Thanks for Everything, Big Papi

Clearly everyone that calls themselves a sportswriter, blogger, reporter, author etc in New England (or with ties to these six wonderful states) has chimed in with the token David Ortiz farewell piece at this point since he announced his retirement last winter. Still, seeing him officially play his final game ever for the Red Sox tonight at Fenway Park (that sounds so weird to say) as they were swept by the Indians in the 2016 ALDS, I couldn't help but feel like I should chime in with a few thoughts of my own.

Like a great song, album, TV show or movie, the best athletes and teams always have a special way to transfer us back to a unique time in both their careers and as a fan, in our own collective minds. Big Papi anonymously joined Boston in 2003 (which seems like a lifetime ago) and by now, he's carved out his place not only in Boston sports history-as the most clutch Red Sox ever-but in MLB as well. Name another pro athlete that is more universally beloved, I'll wait. For a sport that is all about individual accomplishments not to mention filled with too many hardos and rednecks, Ortiz was always a breath of fresh air with an enormous smile permanently etched on his face.

He was the best Red Sox in my lifetime and I feel confident in saying that sadly we'll never see another player like him (for many reasons). For a native of the Dominican Republic, he reached such a mythical level that he basically became a member of all our extended families. He appealed to every age (from children to grandparents) and demographic (rich or poor) and while he was larger than life on the field (especially in the unbelievable postseason performances), he still seemed like an actual human being as he won three World Series titles in Boston (2004, 2007, 2013).

The dream scenario was obviously to see him go out on top once again but it wasn't to be. Such is life. However, nothing will ever diminish all the sheer joy and fun that he brought to our lives for the last 13 years. We can only hope that he sticks around the Red Sox in the future with a front-office job. He has become such a part of the fabric of this region that it would be a shame to see him move elsewhere. I won't rattle off the best moments in his Red Sox career since they're so widely known but at the same time, we all have our own memories of him that are singularly important to us. In short, he was everything to everyone and that's why there will never be another David Ortiz.

You are the best, Big Papi. You will always hold a special place in all of our hearts, forever. Don't be a stranger!

Tweet

Pedroia & Victorino win Gold Gloves, Ellsbury loses to Adam Jones

Nobody does timing like MLB, so wouldn't you know that one day before Game 6 of the World Series, they decided to hand out all the Gold Glove awards for 2013. Befitting a team that is one win away from its third World Series title in 10 years, the Red Sox went 2 for 3 on Tuesday (are you listening Stephen Drew?): Dustin Pedroia picked up his third while Shane Victorino won his fourth overall (in his first year in Boston).

It wasn't all roses and sunshine as Jacoby Ellsbury lost out to Adam Jones (you can hear Scott Boras' cash register close however briefly) for some reason. Showing how important defense is, St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina and pitcher Adam Wainwright both captured Gold Gloves in the National League.

I love statistics but often times I feel like the abundance of new ones in baseball bogs it down. Basically, you can make an argument for anyone ever and still not win. Gold Gloves are neat and most of the players gets bonuses in their contracts for winning one but I feel like Derek Jeter repeatedly winning one when he had no range left a permanent sour taste in our mouth.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Red Sox Win Game 5 3-1 to Take 3-2 World Series Lead Back to Boston

So here we are, a moment that nobody on the outside could have reasonably expected when the season began in April: the Red Sox lead the Cardinals 3-2 in the 2013 World Series and they're coming back to Boston for two chances at their eighth World Series crown in franchise history. Boston took two out of three at Busch Stadium (the only loss being Game 3 aka Obstructiongate), including tonight's 3-1 pitcher's duel as Jon Lester (2-0) certified his place in MLB postseason history and Adam Wainwright (0-2) simply couldn't match his brilliance.

Game 6 is Wednesday (8:07, NESN) at Fenway Park with John Lackey facing Michael Wacha. Obviously Mr. Redemption himself will be able to deliver the first World Series title for the home team at Fenway since 1918 (vs. the Cubs); talk about a storybook/movie ending if that's how it goes down.

Tonight belonged to Lester: he went 7.2 dominant innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. All season, we've joked about Jacoby Ellsbury cashing in this offseason but Lester has also earned a juicy extension with his legendary October (4-1, 1.56 ERA, 29 strikeouts, 8 walks). Holy shit!

Speaking of postseason icons, David Ortiz (3 for 4, double, RBI) is 11 for 15 in the World Series with two doubles, two homers and six RBIs. If the Red Sox win, how do you choose between those two for World Series MVP? Boston had nine hits compared to only four for St. Louis. Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a run.

