Up Shit Creek with a Salty, Yippy Paddle?

The news of Victor Martinez signing with the Tigers came as a big blow to me. I shouldn't have been surprised since all signs were pointing to him not signing with the Red Sox and had I not been as emotionally invested in Martinez I would have conceded defeat weeks before. As it was however, I spent the good part of Tuesday wondering what the heck Theo was thinking and lamenting the huge loss.

Now that a few days have passed and I've reluctantly made my peace with Victor not being with us next year I've turned my attention to who is currently in line to be our starting catcher next: none other than the man with the longest name in the MLB, Jarrod Saltalamacchia. I remember when Salty played with the Rangers (who can forget a name like that?) and I always admired the horseshoe shape his name made around his number on his jersey. That's really all I noticed about him. When he got traded to the Red Sox in July I hurried out to buy his shirt because I wanted that cool looking horseshoe name on the back of a shirt. To my dismay, MLB chose to shrink his name down to little letters and not give me a horseshoe shape.

That of course is neither here nor there when it comes to his playing and his ability to be our everyday catcher. The thing I find most fascinating and frightening about Salty is the fact that he had the yips last season. For those of you who don't know the yips  "is an expression used to describe the apparent loss of certain fine motor skills seemingly without explanation in one of a number of different sports." (wikipedia) Salty had shoulder surgery at some point last season and when he returned he had these yips. Apparently he could throw fine unless he was throwing to the pitcher. He exhibited no sign of these yips during his time with the Red Sox although he only played in 10 games with 19 at bats last season (with a .167 average) so I'm not sure that's a good indicator.

However, not all is lost. Lest you think I'm just sour grapes about Victor leaving, I do think that Salty could turn out OK. He was a highly touted prospect not that long ago. He has a career average of .248 which isn't great but isn't alarming either. It increases the chances that Tek will stay next with Red Sox next season. And Josh Beckett seems to like him. Anything that might help Beckett get back to his old Beckett-ness is fine in my book so I'm throwing my support behind Salty as of now, despite the yips and the lack of horseshoe shape on my Saltalamacchia shirt.

I Love Off-Season Red Sox Talk but Let's Leave VMart Out of It

When baseball season is over and there aren't any games to talk about my inclination is to start discussing off-season moves. I really enjoy talking about the possibilities and changes that may occur. They are always tinged with regret though because usually I don't really want to give up anyone, just get new people, but the thought of what we could get and what it would take is exciting. Last year I worried about Jason Bay but wasn't particularly attached to him so when he left for the Mets I wasn't heartbroken. I also was concerned about Josh Beckett's contract last off-season but I knew that even if he didn't sign anything we would still have him for at least one more year. 

This off-season I am more than happy to discuss the utter impossibility of getting Cliff Lee, whether the Red Sox should go after Werth or Crawford, and if Youk will have to move to third because first basemen seem more plentiful than third. One thing I really don't want to discuss though, is Victor Martinez. All signs are pointing to him not staying here and the names being tossed about as his replacement don't make me happy. So unless you want to discuss how certain you are that we are going to keep VMart, let's just leave his name out of the discussion.

Early Off-Season Moves Meet With My Approval

There will come a time this off-season I'm sure when I curse Theo Epstein's name and wonder why he wants to make my life miserable with the moves he has made. However, this early in the off-season I have nothing but praise for what he's done. Get rid of Kevin Cash? Yes! I have been hoping for that since Tek came off the DL. Get rid of Dusty Brown? I feel bad for the guy but I'm OK with that move. Get rid of Rich Hill to Pawtucket? Sure, why not? Sign Salty to a 1 year deal to avoid arbitration? Yes, please! I also appreciate that all the reports that I heard about the Salty signing mentioned that the contract has different amounts based on whether he is in the minors or the majors last year. Perhaps that is standard on this kind of contract but I like the thought the option is still there to start him in Pawtucket and have Tek and Victor back as our catchers next year.  So I will hold onto my good feelings for Theo for now until he inevitably drops a bomb on me and makes me rue the day I ever started watching the Red Sox.

