Sox Finish Off Royals

So I guess I was a bit of a drama queen in my last post. The Sox bats came alive and scored eight runs in each of the last two games to take two of three from the Royals. They even got to Zack Greinke yesterday. Of course the bullpen nearly blew it again today, but Ramon Ramirez got yanked before he could give up the lead entirely. Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon made up for previous transgressions by making the remainder of the eighth and ninth uneventful.

It was very good to see the new bats make their presences known. Jeremy Hermida and Adrian Beltre had multiple RBI in the series. It was also very good to see that Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell aren't ready for their AARP cards yet. (Although that might not be to far off for Lowell. More later.) 'Tek had two home runs in his first action of the year yesterday. Who knows, he may not hit another one the rest of the year, but it's good for him to get something positive at the plate early. Lowell had a single in four a bats and a couple of nifty defensive plays in Saturday's contest as well.

Though neither may be happy or accustomed to coming off the bench, the extra rest will likely help Varitek or Lowell be all the more productive when they are in the lineup. As I said before, it has been reported that Mike Lowell will probably retire at the end of the year. Can't say that I blame him. He's survived cancer, earned two rings and a World Series MVP. His body is falling apart, and he has young kids at home. At 36, it sounds like pretty good timing to me.

NFL Hyperbolic Statements-Week 9

Ugly uni's inspire a win. From heroes to zeros. A piece of human garbage gets what he deserves. And I have a better chance of playing a 16 game NFL schedule than this guy...

Most Useless Player Ever: Bob Sanders, Colts. Don't get me wrong. I love the way this guy plays. He's a human missile and a real difference maker... on the rare occasion that he's actually on the field. After missing five games with a knee injury, Sanders tore his bicep against the 49ers in the seventh. He's even more useless than the 52nd guy on the team. At least you know he isn't going to play and no one really cares. It's not going to effect anything. When an integral piece like Sanders is in and out, in and out, it creates havoc. I actually think his injuries have been a distraction. The Colts build their defense around him, and his absence seems to effect the Colts D psychologically at times. Sanders games played over the years: 6, 14, 4, 15, 6, 2. In 2007, when he played 15 games, he won Defensive Player of the Year. Shame.

The Universe Finds Balance: Wearing their old orange eyesore uni's in which they once lost 26 straight, the Tampa Bay Bucs broke their seven game losing streak that started this season. I'm sure there's some cosmic significance to this. I just don't know what... yet.

intimidating.

Worst Slide Ever: New York Football Giants (just in case you confused them with the New York Kickball Giants). Once upon a time (30 days ago) the Giants were rolling along, taking care of business and sitting pretty at 5-0. Four games later, they're 5-4, ahead only of the Deadskins in the NFC East. Now they must likely go 5-2 the rest of the way to even consider the playoffs. And what's worse, since the Eagles laid an egg Sunday (rim shot), the #@!* Cowboys are first in the division. Thanks a bunch (superfluous use of parenthesis).

Restoring My Faith In Humanity: Kansas City Chiefs. In a season when everything is wrong, they finally did something right. They cut woman-abusing cretin Larry Johnson. I know in reality Johnson's release is more because of his 2.7 yard average and off-color comments regarding the Chiefs and the fans, but I can't stand any sub-human who would lay his hands on a woman, least of all a 250 pound pro football player. You're a real winner, Larry. I hope you never see a football field again. What's even more satisfying is that the Chiefs cut Johnson just 75 yards short of Priest Holmes' team rushing record.

File This One Under WTF: Sammy Sosa, what the crap is this?!

So Long Jason: The Red Sox declined Jason Varitek's option and it appears that this is the last we've seen of Jason in Boston. It's been a great career for Varitek, which included two rings. He is also the only man to catch four no-hitters. It is time; however, as it is clear that 'Tek's skills have abandoned him. It will be very strange not to see him out there. I wish him all the best.

Sox Succumb to Angels. What now?

So Boston's 2009 season ends without to much of a fight as the Angels unceremoniously dispatch the Sox in three games. Though Beckett and Lester didn't have their A games, they didn't pitch horribly. The real problem was the offense. The Sox hit .158 and scored a mere seven runs in the series, six of which came in the final game. Were these the same Red Sox that finished third in all of baseball in runs? It's hard to believe that this is the same team that started with such a flourish and such lofty hopes. Yes, they won 95 games, but the way things ended, it feels like only 75. The framework will be there for another run in 2010, but there are many questions as Boston heads into the off season.

The first thing that comes to mind is that this is such a potentially undignified way for Jason Varitek's career in Boston to come to an end; without so much as a plate appearance in the post season. His contract contains both player and team options for 2010, but my guess is that Theo will just choose to buy him out and let the captain seek his fortune elsewhere. This, of course, is the right thing for Epstien to do, and it would be the right thing even if Victor Martinez wasn't waiting in the wings. Varitek has become both a liability at the plate and in the field as base runners have consistently turned things into a track meet when Tek catches. If this is the way it ends for Jason in Boston, it's far from ideal, but for athletes, the end seldom is.