Wainwright (7 innings, 3 earned runs, 8 hits, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk) was way better than Game 1 but he still couldn't find a way to beat Lester or Boston. Dustin Pedroia and Ortiz had back-to-back doubles in the first as Boston got out to an early 1-0 lead for a change. Matt Holliday tied it with a long home run to center in the fourth but the Red Sox answered with two runs in the seventh on a double by David Ross and single by Ellsbury.

Lester only threw 91 pitches but John Farrell put closer Koji Uehara in with two outs in the eighth. He promptly struck out fat slob/pinch hitter Matt Adams on three pitches, stranding David Freese (2 hits, double) at second base. Uehara recorded his seventh save of the postseason with a 1-2-3 ninth including a strikeout of leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter.

As a Red Sox fan, we couldn't ask for anything more than this. They play great at home and these last two wins in St. Louis had to have taken their toll on the Cardinals' psyche. None of that matters if Lackey gets shelled or Wacha is lights out but who would bet against this team at this point?

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

As They Have All Season, Red Sox Bounce Back With Win-This Time in Game 4 of the World Series

Even in professional sports, the best teams-ones that win championships-often defy logical explanation, that's what makes them so fun to follow. Isn't that how you would describe the Red Sox in 2013? An overachieving group that consistently finds ways to squeeze everything out of their diverse talents. In the biggest game of the season, Clay Buchholz was limited to four innings but five relievers helped Boston hold off St. Louis 4-2 in Game 4 of the 2013 World Series at subdued Busch Stadium.

The Red Sox' win tonight makes it 2-2 and guarantees a Game 6 back at Fenway Park, now the question is who will be playing for a title in that one. Game 5 is tomorrow night (8:07, Fox), the third game in three nights in St. Louis with Jon Lester (1-0) facing Adam Wainwright (0-1). After Game 3's bizarre ending, Game 4 staked its claim in baseball history as pinch runner Kolten Wong was picked off first base by Koji Uehara (1st save) to end it.

Boston received contributions from many guys as usual but Felix Doubront (2.2 innings of relief, 3 strikeouts) picked up the win and Jonny Gomes hit the deciding three-run homer in the sixth inning. Carlos Beltran gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the third with an RBI single but ironically he was the guy at the plate when Wong committed his most unforgivable of mistakes. It was only Uehara's third successful pickoff of his MLB career.

Naturally, Stephen Drew tied it in the fifth with a sacrifice fly that scored David Ortiz (3 for 3, double, 2 runs, walk) who is hitting 8 for 11 (.727) in the World Series. Lance Lynn (0-1) cruised through the first four innings but he started to fall apart after Boston forced him into long at bats and increased his pitch count.

If the Red Sox win two more games, Gomes' three-run blast in the sixth will go down in Boston sports lore. It was a no-doubter and he celebrated right out of the box but don't tell Braves hardo catcher Brian McCann about that fun detail. He was a last-minute addition to the lineup since Shane Victorino's back tightened up on him.

Craig Breslow's magic is gone but Red Sox manager John Farrell hasn't seemed to figure that out yet. He keeps throwing him out there which isn't resulting in positive outcomes for Boston. Tonight he allowed an RBI single to Matt Carpenter (2 for 5, run) that cut it to 4-2. Junichi Tazawa was summoned to face Matt Holliday with runners on first and second but he retired him on a grounder to second to end the threat.

The last time John Lackey pitched in relief was in 2004 and he hadn't done it in the playoffs since his rookie year (2002) but this evening, he pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for the hold. Who could have imagined that scenario the last few years with all of his drama and poor performances for the Red Sox?

Lester will need to give Boston's taxed bullpen some innings tomorrow night but he should be up to the task after pitching very well in his previous postseason outings. They are at home but now the pressure falls squarely on St. Louis because if they lose Game 5 then they'd have to win twice in Boston which is a tall order for any team even one as good as they have proven to be this October.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Unlike the Rays & Tigers, The Cardinals are not Frauds

If you are not a moron, you had to know that Game 1 was an anomaly. There was no way the Cardinals, a proud team that had won 97 games in the regular season-just like the Red Sox-was that bad. St. Louis showed what they're made of in 2013 by winning Game 2 of the World Series 4-2 tonight at chilly Fenway Park. This evens the series at one and ensures that the next three games will all be at Busch Stadium. Oh and it snaps that silly nine-game win streak by Boston in the Fall Classic dating back to 2004 vs. St. Louis.