Because It's Never to Early to Start Making Predictions About Next Year

Now that I've had a little time to digest the fact that the season is actually over and there will be no Red Sox to watch for quite a few months now, I'm ready to turn my attention to next year. Although I love watching baseball and miss it I must admit that I really, really enjoy talking about off-season moves. October, of course, is much too early to really make any predictions about next year so all of my outlandish predictions I am about to make are based solely in my imagination and have just a slight handhold on reality.

1. Josh Beckett will return in 2011 as a soulless, pitching monster and rightfully regain his place as the Red Sox ace. This one is really a no brainer. Things can't get worse for Josh, they can only get better. So if one is to assume that next year is going to be better for Josh, let's go whole hog and say not only will it be better, it will be his ultimate year. You thought 2007 was good? It was nothing compared to what 2011 will be like.

2. Jason Varitek will return to the Red Sox for one more year and announce he will retire at the end of 2011. A win-win for everyone. Tek gets to stay with the Red Sox for one more year and leave with the dignity and send-off he deserves. In the meantime, he will continue to be Josh's catcher (thus ensuring Josh of his monster year, see prediction #1), do some great hitting when he is in the lineup, and continue to do an excellent job of backing up VMart. Which brings us to ...

3. Victor Martinez will sign a 4 year deal with the Red Sox for a reasonable amount of money. Victor doesn't want a huge payout, he just wants what he deserves and a little job security to go with it. I predict Theo will see that this is the way to go with Salty not being ready to be the full-time catcher and no free agent or trade available catchers who are better than Victor. Combine that with the fact that Clay loves him and really, I don't see why it is a question whether he should be signed or not.

4. Youk moves to 3rd base and the Red Sox get some new 1st baseman. I'm not ready to predict who they might get to play 1st base but I have a hunch that Beltre won't be back next year and 1st basemen seem more plentiful than 3rd basemen. I prefer Youk at 1st myself.

5. Darnell McDonald comes back as a utility man but Daniel Nava does not. Darnell I can easily see slipping into the Bill Hall role (although hopefully we won't need him as much as we needed Hall) but I think Nava will go on to smaller, greener pastures. I wish him the best of luck.

6. Jacoby Ellsbury will be back in centerfield and all will be forgiven all around. Look, everyone had bad feelings last year about the Ellsbury situation. He wasn't happy, the Red Sox weren't happy, the media wasn't happy (or maybe they were because it made a good story), fans weren't happy. I predict next year Jacoby will regain his place in centerfield, steal a million bases, be a fantastic lead-off hitter, and make everyone forget about this debacle.

7. Lowrie and Scoots will have a knock down drag-em-out fight during Spring Training for the shortstop position. And Lowrie will win. Scoots will be back up. Lowrie is tougher than he looks and could totally take down Scoots.

8. Jon Lester will win the Cy Young award. I predicted this would happen this year but that's not looking like it will pan out so I'm going with 2011 being his year. Now remember, Josh is having a monster year this year so that means Jon has to be a smidgen better. This will make Josh even more motivated for 2012.

9. Papelbon will start the year out as the closer but Daniel Bard will finish the year as the closer. Pap is still good and I'd love to see him bounce back but my prediction is he won't and Bard will be eased in.

10. J.D. Drew will continue to quietly kick ass. Yeah, J.D. had a slight off year in 2010 but I think next year he'll be back to form. No one will notice though because he will be so unobtrusive about it.

11. The Red Sox will win the World Series. Why not?

Maybe I'll Sleep Better When Baseball Season is Over

I had a horrible nightmare Saturday night that Josh Beckett got traded to the Mets for nothing in return. The Mets! My sister woke me up (I was staying over her house so I could go to Fenway Saturday and Sunday) and I mumbled to her "Is it true? Did they trade Josh to the Mets?" My sister says that I need to lay off the baseball because clearly I'm thinking about it way too much. She said that even before I told her about the dream I had the other night that Victor Martinez was working for me and threatened to quit if I didn't fire someone else, and I panicked because you know it's hard to replace a good catcher. So I may indeed sleep better when baseball ends in two weeks but then I get to thinking about off-season moves and realize that those kinds of things may keep me up at night.

