"Big Hoss To The Rescue"
Sox at Oakland June 4-7

After last Sunday night’s hard luck four-hour loss, the Sox hit the road for seven games out West. Their first stop was in Oakland for four with the A’s. The Athletics’ home field is currently known as “Anti-Virus Software Company” Coliseum. The team has played here ever since moving from Kansas City in 1968. Once it was called “Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum”, but it’s now simply one of the few remaining ugly, concrete, multipurpose cookie cutter stadiums that were so much in vogue in the 1970’s. It’s a dinosaur, a dreadful, soulless venue with the exception of the eight games played by The Silver & Black when all of the numbskulls come out of the woodwork behave like hellions for a few hours. There is presently a new stadium on the drawing board to be located in the heart of Silicon Valley, but that’s a few years down the road.

The last thing anyone would call this venue is “cozy”. Contrasted with Fenway, the amount of “foul room” in this stadium is obscene, as even the front row seats seem about a quarter mile away from the action. Foul balls that would land halfway up the grandstand in Boston are outs in Oakland (surely an advantage the A’s have learned to exploit over the years).

While the Athletics may be fiscally and fan challenged from time to time, for the most part, they’ve had successful teams, eras and great players. While the Athletics were originally Connie Mack’s brainchild, they were overhauled and completely redefined in the image of Charles O. Finley, the carpetbagger who took them to the Golden West. Finley was one-part P.T. Barnum, the other part Ebenezer Scrooge. He built a team that won three consecutive World Series, and then sold off the pieces like used hubcaps. But in the seventies, the A’s had some tremendous teams.

They made the playoffs in ’71, won the World Series in ’72, ’73 & ’74 before losing to the Red Sox in the ’75 ALCS. No other team has won three straight World Championships since. Around ’76, free agency became a major factor in the business of the game, and Finley decided that he wasn’t about to be a player. He actually sold Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi to the Sox in ’76 for a bundle of dough. They were actually in uniform, but before they ever appeared in a game for Boston, the Commissioner quashed the deal as being “detrimental to the best interests of baseball” (whatever that means). It’s ironic that in the ‘50’s that the Commissioner never invoked this clause in the numerous dealings between the Yankees and the Kansas City A’s (who were widely regarded as a Yankee farm club/dumping ground). After ’75, the A’s went into full dump mode, jettisoning Hall-Of-Famers Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers, as well as stalwarts Sal Bando and Joe Rudi (all lost to free agency).

1975 98-64 (.605)
1974 90-72 (.556)
1973 94-68 (.580)
1972 93-62 (.600)
1971 101-60 (.627)

By the end of the decade, the A’s were in the pits and Finley finally cashed out. In a brilliant move, the A’s new owners hired hometown hero Billy Martin to manage the team, and the era of “BillyBall” came into being.

Billy was on the rebound from having been fired (again) by Steinbrenner. Eventually, this process would repeat itself numerous times later on. But, typical of any Billy Martin team, the A’s became immediate contenders. His A’s teams were built on and blessed with speed and pitching.

In this regard, Billy had the greatest base stealer of all-time, the enigmatic Rickey Henderson, at the top of the batting order, making life a living hell for pitchers. Billy also had some great starters, Mike Norris, Steve McCatty, and Rick Langford. With little else, the A’s won the West in ’81. The problem was, Billy burned out his entire starting staff within two years…then came the inevitable Billy Meltdown. Rumors of Billy smashing toilets with baseball bats surfaced, along with the rumors and innuendos about keeping rotating wives and girlfriends in play. By that time, Billy’s alcohol abuse was blossoming into a big problem. No matter where he went (Minnesota, Texas, Detroit, Oakland and New York), there was no better manager for the short term and no worse for the long…by ’82, BillyBall was long gone…

