What’s really frustrating is…

It shouldn’t be this hard. Clearly the 2010 Red Sox set up as a dominant team. They’ve been missing their leadoff hitter all season. Their number 2 and three hitters have joined him on the sidelines since the all-star break. Even with that, they’d be within two games of every division leader except their own. Missing those three guys, they’ve basically stayed status quo in their division for the last couple months. Add in those three? I don’t even want to know. Instead of working for a playoff spot, it certainly would be easier. Add in those three guys to last weekend’s Tampa series? Or any of the previous series? With Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Youkilis, do the Red Sox get four more wins in the last two months? One more win every two weeks? Four more wins would put them a mere three games back, even in the AL East. Instead, they head into the last month with a much smaller margin of error. If a couple of those four had been against the co-leaders, it’s even closer. So, the Sox have their work cut out for them. It just should have been easier.

The soon to come bombardment of “I told you so” is also frustrating. “I told you they were done in April.” “I told you they fell too far back.” “I told you!” They’ll ignore that the Sox were a half game back at the break (or so). They’ll ignore that the insurmountable April deficit was, in fact, erased. It’ll be easy for them.

And it’s frustrating.

Wantlist: 1997

1997 BOWMAN RED SOX
19 John Valentin
43 Mike Stanley
105 Brian Rose
219 Chris Reitsma RC
417 Cole Liniak RC
422 John Barnes RC

1997 Bowman Chrome RED SOX
15 John Valentin
93 Mo Vaughn
125 Brian Rose
148 Donnie Sadler
159 Carl Pavano
196 Chris Reitsma
208 Jeff Suppan
268 Josh Garrett
277 Cole Liniak
282 John Barnes

1997 BOWMAN BEST
7 Mo Vaughn
37 John Valentin
120 Carl Pavano
144 Brian Rose
159 Jeff Suppan
193 Donnie Sadler

1997 FINEST
101 Jose Canseco - Silver
134 Mike Stanley - Silver
153 Mo Vaughn - Gold
228 Heathcliff Slocumb - Bronze
251 John Valentin - Bronze
267 Tim Naehring - Bronze
302 John Wasdin - Silver
311 Mo Vaughn - Silver

1997 Stadium Club RED SOX
63 Mike Greenwell
165 Mike Stanley
168 Troy O'Leary
177 Aaron Sele
188 N.Garciaparra 2000 SP

1997 Topps Chrome RED SOX
51 John Valentin
126 Roger Clemens
159 Mo Vaughn

1997 Topps GalleryRED SOX
6 Mike Stanley
8 Jose Canseco
41 Roger Clemens
128 John Valentin
151 Nomar Garciaparra

1997 TOPPS STARS
27 Mo Vaughn
93 Nomar Garciaparra
109 Carl Pavano

Red Sox A-Z: T (not S) is for…

Ted Williams.

Obviously, Ted had to be mentioned in this list somewhere, right? As the greatest player in Red Sox history, he comes to mind whenever you talk about the Sox.

As you might have guessed, my personal memories of Ted Williams are fairly limited. I’m much too young to have ever seen him play the game. By the time I noticed him, he was an elder statesman of the game. There were articles of him advising young players in Red Sox camp, or talking hitting with Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn. The one time I was in the same park as Williams was the 1999 All Star game.
Before the game, I was sitting in my seats watching the pregame activity when someone told me to grab my camera. He said the area under the centerfield bleachers was “full” of legends. I didn’t realize it at the time, but MLB was planning on unveiling the All-Century Players during the pregame ceremony. Apparently, some of the stars came into view every once in a while. So, I grabbed my camera and joined the throng at the fence under the stands. When I got there, Reggie Jackson was wandering around a bit. At that point, there were mumblings that Ted Williams would be arriving shortly. I wasn’t about to miss that. So, I hung around in the middle of the crowd for a bit. Finally, they brought Ted in from his car. He was in the golf cart he would later use during his entrance to the ceremony. My contact with Ted was limited to watching him zoom by as I reached my camera up to try and catch a picture. Thankfully, the white cap he wore that night makes it easier to spot him.

I shouldn’t need to mention the rest of the ceremony. The greatest collection of talent ever assembled lined the baselines as they were introduced one by one. Finally, they brought out Ted Williams to a monster ovation. It was chilling. We just stood applauding until our hands hurt. Simply amazing!

T is for Ted Williams.