Fenway this weekend was glorious, made even more so but the ticking down of days until there will be no more. Josh is starting to resemble himself again which is always good because you know the Mets probably would open him with welcome arms if Theo were to offer. Jon Lester was his usual pitching god self yesterday and Victor was Victor, being as close to perfect as one can get without actually being perfect, since no one is you know.

One more game for me this season, the last one on October 3rd. I'm hoping for a big blowout win against the Yankees just to send them to the off-season on a bad note but  I'll take any kind of good baseball the Red Sox are willing to give.

It's Like Victor Always Says - No One Is Perfect

God, why is no one perfect?

Victor has had a lot of opportunities lately to remind us that no one is perfect. He only took two of those opportunities to actually say it out loud (when DiceK pitched last and after that terrible performance from Clay the other night) but he easily could have mentioned it at least a dozen times more. I honestly don't remember off the top of my head the outcomes of all the games in the last couple of series but I know there was plenty of not perfect playing going on.

John Lackey looked sharp on Saturday night (much sharper than I was since the game started so late) but as is his MO he had one bad inning and blew it. And then Daniel Bard came in and made things worse. I didn't like Bard's explanation that he didn't have enough adrenalin going. You keep that up buddy and I'll get your adrenaline going. Josh Beckett yesterday was both good and bad. Walking 4 batters in a row is never a good thing but he ended up with the win. I can just imagine Lackey thinking to himself that he had pitched better the day before and it was everyone else's fault that he didn't win.

As for me, I'm enjoying fall baseball and watching these exhibition games without looking over my shoulder at the Yankees and the Rays.  Soon enough we will be without.

Doubleheader Day

Doubleheader day wasn't quite the sweep we were looking for but Victor Martinez telling me Josh was dominant and mentioning his cutter and curveball is always a good thing.

The idiot rookie ump who had Beltre thrown out in the 2nd inning of last night's game really should have some consequences heaped on him but we all know that that won't happen because umps think they are infallible. Peter Gammons was quite worked up about it on the post-game show. For the record, I adore Peter Gammons and would love to have him over to watch a game with me and do some commentary while we watch. I'll provide beer and snacks Pete! If he were accompanied by the Surviving Grady guys, even better.

Day off today and then on to Tampa Bay where we have a chance to really make a play at the wild card. It is almost too much for me to bear watching but you know I will be.

Some Rainy Day Reflections

On this, an unexpected off night for the Red Sox, I was inspired to write a blog post because I realized that we only have 6 weeks of regular baseball left. It's hard to believe as April 4th seems like it was just a few weeks ago but here we are in the home stretch with a great degree of uncertainty about whether the season will end on October 3rd or if the Sox will still be in it.

Putting that thought aside for a moment, I noticed that my last post (aptly titled "The Clouds are Closing in) was written almost 20 days ago. How that could be, I don't know, since plenty has happened in Red Sox world in those 20 days. Had I been posting I'm sure I would have mentioned Josh Beckett's inconsistent starts, Jon Lester's inability to adjust to the new baby in his house, Clay's remarkable ability to adjust to his new baby, the addition of Saltalamacchia to the mix and his subsequent trip to the DL, Youk's season ending surgery, Pedroia's return to the lineup and then return to the DL, Ellsubry's return to the lineup and then return to the DL, Mike Lowell rejoining the team as an everyday player, Kalish showing why he was such a touted prospect, the return of Daniel Nava, the demotion of Jeremy Hermida, Okie's trip to the DL, Ramon Ramirez getting traded to somewhere, and the expressionless but mighty Felix Doubront joining the bullpen. I'm sure other things happened that I missed, so be sure to point them out in the comments.

