2014 in 8 Days: Top Red Sox Moments

(Photo by Charles Krupa/AP Photo)

by Dakota Antelman

The long and the short is that 2014 did not treat the Boston Red Sox too kindly.

They went 71-91 in their second season under John Farrell and failed to execute in any of the ways that helped them win a World Series a year ago. Their outfield was weak and much of the left side of the infield began showing signs of mechanical fatigue. 

The Boston bats died in 2014 and as injury reports ran manically through the rows of Fenway and the heads of fans, our lovely defending champions wallowed in a season of despair and mediocrity.

Thus is it no secret that this year's top Red Sox stories all took place off the field...

1) Jon Lester chooses Cubs over Red Sox

After low-balling Lester with a meager $70M contract offer back in Spring Training the longtime Red Sox ace was somewhat irked by the team. Further adding to the perceived lack of respect by the team for Lester was the fact that midway through the season they traded him to the Oakland A's.

That move made it easier for Lester to ignore the "hometown discount" when the negotiation period rolled around this off-season. It was with ease that he turned down a $135M offer from the Red Sox, signing instead a monstrous $155M offer from the suddenly invested Chicago Cubs just last month.

2) Red Sox unload at trade deadline

It cannot be stressed how much the trade that moved Lester out of Boston for the first time effected the negotiations after the season as well as the remaining games in the season.

On July 31st, Lester and charismatic outfeilder Johnny Gomes were packaged in a blockbuster deal to the Oakland A's. The Red Sox got two time home run derby winner, Yoenis Cespedes in return.

At the time the deal seemed somewhat decent as Cespedes brought with him a mega bat and at least an average glove in left field. As they unloaded their pitching though, the Red Sox were soon caught in a vicious cycle of blowouts and games gone to the bullpen by the 4th inning.

John Lackey, Jake Peavy and Felix Dubront were all sent packing at the trade deadline. The players they got in return, though promising did little in the second half of the season and at times began to raise some questions about Ben Cherrington's leadership scheme.

3) Red Sox ink $200M in contracts in one morning

In a time where those questions about Cherrington's ability were burning brightest, the GM jumped into the rebuilding phase quickly and with both feet.

Looking to remedy some run scoring problems from last season, Cherrington dished out $200M in contract money to sluggers Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. The deals spawned immense questions about how the team would deal with the two in terms of their defense.

As it finally shook out, team sources suggested to multiple media outlets that Ramirez would spend time in center field and bat in the top of the order. Sandoval would be the starting third basemen for the Red Sox, effectively ending Will Middlebrooks tenure with the team as he did so. (Middlebrooks was traded just a few weeks after the Sandoval/Ramirez signings.)

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The new look Boston Red Sox: After historic trade deadline, the details of the Red Sox future are unknown

When the trade deadline passed Thursday afternoon, it was merciful because all within Red Sox nation could finally go to sleep without worrying about waking up the next morning to the news of another huge trade. And sleep was something they needed direly due to the fact that in the 48 hours preceding the January 30th deadline, the Sox had gutted their roster and completely changed the identity of a team that less than a year ago won the World Series. 

They traded Felix Dubront on Wednesday, moved Jon Lester and Johnny Gomes to Oakland Thursday morning and dumped John Lackey on the Angles a few hours later. Before all that they had also moved Andrew Miller to Baltimore while kicking Stephan Drew over to New York in exchange for third basemen Kelly Johnson. Coming to Boston as the other half of all those trades were Oakland slugger Yoenis Cespedes, Baltimore prospect Eduardo Rodriguez, as well as Allen Craig and Joe Kelly from St Louis and Kelly Johnson from New York. 

What all those names amount to is a revamped Boston Red Sox team and a proof that the front office is willing to try again to keep the sinking ship that is the Red Sox afloat.  

Nonetheless, it is hard to look at this slew of deals and not at least be skeptical. Going into their day off during Thursday's trade deadline, the Red Sox had a win-loss record of 48 and 60 and were 10.5 games out of a playoff spot and almost surely playing the kind of baseball that deserves nothing more than a last place finish. One of the biggest reasons this was true was not the Red Sox pitching but rather, the Sox batting. From almost day one, the first two thirds of the order which boasted many of the league’s best players were simply not hitting. Aside from David Ortiz who hit 25 home runs in the first half of the year, big stars who last year slugged their way to a championship ring have been flat out terrible. Mike Napoli and Dustin Pedroia have combined for just 17 home runs and 78 RBI's while Xander Bogarts, the man tasked with bringing power and speed to the left side of the infield has hit just stolen just 2 bases and hit just 8 home runs. These deficiencies in the Sox offensive arsenal have doomed the team more than any other aspect of the game has. 

In fact, it doomed the team so much that no matter how well anybody else played, they just kept on loosing because of their offence. At the deadline, they tried to reverse that by ripping their best pitchers off their roster and trading for some serious sluggers that could bolster their roster. 

Of the some 5 players who came to Boston as a result of Thursday's trades, 3 of them are guys who make their money because of their work at the plate. Yoenis Cespedes is the most impressive of these such players. Having played for just over 2 and a half years, Yoenis is by no means a David Ortiz or Melkie Cabrara type player. What he is though is a young kid with power and a sense of humor in the locker room. 

This season, Cespedes is batting .256 with 17 home runs and 67 RBI's  and is on pace for an explosive 107 RBI season that would dwarf any and all that have preceded this one. Nonetheless, those that have have been great. Cespedes has won the All-Star weekend Home Run Derby two years in a row and has displayed power from day one hitting a home run in just his second game. For a guy who had to escape Cuba in the middle of the night, Yoenis Cespedes is a calm, happy slugger on pace for a great career. 

But beyond him the Sox now have another big bat on their payroll. After he made his debut in 2010, Allen Craig hit 11 home runs in 75 games in his sophomore season. Catching the eye of the MLB as a whole with the power that he exhibited in those games, Allen Craig was promoted to full time first basemen for the Cardinals. With considerably more playing time in his future, Craig then buckled down and managed to churn out a reputation as one of the greatest hitters with runners in scoring position. After the 2013 season in which he drove in 97 runs, Craig had upped his average with runners in scoring position to .456. That is the third highest in MLB history. 