1981 AL West 64-45 (.587)
1980 AL West 83-79 (.512)

After the BillyBall craze faded and the A’s were forced to retool, they struck gold again in the mid-late ‘80’s through the early nineties. Through a combination of developing players and trading for established pitchers who somehow found new life, the Athletics became a powerhouse. In ’86, the White Sox fired their manager, Tony LaRussa. He was unemployed for all of five minutes before the A’s management hired him. They had developed a tall, lean firstbaseman who could hit the ball a mile. They developed another kid, a Cuban-born muscleman who had breathtaking power and speed; becoming the first 40-40 man in baseball history. They traded for two recovering alcoholics, both of whom went on to greatness (one as a starter, the other a converted closer). Their catcher was a big kid from Minnesota who was a fine receiver and very good hitter. Even Rickey came back. But their heart and soul was Dave Stewart, who struggled with several clubs before becoming the anchor of the staff. The A’s kicked the Red Sox’ asses in ’88 and ’90, en route to two pennants and a World Championship. The ’90 disaster featured Clemens’ memorable meltdown after having been ejected by home plate umpire Terry Cooney for arguing balls and strikes. Clemens had to be dragged off the field kicking, screaming and threatening bodily harm…not one of Roger’s Kodak Moments…

1990 AL West 103-59 (.636)
1989 AL West 99-63 (.611)
1988 AL West 104-58 (.642)

The current generation of Athletics are the brainchild of GM Billy Beane, the one-time #1 pick of the Mets who languished in the minors until requesting an opportunity to take a management job in the A’s organization. He took over the GM’s role from Sandy Alderson in 1998, and since then the A’s have been highly competitive. Beane’s philosophies can best be understood by reading Michael Lewis outstanding book, “Moneyball”. Beane is respected as one of the better GM’s in the business because he knows how to build from within an organization, as Oakland’s budgetary constraints preclude them from being high rollers in the annual free agency sweepstakes. Red Sox fans should not forget that the current ownership’s first choice as GM was Beane. He signed on the dotted line before backing out of the deal a day or two later due to “family considerations”. Five trips to the postseason in the last seven years is not bad at all.

2006 AL West 93-69 (.574) DIV 1 Ken Macha
2005 AL West 88-74 (.543) 2 Ken Macha
2004 AL West 91-71 (.562) 2 Ken Macha
2003 AL West 96-66 (.593) DIV 1 Ken Macha
2002 AL West 103-59 (.636) DIV 1 Art Howe
2001 AL West 102-60 (.630) WC 2 Art Howe
2000 AL West 91-70 (.565) DIV 1 Art Howe

The Sox didn’t arrive in the Bay Area until 5:30 am on Monday, and as luck would have it they had to face Oakland’s ace, Danny Haren (6-2, 1.64) in the series opener (Game 56, Mon. N. 6/4/07). Haren’s kept opposing hitters below the Mendoza Line, so things ought to be tough for Boston.

Francona gave Lowell, Varitek and Crisp (flu) the night off and put Pedroia in the leadoff spot. Drew returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with a “sore hammie” (hey, it’s a lot better than being out 4-6 weeks).

With two outs in the first, Big Papi smacked a line drive bullet over the right field wall. Haren challenged him with the fastball and lost that round. Manny followed with a single to left. Tavarez (3-4, 5.40) got the call for the Sox and left a couple of runners on base in the first. In the second, he walked Crosby and gave up a single to Kotsay. Mark Eliss brought them both home with a triple to the gap in right center that Wily Mo (sort of) mishandled. This is about the time when Tavarez usually melts down and cannot find the strike zone. To his credit, Tavarez was able to avoid further trouble by getting the next three batters to ground out. In the third, he looked like the second coming of Christy Mathewson, blowing away the first two hitters on strikes, then inexplicably he allowed the next two batters to reach on singles before getting out of another jam with a ground ball out.

Ellis led off the A’s fourth with a line drive homer down the left field line to make the score 3-1. Meanwhile, Haren simply continued to mow down the Boston hitters with little difficulty. Wily Mo closed the gap to one run with a long homer heading into the later innings. The A’s picked up another run in the eighth on Kendall’s sacrifice fly, but the Sox were not finished yet.

Old friend Alan “Emptee” Embree came on for the ninth and Ortiz greeted him with a double. With two outs, Varitek (pinch hitting for Drew) drove in Ortiz with a single. Crisp came on to pinch-run and scored the tying run on Wily Mo’s base hit to right-center. Oakland loaded the bases in their half of the ninth on a walk, error and another walk. Romero came on in relief of Piñeiro and struck out Chavez. Crosby grounded into a 5-2-3 double play to send the game into extra innings.