And those are just the things that have happened in the past few weeks. If you take the whole season, boy do you have a story. So even if the Sox don't make the playoffs (admit it, the thought has crossed your mind a time or two) you can't say it hasn't been a good season. For pure drama alone this season has been gold.

I'm already planning my off-season - watching the 2004 World Series DVDs my Mom bought me for my birthday, watching my 2007 World Series highlights DVD again, planning my trip to Spring Training, you get the idea. Not that I'm giving up on this season (au contraire!) but it's good to plan ahead. Last season left me bereft so quickly, I plan on being better prepared this time around. And you, what are your plans for the off-season?

As an aside, if you have not heard Victor Martinez' accent here is your chance.

The Clouds Are Closing In

Maybe it is the weather today or perhaps it was that god awful game last night but I'm feeling a tad bit pessimistic about the Red Sox this morning. When Jon Lester takes the mound against the Indians I'm counting on a blowout win and by that I don't mean a blowout win for the Indians.

Jon Lester cannot be blamed solely for this loss, it was a team effort loss thanks to crappy errors by Scoots and VMart as well as some not so good pitching by Atchison. At least Manny del Carmen pitched well, which is really all the good that can be said about last night's game. After the triumphant return of Mike Lowell on Tuesday and the return of the crazy, angry Josh Beckett (as opposed to the cynical, stoic Josh Beckett) I was expecting more than that.

I will say this - last night's loss combined with Monday night's loss is making me much more worried about the upcoming Yankees series than I usually am. This could be make it or break it time. So step it up guys, forget about all those new babies that have arrived with their resulting life altering ways and play your little hearts out.

A V-Mart Story in Honor of His Return to the Lineup

Now that it is official that V-Mart has returned to the lineup I feel inclined to share my V-Mart story with you. Most of my readers have probably heard this story in person but it bears repeating.

About a month ago I was at a Red Sox game watching Tim Wakefield warm up in the bullpen when V-Mart came over and started stretching. I stood up, waved, and yelled loudly "Hi Victor!!" and he looked over, nodded and smiled at me. That's right, nodded and smiled. If you don't believe me just ask @__fc. She was there.

Saturday I'm going to another Red Sox game. I'm planning on wearing my I Heart V-Mart shirt and yelling hi to him again. I'm hoping for more than a smile and a nod. Perhaps an "Hola!" or "Camisa agradable!" and of course I will respond with "Gracias! Buena suerte Victor!"

Cuts Like a Knife

Perhaps I am dating myself here but Bryan Adams' "Cuts Like a Knife" video was the first video I ever saw on MTV (at my grandmother's house, we didn't have cable at the time). Yesterday's Red Sox game reminded me of that video, minus the "but it feels so right" line and Bryan Adams hanging out in an empty swimming pool.

Watching Oki blow that game was like a knife to the gut. I was standing there pounding my forehead with my fist and screaming at Tito to get him out of there. The offense could have made a comeback. It was not beyond possibility but with the way they've been hitting lately it would have been surprising. 

Tonight (hopefully) we get the return of V-Mart which can only be good. I must admit to having some trepidation that his long absence will has cooled his bat off, especially since he got off to such a slow start this season. Also, I don't want to heap too much hope on one guy. V-Mart's a good hitter but he's not going to single-handedly turn things around. We do have John Lackey on the mound tonight and he has been pitching pretty well lately but if even Jon Lester couldn't get a win I'm not counting on starting pitching to win this for us. Three more nights of these west coast games and then the boys come home (and we can all go to bed at a reasonable hour again).

The Week There Was No Baseball

This past week I was on vacation without a TV and went an entire week without seeing a baseball game and let me tell you, it was no fun. I tried to convince my husband to bring our old satellite dish and a receiver but he just looked at me like I was crazy. Of course, Josh Beckett chose the week I was on vacation to make his return and I did listen to 3 innings of that game on Friday because it was Josh Beckett and I had to be present in some way for his return. Despite my having missed everything this week I still have some random thoughts about the Red Sox to share.

