2008 Red Sox Report Card-Infielders

After having enough time to let the Red Sox loss to the Tampa Bay Rays set in, I have decided it is time to sit down and try to blog again. I have been asked by a few of you when you will be able to log in and not see Paul Byrd staring at you. Well, today is that day. Today I present to you my report card for the 2008 Boston Red Sox. I figured to wait a couple days after the season was over so my grades would be more factual rather than emotional. I will be looking at 25 regulars, so therefore I will not be grading players like Gil Velasquez and David Ross. Without further adieu, I present to you my outlook on the 2008 Sox.

Catchers:

Jason Varitek- .220 13 home runs 43 RBI's

Grade- F

Varitek struggled offensively all year long and was frustrating to watch at the plate. In recent memory, I have not seen a player age so quickly over the course of a season like Jason Varitek did. Varitek is known for calling a great game and being a solid defensive catcher. Even those skills look to deterioate this season as he could not throw any base stealers out and the pitching staff was rocked in the ALCS. He is a free agent at the end of the season and with the lack of solid catching options the Sox may be forced to bring him back. I would say a contract of 2 years for 14 million would be sufficient.

Kevin Cash .225 3 home runs 15 RBI's

Grade- C

Cash had the uneviable task of being Tim Wakefield's personal catcher. He handled him very well and was not a liability that Josh Bard was when he was assigned to catch Wake. He did not put up any offensive numbers worthy of note and no one expected him to. Cash simply did his job. He may figure into a bigger role next season as he proved he is a solid defensive backstop with a cannon of an arm. I believe he and Tek will split the catching duties next season.

Infield:

Kevin Youkilis .312 29 home runs 115 RBI's

Grade- A

Youk's role changed when Manny Ramirez was dealt to the Dodgers. Youk went from being a guy who simply needed to get basehits to a guy who needed to deliver power numbers and protect David Ortiz in the lineup. I am guilty of not really appreciating Youk as much as I should. Throughout his career with the Sox, he has done whatever has been asked of him whether it be moving to first base from third, back to third, play the outfield, leadoff or even bat clean up. The scary thing is he keeps improving each year and shows no signs of slowing down.

Dustin Pedroia .326 17 home runs 83 RBI's

Grade- A

Easily my favorite player in all of baseball and potentially of all time. The man is listed at 5'9 but we all now its closer to 5'6. He easily gets my vote for MVP and yeah there may be a hometown bias there but its not unjustified. He played a gold glove second base. His average was as low as .252 this season but got it up to 2nd best in the majors at .326. He also stole 20 bases this year. There were no signs of a sophomore slump after his Rookie of the Year campaign. I look forward to seeing him in a Sox uniform for years to come.

Jed Lowrie .258 2 home runs 46 RBI

Grade: C

Lowrie was a hero in Red Sox Nation for the first couple months he was in Boston simply because his name was not Julio Lugo. For about a month after the All Star break, Lowrie led all shortstops with most RBI since the break. He eventually came back to earth and had a dismal September hitting .151. Reports after the ALCS said he had been playing with an injured wrist for a better part of the season. This may show the door to Lugo because a hurt Lowrie has proved to be better than a healthy Lugo. Hopefully Lowrie can improve and get up to about .280 and keep up his solid defense.

Mike Lowell .274 17 home runs 73 RBIs

Grade B-

Lowell was injured much of the season but still put up solid numbers for the 113 games he played. While he did not do anything outstanding, he was solid while he was in the lineup. The ALCS showed just how much the Sox missed his bat. It appears Lowell is breaking down citing his injuries this season. Reports are that the Sox brass has had internal discussions about bringing in Mark Teixiera and looking to trade Lowell. Yes, Lowell was the MVP of the 2007 World Series and has been a pleasant surprise since coming to town considering he was an afterthought in the Josh Beckett trade. But I think it would be a great idea to explore the Teixera option and see what the market is for Lowell.

To be continued....

Scottie

Separated at Birth?

Scary isn'it?

