How I Cope With This Red Sox Team....

It's official, the 2010 Red Sox season never happened in my book. It's over, a complete waste of my time, love, and effort.

So what do I turn to for comfort? Pictures like this that I got from T Murph. Instant classic.

Also, any truth to the rumor that Bob Ross is actually JD Drew's dad?

Think about it though, they've both got some talent but would have been way better at their job if they had been more bad ass. Both have been extremely overpaid based on their ability, but have provided for countless hours of boring TV watching and talk show arguments. Just saying, it's possible.

Hopelessly Watching

It is difficult to put into words how frustrated I've become with these post all star break Red Sox. Last night's sweep gives Boston a 1-5 record after the break, which has allowed the streaking Yankees to blow right by them in the standings. Given the way the team is playing right now, two games out has never seemed like such a cushy lead.


We're all assuming the Sox will break out of their team-wide hitting slump, I mean, they're too good not to, right? Right?? The fact of the matter is that the Sox are hitting just .192 after the break, the entire lineup is pressing which is leading to more pop ups than Nomah ever hit, and keeping the opposing pitcher's pitch count at efficient levels. And don't even get me started on JD Drew's secret dump of a season he's putting on us right now, that's for another time.


The worst part? It's like a train wreck, you honestly don't want to watch, but as a fan, you have to. My fan confidence levels scary low levels....the Sox went down 3-1 last night and I told the fiance the lead was insurmountable. As a result, she wanted to watch So You Think You Can Dance...."Well it's not 14-1" was my response. It might as well have been.


At some point every season (sometimes at multiple points) it gets to this. I can't stand watching the team I love, but I do it anyways and it drives me absolutely insane. This is what I assume a terrible marriage is like. I've been tempted to change the channel of late, but I won't let myself do it. Today's day off is a needed one...for all of us. Let's hope friendly Fenway wakes this team up a little.

Red Sox Intro Music

In keeping with ITM's new found positive posting despite the Sox bumpy road trip, I thought I'd pass along some interesting info courtesy of the Red Sox Insider.....



Below is a list of songs each Red Sox player decided on for their intro music (be it stepping up to the plate or warming up on the mound). I think each song says a lot about the player...please take special note to JD Drew's choice......


Batters:
Ellsbury - "Let It Rock", Kevin Rudolf (f. Lil' Wayne)
Pedroia - "Dre Day", Dr. Dre
Ortiz - "Somos De Calle", Daddy Yankee; "My Destiny" by Yomo
Youkilis - "Crank That (Soulja Boy)", Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
Drew - (no music by choice)
Bay - "Alive", Pearl Jam
Lowell - "Bombtrack", Rage Against The Machine
Varitek - "Kryptonite", 3 Doors Down
Green - "Bet That", Trick Daddy; "I Run", Slim Thug
Lugo - "Como Yo", Juan Luis Guerra
Kottaras - "Sad But True", Metallica
Baldelli - "All Along The Watchtower", Jimi Hendrix; "Strange Times", Black Keys
Bailey - "Moby Dick", Led Zeppelin
Lowrie - "The Kids Aren't Alright", The Offspring
Carter - "Stronger", Kanye West
Kotsay - "Low", Flo Rida

Pitchers:
Beckett - "Living Hard", Gary Allan
Lester - "I Use What I Got", Jason Aldean
Matsuzaka - "The Next Door", Exile (theme to Street Fighter IV!)
Wakefield - "How Bad Do You Want It", Tim McGraw
Penny - "Lunatic Fringe", Red Rider
Delcarmen - "I'm From Boston", MAV Entertainment
Jones - "My Wave", Soundgarden
Ramirez - "Lucha", Nancy Amancio
Masterson "Rebirthing", Skillet
Saito, "Zenryaku Michino Ue Yori", Issei Fubi
Okajima - "The Oki-Doki", Tatami
Papelbon - "I'm Shipping Up To Boston", Dropkick Murphys



From the hardcoreDominican music of the hitters, to the country hicks on the pitching staff, the clubhouse sure must be an interesting place....."Dre Day" from Dusty somehow makes total sense, and "no music by choice" from JD Drew is only right....but seriously Mark Kotsay, Flo Rida? Not exactly what was expected, but I have more respect for you for doing it, now get healthy so I can laugh at it in a live format.



Take from this list what you will.....regardless, Go Sox.

Nancy Drew...

I'm a what have you done for me lately kind of guy, so naturally JD Drew drives me insane.

Yesterday Drew went back to Boston to get an injection in his back. Apparently the injection was "precautionary" according to Francona. Drew came into camp complaining about his back saying it was still stiff, same old song and dance. No word on what the injection was. If this is the start of something bigger I'm a little worried.

I know a lot of people come to his defense because of his playoff performances in 2007 and 2008 and last June when Ortiz was on the DL. That I'll grant you, however overall I've never felt good when Drew steps up the plate. If I bet you $1 every game that he'd ground out to second base at least twice I'd be sitting on a mountain of $1 bills.

If Drew misses significant time this year I don't feel nearly as good about our back up options as I did last year. Theo signed Rocco Baldelli to be the 4th outfielder, and Mark Kotsay is a 5th option, maybe the 4th depending on Rocco. Last year when Drew was out Crisp was in center and Ellsbury played right.

Let's say Drew does go on the DL in '09 (which I guarantee will happen) and misses a month, similar to last year. Kotsay is coming off back surgery and with Rocco we still don't know how he'll respond to his mitrochrondrial disorder. I don't have a lot of faith in Baldelli's ability to play back to back games, especially once the season gets in full swing.

