That's more like it: After a so-so month of April the Red Sox are finally at .500 gain...and they are only getting better

For the first time in almost a month, the Boston Red Sox have the same number of wins as they have losses. After an April of shortcomings where lack of run production coupled with inaccuracy and lack of stamina on the part of the team's pitching, the past week or so of games have whispered that May would not follow the same template. 

In their first 7 games of April, the Sox have gone 4 and 3, twice dragging games out past the end of the 9th inning and on three occasions did they amass more than 5 runs in a game. Perhaps the most stunning display of offensive power at least came in the team's series with Oakland.  In the 3rd game of the month back on May 3rd, the Sox sent a shaky Clay Buchholz to the mound against an equally shaky Oakland team devoid of any bullpen talent.   

After Buchholz retired the first 6 of 7 batters he faced, the former Sox stud ran into trouble in the 3rd and 4th innings but did not completely loose it as the Sox were able to not only stay in the game but, through 3 innings hold onto a 2-1 lead. Over the course of the next 3 innings, the Red Sox sank, all be it briefly, back into their pattern of leaving runners in scoring position. Between the 3rd and 6th innings, 4 Red Sox reached base. None of them scored.  But all was made better in the 6th inning when, with the bases loaded, Sox 2nd basemen, Dustin Pedroia, smacked his first home run of the year effectively putting the game out of reach for the Athletics. In true irony, the homer was Pedey's 100th of his career and it lofted him up into an esteemed club of Sox players with 100 homes runs and 100 stolen bases. 

"That's a moment I'll always remember -- being on base as he hit his 100th, and it also being his 500th RBI," said Sox centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. "That was special. After a tough day yesterday, to come back out the way we did today, play the ball we were capable of, it feels good." 

The game was immediately hailed as a revival of the Red Sox ideals and the mantra of play that they have won with such proficiency and dominance. Little did those who were labeling the game as such know but less than 24 hours later, the Red Sox would duplicate their feat once again. In the middle game of the 3 game set with the A's, home runs by David Ortiz and David Ross coupled with a first inning grand slam by Johnny Gomes helped seal the series victory while almost overshadowing one of the greatest games in Jon Lester's career. The Sox southpaw pitched 8 innings of 1 his baseball walking 2 batters and shutting out A's for the entity of his time in the game. But all of those stats are rendered mute by the historic number sitting in the strikeout column. Out of the 26 batters Jon Lester faced, he struck out 15 of them. To put that in perspective that is a whopping strikeout percentage of 57%. 

Sox manager John Farrell was impressed.

"Just the combination of power and command was impressive," said Farrell. "He was locked in seemingly from the first pitch of the game. He maintained his stuff throughout -- four pitches for strikes, and three of those on both sides of the plate. So he was in command from the start." 

Though the home field dominance would end momentarily in the rubber match of the series with Oakland, the Sox got things back together in dramatic fashion against the Reds at the midpoint of this past week. In the team’s longest game of the year, the Sox and Reds battled it out for 12 innings. The length of the game was mainly prolonged by stunning defensive work by Dustin Pedroia and Shane Victorino who were constantly diving around for balls that seemed like sure base hits fresh off the bat. 

Perhaps the most stunning of these plays was made by Victorino in the top of the 9th inning. With the game tied Tucker Banhart got behind a fastball from Koji Uehara and lifted it high and deep to right field. In true loyalty to his nickname, the Flyin Hawiian tracked the ball down and hauled it in before it left the yard.

"If there's anything that's going to stay in the ballpark, there's always confidence that Vic is going to get under it," said manager John Farrell. "Barnhart puts a good swing on a ball off of Koji [Uehara], but Vic seemingly is all over the field on defense."

Unfortunately for Boston, the Reds matched them when they were on defense and the game remained tied.

However the stalemate was finally ended in the final minutes of May 6th when Sox newcomer Grady Seizemore crushed a hard line drive off the left-center-field wall, scoring Dustin Pedroia from 3rd and ending the game on a high note. 

                                                                      

I was pretty psyched," said Sizemore. "It was a good feeling. I try not to get too emotional out there, try to keep it on the same level, but right there, I let it out a little bit." Seizemore in particular has been one of the most impressive bright spots in Boston sports right now. After he was signed as an afterthought during the off season, the former all-star made his first appearance since 2011 as the opening day starter for the defending World Series Champions back in April for the Sox. Since then he has exhibited truly magical drive for victory and statistical success. The walk off single was just a culmination of that. 