-Scottie

That's Kevin Being Kevin

After the Red Sox unloaded Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers many people were left wondering who would replace Manny's stats in the Boston lineup. Even guys in the clubhouse admitted that Manny's shoes aren't easy to fill. "You can't replace his stats. That's the bottom line," admitted Kevin Youkilis, a man who had gotten into an altercation Manny earlier in the season.

Fans saw Jason Bay as Manny's replacement. It was easy to do considering Bay would now be patrolling the same left field that Manny roamed for 7 and a half seasons. Bay had put up solid numbers during his time in Pittsburgh averaging .283 31 homers and 103 runs batted in per season. Let alone these numbers were about 10 below what Manny had put up in every category, people were stuck on the fact that Bay played in the small market of Pittsburgh. Questions arose as to whether Manny's replacement could play in Boston. (See Lugo, Julio and Gagne, Eric for further explanation)

What no one was realizing was that Manny's replacement was already in Boston and was going about his business as quietly as usual. Nevermind that he was voted 4th most overrated player in baseball by his peers in a survey taken by Sports Illustrated. Kevin Youkilis has put together a career year and is showing no signs of slowing down.

If comparisons are to be made let us take a look at the numbers, because numbers do not lie. This season Manny Ramirez is hitting .314 with 25 home runs and 86 runs batted in while Kevin Youkilis is hitting .320 with 23 home runs and 84 runs batted in. The numbers are nearly identical and Youkillis comes at a price several million dollars cheaper while causing fewer

headaches.

Many people will argue that Manny offers greater protection for Big Papi, David Oritz in the lineup. Since Youk has been inserted behind Ortiz in the lineup, Papi is hitting .285 with 15 RBI's in 12 games, more importantly the Sox are 10-5 since trading Manny.

It is my belief that many people take Kevin Youkilis for granted considering he has been in the Boston organization his whole career. I, myself, have never fully appreciated Youk as much as I probably should. The bottom line is Youk is a gold glove All Star who just gets better and better each year.

It is time he gets the praise that is long overdue.

-Scottie

A Week of Thoughts

After a week of living out on the Cape enjoying lobster galore on Mom and Dad's tab, I am back to blog about the week that was...

*I really got into the Olympics this year. Seeing Jason Lezak chase down the French in the 4X 400 meter relay will be an Olympic memory for the ages. The drama in which it all happened helped make the moment that much more special. The French claimed they came to Beijing to "smash the Americans." Michael Phelps and company had other ideas. This will probably be my greatest Olympic memory since my generation is not as fortunate to have anything close to the 1980 US Hockey Team.

*Tuning into see Michael Phelps every night at 10 o' clock has been a real treat. The man is automatic. It is unbelievable to think that he is the best in the world in 8 (possibly 9) different events. Soon kids will be flocking to the nearest pool in hopes of "Phelpsing" their friends.

*It is without question that Phelps has been the story of the week. But I am a huge fan of gymnast Alicia Sacramone and beach volleyball player Misty May.

*At the time of the trade deadline, many people thought the Yankees got amazingly better, while the Red Sox got worse. The Yankees picked up Damaso Marte, Xavier Nady, and Ivan Rodriguez while the Sox lost Manny Ramirez. Since the deadline the Sox are 10-3 while the Yankees are 5-9. It is only a matter of time before the Sox catch the Rays and lock up the AL East title for the second year in a row.

*I am looking forward to seeing Brett Favre get sacked 60 times this season.

*Seeing how Joe Torre will handle Manny Ramirez will show a lot in comparison to Terry Francona. While Torre has been a successful manager by always running a tight ship, Francona has been successful with a hands off approach and letting the players do as they please. It will be interesting to see how Torre handles Manny the rest of the season. A few examples: Torre asked Manny to cut his hair once he got into Dodger Blue, it took Manny 2 weeks to cut just an inch off of his dreads. Also the scene where Manny was nowhere to be found in the bottom of the eighth inning last week.

*I just finished Michael Holley's Red Sox Rule. For those that like to know the behind the scenes stuff that happened throughout the 2007 Red Sox season, pick it up. It is an interesting read on Terry Francona. I am thinking of picking up Patriot Reign, also by Holley. I predict his next book will be "Celtics Crowned."

*Another book for people to read that is absolutely hysterical is "I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell" by Tucker Max. The guy is an idiot but his stories are funny.