In the tenth, Pedroia singled with two outs and, with two outs, was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Ortiz’ double. In the bottom of the inning, Ellis singled and hit for the cycle. By the bottom of the 11th, Kyle Snyder was on the hill. After recording two quick outs, Chavez banged a homer to right for the walkoff victory. The game was played in 3:45 which made it close to 2:00 a.m. local time when Chavez crossed the plate. By that time, most New Englanders were fast asleep and didn’t have to witness the second straight tough loss. The only silver lining is that the Yankees lost in Chicago. Even though the Red Sox have lost four of their last five, they’re still up 12 ½ in the AL East.

In keeping score of the Red Sox-Yankee contest of games played, both teams lost, so the score is “0”.

Most folks in the East dislike it when the Sox play night games out West for obvious reasons. By the third inning just about everyone’s about ready to call it a night. And to think that this trip is only the first of three the team makes to the Pacific Time Zone.

So, as the moments tick down to Tuesday’s 10:05 start perhaps it would be appropriate to consider some of the team’s shortcomings. Look, it’s wonderful that the Red Sox have done so well as a team so far. Before they start printing those postseason tickets, remember it’s only early June. One-third of the way through, it’s also worth considering the degree of underperformance of some of the regulars and bench guys:

Julio Lugo .224
JD Drew.224
Doug Mirabelli .180
Eric Hinske .155
Coco Crisp .237

There’s over $25M devoted to mediocrity (at best). Can you imagine the outcry around here if the Sox didn’t get off to such a fantastic start? These guys have gotten a free pass so far. If the Red Sox and Yankees records were flipped, Drew would be in permanent lockdown in his hyperbaric chamber. While winning covers a multitude of warts, at a certain point these guys have to produce according to their level of compensation or else people are going to start looking at the front office wondering what is going on upstairs. Theo gets cut a lot of slack in the media for making key moves that brought a World’s Championship in 2004. However, that doesn’t make him immune to criticism. A number of his moves after the Championship were big-time blunders (in no particular order):

1. Signing Edgar Renteria in 2005. Edgar lasted one year in Boston before everyone understood that he couldn’t handle the pressures of playing here. Theo traded him to Atlanta (and paid a huge chunk of his salary to boot) in exchange for 3B prospect Andy Marte.

2. Marte was flipped along with the organization’s only legitimate catching prospect (Kelly Shoppach) to Cleveland for Coco Crisp (on whom the jury is still out).

3. Signing Alex Gonzalez to replace Renteria for one year then allowing him to walk. Can anyone in New England recall a better fielding shortstop? He hit .220. So what? What is Lugo hitting at the moment?

4. The bullpen: How many journeymen have we seen come out of that pen in the last three years? It’s been a cast of thousands out there.

5. Signing Matt Clement to “replace” Pedro’s spot in the rotation. Matt was an All-Star for half a season, was tragically struck with a line drive in the head in St. Pete, never recovered psychologically then blew out his arm.

6. Bringing back Mirabelli in a panic in early May, 2006 (then re-upping him for this year). They traded away a young catcher and a reliever on whom they gave up on way too soon for a one-dimensional player who’s in the lineup once every five days. When Bard was taking his lumps learning to catch the knuckleball, someone should’ve told Wakefield where the bullshit and the buckwheat sit. Wake’s been a great player for the Sox for a long time and his commitment to charity has been wonderful. All that aside, his signature pitch consumes two roster spots. The team needs to be more productive offensively on the days he pitches due to the sheer uncertainty of the knuckleball. If “his guy” is only batting a buck-eighty one need not be an Einstein to determine that the probability of his success is diminished by the lack of run support.

7. Picking up hometown hero Carlos Peña off the scrap pile last season and letting him walk to Tampa Bay during the off-season. Right now he’s hitting over .300 and has more home runs than anyone on the Red Sox. Sure, he strikes out a lot and kicked around with a few teams, but he’s a New Englander (via the Dominican), and that counts for a great deal to the fans to see “one of their own” succeed in an environment dominated by guys from sunny climes.

Even with the aforementioned missteps, it’s difficult to level criticism at Epstein, because the Trophy was won on his watch. Besides, it’s really heartwarming to see a bright, young executive with local roots succeed in a high pressure environment while remaining humble. However, the media tells us that he and “his minions” spend countless hours each week pouring over statistical models trying to find the best players for the team. It’s an inexact science, for certain, and fans should expect that a fair percentage of his moves won’t pan out. It’s simply a fact that when fans see a guy who’s paid $14M per season hitting .224, they had every reason to ask hard questions. Such as: “Was Drew’s signing a quid pro quo to Boras for the Daisuke deal?” However, it appears as if the club really lucked out with Hideki Okajima who has been nothing short of sensational so far, and Daisuke has been a real treat to watch.