So with all these key players now in a Red Sox uniform, it seems that Ben Cherrington has completely reworked the core of his team. As we come out of the deadline flurry, deserving of recognition is the fact that Cherrington felt no sentimental feelings towards guys like Gomes or Lackey and do what really was best for his team. At least that is what it looks like right now. 

With Cespedes and Craig in town and Lackey, Gomes and Lester out, the Sox could go in a very interesting direction come next year. 

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Jon Lester, Johnny Gomes traded to Oakland: Sox get Yoenis Cespedes in return...Lackey to Cardinals as well

It was been a story line that was long ago written. Early Thursday morning, Jon Lester was traded out of Boston because of the Red Sox' inability to pay him the money his play had demanded. On this day, midway through a season that as seen the Red Sox flirt with glory but always sink back into the doldrums of baseball's standings, they have lost the only piece of their roster that would have had any chance of dragging them into contention in the last quarter of the season. Lester is gone. 

Two days ago, John Farrell made the announcement that Jon Lester would be scratched from his scheduled start on Wednesday night in Toronto to give the team more freedom to trade him. The move was one completed out of respect allowing Lester to get a full rotations rest before any trade that would likely also result in a start the next day for whichever team he was dealt to. But what Farrell's polite move also did was strike down any final hopes within Red Sox nation that Lester would ever play another game for Boston. 

Jon Lester will become a free agent at the end of this season and after the way that he played at the end of last season, resigning him even during Spring Training was a highly financially taxing task. So the Red Sox waited, stringing their all-star along indefinitely half hoping he would play poorly enough in 2014 to allow the team to resign him at a lesser price. That did not happen. 

In 21 starts for Boston this season, Jon Lester went 10-7 losing only due to poor run support not any fault in his on the mound performance. He whipped an ERA of 2.52 in a total of 143 innings pitched solidifying his work horse qualities and providing the team with on average a 7 inning start. Jon was a true ace of aces for qualities embodied by all those statistics and those statistics were only made better by his play to start this season. To sum up, Jon Lester played perhaps the greatest season of his career and that made it seem like a deal with him in free agency this winter would be impossible. So, in order to gain the best return for such a great player, the Sox went to the trade market, dealing their longtime pitching stud to Oakland for Yoenis Cespedes. Johnny Gomes also went with Lester to Oakland clearing left field space for Cespedes to play a starting role in the position. 

But today the story was not about Cespedes coming to town. It was about Lester leaving it and the media and the fans knew that very well. 

After he was groomed well by Triple A Pawtuket, Lester came to the big club in 2006 where he started 15 games. He impressed in those game earning a decision 9 of those 15 games winning 7 of them. Lester seemed to have a future in Boston after his glamorous start to his career but soon realized he would have to overcome more than competition within the system to earn a spot in the MLB. After feeling ill, midway through a midsummer game of that 2006 season, Lester flew to a Boston medical facility where he was tested and diagnosed with a treatable form of Lymphatic Cancer. He would miss the rest of the season and the first half of the successive one while he underwent intensive chemotherapy but eventually returned to baseball better than ever. 

Though Josh Beckett captained the team to a championship in 2007, it was Lester who started and was credited with the win in the series clenching game four of that year's World Series. When Beckett left town roughly four years later it was an underrated Lester who became the ace. Starting 33 games in 2013, Jon went 15-8, tearing it up in the second half of the year and guiding Boston to their second championship with him on the roster.  

Then, as has already been profiled, Lester played complete shutdown baseball in a 2014 season that saw very few moments of glory in Boston. 

All and all, the 2014 trade deadline completely revamped and reworked the Boston Red Sox in a completely unexpected way. But though the departures of John Lackey, Johnny Gomes and Stephan Drew were definitely notable, it was the end of he Jon Lester era in Boston that stole the show. 

Through all these years of dominance, the Sox been a team that has won not because of big money contracts but rather an evolution of talent gained through trades and draft picks. The loss of Lester will hurt but as he leaves, Bostonians must remember that huge players left the team after the 2004 and 2007 championships and yet the team always found a way to charter through the fog and come out on top. Let us hope that the same can one day be said for 2013. 

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Thrilling double header Saturday whispers of good and bad: Drew homers twice, Lackey dominates in loss

After Hurricane Arthur decided that we in Boston would rather get soaked in 10 inches of rain than watch a baseball game, the wallowing Red Sox compensated with a thrilling double header Saturday. Coming into the two game set with a win loss record of 38 and 47, the Sox saw Saturday as a chance to close the gap between themselves and the division leaders ahead of next weeks All Star break. 

The double header could help the Red Sox reverse some of the bad energy that has plagued the team for the better part of the first half by infusing the team with pride and a bit of momentum. 

At the end of the day the Sox had not done everything they wanted to. At the same time though, they had done things that no one expected prior to the double header. In winning game one with a score of 3-2 and loosing game two by a margin of 4-7, guys like Stephan Drew, John Lackey and Jon Lester played for contracts, statistical mediocrity instead of failure and reassertion as solid pieces of the Red Sox lineup. 

Beginning with Lester in game one, the Sox pitching pushed the limits of what defined a grey area in pitch count volume. Lester started the day with a win loss record of 9-7 going into his 18th game of the year. In a season marred by mediocrity and underperformance by men who were supposed pitching aces, Lester had remained a lonely bright spot for Boston, hurling a team high 122 innings pitched and an ERA of 2.73. Furthermore, in games that Lester lost, his shortcomings really had not been his fault. Much like John Lackey last year, Lester has often been given very little run support and seen his record suffer as a result of that.  

Though that was true once again in game one of the double header, Lester played good enough to not need such a petty thing as run support. Pitching 8 full innings with a hefty pitch count of 118 tosses, Lester allowed 5 hits and 0 earned runs striking out 7 and setting the stage for a stunning finish in the afternoon. 