Cardinals rookie pitcher Michael Wacha (1-0) was really good: six innings, two earned runs on three hits with six strikeouts and four walks. John Lackey (0-1) beat Justin Verlander in the ALCS but he couldn't beat Wacha who seems destined to be a star-he's only 22! Lackey went 6.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Just like in the regular season, the Red Sox simply can't score runs when Lackey is on the mound. Another troubling trend: their bats disappeared much like they did for most of the ALCS. Boston only had four total hits in Game 2, two by David Ortiz. Speaking of Big Papi, he ruined Wacha's shutout bid with a two-run homer (his 17th career postseason bomb) that just sneaked over the Monster in the sixth for a 2-1 lead.

St. Louis had taken its first lead in the last six World Series game vs. Boston with a ground out in the fourth by Yadier Molina that scored Matt Holliday who had tripled. The Red Sox bullpen-its biggest strength vs. Detroit-showed wear and tear or perhaps just came back to Earth and Craig Breslow gave up the tying run on Matt Carpenter's sacrifice fly in the seventh. He compounded that by allowing another run on the same play since he airmailed a pointless throw to third base.

Carlos Beltran (2 hits) added an RBI single later in the frame which gave the Cardinals a 4-2 lead which was more than enough for their young fireballers in the bullpen. 22-year-old Carlos Martinez struck out three in two scoreless innings while greybeard Trevor Rosenthal (23!) struck out the side in the ninth on 11 pitches (very Koji-like) for his first save of the series.

Boston really could have used this win since Game 3 is Joe Kelly vs. Jake Peavy-who knows what to expect from him after the debacle in Detroit?. Before this series started, I think most rational fans thought this would go six or seven games either way. Good news for baseball and tough luck for your hearts: I agree that it is going to last a while.

There is also some lineup moves to make in order to hopefully spark Boston's offense. It is time for Daniel Nava to start in left field now that Jonny Gomes isn't unbeaten anymore in games he starts (7-1). I'm also hoping that David Ross starts over Jarrod Saltalamacchia who made an error in the seventh and was 0 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts. I would love to see worthless Stephen Drew take a seat as well but I'm not holding my breath on that. He's too good defensively for manager John Farrell to abandon his boy.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Red Sox Dominate Cardinals 8-1 in Game 1 of the World Series That Didn't Even Feel That Close

If you didn't know any better, you'd think that the Cardinals were the Rays or Tigers (from this postseason) given the countless amount of mistakes (mental and physical) they made in an 8-1 loss to the Red Sox tonight at Fenway Park in Game 1 of the World Series. Game 2 is tomorrow night (8:07, Fox) with John Lackey facing prized rookie Michael Wacha.

Jon Lester (1-0) is an ace in the playoffs, not so much in the regular season but who cares if he pitches like this in October? He went 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing only five hits with eight strikeouts and a walk. The supposedly unbeatable Adam Wainwright (0-1) was merely mortal, in five innings he allowed five runs (3 earned) on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk. St. Louis was charged with three errors (two by Pete Kozma) but that doesn't even include a popup that Wainwright and Yadier Molina let drop in front of them-the only way that Stephen Drew will ever get a hit.

After such a tight six-game series in the ALCS vs. Detroit, Boston went to many lengths to win their ninth World Series game in a row. Primetime Mike Napoli had a three-run double in the first then the Red Sox added two more runs in the second on an RBI single by Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, 2 runs). Ortiz wasn't finished as he clubbed a two-run homer in the seventh for a commanding 7-0 advantage.

Xander Bogaerts had a sacrifice fly in the eighth which made it 8-0 but Matt Holliday (2 hits) showed some pride by hitting a solo homer in the ninth so the Cardinals avoided the shutout.

Besides the beating, the main storylines coming from this lopsided victory was the health of Clay Buchholz and Carlos Beltran. Buchholz was moved back to starting Game 4 (we'll believe it when we see it) so Jake Peavy gets the ball in Game 3 while Beltran ran into the right field wall in the third to rob Ortiz of another grand slam but he left with a rib contusion.

Wacha has been great in the postseason but it's a tough spot to put a rookie in: against an experienced guy like Lackey and down 1-0 in the series on the road. There is no way that St. Louis can make nearly as many mistakes the rest of the series but then again, we said something like that during the ALDS and ALCS. Oh by the way, Boston has won its last nine World Series games dating back to 2004 vs. St. Louis.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

pair of rookies lead Red Sox to brink of second World Series title in four years

Every move that Red Sox manager Terry Francona makes, seems to turn to gold this postseason. Last night, he had rookie outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury start in center and bat lead-off. Was the rookie fazed? Not in the least bit, he went 4-for-5 (3 doubles) with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. AL Rookie-of-the-year favorite Dustin Pedroia went down to the two spot last night and continued to rake. He went 3-for-5 (double) with 2 RBIs and a run. The Sox won game three 10-5 and now take a commanding 3-0 lead in the 2007 World Series.