We'll see how everything plays out; hopefully Drew and the Sox are just being overly cautious because they realize their back up options aren't as solid as they were last year.

ITM News and Notes:

-Brad Penny's start on Thursday will be pushed back so he can build up more strength in his shoulder. The problem has nothing to do with the injury from last year according to the Sox. Penny is still projected to be the 5th starter and be ready for the season.

-Julio Lugo was scratched from the lineup today with apparent food poisoning. I would just like to say I was at home last night and no where near the Fort Myers area.

-That said ITM will travel to Fort Myers on Friday to cover the Red Sox down in spring training. We'll have updates from Spring Training and hopefully get to talk to some players or members of the organization. We'll see how it all plays out.

Swing and A Miss; Adam Dunn Whiffs Again.

Tired of waiting for Manny Ramirez to sign a contract the Dodgers contacted Adam Dunn about playing left field for them in 2009. Dunn would add a little bit of pop to a line up in desperate need of a bat if Man-Ram signs elsewhere, however you can pencil in more then a strikeout/game to go along with that.

Dunn has averaged 40 home runs and 190 strike outs in an 8 year career, take the good with the bad I suppose. There's been some discussion about the Sox getting in on the bidding for his services and incorporating him as their 4th outfielder. Personally I hate that idea. Dunn strikes out way to much and sported a .236 average last year, .247 in his career.


Throw out those numbers since the Red Sox subscribe to the Bill James Theory of OBP (on base percentage) and Dunn chimes in with an OBP of .380 (38%). Comparing out corner outfield spots, Drew's OBP was .408 last year, .392 in his career, and Jason Bay gets on 37.5% of the time, rounded up 38%.


Pretty much a wash in terms of OBP and Bay bats 40 points higher and struck out 100 less times last year.


Dunn can't play center so throw Jacoby's numbers out, and if you factor in that Dunn would get at most half the at bats he did last year the Sox would be looking at paying a guy $12 million + for 20 home runs and 100 strikeouts.


In Dunn's case it's not about the money so much that he's not a good fit for the 2009 Red Sox in my opinion. The move makes sense for the Dodgers who are without a left fielder and need some power; just be prepared for this guy to be taking 180+ trips from the on deck circle, to home plate, and back to the pine, STRIKE 3 HE'S OUTTA THERE!

Lowell, JD Could be Back for Game One

Got your attention with the Jessica Alba picture didn't I?...we'll get to her later in the post.....

An associated press story broke tonight that both Mike Lowell and JD Drew could be back for Wednesday's game one of the ALDS against the Angels. Both took successful batting practice today with limited discomfort.

This is welcoming news for the Sox who continue to get hit with injuries like a Pedro fastball from 99' (come on, every batter he hit was on purpose and you know it). Josh Beckett appears to be on track for a game three start, but it is not sure how healthy he'll be for that start.

So while the Sox are not sure how healthy Lowell and JD will be, their names in the lineup alone forces the Angels to change their pitching strategy. David Ortiz publicly stated that he doesn't expect to see anything to hit in the playoffs (i.e., he's still in man love with Manny). Regardless, having Mike Lowell and JD Drew at 80 percent is better than having to shuffle Alex Cora, Mark Kotsay and Sean Casey into the lineup. If Boston can piece together a lineup and pitching rotation that is 80 percent of what it is fully capable of, they'll be in good shape.

Tito had a good quote today..."We've been able to win 95 games without everyone healthy"....imagine what this team can do if and when they get themselves some health.....but we're up against the clock. October baseball, nothing like it....... (still trying to decide if that's a better slogan than "there is only one October".....I'm pretty sure it's not, which is sad, but I'm thinking throw Jessica Alba up there and have her say it, and it's immediately better than that toolbox Dane Cook).

More bad news for the Sox...

A few hours ago, JD Drew was in tonight's lineup and ready to go. Then the pain started to get worse. J.D. Drew just got back from Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and it has been reported that a doctor had told him, at least from a preliminary report, that he has a herniated disc (keep in mind the MRI results are not yet back).

His progress had been steadily improving, but all of a sudden the back was stiff when he woke up this morning, and he was having trouble walking around the clubhouse this afternoon. There is no official report on this yet, nor has he been put on the DL, but a trip to the 15 day DL is possible.

Beyond that, Josh Beckett reportedly threw some pitches and felt fine today, he is a go for his Tuesday start.

One thing is for sure, the Red Sox have a lot of injuries to work through and wins to earn if they want to make the playoffs.....that said, here is tonight's lineup:

1-Ellsbury-RF
2-Pedroia-2B
3-Ortiz-DH
4-Youkilis-1B
5-Bay-LF
6-Lowrie-3B
7-Varitek-C
8-Cora-SS
9-Crisp-CF

-Byrd-SP

As if things weren't bad enough...

Josh Beckett getting shelled...check, The Red Sox bull pen being taxed before a road trip...check, being down 9-0 to an inferior Toronto lineup after 4 innings....check, another Red Sox coming out of the game with an injury...check.

Things can't get much worse for the Red Sox today (save for the Rays winning tonight), JD Drew has come out of the game with lower back stiffness. While this is likely just a precautionary move on Tito's part, with JD Drew you never know. At this point in the season and given our already injury-plagued lineups, we can hardly afford for JD Drew to miss much time. Maybe The Boss's son Hank should take a look at the Red Sox injuries this year and then reconsider his "no one has gone through the injuries we have" comment. Every team goes through injuries, this year they have hit many of the teams in the AL East particularly hard, but you don't see our management throwing in the towel on the team and the fans.



...did I just translate my current anger at the Red Sox and their injuries right into Yankee hatred?.....I think so....check.