"He has been doing great," said David Ortiz. "He's not out there every day, but every time he is, he does something special. I think as the season goes, you start getting more confident and more comfortable and things start getting better, especially in a player like him."

It seemed the only bad part of the late game on Tuesday was the fact that the Sox had to play again the next day in the rubber match of the series on Wednesday. Though they started slow however, all would end well in that game as Boston rallied in the 8th inning to grind out yet another 1 run victory. 

As bad as April was for this team that is expected to challenge for the AL East crown come September, May has shown the true identity of the Boston Red Sox. Once again they are a gritty team with an omnipresent obsession with professionalism and camaraderie.

The only thing different between the 2013 Sox and the May 2014 Red Sox is the fact that there are a few less beards on the bench. 

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Mid-season form: Grady Seizmore stuns Sox with early season play.

In his first 5 full seasons in the MLB, 6 foot 2, 200 pound center fielder, Grady Sizemore served as one of the few bright spots on a Cleveland Indians team that to this day still has not consistently made the playoffs for the better part of the last decade. After being drafted right out of high school by the Montreal Expos, he was soon traded to the Indians.

There, he very quickly developed into a role as one of the most promising center fielders in the league. He hit lead-off as a rookie and managed to compile 22 home runs, 81 RBIs and a batting average of.289. Also his speed which was very quickly evident on the professional level made him only the 2nd player in franchise history to log more than  20 doubles, 10 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season. As a result of his play in that season alone, he signed a 6 year 23.45 million dollar contract with the Indians all before he even played a game in his sophomore season.

From there, he logged a career year in 2006 logging starts in all 162 of the team's games, with 28 home runs, 53 doubles and a batting average of .290. He was named to his first all-star team as a result of his play that season.

Over the next 3 years, he would make two more all-star games and bring a vow of consistency to the Indians team that in modern day baseball is very had to find. 4 times he was a member of the 20/20 club that listed all players with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases while his work in the field never spawned more than 3 errors in a single season. In 2006, he logged 7 assists from the outfield and committed just 3 errors.

And yet, at the height of his career, when all seemed good and Sizemore closed in on the conclusion of his 6 year deal with Cleveland knowing a huge payday was around the corner, he got injured. After starting 382 consecutive games, in the previous 2 seasons, Sizemore lost his impressive streak when he missed a game on April 27th while rehabbing a sprained ankle. Though he would come back and his 30 home runs and steal 30 bases later in that season, the ankle injury was the first in a long line of setbacks that would bite the star over the next few years.

He pulled a groin during spring training of 2009 and missed almost a week at the beginning of the year. 4 months after that, he began speaking about pain in his elbow and with 1 month to go in the regular season he had surgery on that elbow to prepare him for the following season. Unfortunately for him, doctors discovered a need for additional hernia surgery in his lower abdomen during his hospital stay.

That procedure effectively wiped out his plans for spring training the following season. But that was only the start of things.

Just 33 games into 2010, he blew out his knee and needed micro-fracture surgery to repair it. While he rehabbed that well after that, he re-injured his knee in 2011 and went under the knife once again for yet another hernia surgery.

The Indians neglected to pick up the option for the 2012 season and allowed Sizemore to basically stew without a team for the next 2 years.

But finally, having not played since 2011, the Boston Red Sox swooped in at the beginning of last off-season and signed Sizemore to an incentive heavy 1 year 6 million dollar contract. In the void left behind by the signing of Jacoby Ellsbury to the New York Yankees, Sizemore came to the team knowing that he had a chance to log some serious playing time in his natural position, center field. After Jackie Bradley Jr. struggled in spring training and Sizemore stunned with quite a few miraculous catches in the outfeild, the team named him their starting center fielder going into 2014.

Since opening day, he has been absolutely fantastic. Seizmore has played 9 games in Boston committing 0 errors and logging 14 putouts. Offensively, he has hit at a .333 clip with 4 RBIs and 2 doubles. He hit a home run on opening day in Baltimore while smacking a huge 3 run home run in the 6th inning of a game against New York just this past week.

All and all, Grady Seizmore has arrived in Boston with a huge pile of history and the capabilities to return to that level of greatness once again.

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Red Sox receive World Series rings: In final day of reflection on 2013, the Red Sox act like champions

The sights and sounds buzzing through Fenway Park were of excitement, appreciation and a dash of that lingering pride in the fact that less than 6 months ago, our team, the Boston Red Sox were the first team in the history of baseball to go from last in their division 1 year to World Series Champion the next. 

