I know a lot of people out there are numbers people and I will admit that I am too. I started looking at the final numbers for the Red Sox and as a team and I have to admit that some of the numbers are quite impressive.

If you look at the team numbers, most of the hitting numbers are in the upper half of the American League. The pitching numbers are right at the top of the American League and MLB.

• Final record: 96-66 (tied with Cleveland for best record in AL and MLB)
• Runs scored: 867 (3^rd in AL, 4^th in MLB)
• RBI: 829 (3^rd in AL, 4^th in MLB)
• Home Runs: 166 (8^th in AL, 18^th in MLB)
• Batting Average: .279 (5^th in AL, 6^th in MLB)
• Slugging percentage: .444 (3^rd in AL, 6^th in MLB)
• Stolen bases: 96 (7^th in AL, 15^th in MLB)
• Pitching cumulative ERA: 3.87 (1^st in AL, 2^nd in MLB)
• Cumulative WHIP: 1.27 (1^st in AL, 2^nd in MLB)
• Strikeouts by pitchers: 1,149 (3^rd in AL, 6^th in MLB)

Continue reading →

Two members of the Red Sox picked up some hardware from MLB on Monday. David “Big Papi” Ortiz was named Sharps Presents the American League Player of the Month for September and Jacoby Ellsbury was named American League Rookie of the Month for September.

During the month of September, Big Papi was 36 for 91 (.396) with 9 home runs and 27 RBIs and 26 runs scored. 21 of his 36 hits were of the extra base variety. He also led the American League in slugging percentage (.824) for the month.

Ellsbury was 35 of 97 (.361) with 3 homers and 17 RBIs. He also added 8 stolen bases while hitting safely in 23 of those 26 games. Ellsbury will have more chances to win this award again next year as he will maintain his rookie eligibility.

Congratulations to both Big Papi and Ellsbury. Good luck in the playoffs and let’s go Red Sox!!! 

American League Division Series:

vs

Wednesday October 3^rd, 6:37 PM on TBS

John Lackey vs Josh Beckett

Friday October 5^th, 8:37 PM on TBS

Kelvim Escobar vs Daisuke Matsuzaka

Sunday October 7^th, 3:07 PM on TBS/TNT

Curt Schilling vs Jered Weaver

*Monday October 8^th, 9:37 PM on TBS

Josh Beckett vs John Lackey

*Wednesday October 10^th, 8:37 PM on TBS

Daisuke Matsuzaka vs Kelvim Escobar

* If necessary.

Ted Robinson and Steve Stone will have the call on TBS.

The Sox finished the sixth month of the season 16-11 for an overall record of 96-66 .592 they finished tied with Cleveland for the best record in baseball and won the American League East title by 2 games over the New York Yankees. It is the first division crown for Boston since 1995 when the team was lead by Mo Vaughn, Mike Greenwell, Jose Canseco and Roger Clemens. The month started at home with the Orioles (2-0) in a series that featured Clay Buchholz no-hitter. They then took on Toronto (2-1) before going on the road for four in Baltimore (3-1). The headed back home to face the Rays (2-1) and Yankees (1-2) before going on the last road trip of the season. That featured stops in Toronto (0-3) and Tampa Bay (2-1) where they clinched a playoff berth. Then it was back to Fenway to close out the season and try for a division title. They swept Oakland (2-0) and split with Minnesota (2-2) to close out the year. The Sox were 11-6 at home and 5-5 on the road in season’s final month.

Now it’s time to look at the season as a whole and issue my final grades. I am issuing the final grades now because I don’t think it’s totally fair to base the entire body of work on (up to) three weeks of playoff baseball.