The Sox have now won six straight games this postseason and seven overall in its last two World Series appearances. Dice-K was the early story of the game as he pitched five scoreless innings (before Javier Lopez allowed some of his inherited runners to score in the sixth) and knocked in two runs with an RBI single in the third. Boston exploded for six in the third as Ellsbury led off with a double and Pedroia reached on a bunt single. Ortiz laced an RBI double (making his lineup inclusion at 1B look perfect). The Rockies walked Manny to get the bases-loaded but Lowell made them pay by grounding a two-run single up the middle. Manny tried to score on Varitek's single but was tagged out at home in a bang-bang play. No matter, as Dice-K followed up a Lugo walk with his biggest contribution of the season for the Sox. Ellsbury closed out the inning with an RBI double thereby ending the night (2.2 innings) for the immortal Josh Fogg.


The Rockies relievers held the Sox bats down for the next four innings. Colorado scored two in the sixth and then Matt Holliday greeted Okajima with a three-run blast to center to cut the deficit to one (6-5 Sox in the seventh). Okajima settled down and got three outs to end the frame. Jacoby had another RBI double in the eighth followed by Pedroia's two-run double that really iced the game in the eighth. Boston added one more in the ninth on a Varitek sac-fly. Papelbon came on with two guys on, two outs in the eighth and retired Holliday. Papelbon closed out the ninth for his second save of the series.


Jon Lester gets the ball tonight against Aaron Cook. Lester can put a real Hollywood ending on this special season for the Red Sox. He was diagnosed with cancer last year and now has contributed to the 2007 best team in baseball. Why not end it all tonight? The Rockies are unquestionably on the ropes, so it's time to sweep this series. It'll be interesting to see who sits tonight. Youkilis sat last night so you'll figure he'll have to get in tonight. However, Francona doesn't want to sit Lowell and the lineup is completely weaker without Ortiz's monster bat. This hasn't been a contest so far, the Sox have outplayed Colorado in every phase of the game. It would only be fitting to have another unsung player (Lester) step up in a postseason that has been filled with new heroes (Youk, Ellsbury, Drew, Pedroia, Okajima).

Two games away from glory

One of the tell-tale signs of a great team is when they can win games in many different ways. The Sox had been pounding the ball the last three games. They found themselves in an old-fashioned pitchers duel last night but still came out on top, 2-1 in game two of the 2007 World Series.

Curt Schilling vs. rookie Ubaldo Jimenez is a classic mismatch in such a big game. No question, Jimenez (he of the 100 mph fastball and dirty off-speed stuff) has an electric arm while Schilling is surviving on smarts and guile. Was there any doubt that Sox would do just enough to pull this one out? Chalk it up to 2004 or the team's success this year, whatever the reason the Sox just have an air of inevitability about them in these playoffs. When they're on (working opposing hurlers and getting good starts from its rotation), they're nearly impossible to beat.


The Rockies scored in the top of the first but the Sox slowly waited out Ubaldo, scoring one in the fourth and fifth. He was gone before the end of the fifth, having only given up two runs on three hits but he walked five. Schilling was gone one out into the sixth, surrendering only the one run on four hits, striking out four. The MVP of this game for the Sox was Hideki Okajima. He fell apart in the second half of the season as he wore down but last night, he looked like the lights out Okajima of May-July that made the All-Star game. Hideki got seven outs without allowing a hit or walk while striking out four. Papelbon recorded the last four outs, giving up one hit and striking out two.


Matt Holliday was the bulk of the offense for the Rockies, he had four of their five hits. As a team they struck out ten times and left 14 on base. Seeing them in the dugout in the late innings, they hardly resembled the freight train that reeled off 21 of 22 wins to make it here. They looked rattled, they look over matched.


The Sox scored its first run on a Varitek sac fly which plated Lowell. Lowell had the biggest hit as his RBI double scored Ortiz. Drew was on base all four times he came to the plate: two hits, a walk and hit by a pitch.


Once again, after Schilling left the game, you sensed that this could be his last game starting for the Red Sox at Fenway. Unless, this series comes back to Fenway (unlikely), he is probably done here. One more big game performance like that will look good as he tries to get into the Hall of Fame.