With the game tied at 2-2 and 1 out in the 9th inning, Johnny Gomes stood on second base and took off running for 3rd as pinch hitter Johnathan Herrera cracked a broken bat single into shallow center field. Before the ball was even played, Gomes had rounded 3rd and by the time a wild through was caught about 10 feet to the left of the plate, Gomes had got there. Herrera logged his first career walk off to cap off a great performance by Lester and for once, the Sox fielders. 

Catcher David Ross praised his pitcher's pitch control. 

"He was really sharp today, throwing the ball to both sides of the plate [with a] down angle, great cutter, great breaking ball, had some phenomenal two-seam fastballs to get ground balls," Ross said. "Sometimes for me, Johnny can get a little rattled, but today he really kept his poise. We didn't really play well behind him, but he kept his poise, it was a very mature start for him today with great stuff."

Johnny Gomes hailed the fact that the team failed Lester again Saturday and yet as true aces do, he bailed them out.

"I really can't imagine the pressure of that along with the pressure of just trying to pitch your game and help your team win. If there's a book to be written, he's definitely writing about how to deal with it."

But beyond the thrill of game one, the Sox had to run back out onto the feild a few hours later. That game while ending with a different victor followed many of the same story lines. With a win loss record of 9 and 6, John Lackey pitched a strong quality start for the Sox but felt no run support and eventually fell apart late. Regardless though, Lackey hurled a very strong statistical outing 120 pitches, striking out 11 and allowing just 1 walk.  

Another similarity between game one and game two was the long balls lofted off the bat of Stephan Drew. Having spent his first 20 games as a 2014 Red Sox completely incapable of hitting baseballs, Drew came alive in both ends of the double header. With a batting average of .141, 2 RBI's and 0 home runs, Drew cast it all aside July 5th and lit up some fireworks of his own.  

Hitting balls out of the yard in both games, Drew finally married his fielding success with at least a measurable amount of power and offence. 

"It's a work in progress," Drew said. "Putting good swings on some pitches and getting some more results. That's a good feeling." 

His coach shared similar feelings about Drew's improvement.

"He's been working at some things, trying to get some timing. Good to see him get a couple of balls that he squares up to the pull side. It's not been a lack of work. It's not been a lack of effort by any means. Good to see him be in the mix here tonight and today." 

Now Drew's dominance was great, Lester and Lackey's strike out assaults were both admirable but the day was not without low lights. After the conclusion of game two John Lackey managed to stir up the emotions of the media. In reference to O's power threat Nelson Cruz's recent 50 game PED suspension, Lackey lashed out with pretty wild accusations.

“I’m not even going to comment on him,” Lackey said. “I’ve got nothing to say about him. There are things I’d like to say, but I’m not going to. You guys forget pretty conveniently about stuff.”

After those comments surface, O's manager Buck Showalter fired back in kind.

"There's so many insinuations, quite frankly, about people in every club. You usually don't hear those comments after a shutout or something," Showalter said. "I mean [Lackey's] doing really well. He's up throwing 93, 95 again and he's got one of the top ERAs in the American League, which with the DH means all of baseball. He's a good pitcher, so God bless him. He was good yesterday. Considering the timing of things, it's one of those things that you keep quiet about it and it reflects poorly upon the person who said it."

But perhaps the most stinging comment Showalter made in an interview with ESPN's Mike Lupica Show was that directed at the Sox other long ball hitters. 

"He might want to be more careful who he accuses of PED use. Just make sure he had no users on his team." 

But regardless, the Sox salvaged a promising performance Saturday at Fenway and that is a good thing.

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Danial Nava's struggles obliterate Sox chances at victory: Red Sox outfield in ruins

Daniel Nava's MLB career started with fireworks. After he was called up from Pawtucket to help with a rather unpleasant outfield situation in Boston Nava walked to the plate for his first MLB at bat with the words of Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione ringing in his head. "Swing as hard as you can on your first pitch because it is the only pitch you are going to see" Castigleone said. Nava listened. 

On the first pitch of his first at bat in the major leagues, Daniel Nava hit a grand slam becoming only the 4th player in MLB history to do so. 

But as he would soon prove, Daniel Nava was not just a kid who got lucky on his first pitch. In a total of 60 games in 2010, he committed no errors then logged 14 doubles that he scrounged up using his unexpected speed and agility on the base paths. 2 years later, he played 28 more games nearly doubling his hit output and clubbing 6 home runs in a season where he bounced around defensively for the Sox. Though he played primarily left field, Nava suited up for 4 games in right and revived a pretty decent brand of simple defense and stellar play in the unpredictable portions of Fenway Park that lie in and around the Green Monster.

In the eyes of the Boston Red Sox, Nava's drive to succeed in the lost season that was 2012, effectively earned him a spot in the starting lineup for the upcoming season. Once again when presented with that opportunity, Nava did not disappoint. He exhibited durability over the course of 134 starts, hitting 12 home runs, 66 RBI's and assembling a batting average of .303. After his performance in 2013, Daniel Nava who had once been a minor league castaway turned so-so utility man had suddenly become an all-star. 

As the Red Sox prepared their title defense in 2014, many saw Nava as a guy who could definitely knock Jackie Bradley Jr out of a job at center field or at the very least draw huge returns on the trade market. A little over 2 months into the season, one might forget that the Red Sox are the reigning champions. 1 huge reason why is because Daniel Nava has been nothing like the man we had come to know. After missing out on starting on Opening Day, Nava came to the team and stayed on the active roster from April 2nd to April 22nd. In that time he mustered just 10 hits, struck out 17 times and assembled his worst monthly batting average of his career (.161). Nava made it back to the big club for just 7 days in March and yet his fortunes were no better. Aside from a walk, Nava failed to make it on base in that span. But after seeing what he had done in years past, the Sox were not ready for the grand demotion of Daniel Nava quite yet. So far in June he has played 5 games, logged 6 hits but failed to bat in a run. After a 1 for 2 night in Baltimore on the 9th of June, Nava's season batting average stood at the dismal plateau of .174. 

