In 2012 the marriage between former Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine and the team was a modern day version of the RMS Titanic as this team was doomed from the start of spring training. Valentine rubbed some of his veteran players such as designated hitter David Ortiz and second baseman Dustin Pedroia the wrong way early in the season and the results showed on the field as the Red Sox finished 2012 in last place of the American League East for the first time since 1992. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington pegged former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell to become Boston’s new skipper in 2013. Farrell was extremely familiar with the Red Sox organization as he was the team’s pitching coach from 2007-2010. Farrell’s calming approach was just what the Red Sox ship needed to guide them out of rough waters.
Last week the Red Sox clinched their first AL East Division Title since 2007 and they will be heading back to the postseason for the first time since 2009 with an eye on winning their third World Series Championship in the past 10 years.
The Red Sox have primarily succeeded this season with a veteran ball club reminiscent of the “idiots” of 2004 that ended Boston’s 86-year drought of not winning the World Series. That Red Sox team was led by the likes of Johnny Damon and Kevin Millar who let their hair grow as they lived by the phrase “cowboy up”. Now the 2013 Red Sox have allowed their facial hair to grow as they are led by Pedroia, catcher Jared Saltalamacchia, first baseman Mike Napoli, and outfielder Shane Victorino.
After fending of the pesky Tampa Bay Rays for the majority of the summer, the Red Sox have been able to call first place their own since July 28.
What has allowed the Red Sox to succeed this season is that they don’t have a superstar on this team, but they have players that have bought into Farrell’s team first philosophy and they are do many things well.
Ortiz and Napoli are the only Red Sox players to have hit more than 20 home runs this season, but the team has 8 players with double-digits in homers. Ortiz is currently the only Red Sox everyday player that is sporting a batting average over .300, but Boston has five players with a batting average above .290. Entering play today the Red Sox also own the second best on-base percentage in the American League at .348.
The Red Sox have also dealt with several key injuries this season, but it has just been the next man up to make a play. Ortiz missed the first few weeks of the Major League Baseball season as he was still recovering from an Achilles injury that he suffered in 2012. Ortiz came back with a vengeance as he leads the Red Sox in home runs (29), runs batted in (98), batting average (.307), and on-base percentage (.393) which was highlighted by him being selected to his 9th MLB All-Star Game this past summer. Victorino has been slowed of late with a hamstring injury which has taken away his ability to be a switch hitter. Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has been sidelined the past few weeks with a compound stress fracture in his right foot. Ellsbury is the table setter for the Red Sox as his 52 stolen bases lead MLB, but Boston’s lineup hasn’t skipped a beat as for the month of September the Red Sox have had 8 games in which they have scored more than 7 runs in a contest which was highlighted by a 20-run outburst on September 4 against the Detroit Tigers.
The Red Sox starting rotation has seen starting pitcher Clay Buchholz be sidelined for three months with a neck injury. Prior to the injury Buchholz was 9-0 on the season with a 1.71 earned run average as he was in the running to win the AL’s Cy Young Award. Buchholz has returned this month pitching in three outings and giving the Red Sox another arm heading into the postseason. After signing a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Red Sox in 2009, starting pitcher John Lackey was looked at as a free agent bust for the Red Sox. After missing the entire 2012 season following Tommy John surgery, Lackey has helped the Red Sox starting rotation. Lackey has a sub-.500 record at 10-12, but his 3.44 earned run average leads the team. Starting pitcher Jon Lester leads the ball club with 15 victories as he has once again found the form that he formerly had when Farrell was his pitching coach. Cherington acquired starting pitcher Jake Peavy from the Chicago White Sox prior to the MLB trade deadline and he has been spot on with a 3-1 record to go along with a 3.68 since joining the Red Sox.
As far as the Red Sox closing pitcher role goes, coming out of spring training it was expected to be Joel Hanrahan before arm issues derailed his season. Andrew Bailey was the next man up before a shoulder injury put him on the shelf. Now the duties have fallen into the lap of Japanese born Koji Uehara who has 21 saves with a 1.12 earned run average on the season.
This was the kind of team that we saw from the Red Sox in 2004. A band of brothers from all walks of life that never gave up and didn’t point fingers when they fell behind 3-0 to the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series before rallying to win the final four games of the series. These Red Sox have survived the grueling journey that is the AL East where four of the five teams within the division are currently posting winning records. The Red Sox have also embraced the city of Boston’s motto of “Boston Strong” in the wake of this past spring’s Boston Marathon bombings. The Red Sox organization has once again bought into this “idiot” culture as last Wednesday night at Fenway Park any fan that came in sporting a beard got into the game for just one dollar. Players such as Napoli, Victorino, Ellsbury, and Saltalamacchia are pending free agents, but they are enjoying the ride. With the likes of Victorino, Ortiz, and Pedroia, there is World Series Championship experience on this club and the Red Sox hope that it will deliver another World Series Championship to Yawkey Way.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
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