SoxSport

Has to be Yaz. Yaz had one of the greatest seasons by a player ever that year. Triple crown winner. The last one, in fact. He carried the team the last two months, and came up big in the final weekend series with the Twins which decided the Pennant. He also did it on the field--certainly the greatest defensive left fielder ever for the Sox, and one of the greatest overall. Somebody mentioned Mantle. I think Mickey was a bit past his prime at that point, with all the problems he had with his knees. I did see Mantle in the 50s, and he was something. He could do it all. He hit .356 in '57 when Williams hit .388. It was a close race for the batting title until September when Williams did not make an out for two weeks--reached base a record number consecutively -14 times? Can't recall. He pulled away and almost hit .400 again. In '57, Mantle hit the longest HR I ever saw at Fenway--batting RHd--halfway up the light tower in dead CF above the 379 sign. Maybe 20 feet above the monster wall. I met him some years ago, just before he passed, and he didn't recall it. You had to see it to believe it.

This is a learning process for Tito. He has to figure out where the two new guys fit in the lineup. Off yesterday, he has to be thinking AdGon is my best hitter; he bats 3rd. Crawford bats 5th. Everything else looks OK. Except I wish he had left Wheeler in there in the 8th. I read this morning Bard thinks he threw OK. He needs to look at the film. Not enough 98 heat, kid.

Some of those guys looked like they needed another week of spring training. They may be putting too much pressure on Crawford batting 3rd--especially against lefthanders. It's looking like 3rd belongs to AdGon. He's their best hitter.

Ump was terrible. Wasn't calling corners, either.

Wake would have been an excellent start for this game. If his knuckler was working, they would have never hit him. Of course, that is the question with Wake.

Not quite the same team we saw in Houston the other night. But then the Rangers aren't the Astros. Good to see Papi hit that HR off Oliver. That will buy him at least 100 more at bats against lefties. Bard and Crawford stand out as stinkers in this one. Crawford looked like a deer in headlights against LHP. Tito can't bat that guy 3rd against lefthanders. Bard? How can a guy who makes his living on 98 heat shake his catcher off on a 3-2 pitch and throw a curveball? Granted Murphy got a lucky hit on an outside pitch, but Theo must have winced trading that guy for a broken down closer. Some of these guys don't look ready to play. Maybe Tito needs to sharpen the starters for 5-6 games together at the end of spring training. A fast start is critical in their division.

Poor Lou will be remembered as the guy who traded Jeff Bagwell for a quick bullpen fix.

Lester is one of those guys you don't start in April.

Lester is a slow starter. Youks looks good at the plate.That's a relief. AdGon is a monster hitter. Looks like an MVP already.

Lowrie should be batting for Papi. He looks overmatched against lefties. But then so does Crawford.LOL.

Lonborg was a better pitcher than skier--for one year. Mel Parnell. Great lefty with a sinker--effective at Fenway. The best post-war Red Sox pitcher until his retirement. A pity the Sox had only Mel and Ellie Kinder when they had those great hitting teams in the late 40s/early 50s. The Yankees had Raschi, Reynolds and Lopat. That was the difference.

Anyone who didn't say Pedro was joking.

Has to be Buckner in the infamous 80s Mets series. Though I haven't forgiven Lee for throwing that loopy meatball to Perez and costing the Sox the Series in '75. The most a**hole pitch I've ever seen in a big situation. Typical Lee, who had pitched a great game to that point. One more--same World Series as Buckner, against the Mets. McNamara taking out Clemens with a 3-2 lead in the 8th, and Clemens dominant. That rookie closer Schiraldi blew the game and the series. And McNamara got himself fired for it in the spring by Jean Yawkey, who was furious. Imagine taking out a dominant pitcher in that situation for a rookie. A case of overmanaging. He also wrecked Schiraldi's career. All you young guys are spoiled by the Francona era Red Sox. It used to be a lot worse. On Everett: His career was wrecked by himself, his manager Jimy Williams and the Boston media.

Haven't seen him hit the ball hard yet. Hope that thumb is OK. He has that funny grip on the bat where he slides his hand down. You wonder if he's feeling that thumb.

They finally put it together tonite against the Astros. Awesome performance. Beckett looked good. Salty is a big surprise. Hitting well from both sides. He looks lean and mean--in better shape than when I saw him in Pawtucket last August. He may have been hurting last year. Time for a few wins.

Pedro Martinez in his prime is the best pitcher I've seen in my lifetime. The only other pitcher who could compare was Bob Gibson in the mid-60s. He was unhittable in the '67 World Series. Pedro is probably as good as any pitcher who ever lived. Pedro himself mentioned Bob Gibson as the best he has seen in an interview with Bob Costas.