- How odd to come back to find Nava gone, Hermida back, and Lowrie raised from the dead.

- Patterson went from hero to the goat pretty quickly after his error broke up Lester's perfect game last night.

- I called my sister yesterday and told her that for now she can wear the Wacky for Lackey shirt I bought her with pride but not to get too comfortable in it.

- Victor Martinez could be back as soon as Monday! Woot! I have been pretty down on Kevin Cash but as @shelley1005 pointed out to me last night on Twitter imagine what the past few weeks would have been like without him. So a big hat tip to Cash.

- Could a couple of weeks on the DL really cause Clay to have that much rust to shake off?

- I know Big Papi hit a home run last night and it was great to see him prove the naysayers wrong by winning the Home Run Derby but I still think there is a correlation between his decreased home runs since All-Star break and his participation.

- Who would have thought Scott Atchison would be so durable and useful?

- Jon Lester angry is a scary sight. I wouldn't want to meet angry Jon Lester anywhere. I would bet Hanley Ramirez agrees with me.

- I think Youk's new beard is a good look for him.

- Found out this morning that Daniel Bard is the Red Sox union player's representative. Daniel Bard? If I were a player on the Red Sox I would want someone aggressive to be my rep. Maybe Youk or Beltre.

- Josh Beckett is back. Need I say more?

Do you have any random Red Sox thoughts? Share below.

Photo from http://letsgosox.blogspot.com/

The baseball gods claim another victim in their attempt to stop the Red Sox

Call it the curse of interleague play if you will but the Red Sox who returned to Boston last night are a battered, bruised bunch. Between Pedey, Clay, and now V-Mart we are lucky we have a team to put out on the field.

The number of times NESN replayed V-Mart getting hit on his toe with that foul ball was disturbing because every time they showed it all I could think about was the time I lost my baby toenail and then ran over it with a stroller. Victor had hit that same toe and lost the toe nail just a few weeks ago. It made me feel a little sick. Also, for the record, I'm pretty sure V-Mart was crying behind his mask, and really, can you blame the guy? If you haven't seen the video, take a look here and let me know if you think he's crying. The odd thing is that it wasn't even the toe that caused him to be pulled from the game, but his thumb, which broke after being hit twice with foul balls.

I'm crossing my fingers and toes that V-Mart is not out for long, because without him and Pedey things are going to get dicey. Now imagine if we lost Beltre and Youk as well. Oy vey!

There is No Justice in Interleague Play (and some VMart talk)

You know how NESN wants to get you fired up for the next series and shows you some vignettes of the Red Sox playing whoever is coming up next with some intriguing voice over? Well, last night they had a whole commercial devoted to the interleague play coming up and my first thought was that wow, there is a lot of interleague play coming up and then I was angry about the inequity of our interleague schedule all over again (and I had just gotten over it recently too). How is it that the Red Sox play the Philles and the Dodgers (the Phillies twice no less!) while the Dvil Rays get the Marlins and the Yankees get the Mets. Sure we've got the Giants and the Diamondbacks in the mix too but that really doesn't make up for the Phillies and Dodgers. I know these match-ups are based on "natural rivalry" but the Devil Rays and the Marlins are rivals at what? Competing for fans in a market that has no fans for either of them? And why are the Red Sox and Phillies "natural rivals?" Because they are both awesome teams? I can see the rationale behind the Yankees/Mets but it seems more like the big class bully beating up on the younger, wimpier kid. Either way, I don't think I like it. Beyond the novelty of seeing pitchers hit, there isn't much in it for us.

In other news on my mind lately Victor Martinez is not only back to kicking butt in the lineup but apparently he is just a really nice guy as well. Gordon Edes has this story about Victor and his host family from when he was playing in the minors and living in Cleveland. Then there is this article about Victor on mlb.com which I also really enjoyed. And then there is this, I really enjoyed this.