That is all for now...

Scottie

Cape Cod for the Week

Loyal readers of mine, I feel the obligation to inform all of you that I will be in Cape Cod for the upcoming week. I will not have any access to a computer so there will be no updates on the site. I do not know how I will survive without this blog or facebook for an entire week!

I will be back Saturday August 16 and should have a plethora of topics to write about.

Thank you very much for your continued support. This blog would not be much fun to write if it weren't for you guys!

-Scottie

Who-lio Lugo?

Since the famous Manny Ramirez trade, the Red Sox have been rolling right along winning 5 of their 6 games. Sure they have beaten the bottom of the barrel this past weak, be that as it may. No matter how you cut it, the Sox have been playing good baseball.

Today, my father asked me about Julio Lugo. My dead honest response was, Who? I completely forgot about the man that I like as much as I enjoy waiting in line at the DMV. My father told me that the Sox still owe him well over 10 million for this season and next. I thought about this and came to the conclusion that the Sox should just buy him out (much like they did with Edgar Renteria). Thank you for your services, which included many errors and zero hitting, here is your paycheck, be gone.

This is all entirely to easy to say because of the progress of one kid. Jed Lowrie. Lowrie is hitting .287 with 22 RBI, 7 doubles, and 2 triples. He has the most RBI's for all shortstops in Major League Baseball since the all star break. He also has 0 errors in 72 chances.

With the play of Lowrie, I believe it is Terry Francona's duty to keep Lowrie on the field and Lugo on the pine. No one is looking for Lowrie to work miracles. As long as he stays defensively sound and hits over .280 he will be filling his role on the Sox admirably.

Lugoo's strained quad is probably the best thing to happen to the Red Sox since Lester's no hitter. Lowrie has shown that he is a major league ready ball player. It is his time to be an everyday player.

Julio should start doing what a lot of people are doing today... look for another job.

-Scottie

Hey Bay Bay

As expected, the Red Sox did deal Manny Ramirez right before the trade deadline last Thursday. What was not expected was that the Sox would lose Manny, Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen, and still have to pay Manny's salary. As you saw on this very blog last Wednesday, I was ready to see Manny go. However, I severely underestimated just how badly the Sox wanted to rid themselves of Ramirez. I was initially confused as to how the Sox only got Jason Bay. I had nothing against Bay, I just wanted the Sox to get a prospect or some bullpen help as well.

After the first weekend of the Jason Bay era, I can say I have a ton of Bay Pride. It is fair to say that Bay has taken Boston by storm. He has said all the right things, in that he is not trying to replace Manny, merely play left field to the best of his ability and do his part in helping bring a second straight pennant to Boston.

A recap of Bay's weekend:

Friday: goes 1-3 scoring 2 runs. Bay made a sensational diving catch to keep the game tied in the middle innings. In the bottom of the 12th, Bay lofted a high fly ball that scraped the Monster for a triple. Thats right a triple. It is very likely Manny would have gotten only a single possibly a double because of his admiration for his hit. Bay was promptly scored the game winning run on a basehit by Jed Lowrie.

Saturday: Bay goes 1-4 scoring 2 runs and knocking in three after launching his first home run as a member of the Red Sox. His shot would prove to be all the Sox needed as the bats finally came alive to mash the A's 12-2.

Sunday: Bay goes 2 for 4 scoring two more runs. He also gunned down Mark Ellis in the first inning trying to stretch a single into a double.

Not a bad way to endear yourself to a new fan base. It appears that Jason Bay is a new fan favorite in Fenway.

Jason Bay is what this team needed to save the season. Not that he will be able to put up the same numbers as ManRam, but the intanigibles he brings to this team outweigh any given run he will knock in the rest of the season. The team felt Manny could not be trusted and that he was a major distraction. With the Manny soap opera days behind us, the team can concentrate on coming to the ballpark and winning games instead of worrying about what Manny was going to do next.

I am as excited as ever to be a Red Sox fan and I truly enjoy watching Jason Bay play. Let us hope this blockbuster trade has a similiar end result as a blockbuster Theo pulled in 2004.

-Scottie