My next big concern is Jonathan Papelbon. His meltdown in game three was just the culmination of his struggles this season. Though Paps saved 38 of 41 games, anyone who watched him could see that he was toeing a very thin line all season. He walked more batters than he ever has since becoming the Sox closer (24 compared to an average of 12 the last three seasons) and his WHIP was over 1.100, not very good for a closer. His time of dominance may be coming to an end. It will be interesting to see how the Sox treat him in the off season. Will they avoid arbitration again?

Another big concern in the pitching department is Dice-K. They're stuck with him through 2012 and spent a boat load of money. I will be curious to see if he will develop into a legit ace or if he will join the ranks of Mike Hampton and Carl Pavano in the free-agent-pitching-bust hall of crap. I think next season is a make or break year for him.

Finally, will the Sox retain Jason Bay? The word on the street is that he wants to stay in Boston, but we all know money talks. I would love to see the Sox keep him. He fits in well and adds some much needed pop to the lineup. But I'm not sure if the Sox will want to match what he may command in the open market. What will the cost be? Four, five, six years? $80 million? The fact is that while Bay probably has several very productive years ahead of him he is 31 years old. That could mean production until 38, or he could be washed up by 34. You have to straddle that fence very carefully. He is probably more valuable to the Sox than anyone else. I would be fine with five years $70-$75 million.

At least the Sox have some very important pieces in place. Youkilis and Pedroia are firmly entrenched as leaders and the catalysts of the lineup. Beckett and Lester left little question that they are a formidable two headed monster in the starting rotation. And Clay Buchholz emerged as a solid number three. Ellsbury will remain a menace on the bases. There will continue to be age concerns with Lowell and Big Papi, but hopefully their production will be worth their inevitable time spent on the DL. On paper, the Sox will be contenders again, but one thing I just can't shake is that late season swoon, the seemingly apathetic approach to September baseball. Their biggest mistake was the belief in the fallacy that they could simply turn it on just as the leaves turn in October. The Angels were just hungrier. Complacence is dangerous.

Sox vs. Rangers

Game one was a great comeback that saw the bury the Rangers under an avalanche of runs in the top of the 9th. Boston's hitting in that inning with two out was phenomenal. Boston batted around and scored 6 in the frame, not only completing the comeback but putting the game out of reach.

Game two on the other hand was a travesty. The Rangers stole 8 bases. This also happened earlier in the season. That was the game in which Carl Crawford stole 6 bases on his own. Coincidentally, Brad Penny was the starting pitcher in both games. Ya think he's a little slow to the plate? Last night's game continues a disturbing trend of teams running all over the Red Sox. I for one have always thought that it's actually extremely hard for a catcher, any catcher, to throw out a good base stealer. However, Sox catchers are only throwing out about 10% of runners attempting to steal. Jason Varitek on his own has only caught 9 runners out of 101 attempts!

As I write, the Sox are up 1-0 on Texas. Junichi Tazawa was in big trouble in the first. He was saved by a double play when Dustin Pedroia caught a line drive and threw immediately to first with the runner already far off the first base bag. Right now the difference in the game is a David Ortiz solo shot. Oops, wait. Ian Kinsler just took Tazawa deep. Cripe. Maybe I should watch Discovery Sunday instead.

Red Sox Season Review

The season ended with some disappointment after Boston's comeback in the ALCS fell short. If I'm honest with myself, I can say that the Sox had no business getting the series to a Game 7 after being so thoroughly dominated by the Rays in the first part of the series. At least the final game at Fenway for the year was thrilling win with some historical significance. The last image the fans got on the field was of the Red Sox celebrating.

This is a very good team. In spite of the injuries, losing Manny, and the inconsistent pitching down the stretch, the Red Sox still won 95 games in the toughest division in baseball. As Dennis said in his comment on the previous post, it's only going to get tougher. While those youngsters are still ineligible for free agency, the Rays are stacked.

The Red Sox need only make minor adjustments in the offseason. They will shuffle around the bullpen in search of that magic middle reliever that doesn't really exist (all teams do that). I'm not certain if they will agressively go after any big name free agents, namely Mark Teixeira. They will test the waters though. I don't believe that they are going to break the bank for CC Sabathia, but they will try to bolster the starting pitching. Clay Buchholtz is still a question mark, and Jon Lester, while he had a great season, pitched more innings than he ever has by far. He may slide back a little bit next season. I wonder if their just going to keep picking up that $4 million option on Wakefield until he drops dead.

The biggest question and the question no one wants to ask is, what are they going to do with Jason Varitek? His value to the Red Sox is well documented. I'm sure he would love to retire in Boston. However, his production at the plate has gone from a nice bonus, to passable, to a down right liability. He is swinging like a rusty gate these days. Is Kevin Cash the answer? I don't know. The thing is, if they get rid of Varitek, who will they get instead? All catchers are pretty much the same: 0.250 Avg., 0.310 OBP, 10 HRs if you're lucky. That is unless you're Joe Mauer.

Overall, I see good things for the Sox next season. They will need a little luck and need to stay away from injuries to make another World Series run. It will be an intriguing offseason. I almost can't wait for April.

Note: After the World Series is over, look for our weekly football columns. Joe will continue to make his picks, Peter will be writing about the top performers each week, and I will put together the most accurate power rankings you've ever seen. The interdivisional rivalries get more intense as we argue about Joe's Giants, Pete's Eagles, and my Redskins.