The Red Sox need an identity for the new decade

As some one who grew up reading Dan Shaughnessy's columns in The Boston Globe and who has gained what little popularity I have from the HBO Series loosely based on Shaughnessy's book, I probably shouldn't disagree with the red headed one too often.

But I take issue with HIS taking issue with this being a bridge season for the Red Sox.

IT IS A BRIDGE SEASON!

Why not admit it?

The Red Sox are in a transition... not a major rebuilding plan, but in a transition where they are more than just one big signing away from winning the whole kit and the kaboodle as well.

I do not want to see them just plugging holes with too many veterans that don't fit, chasing after their tail like the Yankees did from 2005-2008.

But I've said that before.

I do know what I want the Red Sox to do, and it has NOTHING to do with Jason Bay... or Adrian Gonzalez... or even Roy Halladay.

The Red Sox have lost their identity offensively.

They were the Papi and Manny show. Well Papi is a shell of his former self and even though Theo seems hell bent on acquiring everyone ELSE named Ramirez, Manny is long gone and his replacement Bay looks gone too.

Now Pedroia, Youk and Victor Martinez all make for an OK lineup... and maybe even one that could win another wild card. But they need a new identity.

And I do not know the names of the guys who will be that new identity.

One is a terrific left handed hitter.
The other is a fearsome right handed hitter.

And preferably they are two guys will either be a product of the Red Sox farm system or be plucked from another organization and use up their rookie eligibility in a Sox uniform.

Think about the great combinations the Red Sox have had since the franchise was revived in 1967.

Tony Conigliaro and Carl Yastrzemski...
This would have been the most beloved 1-2 punch in Red Sox history had Jack Hamilton's pitch not hit Tony C in the face.

As it was, the two had a few terrific years together with Yaz providing the all around offense and Tony C smacking the home runs and making the hearts flutter.




Fred Lynn and Jim Rice...

Both could have been the MVP in 1975 or in 1979 (Lynn won it in 1975.)
Rice WAS the MVP in 1978.

I can not recall a better 1-2 tandem of home grown players who emerged at the same time as these two. A new Lynn-Rice for the 2010s would be the greatest thing to happen to Red Sox Nation since Dave Roberts' steal.

(Isn't it odd that the Red Sox amidst the Yawkey years held onto RICE and not Lynn?)



Wade Boggs and Jim Rice...

It's funny. I originally felt apologetic about including these two. But why? They are both Hall of Famers... and they gave the Red Sox a righty-lefty threat that was quite unique. Twice when Jim Rice was a top 5 finisher for the MVP, Boggs won the batting title and led the league in on base percentage in the same year.

Plus had Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell, Ray Knight or Mookie Wilson made an out in the 10th inning of Game 6, then THEY would have been the ones to have lifted the Curse!



Mike Greenwell and Ellis Burks...

Granted the least sexy of the lefty-righty tandems. But Burks was a solid all around offensive player who continued to produce long after the Red Sox dumped him. (He came back to earn a ring with the 2004 squad.) And Mike Greenwell may not have been a Hall of Famer like Williams, Yaz or Rice... but he gave the Red Sox 9 full seasons in left, hitting .295 or better in 8 of those seasons, had some decent pop and was runner up to Jose Canseco in the 1988 MVP vote.


Mo Vaughn and Nomar Garciaparra

Doesn't it seem like they had more than 2 full seasons together? They were a perfect duo. Vaughn, the big lovable lug from Connecticut who was beloved by the fans and helped ease the Red Sox terrible reputation with African American players... but also could launch homers that just towered into the bullpen and be a .300 hitter and a top 5 MVP finisher 3 times. (Yeah he won the MVP in 1995... but Albert Belle should have won it.)

And Nomar, whose name became a rallying cry, was the 1997 Rookie of the Year his first full season with Vaughn and the MVP runner up his second and final year with Vaughn. When Vaughn left it broke up the tandem that seemed destined to break the curse.