In the worst season of Daniel Nava's baseball career, the 31 year old protégée is doing nothing to help his team. Unfortunately neither is anybody else in Boston. In a season where Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli both went down early in the season, the struggles of Boston's outfielders have only made things worse. After Grady Seizmore's play seemed to promise greatness in the early days of this season, his struggles at the plate have made his presence intolerable. Shane Victorino's torn up hamstring has cost him 42 games this year while call-ups such as Jackie Bradley Jr. have done nothing to ease his absence. 

But amidst this brutal stew of out fielding deficiencies, Johnny Gomes has been above the rest in the ghastly qualities of his 2014 season. Though he has been barking all year about various things, Gomes has been unable to do anything in the field or at the plate having logged just 5 home runs, 0 pinch hit base hits and a defensive WAR below 0. But for some reason, the Red Sox have stuck by him. 

Perhaps the only positive that has come from the 2014 Red Sox rotation of personnel has been Brock Holt. At 25 years old, Holt played 26 games for the Sox last season without many fireworks. However, in the absence of so many key pieces in the Sox lineup Holt has come in to save the day, starting 29 games, smacking 12 extra base hits and playing decent defense at 1st and 3rd base as well as left field.

63 games into the season, many are already labeling 2014 as a lost year for Boston. With their outfield responsible for a large portion of these few months of directionless baseball the Sox need to make big changes or be forced to deal with an off season similar in feeling to that that followed 2012.

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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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This is for you Boston: Part Two - The Fans

Prior to 2013, there had been 2 championship parades in Red Sox history.

In 2004 the entire city of Boston was gripped with delirious excitement as despite the violent riots that occurred following their championship just days earlier, millions took to the streets to celebrate the breaking of one of the most depressing curses in sports history.

3 years later we were back again cramming ourselves into the streets of Boston for yet another (abridged) rolling rally parade. But in 2013, the feel was different. Unlike in 04' and 07' no one expected the 2013 Red Sox to win in the fashion that they did this year and for that reason, the excitement felt throughout Boston was almost concrete.

I was there, feeling the atmosphere and forgoing the pain of waking up at 7 AM on a Saturday all in hopes of simply being there. I was and throughout my years of living I have never been in a situation quite like this. From the first minute you even made a move towards the city of Boston the presence of Red and White pride was firmly personified. As one marched through the train stations of greater Boston you could not see the floor as from above all that was visible was a sea of humans clad in jerseys all breathing a sense of relief, satisfaction and pure joy almost 2 hours before the parade even started. 

People came from far and wide to see today's celebration but for many, it meant so much more. As tough as Bostonians are what happened on April 15 was a moment of true terror in which the very worst and the very best of human nature was showcased. Our leaders flocked to Boston to heal our frayed nerves and remember our murdered friends but despite the words of Barrak Obama and regardless of the comedic sympathy expressed by nearly every TV host nationwide it was shown following the attacks the true unifying prowess that the insanely competitive joy of sports can bring to any city. 

When you look back on this year it is the "One day closer to the parade!" phrase repeated time and time again by this Sox team, it was the "This is our F*****G city battle cry made by David Ortiz and then the screams of joy we witnessed as the dugouts emptied time and time again throughout the 2013 season. Amidst all the sadness, the action, the wins and the commitment to the game on the part of the Red Sox provided relent to the pain of those involved with the tragedy. And that was the greatest gift this team made to its city. 

“There is nothing better than to be Boston Strong,” 29 year old parade attendee Liz Perkins aid. “We said it all season.”  

Pedroia backed up that mentality earlier on when during the pre-parade rally he took to the podium and delivered as much a speech as his miniature frame could muster. 

“We played for the whole city, what the city went through. Hopefully, we put a smile on ... everybody’s face. It was special. We wanted to do this and make it right for everybody.” He said. 

Once Pedroia and his teammates took to the streets, they were rapidly assaulted with a defining barrage of cheers and fists raised to the air as one. We saw Johnny Gomes and Mike Napoli showing their happy blend of childish nature and obscene immaturity as they pumped up the crowd and we felt Jacoby Ellsbury feeling of the awkward situation while fans near the Prudential Building screamed "STAY! STAY! STAY!". 

But the celebration was interrupted for a necessary acknowledgement of sorrow as the first of the 25 duck boats crossed the Marathon Finish line. 

The boats came to a complete stop before any did cross the, still painted, yellow and blue finish line. Through the crowd it could be seen that the World Series Trophy had been taken from its home on the boat with Jacoby Ellsbury and as it was, Johnny Gomes and Jarrod Saltalamaccia unceremoniously took to the street and came to a halt before the finish line. 

With the trophy in one hand and the famed 617 Jersey that had hung in every Boston dugout since the attack in the other, the two items were placed on top of one another and after some adjustments of the jersey, Gomes stood back and put an arm around Saltlamaccia as the near 6,000 in that portion of the route sang an assisted version of God Bless America. Tears were plentiful. 

But alas the parade soon resumed as in congruent action with that, so did the cheers, the high fives and the constant ringing of "BOSTON STRONG"

There were people hanging from windows, people piling into tiny balconies and a human behind every window with a view of the parade route. I Phones dotted ones view of the road and it was seen how nearly every one of the 2 million attendees of this parade were politely jockeying to be right as the edge of every inch of the near 4 miles of barricades assembled along the route. You could see through the confetti and hear through the musical yells of the Dropkick Murphys that these Boston Red Sox were genuinely thrilled to be a part of this city wide celebration. As for the fans, the indescribable roar of delight that echoed from Fenway to Copley Square, from Boston to Cambridge and from the parade route into the living rooms of the millions more watching from home described it all. 

We are the champions. No matter how tough we may be, this win more than any other involves more than  the 25 men in the Red Sox locker room. Just as the Marathon Bombing changed the lives of anyone who calls New England home, this Championship belonged to us all. And that is a fact. 

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This is for you Boston: Part 1 - The Team

"This is for you Boston, you've been through a lot, this one's for you!" ~David Ortiz after winning the World Series MVP 

There are times in each of our lives when the happiness we feel cannot be described. But in this case the thing is in most cases what makes that kind of happiness so indescribably memorable is the negativity and horror that preceded it. Not a single person in Massachusetts escaped last April without bearing the newly opened scars solicited by the brutality of the Boston Marathon Bombings of April 15th 2013.