To the organization’s credit, they didn’t re-sign Damon or Pedro, as they saw two guys whose peak seasons had passed, and there was no hue and cry from the fans as happened in ’96 when Clemens was allowed to leave town. Nor did they trade away any of their prize prospects at the deadline last year. They made a commitment to stick with Pedroia at second and rode out the bumps. He was chosen AL Rookie of the Month for May, and last week’s “Player of the Week.”

The farm system Epstein inherited from the previous regime is in far better shape under his watchful eye. There are several pitchers and an outfield prospect that will be in Boston before long. On Thursday, MLB will conduct its annual Amateur Draft and the staff will likely target a few more diamonds in the rough (though they won’t be on the board until #55).

However, the lynchpins, Lowell and Varitek, are getting long in the tooth. Should any injury befall them, the Red Sox will be revisiting the ugly moments of August, 2006. Maybe “Plan B” is a “State Secret” because if anything bad happens to either of those guys and there are no adequate replacements there will be a huge stink from the fans. At the moment, the organization’s top catching prospect can’t hit his way out of a paper bag, and there are no Hanley Ramirez infield-phenoms waiting in the wings. The moral of the story is that it’s far better to grow and develop talent within the organization than to overpay to acquire the services from another’s.

In the second game of the series (Game 57, Tue. N. 6/5/07), Matsuzaka (7-3, 4.83) looked to rebound from last week’s shelling at the hands of the Indians against another former Boston pitcher, lefty Lenny DiNardo (lost via waivers). DiNardo was a Rule V pick of the Sox a few years back and showed enough promise to stick with the team (though he made frequent trips to the DL with phantom arm injuries). He also became accustomed to the ride between Boston and Pawtucket.

Lugo led off with a base hit past Chavez and moved into scoring position. With two outs, DiNardo walked Manny and Youkilis. For a few moments, it seemed as if DiNardo could get “di nada” over the plate. Lowell had a golden opportunity to do some damage and hit a lazy fly to left. Ellis maintained his torrid hitting by singling with one out in the first.

After that, things were as dead as a doornail until the A’s third, when they put runners on the corners with two out, but Daisuke was able to get out of the jam with a fly ball out. DiNardo pitched like an ace after his first inning difficulties, not having given up a hit since Lugo’s first-inning single. Lowell grounded into a double play to kill the fourth.In the bottom of the inning, Chavez led off with a home run to put the A’s up, 1-0. Crisp grounded into a double play to kill the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, Swisher doubled, scoring Kendall and putting the A’s by a pair. In the sixth, the Sox loaded the bases and Youkilis grounded into a double play.

DiNardo was finished after six, but Oakland got three innings of great relief from Calero, Marshall and Embree, who struck out Varitek to end the game. The Sox were held to three hits, and DiNardo made them pay for letting him go on waivers. It was a frustrating way to lose. Daisuke had a fine performance, but he was outdone by a waiver pickup. When a team receives seven walks and can’t put across a single run; that’s simply awful. Then again, that’s baseball, turn the page. The Sox have lost four of their last five, and are now 37-20, nine games ahead of Toronto.

Yankees defeated Chicago, so the score is:
Boston 0
New York 1 (11 ½ GB)

On Wednesday Night (Game 58, 6/6/07), Tim Wakefield (5-6, 4.24) (9.13 ERA in his last two starts) looked to rebound from Friday night’s miserable outing against New York. The Athletics countered with lefthander Joe Kennedy (1-4, 3.30). At the moment, the Red Sox are doing nothing right offensively. After getting two quick outs in the first, Kennedy walked Ortiz and Manny. Kennedy struck out Youkilis. When a team is slumping, it is missed opportunities such as these that compound the degree of frustration.

Buck lined a single to center to start things for Oakland and stole second. Ellis (who has hit .484 in his last 10 games at home against Boston) struck out, as did Chavez to end the inning. Mirabelli grounded into a double play to polish off the second. With one out in the fourth, Manny and Youkilis reached on back-to-back singles. And…Lowell grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.