The Front Office: This includes ownership (John Henry, Tom “TV Boy” Werner, Larry “Double L” Lucchino), the general manager, Theo Epstein and his baseball operations staff. Overall I think they had a successful year. They won a division title, had what appears to be a good draft and had past draftees not only come in and play but make large contributions during the year and possibly have the AL ROY in Dustin Pedroia. They seemed to make the right moves when they needed to and corrected earlier errors. Knowing how good the team was they went out and at the trade deadline made a big deal for a pitcher but fell short on a bat. Final Grade B+

Manager Terry Francona: Tito becomes the first Boston manager to get the Sox to the post season three times. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again he’s the best manager I have seen in a Red Sox uniform. Some chooch in his blog actually asks if Tito should be fired and compares him to other past Sox skippers who had success and were let go. He compares his to Kevin Kennedy, Grady Little, Jimy Williams and Joe Kerrigan. After I got done laughing I found something different to read. I refuse to list the link here because quite frankly his blog doesn’t deserve the hits. Final Grade: A-

Starting Nine:

Short Stop Julio Lugo: Didn’t turn out to be the lead off threat they had hoped. Only hit .237 but had 8 HR’s and 73 RBI also contributed a team leading 33 stolen bases. Not nearly the fielder of Alex Gonzalez or even Orlando Cabrera or Nomar Garciaparra. Makes you wonder if they feel he’s their shortstop for the long term as he has three more years left on the contract he signed last off season. With Alex Rodriguez available, and presumably wanting to play short, and draftee Jed Lowrie flying through the systems farm chain there are other options. Final Grade: D+

First Baseman Kevin Youkilis: He dropped off offensively as the year went on and his strikeouts increased also. Defensively though he was a gem not committing an error at first base all season. He had three and those all came at third base. Good OBP guy but they need to find a line up spot for him. Is he your #2 hitter or the #6 guy? Overall he gets better each year and I think next year he grows and improves as he has since he got here in 2004. Final Grade: B-

Designated Hitter David Ortiz: This guy just amazes me. Even hurt he goes out and performs. He didn’t have the HR number he had in 2006, when he hit a team record 54, but he had 117 RBI and the hit .332 plus he had 52 doubles, 1 memorable triple and once again when the team needed him most he came through with multi-hit games down the stretch. Final Grade: A

Left Fielder Manny Ramirez: Not your regular Manny year offense wise. He had some of his lowest HR and RBI totals in 10 years. Missed nearly a month with a strained oblique in his side. It was the same injury a few years ago that kept Trot Nixon out a long-time. Once again surprises many with his outfield assists and his “Manny being Manny” little boy charm. 2008 is the final year of his contract (there are two option years for what is now cheap money) so it will be interesting to see how that goes. Does Manny want to stay or go? Do the Sox want him to stay or go? Next year will be interesting. The team needs Manny to hit like he did in the last week during the post season. Final Grade: B-

Right Fielder J.D. Drew: J.D. ‘effin’” Drew. Where do you start with this guy? Is he the guy who started and finished on fire? Or is he the guy who struggled from May to September? No one, not even Julio Lugo or Eric Gagne, frustrated diehard fans more than Drew. He has all five tools and can be spectacular at times but he rarely shows it. ESPN’s Bill Simmons joked about writing a new book and calling it “Just Looking: J.D. Drew’s Top 100 Strikeouts”. Even after September I am not sold on him especially at $14 million a year for 5 years. Final Grade: D-

Third Baseman Mike Lowell: He is my choice, along with many others, for team MVP. Had a great season hitting .324 with 21 HRs and 120 RBI. When Manny went down in late August he went into the 4th slot and performed. His defense also came back in the second half after a rough first half. Free agent after the season someone is going to pay him let’s hope it’s the Red Sox. Final Grade: A

Catcher/team captain Jason Varitek: Hit 5 HR’s in September and came up when the team needed him. Handles the pitching staff exceptionally well and earns every penny he is paid. Finished at .255 17 HR’s and 68 RBI. Final Grade: B

Center Fielder Coco Crisp: After an awful start he really came around. He didn’t get to where he is expected to be but made a nice recovery. Defensively he is a human highlight reel. Stole 28 bases too. With the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Coco and Drew. Final Grade: B-

Second Baseman Dustin Pedroia: If this guy isn’t the AL ROY he got robbed. Started awful and had fans calling for Alex Cora to play instead of him but management hung with him and they were rewarded with a great season. He made only 6 errors all year and set a major league record for rookie second baseman when he hit .3173 breaking the old record of .3171. Added 39 doubles, 8 HR’s and 50 RBI.