What happened that day killed 3 people and mutilated the bodies and minds of hundreds and even millions across this city and nation. You didn't have to be there in Copley Square, we all felt it, we all panicked and sat glued to our TV screens as Boston was shut down and the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics cancelled all their games for the week.

"They killed an 8 year old, my son is 8 years old." David Ortiz was reported as saying in the dugout prior to his now famed "This if our f*****g city" speech.

But while the days separating us and that dreadful day turned into weeks and then months we never forgot but we did move forward turning instead to focus on a team that symbolized the spirit of this town. You can knock the Red Sox down but you will never take them out.

They were the only team in baseball without a losing streak longer than 3 games and never went almost 3 months without losing back to back home games. They came back in 27 games. They nabbed 13 walk-offs and above all lost just 65 games. When you look back, so many facets of this, longest season in Red Sox history made it memorable.

You had the beards which were spearheaded by a Mike Napoli who, despite his struggled clocked 23 home runs in 2013. You cheered as David Ortiz recorded his 7th career 30 home run season and you watched with glee as he began his near 10 game playoff tear following his Game Two ALCS grand slam. We watched Johnny Gomes who spent all year magically making something out of nothing en route to a spectacular 5 pinch hit home runs. His Red Sox were 8-1 in games he started in this playoff run.

And then there was the defense.

Boston sported 2 gold glove award winners in 2013 as Dustin Pedroia played what seemed to be a career year in the field committing just 5 errors in 160 games played. That translates out to about to just .031 errors per game. But in a similar fashion to David Ortiz, Peady lead by more than just example. He was a driving force in the clubhouse and knew from day one the potential that the Red Sox had cultivated in the offseason.

"He had faith in the team even in spring training. In mid-March, Pedroia went to dinner with his agents, Cherington and the team’s owners. They were discussing his eventual contract extension, but he made it clear, even then, that he expected the Red Sox to win – and win big." Fox writer, Ken Rosenthal said in an article the day after the Sox victory. 

As for Boston's other gold glove winner: Shane Victorino, he was as good if not better than Pedroia. But in in a different way.  

Shane notched 122 starts in 2013 and batted just 6 points shy of 300. He belted 61 RBI's in 2013 providing quite a security policy for leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury. As for the defense that got him recognized in the postseason gold glove voting, he made a name for himself by plying right field the same way one would play center. That more often than not translated into running headlong into walls as if the simply were not there.  

Yet the Flyin Hawaiian always came up smiling. Apparently, he likes the feeling of broken ribs. He committed just 3 errors while being responsible for 264 of the near 1,700 that the Red Sox recorded in 2013. That is approximately 15% of team outs all recorded by a man who played just 110 games and spent that time in the outfield.  

He represented his city as well joining the ranks of supporting Bostonians with his post-game comments following Game Six. 

"We are affected in the tragedy, Boston strong" Shane Victorino screamed extending his fist high into the air thereby saluting his town. "That's all I'm gonna say!"

Yet while all the additions that the Red Sox made in preparation for what would be their 3rd Championship run in the past 10 years it was the subtractions that may have went the farthest towards bettering this team for the long run. Fact is, most Sox fans expected the run we saw this year...2 years before it happened. Between Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzolez and the expected excellence of the entire Sox pitching staff, the Red Sox were the overwhelming favorites to win it all in 2011. But as we know things did not work out that way. The 2011 Red Sox surrendered a 9 game September lead in the wildcard to miss the playoffs all together. As Bobby Valentine guided the Sox to a 69 win season in 2012, Kevin Youkolis was dished away to Chicago and nearly 200 million dollars’ worth of contracts were unloaded on LA via the famed Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzolez and Carl Crawford trade.

Beckett and Gozolez in particular were the polar opposite of the surprisingly compatible clubhouse that existed this season. Fact is they would have scoffed in disgust if you asked them to grow a beard and as they did in 2011 they might have even killed the healthy team building themes that brought this 2013 club together.  

By completely erasing the bad names assembled on that so called 2011 "dream team" it made room for the actuall dream team of 2013. Sure there were the additions: Mike Napoli, Johnny Gomes, Koji Uehara, Shane Victorino, David Ross and even Mike Carp but as you look at the numbers it would be safe to say that what made this team so great was the resurgence of the talent they had already cultivated.  

That fact is highlighted best when you look at the gleaming numbers of the Red Sox starting pitching. 

The only difference in starting pitching personnel between 2011 and 2013 was the presence of Josh Beckett. Lester played in 2011, Buchholz and Lackey too. They all were there yet in 2013, those 3 Sox went a combined 33 and 24 through  73 starts in 2011 while flipping it all around 2 years later with 37 wins and just 22 losses. Not only were the 2013 Red Sox putting up wins but they were doing it in every single sort of situation that was put before them. They never quit and when they needed to any Boston starter could realistically be asked to play 8 innings and they would do just that. Much like the framework that guided the LA Dodgers to their spectacular mid-season turnaround over in the NL, the Red Sox relied on the relentless work of a whole host of aces to bring home the wins.

The 2013 Red Sox season was just 15 days old when the bombs went off but even then, even with just over 2 weeks of real game action under their belt, the Red Sox knew one another like family and were ready to take their city on their shoulders and do whatever was necessary to give their fans something to cheer for. 

They hit 178 home runs, came to bat 5651 times and won a total of 108 games over 7 months of near game per day action.  

Yet when future generations look back on this, the greatest statistical, team turnaround in the history of American sports, it will be that last win those last 6 runs and that Koji Uehara strikeout that is remembered. 

The Boston Red Sox are the World Champions but for the hundreds of human beings throughout this organization that has now won 3 titles in 10 years it cannot be stressed how much more occurred this year than could be summed up by those few words. 

"This is our F*****G CITY!" ~ David Ortiz following the Marathon Attacks

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Sox take ownership: Boston beats Toronto 6-3 - clench AL East pennant

From worst to first.  It's a phrase that has been thrown around time and time again but what’s better is the fact that among all the 3 page articles, all the hours of talk show time devoted to the subject it is that 4 word saying that might capture the story of this 2013 better than any other. In one season the Boston Red Sox went from that pathetic team that was making the cover of SI for all the wrong reasons to one that had made history. 

At 10:30 PM last night, Koji Uehara fanned Bret Lawrie recording the 3rd out of the 9th inning, and completing run that had never been made in the history of Red Sox baseball. They had officially gone from last in the east in one year to first in the next. 

They won 6-3 over the Blue Jays last night snagging their 94th victory one night after their 2013 season win totals equaled those in the 2012 loss column. John Farrell became only the 7th Red Sox manager to lead his team to the playoffs in his first year and Jon Lester earned the win in this one. That win was the 100th in his career. 

"They have a great team over there, they really do," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "They ran away with a good division. It's not even close right now."

Lester hurled 7 innings of 5 hit ball allowing just 1 run and 2 walks. Of course, it was win number 100 in his career but also his 15th on the year. This was his 5th 15 win year in the past 6 seasons. 

"The biggest thing is," Lester began to say before Andrew Bailey emptied a bottle of champagne on his face, "God, that's cold. We don't give up." 

"I wanted to finish the game, but obviously that didn't work out," Lester said. "I've never been able to be on the mound in a game like this. To be there in the end and have everybody dogpile you; I'm a little disappointed I only went seven." 

Unlike Lackey who hurled a minuscule 113 pitches in the near no hit complete game 2 nights ago, Lester had already thrown 123 pitched by the end of the 7th inning so his day was without a doubt done. The reason for that high pitch count was the sheer drama that the Jays invoked almost all night long. From the 1st to the 9th inning it seemed that the bases were always loaded for Toronto but riding an equally omnipresent storm of double plays Lester always seemed to find a way out of the jam. The only problem there was the fact that among the 7 innings he pitched, 5 of them involved more than 20 pitches for Lester. 

"These guys are unbelievable," Nieves said of Lester and the pitching staff. "They have seen death in their own eyes. It's no big deal now. It's no big deal. I think when you've seen the worst, you expect the best after that."

The Sox would add 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning as David Ortiz tacked on a 1 run 0 out single that scored Jackie Bradley Jr. and moved Daniel Nava to 2nd. 1 batter later after Mike Napoli grounded into a 4-1-3 double play, Mike Carp smacked up a screaming 2 run single that scored both Nava and David Ortiz. 

Before long, Koji Uehara was into the game starring down the barrel of what would go down as his largest save of the year. Before long, those 5 outs had been notched, the Sox were AL East champions and as they mobbed each-other just to the right of 3rd base, Fenway roared as they watched a scene 4 years in the making. 

Just proud of this group," Sox GM: Ben Cherrington said as he wore a tee shirt bearing the words "WE OWN THE EAST" across the chest. "But we're not done; we're going to keep playing." 

They sprinted back to their locker room, proudly wherein the shirts that they subliminally wanted to advertise. They donned their ski goggles to keep the nearly explosive wine out of their eyes jumped around and celebrated for a while all before they returned to the field. There, Koji jumped atop the dugout roof and high five-d fans. Clay Buchholz ran along the foul lines dousing fans in campaign and Johnny Gomes stood by 1st base and punted 5 to 10 beers into the crowd. 

Amidst a celebration 4 years in the making, we hooted with laughter jumping for joy and realizing the pennant win nearly 6 years in the making. With just under 10 games left in the season, the Boston Red Sox have 94 wins. They have flipped the tide from just one year ago and the greatest part of this all is that there is still time for the Sox to snag number 100. 

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All Hail the Mighty Beard: a look at the Red Sox hilarious (and sometimes creepy) relationship with the beard

       
                                       "

A gritty beard, worn proudly on the face of a sweat soaked athlete. It is a species of facial hair that has recently become ever present in a ball park that is anything but new.

You see while the traditions of beards in sports like hockey is something long established in sports history, these peculiar beasts are a new comer amidst the jungle of the Boston Red Sox dugout. They hitch hike on the faces of Sox players and hear the elected yells of their hosts as the Sox continue to rack up the wins.

While new names, a re-born culture of winning in Boston, and almost 8,00 runs on the year remain some of the most obvious ADDITIONS in this 2013 Red Sox team that has already seen so much success, one SUBTRACTION stands out as one of the biggest cultural impacts that this team has had on is city. That subtraction is that regarding the use of a razor.

While the Yankees insist on their players bearing shaved heads as well as clean cut and limited facial hair, the Red Sox have embraced the very opposite of that allowing the mighty beard to effectively take over this scruffy city of Boston.

"

Fact is we don't really know for sure when it all started, but slowly but surely, the hair added up and before long it seemed that everyone on the Red Sox starting nine came to the park wielding the unfathomable power of the beard.

Johnny Gomes and Mike Napoli are two of the ringleaders in this far from select group of beard bearers.

"All right, I know you want to know what’s up with the beard I have. I’ve been keeping it trim. Believe it or not, you would think a long beard is low maintenance but it’s actually high maintenance. Everyone is trying to dig up what’s going on with it. These beards haven’t gotten a hit or thrown a strike all year, it’s still us behind them. We’re just having fun with it. It’s more a team chemistry thing." Gomes said in an ESPN "diary" entry he made back on September 1st.

Gomes then went on to acknowledge the fact that he and 1st basemen Mike Napoli look alike. "Honestly, if you’re looking for a difference between us, I'm an outfielder, he’s and infielder," he said before further eluding to a now regular situation at home when his young children get confused when "daddy is batting while he is also on the bench."

I feel you mini Gomes, it takes a whole lot of stare to look past the beard.

"We’re just having fun with it." Gomes said, but while confusing toddlers and growing itchy forests of scruffy hair on your face is undoubtedly one of the greatest joys a ball player can indulge in, there is another aspect of this all that's has actually had an effect on the game. *wink*

Much like the "Cowboy up" trend back in 2003 and the "Idiots" theme a year later, it seems that good teams use little gimmicks like these not simply to up ticket or promo sales but to also unify their clubhouse hand build the kind of camaraderie that wins you championships.

Another note, of the major beard growers on this Red Sox team, the large majority of them have put up some pretty good numbers. Obviously you have Johnny Gomes with the slew of pinch hit homers and Mike Napoli with his 22 homers period but when you delve even deeper, the growing number of "Soggy Bottom Boys" as they are referred to by ESPN, have all be excelling and thriving off of their claim to fame.

Mike Carp has put up stellar numbers in the less than 80 games he has played this season all while Shane Victorino has put up a career year in Beantown, David Ortiz has come back from an Achilles injury better than ever and heck, even Boston's once pathetic pitching staff is finally preforming at the level that it has the possibility of playing at. 

2 years ago when they were under Terry Francona and 1 season ago when the Sox were caught up in that seemingly endless nosedive of a season, the gamesmanship simply was not there. Adrian Gonzolez would not have grown a beard along with his intentionally childish teammates, neither would Josh Beckett or even Dustin Pedroia who I point out, has a beard now.

In a way these beards are a testament to the character that Ben Cherrington has brought in and the feeling of fun an understanding of what it takes to win that has been cultivated by John Farrell. You see the bread tug that waits a player who returns after hitting a home run, but that is not all. Back in game two of that mid-August series with the Jays, the Red Sox were down 2 nothing in the top of the 9th. 2 outs had already been recorded against the Sox and with a Mike Napoli who had not been playing well for almost an entire month now striding to the plate, the game seamed over.

Sox fans made a soda run, grabbing thee remote and preparing to turn off the tv when they assumed that Napoli would strike out. But he didn't on the 1st pitch of his at bat, Napoli crushed a high fastball, driving it high but not very deep to right field. He rounded first thinking it was gone but when you looked to the dugout, there perhaps the most heartwarming moment shared by Sox players was unfolding. As they stood, eyes fixated on the tiny speck of white clear against the silver roof of the closed Rodgers Centre Dustin Pedroia was gleefully pounding his open hand against David Ortiz's shoulder. The ball was deep back, and gone, the game was tied and it was at that very moment that many fans finally realized the spectacular connection between the players, their beards and the product that was historically unfolding on the field before them.

The Red Sox have won 92 games, are 9 secure of the Rays for 1st in the east and have a team full of guys with greasy beards that will likely be no match for a peaty razor when their day ends. At this point in time I think no one in their right mind would ask the Sox to trim their beards but needless to say when the off-season rolls around, I would like to note that Craftsmen has some really nice chainsaws that might serve as a perfect tool for deforesting those overgrown chins.

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All Mike'ed up: Mike Napoli homers twice as Red Sox drop Yankees for 5th straight win - 13-9 final

The Red Sox have won 5 straight games. In that span they have scored 56 runs, hit 2 grand slams as well as a total of 16 homers. Mike Napoli has been responsible for 4 of those homers. 

The Sox won again on this Saturday afternoon and after the night ended, the stunning themes already established this September was still fully intact. Boston scored 13 runs in a 4 run victory in New York, they launched 3 home runs and above all will now put themselves in a position to extend their AL East lead to 8.5 games. 

Saturday afternoon was a shootout of a baseball game and it began in the 2nd inning. With David Ortiz standing on second base, Napoli took an easy 3-0 pitch high and deep to center feild. Unlike Friday's grand slam, there was no question about this home run. When it landed, Boston had a 2-0 lead. 

One inning later, they did it again as Johnny Gomes took a high changeup deep into the upper deck of Yankee Stadium. Whats better was that unlike Napoli's blast, when Gomes hit his there were already TWO men on base. By inning number 4, the Sox were up 9-3 but even that was not the end of New York’s troubles as one inning later, Xander Bogaerts airmailed a homer of his own to extend Boston's lead to 11-3. The homer was Bogaerts' first as a Big Leaguer. 

At that point in the game, the night seemed over for New York. Dustin Pedroia was given the last 4 innings of the game off, countless pinch hitters were sent in for New York and a slew of pitching changes burned the Yankees early. 

But nevertheless, as Napoli's slam showed us, Yankee Stadium leads can easily vanish faster than a strip of bacon on a breakfast plate. 

The Bronx Bombers struck 4 times in the 6th then twice in the 8th all to cut Boston's lead to a margin of just 3 runs. But with his team not willing to relinquish such a strong effort, Napoli struck again drilling a solo shot to center field to seal the victory for Boston. 

But Mike Napoli was not the only big story line of this game. After finally gaining the run support he so desperately needed, John Lackey was credited with his 9th win of the year. But it was clearly not his best effort. Lackey did strikeout 8 but allowed 8 hits and 7 earned runs. He also walked 3. Saturday was not Lackey's day but in the end he was finally credited with a win. 

This win extends Boston's Al East lead to 8 games and has dropped their magic number for clenching the AL East title to just 13 wins. Boston has a 99.9%chance of making the playoffs and to this point the possibility of Boston snapping their 5 year pennant drought is beginning to look more and more like a fact.

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Et Tu Jon Lester...then fall Max Sherzer: Red Sox hand baseball's best pitcher his second loss of the year - Boston wins 2-1 over Tigers

Max Scherzer is 29 years old, he throws right handed but above all else, he came into last night's game with the Red Sox chasing history. If Max Scherzer earned a victory he would move himself into a tie with Rodger Celmens as the only pitcher in history to start his season 20-1. Now records are nice but the only problem with this was for Scherzer to earn the win, Boston would have to loose...and well, let’s just say they DID NOT WANT TO!

For the first time since July 3rd, Scherzer was credited with a loss snatching history right out of his hands and handing the Red Sox their 83rd win of the year. But in his defense, Scherzer was not bad. He struck out 8 while allowing just 5 hits.

It is a rare night that Max Scherzer does not turn in a formidable performance and while last night was no different, Jon Lester’s proformance was even better.

