2009 Boston Red Sox Prognosis

2009 Boston Red Sox Prognosis
By GosfatherKnowsBest
June 1, 2009

Despite
the opinions of some of the more unrealistic members of RSN, who
believe strongly the Sox should be 51-0 at May’s end, a more reasonable
perspective may be to view the Sox as having slightly under performed
to date. As many of us in “The Nation” are prone to live and breath
based on the most recent performances of our boys of summer, I thought
an examination of the team from a physician’s point of view might be
interesting.

Heart Health ~ Our patient is indeed fortunate
to have more than one heart as arguably both Jason Varitek and David
Ortiz are the heart and soul of this year’s team and represent ½ of
those still remaining from the 2004 Championship. While “those in the
know” routinely spend their time analyzing Big Papi’s woes and
rationalizing why he must be euthanized for the sake of the team etc. I
see far too few posts and commentary recognizing the contributions of a
revitalized “Captain Crunch,” after his fall from grace during the 2008
campaign. Regrettably, many “loyalists” have the “what have you done
for me lately” mentality and are unable to see the present-day David
Ortiz for what he is now, a talent brimming with potential, struggling
with confidence, in need of support.

Arms & Legs ~ The
pitching staff has been a ½ empty ½ full story as the starters have
struggled with a lack of consistency and dominance and the bullpen,
until 2 outings recently, the Papelbon blown save against the Mets and
an uncharacteristic loss by Ramirez this past Saturday against the
Jays, have been stellar. Led by the remarkable speed of Jacoby
Ellsbury, the Sox have a 70% success rate on the base paths this
season, including his memorable steal of home against the Yankees on
Sunday Night Baseball.

Hands ~ The defense has been
disappointing and has clearly been the target of our Nation’s wrath on
several occasions, with perhaps Lopez’s dropped throw while covering
first, Greens “airmail throw” into the stands, and the confusing antics
of Julio Lugo at short as the most noteworthy evidence of sub par
efforts.

A Knuckle ~ Perhaps the most important victory to
date was turned in by Veteran knuckle ball pitcher Tim “Shaky Waky”
Wakefield back on tax day when he came within 5 outs of his first
career no hitter against the A’s in Oakland. His gem halted a string
where the Sox had dropped 6 of 7 road contests and propelled the team
to a streak where they reeled off 11 straight wins including sweeps
against the O’s, Twins, and Yankees.

Blood ~ The lifeblood of
the organization is the farm system, which has produced at an amazing
level the past few seasons. Several of the transfusions available in
the minors in the form of quality pitching may mean the difference.

Brains
~ As “Tex” struggled with the Mendoza line for much of the year; many
in the Nation were lauding Theo for having the intelligence not to sign
the 180 million dollar albatross. As the Sox offense virtually
disappeared in Minnesota and Toronto for a time and as “Tex” was a
daily feature in the long ball department, our viewpoints rapidly
changed. As this is a marathon, not a sprint, we will not know until
season’s end, the true wisdom of Theo’s calculated gamble and bargain
basement shopping spree. However, this much we know: by not spending
the cash on “Tex” and any of the other potentially overpriced
mercenaries available, Theo has positioned the Sox to be able to
compete for the available talent to fill the voids in a reasonably
solid roster during the trade season, which may begin in another 2
weeks or so when Brad Penny becomes contractually eligible to move and
John Smoltz returns to major league form.

Prognosis ~ Most
importantly, our patient has a strong will to live and despite whatever
setbacks may present themselves later on in the season, there is ample
evidence to support a full, complete recovery, and reason to believe
“The Knuckle” will be sporting another Championship Ring in November.