He Scored: August 12, 2010

Not long ago, Jim of The Phillies Room posted a scorecard he kept while at a Phillies game. I thought it would be a great opportunity to look at how other people keep score. Don’t worry…I already commented on his biggest mistake: not using the correct scorecard. Here’s his card:

Naturally, Jim keeps score a bit differently than I do. But, that’s great. I didn’t see this game. (Why would I watch a Phillies-Dodgers game?) So, there’s only one thing I need from the scorecard. Can I figure out what happened during the game? Do I know what all the markings mean? Let’s try the first inning. Rollins lead off by popping up to the first baseman. Ibanez lined out to the center fielder. (I’ve always wondered where the cutoff was between L8 and F8) Polanco singled, and went to third when Sweeney also singled. A little first to third baserunning by Polanco. Jayson Werth then ended the inning by lining out to center. The diagonal slash, meaning the inning was over. So, it looks like a good system to me. I like the way Jim signals a run by putting the batting position of the guy who drove in the runner in the diamond. It made it easy to see that the #7 guy (Ruiz) had a big game. (I don’t like that the scorecard didn’t number the batting positions. It took me a little too long to figure out that the number seven guy was Ruiz.) I also notice that Jim has more experience scoring an NL game than I do. In the pitcher’s spot, he left all the scores in the first row. The only two times I’ve scored in an NL park, I had the score in the row of the batter. It made the scoring look a little choppy as player after player was inserted the line-up without stepping to the plate.

What in the world happened in the ninth inning? The Phillies apparently won the game by scoring four runs on a hit batter, walk, walk, error, and double. Are you kidding me?

After looking over the scorecard, I can only find a couple questions. I’m not sure what the “22” is next to the first inning. Also a few batters, Polanco especially, seem to have a “54” or “S4” in their box. Ruiz looks to have a “74” in the eighth. I can’t decide what those are for. Are they pitching changes? (A little help Jim?) Overall, a great scorecard. I thank Jim for sharing it with us. I'd invite anyone else who has a completed scorecard to scan it and send it along to me. It would be fun to check out and compare. And don't worry, I don't have to have seen the game. After all...

The scorecard shows how it happened.

Did the Red Sox Just Sacrifice Tim Wakefield?

I was pretty excited going into last night. Despite the rainout, the marquee match-up had been preserved. Jon Lester was squaring off against Felix Hernandez. So, I was on my computer, and just checked in to see how the game had started. I see it’s Tim Wakefield on the mound, and my heart sank. This could not be good news. Had Lester already been shelled? Again? Was he a late scratch? I couldn’t decide which was worse. I scoured around looking for the answer, and was immediately puzzled. Lester was fine. It was Dice-K that was hurt. So, they had moved Lester into Dice’s spot, and pitched Wakefield in Lester’s place. Why do all that shuffling? Why not leave Lester in the spot he expected to be in, and let Wake go Friday? My guess is Felix Hernandez was the reason.

Some people point to the thought of saving Lester for the Rays. After all, the Rays game is more important that the Mariners. That’s not really true. If Lester won last night, and Wake loses Friday, it would have been no different in the standings. After all, Tampa had already lost yesterday. So, saving Lester for Tampa didn’t do anything. Daisuke was bypassed, and that might be a good thing, I admit. Going into Tampa, I’m more excited with Lester-Buchholz-Lackey than I was with Matsuzaka leading the charge. But, replacing Dice directly with Wake wouldn’t have changed things. And, Wake wouldn’t have been rushed into a start. I think the Red Sox were conceding last night’s game to King Felix. I’m sure they didn’t feel like wasting a Lester start on a game they weren’t going to win anyway. Even Lester needs a run or two to win a game. That actually makes sense. It’s a move I always wondered why teams didn’t do more.

I always thought of it during playoff series when the Sox had Pedro. Take 1999, for instance. The Sox were in the playoffs thanks to a rotation of Pedro…and four other guys. If I’m the Indians, and my rotation is Bartolo Colon and four other guys…is there merit in not pitching Colon in game 1? He’s not going to win anyway, so why waste him? Save him, and pitch him in game two against Saberhagen? (I know. Not the best example since Pedro was hurt in that game 1, but you get the idea.) So, if you’re Francona last night, you know the Rays lost. The damage is controlled. The worst that can happen is you only pick up half a game. So, why waste Lester? Throw Wakefield to the wolves, and hope you get lucky. In this case, it also lines up your best going down to Tampa. Pretty much a win-win. Hopefully the Sox score more than two runs on Friday, and make the move work out.

After all, the Sox need wins in the Tampa series.