David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez

Ahhh the ones who DID break The Curse. And we now know they weren't just eating Wheaties either.

But for those magical 5 1/2 seasons, there was no middle of the order that spelled doom faster than Papi and Manny. Papi brought the best out of Manny and Manny made sure Papi saw some fast balls to hit!

Papi had 5 straight top 5 MVP finishes in that run and Manny had 3 top 10 MVP finishes in the same 5 year run.



And you will note that with the exception of Papi and Manny, they were all products of the Sox farm system. And only Manny was a player of note before coming over.

These were hitters who played either their whole career as a Red Sox hitter or at least played their prime years in Fenway.

I am not talking about importing Adrian Gonzalez or Matt Holliday and seeing them break down in a Red Sox uniform or not fit in to the crazy Boston sports culture.

We need to develop our own... and then use the Red Sox resources to keep them around. They way that Pedroia, Youkilis, Lester, Ellsbury, Papelbon and hopefully Buchholz, Bard and Bowden will be Red Sox for a long long time.

The time has come for the next great 1-2 punch in Red Sox history... and until then we are on a bridge.

Let's hope this bridge is built quicker than the Big Dig!

Get Well Yaz

Captain Carl… my favorite player and my grandma’s too… had triple bypass surgery the
other day.

Perhaps too many Kahn’s products.

Recover quickly. There are many more opening day pitches to throw out.

But I want you on the mound for game one of the World Series.

GAME 1 THOUGHTS

- Look, I don't care if that game bored you or not. I know it wasn't exciting... but I am a selfish man. I don't care about America being entertained. I care about the Red Sox winning... so knowing the game was over 1 batter into the bottom of the first was kind of refreshing.

- I was thrilled to see Yaz throw out the first pitch. While watching the game at my friend Julius Sharpe's home, we both noticed that Yaz looks like an old man now. Then we realized he wasn't a young man when we watched him. And then with some further reflection it dawned on us that WE are no longer young men. Julius is losing his hair and I am getting gray.

And neither one of us hit the triple crown, slammed 400 homers and 3,000 hits. So maybe we should cut Yaz some slack.


- I guess all of those collumnists who wrote stories about how the Rockies will not be intimidated by the World Series are writing their retractions. Scooby and Shaggy showed a stronger resolve. When I look into a hitter's eyes, the first name I think of should NOT be Don Knotts.

- You know it is a blow out and a lousy game when McCarver and Buck start talking about how nice it is that the bench players are getting in to play.

That's something Walter Matthau should be thinking when getting Lupus into right field, not the World Series.


- How pissed off were Rockies manager Clint Hurdle and pitching coach Bob Apodaca at Franklin Morales?

They brought in Morales, who started 2 playoff games this year, to basically eat up innings in a blow out.
I'm sure they were hoping for 2 or maybe 3 innings out of him.
They got two outs... seriously. Thanks for the help.


- Morales was Bob Gibson compared to Ryan Speier.
This was his assignment:

You have 2 outs and are facing the number 8 and 9 hitters.
We're losing by 9.
Throw strikes.
And he did. He threw 4 strikes.

Unfortunately for him he also threw 12 balls and walked the 8th, 9th and leadoff man... all with the bases loaded.

That has to be the worst middle relief performance in World Series history.
I mean you are already down by 9 facing Julio Lugo.
Why not throw it down the heart of the plate?


- You know it is a bad game when the highlight was Royce Clayton and Coco Crisp discussing Tacos.
If you haven't seen it enjoy... no doubt it will be the next Dane Cook Oct-TO-ber clip

In honor of Yaz...

... who was the first American Leaguer with 3,000 hits and 400 homers

... who was the last Triple Crown winner

... who more than held his own to replace Ted Williams

... who was not only my favorite player but also my grandmother's

... and whose name is so hard to spell, I had to look it up (Yastrzemski)

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 8!!!!

(Man, it's been a while since the number went down!)