they signed one who has a history of injuries. And he got injured.

There are good pieces on this team. And there are bad ones. The bad pieces counter the good pieces and the result is a .500 team. It's like running a faucet on full hot and full cold. The result is a tepid stream of mediumness.

It's only August, but looking forward to the 2012-13 off-season I'd prefer that the Red Sox focus on removing the bad pieces that infest this team, as opposed to adding more good pieces. This team is sick. The top priority should be to get rid of the viruses, the bacteria, and all that ails this team. Then the good pieces can be healthy and thrive.

The Sox are in Cleveland for 4 games. The Indians aren't a good team, and the Sox need wins. This is an opportunity for them to win. Although we've seen them fail to take advantage of such opportunities.

Felix Doubront faces 8-11 Ubaldo Jimenez, who had a good June, but has struggled the rest of the 2012 season.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Return to Reality

Jon Lester is 5-10. That's simply shocking. He's never lost 10 games in a season before. And he's managed to reach 15 wins every year since he became a full-time starter. He'll be hard pressed to reach that mark with only 51 games left on the schedule.

Lester wasn't bad. He was excellent the first time through the lineup. The Rangers eventually got to him. He was charged with 4 earned runs in 6.2 innings. But 1 of those runs was scored with Mark Melancon on the mound. He was good enough, but his teammates weren't.

Speaking of the bullpen, they've been very shabby lately. As a unit they started the season poorly, then settled into a groove of dependability, and now they're back to being a problem. Had Melancon done his job, and Junichi Tazawa done his job, this game could have been a 3-3 tie that went to extra innings.

Instead, the bullpen allowed the Rangers to build some insurance.

Meanwhile, the only scoring the Sox could manage came thanks to Will Middlebrooks and his pinch hit 3 run homer. I'm sure Bobby Valentine will take credit for that one.

Apart from that Ryan Dempster shut the Sox lineup down. Carl Crawford helped by getting picked off.

The Sox were mad at the umpiring, and maybe justifiably so. But the Sox take umpire-baiting to a new level. Jon Lester gets upset with about two calls per inning, and shows it with feminine snaps of the glove and passive aggressive behavior. And none of the Sox hitters are shy about lingering in the batter's box after striking out and expressing their opinion.

Maybe the umpires are sick of the Sox' whining. I know I am. Maybe the umps make unfavorable calls because the Red Sox irritate them.

I can't blame them.

Josh Beckett takes the mound for the Sox tonight. This is a chance for him to do what he's paid to do. He hasn't made a Quality Start since July 15th and the Sox could really use one.

Once again, Beckett is up against a good opposing pitcher. Matt Harrison is 13-6 with a 3.17 ERA. He's a lefty and Carl Crawford is the only active member of the Sox to have had much success against him.

The Sox will struggle to score off this guy, so Beckett needs to pitch as well as he's capable of pitching.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Thank God It's Football Season

I don't think I've ever been more excited for a football season to start. The cause of my anticipation goes beyond how well the Patriots' off-season went and my eagerness to see them attempt to win Super Bowl #4. With the Bruins' early Stanley Cup exit, the Red Sox being a .500 team, and the sheer boredom that is the Summer Olympics, I welcome the 2012 NFL and college football seasons like a starving man welcomes a steak dinner.

I'm tired of Tim Thomas talk, I'm sick of stories about the Sox' clubhouse issues, I'm fed up with an event that considers badminton a sport but not baseball.

It's fucking football time.

The Patriots are playing the Saints Thursday night and are holding joint practices with them at Training Camp this week. The NFL starts playing real games in less than a month (September 5th, Cowboys vs. Giants), College football starts even sooner (Go OU!) than that (August 30th).

Finally, Bobby Valentine and Ben Cherington will be secondary characters in the part of my brain focused on sports. I'll divert my attention to Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Vince Wilfork, and the rest of the Patriots. I'll laugh at the Jets, shuffle my fantasy football roster, argue about the BCS, and do all the things that make football fun the entire week long.

Welcome back, football. We missed you.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Steven Senne

Red Sox Can't Beat Twins, Can Beat Rangers

If you could explain why the Red Sox can beat the Rangers with apparent ease, yet fall to the lowly Twins with regularity, you could probably win a Nobel Prize for psychology or a Field's Medal for mathematics. Or both.

Aaron Cook did a great job to limit the Rangers to 6 hits and a run in 7 innings. And the offense took advantage of Yu Darvish's frequently hanging pitches to put a few crooked numbers up on the board.

I don't think there's any magic or mystery to the Sox' inconsistency. Last night was a rare example of the offense, the starting pitching, and the bullpen all doing their job. That's happened maybe 10 times this season. No more. Most of the time one element of the team undermines the other. And the end result is a 50/50 chance in winning a game.

This team is one strong winning streak away from claiming a Wild Card spot. And one losing streak away from being out of the race.

It seems weird to me that in Boston the perceived value of a Wild Card has increased, while the actual value of it has significantly decreased.

A Wild Card used to get you the 4th seed in the playoffs. Now it grants you access to the one-and-done play-in game. And if you win that, then you're the 4th seed in the playoffs. So the value of a Wild Card has diminished significantly, but as a goal for Red Sox fans/owners, it has risen in prominence.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo