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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Red Sox Rework Pitching Staff at Winter Meetings

(Photo courtesy of the AP)

by Dakota Antelman

Immediately after Jon Lester alerted the Red Sox of his decision not to sign the contract they offered him, the team moved on to other options. Within 36 hours of that call they had completely reworked their pitching staff, adding multiple starters and thinning out their bull pen.

In the final days of this week’s baseball Winter Meetings, Boston traded Yoenis Cespedes to the Tigers in exchange for Rick Porcello. They soon after signed free agent pitcher Justin Masterson to a one year $9.5M deal and, late Friday night, completed a trade with the Diamond Backs that shipped Wade Miley to Boston in exchange for Ruby De La Rosa, Allen Webster and a minor leaguer with single-A Lowell named Raymel Flores.

"We've been able to acquire the three starters that we have this week while still maintaining what we consider the top end of our young pitching, and still have what we think is really good, young pitching depth beyond the five guys that will likely begin the season in the rotation,” said Red Sox GM Ben Cherrington.

The team was aware of the need to remedy the inconsistency and detrimentally fluid nature of their pitching order going into this offseason. The additions made this week reflect a desire to do just that.

But as it stands, there remain quite a few discrepancies between this staff and an ideal one. Namely, despite their depth, the staff made up of Clay Buchholz, Joe Kelly, Porcello, Masterson and Miley has no clear ace.

Cherrington however does not see that as a problem.

“Once Opening Day is gone the whole No. 1 starter thing kind of is overrated," he said. "Whoever takes the ball that night, it's his responsibility to help us win and pitch every five days, so the order really doesn't mean as much once you get past Opening Day. We feel like we have a rotation now that can help us win every game."

Of the current pitchers, one thing that does seem certain is that, at least for the first few games, Masterson will likely sit towards the bottom of the pitching order. He had the worst statistical season last year of the recent newcomers and has shown a propensity in recent years to go down early with nagging injuries.

On the other end of the spectrum, Porcello could very well become a favorite of his coaches as, since joining the league in 2009, he has averaged nearly 6 innings of play per start.

Drawing out long starts has been a quality that the Red Sox have openly looked for in their pitchers this offseason. Porcello’s ability to play Lester like innings bodes well for him especially within the Red Sox system. Even former pitching coach and current manager John Farrell commented on the value of a 200 inning pitcher like Porcello.

“Ideally, if you can get a couple of 200-inning pitchers -- they don’t grow on trees, but that’s the goal,” Farrell said generally on the subject of pitching depth.

As the 2015 Red Sox roster begins to take shape, the pitching staff folds and molds into what the fan base and the coaches alike all want it to become. Depth is a necessity but at the same time, practicality is crucial. Jon Lester did not return to Boston because $155M was not a practical salary for Boston to give him. Max Scherzer will likely not come to Boston for similar reasons.

But that is not to say that depth cannot be built in other ways. The Red Sox have boosted their pitching staff with veteran talent that promises to compliment the young arms they have maturing down in Pawtucket. That makes them attractive to free agents young and old. Furthermore, the surplus of hitters and outfielders that they have gives the Sox plenty of shots in the trade market. They might soon attempt to track down guys like Phillies ace Cole Hammels, former Red Sox prospect Anibel Sanchez, or Reds star Johnny Cueto.

“There are some quality options that still remain on the pitching market,” Farrell said. “Ben’s working hard to build out a pitching staff that’s going to put us in a position to contend next year. We firmly believe that will take place.”

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Jon Lester signs with Chicago Cubs, solicits mixed emotions from Bostonians

Early Wednesday morning, sought after free agent ace, Jon Lester signed a 6 year $155M contract with the Chicago Cubs choosing them in favor of his former team, the Red Sox.

After months of deliberations, meetings, offers and false reports, a 30 year old Lester became the fourth highest paid player in baseball with his blockbuster contract. The deal, which will run through the 2020 season, involves a $30M signing bonus spread out over the contract and a yearly base salary that will not change from season to season. At the end of year six of the contract, the Cubs will either have the option to invoke a $10M buyout on Lester or a $25M vesting option in the event that he pitches 200 or more innings in 2020.

Among the other contractual courtships that the Cubs contract grants Lester are a guaranteed 25 hours of personal flying time on a private jet each calendar year and a no trade clause.

The $170M that the Cubs contract makes available to Lester was enough to make the Red Sox offer appear obsolete and halfhearted to many fans.

The final offer from Boston (while not as definitely fleshed out details wise as the actual deal Lester signed) appeared to have clocked in at $135M. Furthermore, it lacked the no trade clause that Lester, a family oriented man, has expressed desire to have.

While Lester has said many times over that he would be willing to take a hometown discount, the $20M discrepancy between the Boston and Chicago contracts in guaranteed money seemed to be too much.

He needed more from Boston if he was to return.

In the end though, the Red Sox were simply unwilling to dish out that extra mouney especially after committing nearly $200M to Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval last month.

"We had a pretty clear idea internally where we were willing to go in the offseason and we had an opportunity to go there," GM, Ben Cherington said. "What we didn't know is where the market would go. In free agency there's always a chance the market gets past where that line is. In this case it did."

The official signing at 1AM Wednesday and the Tuesday night call to management that preceded it signified a somewhat awkward end to a nine year career in Boston that won Lester two World Series rings.

Following it, there was budding animosity felt by Sox fans towards the greater debacle of the past month. Among the poster children for that anger were and still are the faces atop the Red Sox managerial ladder.

Going back to last spring, the team seemed to show apparent disrespect towards their long tenured ace. They offered him multiple small money contracts that were at times over $50-70M less than the one he just signed. As he rejected each contract, they vilified him in their interactions with the media almost attempting to portray him as someone less than the professional that he was.

The damage done in the preseason seemed to hurt the Red Sox’ chances with Lester as the team and him entered the negotiation process.

But at the same time, such rationalization for the departure of a Boston legend could be overthought.

Rather, Lester, a possible future hall of famer, a man who had already won a pair of Championships, a three time all-star and a resilient man who beat deadly cancer of the blood years ago could very well have gone to the team that offered him the money he deserved.

Jon Lester loves Boston. But the Cubs are willing to love Lester. And even if they bought his love, Lester will likely pitch as good or better than he did last season. In doing so, he will instantly make the Cubs a team, infinitely better than the one they fielded a year ago.

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Discussing the Red Sox options in search of their ace

November 26, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

With their offensive game made considerably better in the wake of this week’s Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez signings, the Red Sox have turned their focus to their biggest remaining weakness; pitching. Their options are plentiful but as time goes on, the once likely concept of a Jon Lester return to Boston is starting to become questionable.

Needless to say, though their chances with Lester have slightly lessened, their need for a high quality pitcher to anchor their staff has not.

If the Red Sox are to succeed next season they will need an ace. They will not find that ace within their current roster or their farm system. As a result, they will need to either acquire said ace through free agency or the trade market.

In terms of free agent options, the Red Sox are in a way lucky. There is an extremely seasoned crop of veteran pitchers searching for contract this offseason. Names like Max Scherzer and James Sheilds highlight that respectable group.

Scherzer and Sheilds both have an ERA under 3.5 and have shown that they are truly capable of shouldering major innings. Their ability to play those long games is characteristic of the kind of ace the Red Sox want. But at the same time, Scherzer’s recent Cy Young win as well as his being the two time defending AL Wins Champion gives him great leverage in forcing teams to give him much more money than they may want to give him. The same could be said for Shields who just recently proved his effectiveness in the playoffs with a dominant playoff run with the Royals.

The Red Sox are not afraid to pay big money. But at the same time they seem to have some strong misgivings about delving into either the Scherzer or the Sheilds market.

As of now, the most likely target for Boston, should they fail to sign Lester, would be a player currently under contract. Looking at the trade market, the options are even more bountiful.

Headliners include Reds pitcher, Johnny Cueto, Mariners’ Hisashi Iwakuma, and White Sox ace, Chris Sale.

Of those three, Sale is statistically superior with an ERA that is almost a full run less than Cueto’s and roughly .8 runs less than Iwakuma’s. However, with the Red Sox possibly shopping either infielder Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Bets or Yoenis Cespedes, a defensively competent White Sox team would likely be reluctant to deal its best pitcher for an unproven prospect and a one dimensional slugger.

With that in mind, the Red Sox are yet to engage in trade talks with the Reds, Mariners, or White Sox. However, the one team and therefore player the Sox have expressed great interest in is Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels.

Earlier this week, Philadelphia baseball reporter Jeff Passan said via Twitter that if the Red Sox miss out on Lester, “Boston's desire for an ace will make a Cole Hamels trade very likely.”

Hamels pitched to a 2.46 ERA last season and has logged 200+ innings in each of his last five seasons. He would work for the Sox although, in order to get him, the team would likely have to part ways with either Xander Bogaerts or Mookie Betts or both.

In the end, the Red Sox could go any one of many ways in the ever changing landscape of this year’s free agent and trade markets. But of the vast array of MLB teams looking for pitchers this offseason, the Red Sox, by virtue of their now immense depth offensively do definitely have an advantage should they go for a trade.

The opposite is true if they try to pay their way into a big money free agent deal as Boston is now just a few million dollars away from activating the luxury tax. 

All fears would be settled nonetheless, if Boston could get Jon Lester back. He is proven in the system and is coming off the best season of his career. Fans love him. His former Boston teammates love him just as much as management does. 

"Obviously we're doing everything we can to sign a top-tier pitcher, Jon Lester. And hopefully he'll come back,'' Red Sox owner John Henry said.

Lester is the Red Sox' priority, he is their favorite candidate. 

To paraphrase Wizard of Oz, the road to Lester is the yellow brick road. The roads to their secondary options are those other colors that nobody sings about. 

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Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval deals leave Red Sox overstaffed

November 24th, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

In the span of about three hours, the Boston Red Sox unloaded nearly $200 million in payroll over the next five years. In quick succession, reports surfaced confirming and suggesting deals to Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval respectively.

The two high profile free agents have been the talk of the MLB this offseason making today’s stunning news all that more groundbreaking.

Further complicating this though is the fact that should these two deals go final, the Boston Red Sox will have one of the most powerful offensive lineups in baseball.

Ramirez, who was signed to a $88 million four year deal with an option for a fifth year at $22 million salary, carries with him a history of speed and power. Nine years and three teams after making his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 2005, Ramirez has hit an average of 24 home runs per season. He has on seven occasions stolen more than 20 bases while all the while batting a solid .300 from various points in a batting order. He has made three All-Star Games and been named Rookie of the Year, NL Batting Leader, Silver Slugger at various points in his career.

During what has been a rather successful decade long demolition of MLB pitching, one of Ramirez most capable opponents has been long time Giants third basemen Pablo Sandoval.

Sandoval came to Boston on a similar $100 million five year contract that has since been all but signed. The value of whatever contract he would be given has been a hotly contested subject this offseason largely due to the flexibility Sandoval’s being a switch hitter allows him to possess.

The benefits of his manipulated batter/pitcher matchups, include 106 home runs and an assembled batting average of .276 in six professional seasons. Sandoval, like Ramirez, has made his presence felt in the Midsummer Classic, making the All-Star game twice.

After years of being compared to one another though, these two players have been united by a pair of marquee contracts and gargantuan salaries.  

But what does this mean for their playing time?

The answer is further clouded by the fact that there are many more names and positions in play here than those of Sandoval and Ramirez. Names like Yoenis Cespedes, Mike Napoli, Xander Boagaerts and Shane Victorino come to mind.

In short, last season’s last place finish obscured the fact that, at least on paper, this Red Sox team was already stacked with power hitting talent. But paper is not real life and after many of those players failed to live up to expectations the Sox were smart to try to bring in some fresh faces.

Those fresh faces, by nature of the equally fresh memory of the millions upon millions of dollars it took to get them, will likely play big roles for this Red Sox team next year. The other faces, by nature of the largely unsuccessful seasons that they worked towards last seasons could see their playing time suffer to accommodate the inclusion of Sandoval and Ramirez.  

More specifically, the left side of the infield as well as the outfield could see the most noticeable turnover. Sandoval and Ramirez’s natural positions are third base and short stop respectively.

As of now, it looks like Sandoval will ease into the third base position uncontested. Ramirez however might take quite a bit more shuffling to work into the lineup.

Firstly, one must understand that Dustin Pedroia will never leave second base. Second, Xander Bogaerts has already shown how much his game suffered when he made the switch from third base to short stop. Operating off of that previous knowledge the Red Sox ought to know that moving him out of the infield could be met with catastrophic results.

Remembering that Sandoval will likely be locked in at third base, that means that the only position in the infield available is first base which really is not available unless the Red Sox do something drastic and trade away Mike Napoli.

Napoli, who currently serves as a tried and true big bat out of the number four spot in the lineup, feels a little too beloved by Red Sox coaching to be let go.

So what does that leave for Ramirez? Outfield? Likely; yes.

While the Sox infield is stacked with fielding talent, the outfield is much more unstable. Shane Victorino dealt with immense injury trouble last season missing nearly 100 games with various hamstring calamities. To his right, the Red Sox center fielding position was in constant turnover with neither Jackie Bradly Jr. Mookie Betts nor even Brock Holt making a surefire case for why they should be tenured in the position. Though Yoenis Cespedes will not go anywhere, simply due to his bat, the Sox assuredly have room in the outfield to insert Ramirez should he be comfortable playing there.

If he is comfortable, then we will likely see at least one more player leaving Boston in the coming days and months. But that is not to say that the Red Sox could not get something in return.

As of now it looks like the Jon Lester contract roomers of last month have quieted. If they stay that way and the Red Sox do not get Lester, they will still be in dire need of an ace pitcher. To remedy that need, Boston could foreseeably trade a package deal of some of their top prospects for a top tier pitcher.

However, to date, no whispers suggesting the acquisition of a pitcher through the trade market have been hatched.

We may have to wait on that one.

Needless to say, the Red Sox blew things up Monday morning scooping up two of the MLB’s top hitters and dishing out some rather exorbitant sums of money in order to do so. But now they are left with a minor problem that begins to verge on worrisome. They are simply overstaffed. They have more big bats than they know what to do with and though that does not seem like a problem, if they smother any of those high value talents for too long they risk losing them. 

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Thoughts on Pablo Sandoval, Jon Lester roumers

November 12th, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

As we roll into the meat of the MLB offseason, the stove is turned up on high heat. Teams begin to toss around offers and “baseball insiders” start churning out roomers relentlessly. Unlike that of any other major sport, the baseball’s offseason becomes like a poker game with professionals, amateurs and even common fans trying to guess who will sign where and who will draw up which contracts.

But amidst the tidal wave of roomers and reports there are always a few stories that stand out. In Boston at least it seems that we already have our stories.

Since the beginning of September the MLB has been abuzz with talk of Giants first basemen Pablo Sandoval leaving San Francisco. Sandoval has rolled out quite a few good seasons with the Giants and is one of only a handful of first basemen in the league with a swing as powerful as his. The Red Sox, like the rest of the league are understandably interested. But beyond Sandoval, the Red Sox have been and still are actively interested in somehow getting star pitcher Jon Lester back via the free agent market.

Players without 2015 contracts became free agents last Monday. Since then several of the league’s top stars have already signed with teams. Sandoval and Lester, two players who are stars in their own right, however have not.

Sandoval, who just won a World Series with the Giants, seems to be on pace for a major pay day this offseason. Reports chart his preferred deal as being a 6 year $90+ million one. In exchange for that salary, he will carry a powerful swing to any team that manages to grab him while also bringing a sought after addition of likability that many players lack.

The Red Sox recognize the desirable nature of those traits and more. Sandoval, a switch hitter would give the Sox a much needed left handed hitter to plug into the middle portion of their lineup.

Furthermore, he would honestly be an upgrade from their current 1^st basemen Mike Napoli. Napoli, a modern day strikeout monger is not the kind of player the Red Sox want as he ages. As much good as his bearded glory and powerful swing did for them in 2013, it is not hard to remember any number huge slumps the 1^st basemen has suffered in his two seasons with Boston.  He is inconsistent. Sandoval is not.

The problem is that big salary. If the Red Sox were to sign Sandoval though they could conceivably end up paying 3 or 4 more million dollars than what they currently are his position. Thus the question is raised: is he worth it?

The answer is not clear; especially once the idea of a Lester deal comes into play.

Lester left the team at the trade deadline knowing very well the possibility that the team might turn around and sign him at the end of the year. This is because the Sox know what they would get out of Lester. In 8.5 seasons with Boston, Lester played over 1,500 innings while also posting a career ERA of 3.61. He expressed a fierce love for the team that often translated to a strong, positive bond with the catchers who worked so closely with him. Unlike Sandoval, all that Lester could bring to Boston is tested and proven within the system.  

But that is not all that is working in his favor.

The league interest in Lester is slightly quieter with sources reporting only six teams engaged in talks with the southpaw. Furthermore, the Sox could get away with giving Lester less years on his contract (maybe only 4 or 5 years) citing his age (31).

In short, the Red Sox have roughly $40 million of payroll per season to shuffle around this winter. 

Yearly earnings on the proposed contracts to both Lester and Sandoval could easily combine to equal that. Therefore, a Red Sox team that is still somewhat spooked by the long contracts that came back to bite them in 2011 will likely soon become skittish in their attempts to sign Sandoval or Lester.

But at the same time $40 million a year is a lot of money. As a result, it is completely understandable how and why the Sox might still take a risk on at least one player. As for who, the answer comes down to position by position depth.

As much as Napoli is a scary player for fans and the team to put their trust in, the Red Sox situation at first base is much better than at pitcher. Boston needs an ace. Jon Lester has been that before. If the team were to resign him, he would be again. 

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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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Sox spinning out of control: With the roster pretty much identical to that of 2013, this years Red Sox are a team obliterated by inexcusable deficiencies

After the Boston Red Sox went 69 and 93 in 2012, a reworked coaching staff and front office gave up on many of the younger players it was trying to develop and replaced them with a cast of characters who at best had 5 years left in the league.

Their desperate reinvention of the Boston Red Sox job description earned the team a historic turnaround that spawned an AL East division title, a tie for the best record in baseball and in the end, a 3rd World Series in the past 10 years. After such excellence, the Sox locked down stars like Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli and Johnny Gomes and penciled that cast of 2013 Sox in as a team that could earn them additional championships in the coming years. In fact, the only actual major loss the Sox suffered during the summer was that of Jacoby Ellsbury but even that was not to huge a loss because unlike years before, the combination of Shane Victorino and Xander Bogaerts meant that Ellsbury was not the only Boston base runner capable of reaching incendiary speeds.

But if someone was not familiar with last years Red Sox watched the first 2 months of this season, the expected impression of the team would not be an accurate representation of this team. Simply speaking, the Red Sox do not look like defending champions. With a win/loss record of 20-26, the Sox are playing like a team that has either been bad for a decade or has just lost all of their star players in the most catastrophic of ways.

But that is not the case. So as we examine, the 26 losses the Sox have suffered this year and even more so the 7 straight they have lost since May 15th, what do we see? Well first of all, we see a Boston defense that has been downright pathetic in comparison to last years immaculate, error less play. One of the biggest problems on the defense has been the Boston pitching. After a bizarre off-season of bargaining and taking huge salary cuts, Boston's ace, Jon Lester, has been nothing like he was post all-star game last year. Beyond him, the shaky invalid that is Clay Buchholz has played straight up horrible in 2014 earning just 2 wins out of 9 games. In those 9 games Buchholz has allowed 71 hits. By comparison, in 16 games the year before, he allowed 75. The average of close to 8 hits per game has translated to a ERA of 6.32 for Clay Buchholz and in turn one of the worst seasons by a Red Sox pitcher in years.

Beyond the lack of pitching prowus, the Sox bats have been in hibernation all year long. They have whacked just 185 runs in 46 games which translates out to a pathetic runs-per-game average of just over 4.0. Furthermore, players like David Ortiz and Mike Napoli have lacked power and clutch hitting. Ortiz has drove in just 25 runs while Mike Napoli has driven in just 22. With strikeouts running rampant throughout the Sox lineup and the absolute meat of the batting order failing to produce in the most clutch situations games have been lost when they should have been won and runners have been left on base in 8th or 9th inning situations where they absolutely had to score.

"We're in a stretch of games here where we're giving up too many runs early and we're scuffling to score runs," John Farrell said. "That's a dangerous combination right now."

As for the pitching, after Jon Lester allowed 7 runs in the first two innings of the team's most recent game, Lester was highly critical of his season and his style. 

"I've got to do a better job in the second inning minimizing damage," Lester said. "A ball that gets chopped off the plate, if it's hit a little harder, we get an out, maybe two, but that's neither here nor there. I've got to flat do a better job in that second inning of minimizing damage and do a better job of getting these guys back in the dugout, especially after that first inning when we put up one and we're trying to keep a little bit of momentum on our side, and I flat-out didn't do it."

No matter how you look at it, this years Red Sox team is playing terrible. After flopping in every majior category in the first quarter of the season, questions have begun to appear in regards to the true identity of this team. Are its players, namely Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino superstars or spotlight hungry has-been's? Is this team capable of winning again? And finally, was 2013 a fluke?

It is not my job to answer these questions. It is the job of the Red Sox and they better get started on answering these questions. 

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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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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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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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What the Red Sox need out of Jon Lester tonight: Why 8 innings is a must

Jon Lester kicked off the World Series with a rousing 5 hit 8 strikeout Game One performance. Following that 8-1 win that the Sox extended their World Series game winning streak to 9 games over 3 series appearances, it seemed that Boston had the caliber to pull off a 3rd straight series sweep. But we all know what happened next. The Sox lost home field advantage with their loss in Game 2 and then fell behind in the series following that teeth gritting obstruction call that ended Game 3.  

When Jon Lester comes to pitch tonight it will be a whole new situation compared to that surrounding Game One. First and foremost, the scene will be different. Lester went 8-7 on the road this season and posted a road ERA almost a full run higher than his home ERA. However in his 1 road start of this postseason there was no discrepancy between his home and road performance. Lester earned the win in Boston's 4-3 victory in Game 5 of the ALCS. And although he allowed 7 hits in 5.1 innings he limited a potent Tigers attack to just 2 runs. The second and far more prevalent aspect that makes this start different from others is the fact that due to recent events, the Sox bullpen door will be all but pinned shut. They have no fresh pitchers, a fact that was emphasis by John Lackey pitching out of the pen last night. In addition to that, the guys who are fresh are not desirable in clutch situations. Craig Breslow has been slipping of late and has solicited just ONE out in 3 appearances. But he is not the only man who is struggling. Ryan Dempster had flopped in the pen this postseason allowing a home run in his lone appearance back in Game 1. As for starters converted relievers like Lackey, that is not an option tonight. Lackey will be starting on Wednesday and after Clay Buchholz barely made his start yesterday, he is not an option. You can cross out Jake Peavy and then with Lester starting tonight, that is it. 

Finally, even guys who are already in the bullpen will not be available tonight as a combination of previous long stints of relief and the looming possibility of a game seven in which they will likely have to fill in for upwards of 6 innings means Workman and Dubront will need to be monitored work wise.  

There is no doubt about it, a win tonight is crucial for both teams and for the Sox to win, we know that Jon Lester needs to be good. As you delve deeper 'good' means innings. At least 8 of them. 

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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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