The series shifts to Colorado tomorrow night and as my buddy KC said, "all the Sox have to do is win one of the next two games because Beckett in game five is a lock of the century." So there you go. Matsuzaka in game three and Lester in game four don't exactly conjure up images of shutouts or no-hitter's. However, they're facing journeyman Josh Fogg and Aaron Cook (coming off a long injury layoff) so who knows what to expect from those two. I have a feeling the next two games will be slug-fests. The Sox clearly have the better bullpen so things couldn't look better after two games.

Rockies fail to show up in game one

It can't be that easy? Right? The Sox continued their torrid play from Games 5-7 vs. Cleveland and just decimated the Rockies, 13-1 in game one of the 2007 World Series. The Rockies looked every bit like the team that had eight days off, not the one that reeled off 21 wins in its last 22 games. Beckett is clearly the best pitcher in MLB as we speak. He went seven dominant innings last night, giving up six hits, one earned run and striking out nine.

The offensive tone was set by leadoff man Dustin Pedroia, who belted the second pitch he saw just over the lip of the Monster. The Sox scored two more in the first then both teams had one in the second. Two in the fourth and seven in the fifth officially made this a laugher for the home team. So many hitters for the Sox-Pedroia, Youk, Ortiz, Manny-are all currently locked in. It's something to behold as everyone looked dangerous last night. Ortiz and Manny led the way with three hits and two RBIS apiece. Lugo even had three hits, Varitek and Drew each had two hits and two RBIs while Pedroia (two RBIs) and Youk (two hits, three runs, RBI) are on fire.

Rockies starter Jeff Francis didn't have a puncher's chance against that lineup. A soft-throwing lefty, he didn't hit his spots at all and was gone after four innings (six earned runs). The Rockies bullpen which had been one of the team's biggest strengths in its great October run was awful last night. Morales gave up seven earned runs and Speier walked three straight batters with the bases loaded. Every at bat from the Red Sox seemed like a hitting clinic. They weren't swinging at any balls and fouling off tough pitches before putting the fat pitches in play (usually where the Rockies defense wasn't). All told, they had 17 hits and 8 walks.

Still, going in everyone picked the Sox to win game one. Nobody was going to beat Beckett, who now has 35 strikeouts and two walks, going 4-0 in the 2007 playoffs. Just filthy numbers for this stud. Regardless, let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's only one game. If the Rockies take game two (like the Indians did in the ALCS), it makes things much more complicated since the next three would be at Coors Field in Denver. The away team in the league championship series and World Series is only looking to get a game before they head home. If the Sox win tonight, a sweep is a very real possibility but if they lose we could have ourselves a series. It's Ubaldo Jimenez, a 23-year-old rookie who throws 100 mph vs. Schilling. In its last four games, the BoSox have outscored opponents 43-6.

We're going back to the World Series

Three years after breaking 86 years of misery, the Boston Red Sox find themselves back in the World Series. No comeback will ever top the 2004 ALCS but the 2007 Red Sox submitted a pretty nice comeback of their own. Down 3-1 to the Cleveland Indians, Boston roared back, winning the last three by a combined score of 30-5.

Game 7 actually was pretty tight for a while. The Sox scored single runs in the first three innings off Indians starter Jake Westbrook but it could have been much worse as they grounded into three double plays (they set a playoff record with 14). Dice-K came out and retired the first eight men he faced. The Tribe struck back with a run in the fourth and one in the fifth to cut the lead to one. Dice-K left after five (two runs, six hits, three strikeouts) and gave way to Okajima, who pitched two scoreless innings of his own. The Indians squandered its chance when the 3rd base coach held Lofton on what would have been the tying run. Blake grounded into a double play on the next at bat.

Pedroia was the hero of the night as he hit a two-run homer into the monster seats in the seventh. He followed that with a three-run double in the eighth. Youk knocked him in with a bomb off the Coke bottles. Game over. Papelbon pitched the final two innings for the save.

This had to be the most predictable comeback in Red Sox history. They just seemed to have nothing going right in games 3-4. The Indians are a worthy team but they're too young and inexperienced in the playoffs to get the job done in the ALCS. Once Beckett won and the series shifted back to Boston, they were cooked. Their bats were silenced and the bullpen was taxed. Plus, Carmona and Sabathia produced zero wins between them in the series.

Beckett deservedly received the ALCS MVP but it also could have gone to Youkilis, who is smoking the ball or Manny. The World Series starts Wednesday at Fenway. Who knows what to expect from the Rockies? They're legit and they have that absurd run but predicting what'll happen in the World Series is nearly impossible. Beckett will start on normal rest in game one.