Accentuate the Positive

Plenty has been written this morning about last night's crushing defeat at the hands of the Yankees - a game that frankly we deserved to win after clawing our way back from a 5-1 deficit. I could write paragraphs and paragraphs about it but I'm not going to because after losing 3 straight games with no one thing you can blame for it, I think it's time to be positive and think about the good things that have happened lately. I know, I know, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades but at this point what else do we have to hold on to but the feeling that things could turn around at any second.

- V-Mart. That man has been in such a slump that I cringe when he comes up to bat with 2 outs. That's not how I viewed V-Mart last year. Well, last night he had 2 home runs. That's right, 2!

- J.D. Drew. Everyone's favorite outfielder (did you see the beautiful diving/sliding play he made on Saturday?) was the man of the hour last night, coming through in a clutch with a 3 run home run and putting the Red Sox back in the game.

- David Ortiz. He may not be the Big Papi we remember but he isn't the sad sack he was last month. He's been doing some damage lately and showing some fire.

- Marco Scutaro. Nope, I didn't like Marco's signing. I loved Gonzo and didn't want to see him gone. Marco though, has been making some really nice looking plays out there and he has filled in the lead off spot very admirably for Ellsbury. Combine that with his funny facial expressions and we've got a winner.

- Dice-K. He's proven that he can only pitch well with Varitek behind the plate and when he does he's brilliant. Oh wait, this is getting into negative territory so I should stop there.

- Josh Beckett. No, he hasn't done anything great lately but I can feel it in my bones that he's going to tear through those Yankees tonight and avenge Tim Wakefield. Then he might punch Papelbon for good measure.

Any high points I have missed? Feel free to comment. Kara and I changed our blog settings so that anyone can comment without logging in so if you've been wanting to disagree (or agree) with me anonymously, here's your chance.

The Mayor's Cup is Ours!

Blogger is being difficult and not letting me upload the picture of Youk that I wanted to put here so imagine if you will that there is a picture of Youk over to the left hand side.

It was a banner day yesterday for our much maligned offense. Youk, Pedroia, and Martinez together had seven runs and 4 RBIs. Ortiz hit a beautiful homerun and even Tug got in on the homerun action in the 7th, causing the inevitable Tug chants to start up. Youk was on fire yesterday to the point that every time he stepped up to the plate I just knew he was going to do something awesome. It was perfect Sunday afternoon baseball. The Sox won 11-5 in the end.

Big doings tonight with the Red Sox taking on the Tampa Bay Rays who are shaping up to be the team to beat this year. It is NESN's last televised Spring Training game and Josh Beckett is pitching so I expect you all to be watching.

The Pitcher Catcher Relationship

I read with interest today Pete Abraham's article at boston.com and Rob Bradford's article at weei.com, both of which dealt with the relationship between Josh Beckett and Victor Martinez. Or more specifically, how that relationship is getting better during spring training.

I'm sure you all remember that horrendous outing Josh had last August against The Blue Jays which marked the beginning of a bad streak that went on for a month. Martinez was behind the plate for that game and at the time I blamed it all on him. (Just for the record, I do really like Martinez. I just bought a Martinez shirt and I always have a thing for catchers. Yes, I'm looking at you Matt Weiters, even though you play for the Orioles.) But the next few starts were with Varitek so it was hard to lay blame on Martinez's step.

In reading the two recent articles though, I think my initial reaction was probably right. Beckett gives his comfort level with Martinez a 7 on a scale of 1-10 right now. I think we can speculate that it was probably much lower last season. I for one would love to see Varitek catch for Beckett all the time but that's probably unrealistic. So it is heartening to see Martinez and Beckett working well together.

In 2006 Beckett struggled to get used to pitching to Vartiek and said later that he should have listened to Tek more. Apparently he did in 2007 and had his best season yet. Let's hope he doesn't take nearly so long to get used to Martinez.