Continue reading →

The Red Sox finished up the regular season with a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins yesterday. The game didn’t really matter in the standings all though it would have been nice to head into the playoffs with a win. The Red Sox will take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS, starting Wednesday. The game time hasn’t been announced yet nor has the pitching rotations. It does look like it will be Josh Beckett vs John Lackey in Game 1 though. Once the times are announced, I’ll be sure to post them. The Sox will have an optional workout today and a full-team workout on Tuesday. So while Theo Epstein and the Sox coaching staff is making roster decisions, let’s take a look at the headlines from the Boston area and Twin Cities media on this “Rally Monday” in Red Sox Nation.

Ortiz has bounce in his step [Boston Globe]

Out on a winning note, hoping for a better day [Star Tribune]

In Sox’ opinion, eight’s great [Boston Herald]

Hunter, Twins close with win [Pioneer Press]

Pedroia is second to none [Pro Jo]

Ortiz, Red Sox Seem To Be In Good Shape [Hartford Courant]

Timely hits send Hunter and White out in style [Star Tribune]

Ballclub’s mentally tough [Boston Herald]

Bull session proved very productive [Boston Globe]

Season over; talk isn’t [Pioneer Press]

Cash looks like odd man in for the Sox in ALDS [Pro Jo]

For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, Star Tribune, and Pioneer Press websites.

The Red Sox took a lot of pride in having the best record in the AL.

The Braves coaching staff will return in 2008.

The Blue Jays announced their coaching changes for next season.

Mets fans booed Jose Reyes in yesterday’s crushing loss.

Devil Rays OF Delmon Young and his manager, Joe Maddon, kissed and made up after Young’s tirade on Saturday.

Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo appealed his 5-game suspension stemming from Saturday’s benches clearing incident.

The Orioles announced their coaching changes for 2008.

Nationals catcher Brian Schneider struggled at the plate all season.

A collective awakening by the Yankees propelled them into the postseason.

The Phillies won their first NL East title since 1993.

Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky (real name: John Michael Paveskovich) turns 88 today. I’ve met Johnny a few times and he is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever want to meet.

Pesky played in the major leagues from 1942 to 1954 with the Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators as a shortstop and third baseman. He missed all of the 1943, 1944 and 1945 seasons while serving his country in World War II.

Pesky was close with teammates and lifelong friends Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Dom DiMaggio, so close that David Halberstam wrote the book “The Teammates” about them. Pesky is one of a handful of people to have a piece of Fenway Park named after him. The rightfield foul pole is “Pesky’s Pole” so dubbed by pitcher Mel Parnell after Pesky hit a game winning home run in 1948 that wrapped around the pole. It was one of his 17 career home runs only 6 of which came at Fenway Park.

Pesky has been affiliated with the Red Sox for 56 of his 68 years in baseball serving as a player, coach, manager, minor league manager, instructor, broadcaster and ambassador. But it is today’s players who still embrace Pesky with great fondness. From Tim Wakefield, Curt Schilling and David Ortiz to rookie Dustin Pedroia they all love Johnny.

It is widely rumored that the Red Sox plan on retiring his Number 6 although he does not meet the current requirements by the team for the honor. Pesky is already a member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame.

In 10 major league seasons he hit .307 with 17 HRs and 404 RBI he had 1455 hits and a .966 career fielding percentage.

Led by Mike Lowell’s 3 hits and 5 RBI as well as 3 hit nights from Dustin Pedroia, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz the Boston Red Sox handed the Oakland A’s an 11-6 loss at Fenway Park Wednesday night. The win moves them one game closer to clinching the American East Division title for the first time since 1995.

Red Sox lefty Jon Lester looked really good early on cruising through the first two innings allowing just a double to Daric Barton and a single to Mark Ellis while striking out five on 28 pitches.

For as solid as he was in the first two frames he got a bit rattled in the third as Oakland jumped on the scoreboard first courtesy of a hit, an error, a walk and a sacrifice fly. After striking out Jack Hannahan for his sixth whiff of the night, Donnie Murphy singled to left, Shannon Stewart who struck out his first time hit a one hopper back to Lester. What looked like a sure fire double play to end the inning turned into a bounced throw to second and a tag on Murphy by Julio Lugo that was missed by umpire Gary Darling. Barton walked to load the bases and Nick Swisher flew out to Jacoby Ellsbury in center to bring home Murphy with the A’s run. Lester then got Mike Piazza to ground out to end the inning.