"I think everybody in our dugout feels that when he goes to the mound -- and that can be said for [John] Lackey, that's not to slight anybody -- but Jon has stepped up in those games when we needed to get back on the winning track," said manager John Farrell. 

Lester shredded opposing hitters fanning a season high 9 batters in the 7 innings he pitched. The only problem for Jon was the fact that no matter how good HE was, the Detroit Tigers offensive lineup was equal. 

Right off the bat they were making him pay delivering a strong message of "we are the better team" that simply made Red Sox fans want to cringe. Jon faced 4 batters in the 1st inning, all of which drove themselves deep into counts. Leadoff man Austin Jackson saw 8 pitches before he creamed a 3-2 fastball in for a double then, number 2 hitter: Tory Hunter added an addition 9 pitches of his own before he popped out to Mike Carp in foul ground. Largely due to the work of Jackson and Hunter, Lester would finish the first inning having already thrown 25 pitches. 

As was said earlier, it seemed that for the time being the game was over before it had even begun as Scherzer followed up Lester's struggles by mowing down each of Boston's first 3 hitters via the strikeout. It seemed bad but before long instead of looking lost on the mound; Lester caught up to his pitching foe and roared through a Detroit offence ranked right up with the Sox as the best in baseball. Through the 3rd and 4th innings, not a single hit was recorded by either team as Lester compiled 3 of his 9 K's in that span. 

Nevertheless, time was running out and even with Boston trailing by the pathetic margin of 1-0 you knew very well that with Scherzer dealing like he was, that could easily be enough. 

Desperate for even the thought of an offensive spark, the Sox lineup finally delivered in the bottom of the 5th as Johnny Gomes soon blooped a 1 out single to right field to get the tying run aboard.  One batter later, Stephan Drew moved Gomes to 3rd via his 23rd double of the year. Still one out. 

David Ross would strike out, but that was not of issue as with Will Middlebrooks coming to the plate, the fact that there were 2 outs in the inning was not of issue. The Sox were in the best position to score a run of any and you had this feeling that Will was not going to mess up. 

"[Scherzer] likes to start me out off-speed," Middlebrooks said. "Normally I go up there, look for a heater. But in that situation, guys in scoring position, I figured he'd throw the off-speed. I looked for it, and I got it." 

In the blink of an eye, Will Middlebrooks had changed the entire complexion of the game flipping the score from 1-0 to 2-1. Just the same as when Scherzer was dealing, with Lester pitching with a lead you felt...no knew that the Sox had a chance to pull a win out of this whole thing. 

"I'm in a better spot right now as far as going down the mound," Lester said, "which puts me in a better position for that pitch. I think maybe taking a break from it for a little bit helped me, trying not to pound my head against the wall with it. It's been good the last three, four, five starts, so, keep grinding it out." 

Lester sure grinded out last night's night of work as amidst all the pitches that he threw, he was bombarded (literally) in the top of the 6th inning when he took a sharp line drive to the ribs. The ball could easily have been travailing upwards of 100 miles per hour but Lester waved off Farrell and the Sox trainers insisting that he was fine.

He WAS fine and before he was pulled prior to the 8th inning, Lester fanned 2 additional batters and actually held Detroit star: Miguel Cabrara hit-less.

Following Lester's removal, Koji Uehara would eventually come into the game all to blast home a perfect 9th inning and earn his 17th save of the year while also extending his shutout streak to 25 innings. 

"Max certainly pitched good enough to win tonight," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We just didn't win."

Detroit didn't win...neither did Max Scherzer but by default, that meant that the Red Sox did. They ended the dominant run of a pitcher and ended his bid for history, all to bring home win number 83 on the year.

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Lester dominates, Gomes homers, Red Sox win 4-2: Game Recap

Since the All-Star break only 5 teams have done it. 'It' being beating the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Well, that us until today. At 7:21PM, the Boston Red Sox felled a baseball team riding one of the most dominant streaks in recent sports history. They beat the Dodgers by a margin of 4-2. 

Beginning the drama on just the second batter of the night, things got interesting as Shane Victorino did something he has become notorious for in just this single season alone. Not making any move to get out of the way of a pitch. For the 10th time in 2013 he was hit by a pitch taking his base and soon becoming a 1 out base-runner in the 1st inning. 

By the time Johnny Gomes came to bat 2 batters later, Victorino had scored, Pedroia stood at second and Mike Napoli had just drove in an RBI single and was at 1st. As for Johnny Gomes, he did not wait long to drive home what would go down as the game winning run. Taking a first pitch fastball right over the middle of the plate Gomes lined the ball high and deep to a distant left field wall. In just a matter of seconds Gomes had belted his 11th home run of the year and in turn had put the Red Sox up 4-0. 

Now the score would stay that way all the way until the 8th inning. A large part of that was the pitching of John Lester. Through the first 3 innings, Lester had not allowed a hit and despite allowing a lead-off walk to Yasiel Puig a few nifty double plays by those behind him meant that by the end of the night, Lester had thrown just 101 pitches in 7.1 innings. He dominated allowing just 3 hits on the entire night and just 1 through 6 innings. 

But no matter how good he was, things got interesting in the bottom of the 8th inning. After Lester earned an out via the pop fly, Lester walked Carl Crawford and was yanked from the game. But in the end, some may have a case to say that that might not have been the best idea. All night long, the Sox had been dominant at turning the double play as 3 of the 4 batters Lester had walked had been doubled off already. But still John Farrell made a managerial decision and well he may have screwed up. 

Junichi Tazawa came into the game and threw just 10 pitches before, after a single and a strike out he, like Lester was replaced by bullpen specialist Craig Breslow. But even that did not work out as Breslow allowed a 2 run double that suddenly made this a ballgame...that is until Farrell made up for whatever mistakes he had made to that point in the game.  

All season long, Koji Uehara has been the saving grace in nearly each of the now 76 wins the Sox have accumulated this season...and he was no different Saturday night. Koji hurled a perfect inning and a third to seal the win for the Sox and put them in a position to do what no team has done in almost 2 months. Win a series against the Dodgers. 

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