On this day, April 4th, 2014, the majesty of that triumphant World Series win however was very rapidly melting out of the present and into the past. We had seen the post-game interviews and celebration on October 30th of last year then cheered in delirious unity a few days later when the Championship Parade wound through the streets of Boston raising us up and emphasizing the importance of this season that had possibly been the most important season in Red Sox history. 

And after that we still refused to forget these bearded brothers who had taken over the city in which they lived. We half-jokingly, half actually cried when Johnny Gomes shaved his beard prior to Spring Training while we celebrated when Mike Napoli resigned with the team and promised that his beard would do the same. 

You see, there was something about the 2013 Sox that went beyond dominance. It trumped the dynastic reign of the Patriots and shamed those Celtics fans who revel in the fact that their team has won more championships than any other team in the league even though 11 out of 18 of those championships were won in an era where the NBA had just 9 teams. It makes the Bruins fans of the eras of Bobby Orr and now Claude Jillian rethink the magic of their own respective championship runs and even makes people still bragging about the 2004 Sox title ask the question, was this 2013 title above all the rest?

We look back on the 162 games of 2013, 1 of which bears the emotional astrix denoting it as the game erased from out memory by the terror resulting from the Marathon Bombing on April 15th, and see how this team grew as one and really found out what they were as a result of that day and the support their city demanded from them after it. Their beards defined them but their camaraderie made them great. 

Stories of this clubhouse unity brought to the table by unknown guys like Johnny Gomes or forgotten stars like Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino erased those of Chicken and Beer that grew out of the doldrums of the 2011 collapse while stunning displays of dominance by those same players made us forget even about the game before. At the end of the season while they were not the stand alone best team in baseball they were close to it. They tied with the Cardinals for the top spot come years end but went above and beyond the rest of the league in offence while not once losing more than 3 consecutive games.

While for 4 years Sox fans felt a burning jealousy for the Yankees and their constant mantra of victorious play, the tables were turned in 2013 when the Sox rapidly became the do all say all owners of the baseball world. As the Yankees dealt with the fallout from the Biogenisis scandal and were hated for their part in it, the Red Sox were completely clean in 2013 always getting forgiven for their few unlikable moments (namely David Ortiz's phone smashing incident in Baltimore) and actually praised for moments that should have been unlikable but were not in Boston (namely the Ryan Dempster/Alex Rodriguez bean ball incident). 

This team was loved for what they did in 2013 and while many fans would never like to have to deal with finding space for new memories among all the great ones that team gave us, baseball does go on and on this day, April 4th, 2014, the 2013 Red Sox went from present to past while the 2014 Red Sox went from future to present. But as we knew this, as we prepared to cross that threshold to be felt when the first pitch a 2014 Red Sox pitcher threw on home turf was thrown, we also knew that there was one more chapter to this year of celebration, one last hurrah for the 2013 Boston Red Sox. That chapter, that last hurrah is and was the Ring Ceremony conducted this afternoon. 

“It’s going to be pretty cool,” pitcher Jon Lester said prior to the presentation of his 2nd Championship Ring for his work in Boston. “Just from what I remember from ’08, being able to be a part of that in different circumstances. I think this one means, obviously they all mean a lot, but this one means a little bit more. It’ll be pretty cool and I’m excited for it. You sit around all offseason thinking what the ring’s going to look like, so it’ll be pretty cool to go out there and get it and celebrate one last time, and after today we move on for good and think about 2014.” 

“Opening Day for me is one of the best things in baseball,” backup catcher David Ross said. “It’s probably at the top of my list, especially home openers and then you’re talking about a home opener with a World Series ring -- that’s a goal for a home opener. I’m just excited and looking forward to all the festivities. I’m looking forward to getting the ring and then getting the game going. We’re excited.” 

Ross was ready to turn the page, ready to get over the 2013 Sox and start biting his nails again as this city watches their 2014 team go for 2 straight titles. 

And yet for some that will not happen. Ryan Dempster, Jaocby Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamaccia all left the team after last season and as harsh as it may seem, Ellsbury and Saltalamaccia were all but ghosts who were not present at today's ceremony. Ryan Dempster however was there and at one point, just by his presence on the same diamond as new comers like Grady Seismore or AJ Piyrsynzki represented fully this acknowledgment of both past and present of Red Sox Nation.

Au revoir 2013 Red Sox hello 2014 Sox. Let us make this season just as special as the last. 

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