When it rains it pours: With one out in the bottom of the inning, Chavez ripped a grounder that ricocheted off the first base bag into the outfield, and he ended up on second base. Stewart walked with two outs and Cust ripped a double to right, scoring Chavez. Crosby followed with a looping base hit to center that drove in Stewart and Cust. Just like that, it was 3-0 A’s. Crisp grounded into a double play to kill the fifth. In the sixth, Ortiz was called out on a check-swing third strike and nearly got tossed for the vociferous way he argued Iassogna’s call (so you knew the eventuality of someone getting heaved).

In the seventh, the Sox finally broke the ice. Manny doubled to lead off and scored on Youkilis’ triple. With one out, Wily Mo’s 4-3 groundout scored Youkilis. But that was it.

In the 8th, Francona was tossed by Iassogna for arguing balls and strikes. Truth be told, Iassogna’s strike zone was wildly inconsistent, and there’s nothing worse for a hitter thannever knowing whether a pitch in the zone will (or won’t) be called a strike. Francona’s beef with Iassogna was about as heated as anyone can ever recall him getting. This guy’s not in the best of health and should watch himself as the toxic effects of such emotional outbursts can have catastrophic consequences. One of these days, some manager is going to go ballistic and have a heart attack and drop right there on the spot. When teams are losing, managers traditionally put on this dog n’ pony show with the umpires as a way of sparking the troops. Earl Weaver turned umpire-baiting into an art form though it never works. Last week, “Sweet Lou” got an unexpected holiday for his latest dirt-kicking tantrum (that he learned at the knee of his master, Billy Martin). It’s worth a few laughs watching manager and umpires go at it as if they were hippo bulls competing on “Animal Kingdom”, but it’s sort of an anachronism. Sure, it was a dreadfully boring game, but do we really need a circus act to be entertained? The team hit into eight double-plays in the last two nights and lost four straight. That’s all anyone needs to know.

Yankees defeated Chicago again, so the score is:
Boston 0
New York 2 (11 ½ GB)

The Sox closed out the series on a beautiful Thursday afternoon (Game 59, 6/7/07) for baseball. The A’s sent Joe Blanton on the hill to face Schilling. On a day when the team’s spirits were low and they couldn’t seem to do anything right, Curt Schilling carried the team on his shoulders, coming within one out of a no-hitter as the Sox shut down the A’s this time, 1-0. The Sox got all the offense they needed on this day when Big Papí whacked a solo shot with two out in the first.

Schilling had a perfect game heading into the fifth when Lugo committed an error, but his miscue proved harmless. Blanton was also pitching a gem as well, mowing down the Sox hitters with little trouble since Manny’s single in the first. Schilling kept his no-hitter alive through the middle and late innings as the tension began to rise. In the sixth, Kotsay drove a long fly deep to center that Crisp chased down before banging into the padded wall.

In the seventh, Drew and Varirek singled, putting runners on the corners with one out but Lugo fouled out to third and Crisp grounded back to the pitcher. Ellis hit a sharp grounder to third leading off the bottom of the inning. Lowell bobbled the ball and it seemed as if Schilling’s no-hitter would have been lost on the play. However, Lowell quickly recovered and threw out Ellis by a running step.

Heading into the bottom of the ninth, everyone was holding their breath in anticipation. Kotsay and Kendall both grounded out to short for the first two outs when Shannon Stewart stepped to the plate. On the first pitch, Stewart reached out and slapped a single through the hole between first and second. Schilling received a standing-o from the crowd as well as from his teammates. Ellis hit a wind-blown fly pop-up that Pedroia chased into foul territory before hauling it in to end the ballgame. Schilling’s smile was wider than the foul territory in the park. It was a wonderful way to close out a tough series.

The Sox were a team that appeared as if they were making headfirst dive into a sinkhole, but now the team heads off for the Valley of the Sun for a weekend series with the D-Backs with a little spring in their step. Arizona has great starting pitching, and there’s no DH for the weekend.

Yankees took three of four in Chicago, so the score remains:
Boston 0
New York 2 (11 ½ GB)

This is about the time New York will make its run. Clemens is scheduled to make his first start on Saturday as the team enjoys a minor-league tune-up series at home against Pittsburgh.