Buchholz might have won the Cy if he hadn't gotten bombed his next to last outing in the season. Lasted one inning, gave up a bunch of runs which kicked his era up over 2. Having said that, his BABIP was very low, so his ERA may increase this year. That stat has some significance--baseball is a game of inches, and statistics have a way of evening out. Lester and Buchholz were incredibly successful last year in a very tough division. Lester probably has a better chance of repeating, but you never know. Buchholz has looked good enough in ST. All this talk about winning 100 games, I think 90-95 is more realistic in that division. I see Texas is throwing 2 left handers at them in the first 3 games down there. Just watch teams stack left handed pitchers against them this year.

Yeah, the Mayors cup doesn't mean anything. Never heard of it before Remy, and I've seen a few games down there. I don't care much for those ST games--too many minor leaguers and not very competitive. The Red Sox are everybody's favorites to win everything this year, and they had lost 10 in a row down there before they won one today. Maybe they are saving their wins for April. They start the season with 3 tough games in Texas. And they'll face a good lefthander, Wilson, the first game.

You don't know how that shoulder is going to affect his power. And the delay in spring training. It looks like he's coming around, hitting that HR to left off that left hander the other night. He should be in the 35-40 HR range, and .300 BA. He'll hit .350 in Fenway.

Lester is pretty consistent, though he tends to start slowly in the first month. In fact, the team doesn't exactly sprint out of the box. Looks like Buchholz will be good again. He's pitching Tuesday. Lackey might be in better shape this year. Beckett has become about as big an enigma as Dice-K. Fortunately, the Yankees have CC, Hughes and 3 days of rain. That helps.

Looks like all the right moves. You know both Aceves and Okajima will pitch in Boston again, probably before June. The way Tito goes through relievers, they need a couple on standby in Pawtucket.

More on last night's fiasco, which is not covered by the Boston papers this morning. I suspect it will be, because the fans in Ft Myers pay big bucks these days to see a game and surely deserved more--at this point in ST. They were playing for some kind of Cup, according to Remy, which is important down there. You could say Tito erred in judgement somewhat taking this game too casually, after the regulars built up a big lead early. Plus, the Sox have lost about 9 in a row down there, and you think Tito would be trying to get this team a few wins before it dives into the season. Maybe he's just overanxious about injuries, from what happened last year. That might explain it. On the plus side, AdGon looks like he's rounding into form, and Salty looks great--behind the plate and at bat. Got solid hits from both sides of the plate. Theo must be smiling about Salty at this point. On the negative side, where was Ellsbury? Surely, they aren't going to platoon him. The Twins weren't even starting Liriano. Ellsbury is a key part of that lineup leading off. But then McDonald comes up with a big game--getting key hits and making a nice catch in CF. Nice player, that McDonald. Makes a lot of big plays. And Cameron looks good in RF. He's in shape. Youkilis does not look good--still doesn't have his stroke. And Papi? Well, he just can't hit lefties anymore--no matter who they are. Tito needs one of those RHd batters, Lowrie, Cameron or McDonald, to platoon at DH. But it won't happen until they lose a few games because of it. Fasten your seat belts. This club is going to see everybody's left handed pitchers--down to single A-- this year.

For individual moments, I'll go back to before most of you guys were born. I'm not that old, mind you. I was pretty young at the time. Ted Williams: In '51 saw his first at bat home from Korea. HR off Mike Garcia of the Guardians into the Red Sox bullpen. And then his famous last HR at bat in '61. Didn't see that. In between, I remember '57, when he and Mantle were competing for the batting crown. He hit .388, Mantle .356. Mantle won the triple crown. Awesome that year. Was at the famous Yankee game at Fenway when Ted dropped Yogi's fly ball, and spit up at the press box on his way back to the dugout at the end of the inning. Walked with the bases loaded in the 10th to win the game. Flipped his bat 50 feet in the air on his way to 1B. Man, was he hot. One thing about Ted: he never saw a walk he didn't like. Refused to swing at a pitch off the strike zone. He and Mantle always disagreed about that. Mickey said he went for the fences every pitch. Then there's Yaz in '67, winning the triple crown and carrying the team the last two months of the season to the pennant. Another awesome year. And a great defensive left fielder. That famous Reds World series game 6 in '75, where Fisk hit that HR off or near the foul pole in left to win it, and Evans made that great catch in RF off Morgan. The best catch I've seen in a big situation. Sparky Anderson, the Reds manager, said the same. Better than Mays catch off Wertz in the '54 series. Saw that on TV as it happened.

You look at the way Wheeler and Jenks pitched tonite, and it raises more questions than answers. Of course, Tito could have tried to win one down there--for a change. Remy said he took the regulars out too soon in the 5th. Turned out he was right. Those A level kids looked brutal defensively the last couple of innings.