The Sox steamed back in the bottom of the third with a combination of hits, a sacrifice fly and 3 walks by Joe Blanton who had only walked 37 the entire season prior to tonight. Pedroia led off with a walk, Ramirez singled to right, Ortiz drew the second free pass of the inning and Lowell singled to right to score Pedroia and Ramirez and it was 2-1 Boston. The two RBI by Lowell gave him 113 on the season a new record for a Red Sox third baseman breaking the old mark of 112 set by Butch Hobson in 1977. JD Drew’s sacrifice fly to center field scored Ortiz and it was 3-1 Sox. Blanton then struck out Kevin Youkilis, walked Jason Varitek and then struck out Ellsbury to end the threat and leave two runners on.

Lester started the 4^th inning with a pair of strikeouts of Jack Cust and Ellis to give him a season high of 8. Then he walked Kurt Suzuki, Hannahan singled and then Murphy hit a ball over everything in left for a 3 run home run his 6^th of the year and like that it was 4-1 Oakland. Steward singled but Barton flew out to Ellsbury to end the inning.

The Sox came right back in their half with one out Pedroia doubled to left, Ramirez got his third single of the night to drive in Pedroia and the game was tied 4-4. Ortiz singled to right to send Ramirez to third and Blanton was in trouble again. Lowell looped a single over the infield for his 3^rd RBI of the night scoring Ramirez and the Sox led 5-4. Lowell actually drew a throw from Ellis and hit the bag odd and was limping. After the staff looked at him he stayed in the game and ended up being forced at second when Drew hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Piazza tied the game 5-5 with a solo home run into the Monster Seats in left in the fifth with one out. It was his 8^th of the year and the second Lester had given up in the game. Cust then walked and that was the end of Lester’s evening. Just when it looked like Lester was going to have a very good outing and be a major consideration for the post-season roster he imploded. Lester yielded 5 runs, all earned, 7 hits, 3 walks and struck out nine in 4.1 innings. Kyle Snyder came on to replace him and Ellis greeted him with his second hit of the night a single to left to out two men on. Snyder got a pair of fly outs by Suzuki and Hannahan to end the inning and keep the game tied.

The Sox broke it open in the 6^th off of reliever Terry Blevins. Pedroia led off with his 8^th home run to give the Red Sox a 6-5 lead. Ramirez walked and was run for by Brandon Moss. Ortiz doubled off the left field scoreboard and they would both score on Lowell’s 2 RBI single, his 4^th and 5^th RBI of the night, off the wall to give Boston an 8-5 lead. Drew then hit a long fly to center field that was misplayed by Swisher to put runners on 2^nd and 3^rd still with no one out. That chased Blevins (0-1) for Ruddy Lugo who promptly walked Youkilis to load the bases. Lugo then whiffed Varitek, buy yielded the Sox 9^th run on an Ellsbury ground out then ended the inning by getting his brother to fly out to center.

The Sox worked their way through the 6^th by mixing and matching Snyder with Javier Lopez and Mike Timlin, Timlin (2-1) stayed on and worked a scoreless 7^th as well.

The Sox added another pair in the bottom of the 7^th. Pedroia got his 3^rd hit of the night and 2^nd double, Moss drove him home with a RBI single to make it 10-5 Red Sox. Ortiz doubled off the wall again, it was his third hit of the night but he tweaked his knee and was pinch run for by Royce Clayton. Lowell bounced out to a drawn in Murphy at short holding the runners. Drew was intentionally walked to load the bases and Eric Hinske, pinch hitting for Youkilis struck out but a wild pitch by Andrew Brown allowed Hinske to get to first and Moss to score to give the Sox an 11-5 lead.

Eric Gagne came on and worked the 8^th giving up a pair of singles along with striking out two.

Julian Tavarez worked the ninth, giving up a run on a pair of singles and sacrifice fly but 11-6 was as close as Oakland would get.

Continue reading →