Lowell, the Sawx, A-Rod, and Seth Mnookin
Kudos to Mike Lowell for having a phenomenal weekend. Friday, after getting hit in the head by a pitch, Lowell made a ridiculous catch in foul territory, landing on his back in the stands; hit an RBI single in the third inning; and then stole third base, subsequently scoring on a Javy Lopez single. He went 2 for 4 Saturday, scoring a run. And Sunday, Lowell hit a first-inning grand slam and then ended the game with a great play at third, bailing out the struggling Papelbon. Kind of ridiculous.
*****
I've been trying to put my finger on why, exactly, this Red Sox team doesn't "feel right" this season... and I think it's because (with the exception of David Ortiz) there's no real standout player. Additionally, there isn't that one crazy guy who simultaneously evokes smiles and head shaking. There's no outspoken player who we have a love/hate relationship with. There's no one who gives us goosebumps when he emerges from the dugout or bullpen. I know everyone's thinking, "What about Jonathan Papelbon?!" and okay, that's a fair rebuttal. Papelbon arguably reached Goosebumps Status earlier this season but with the absence of Varitek, he's clearly showing signs of mortality and isn't so lights-out anymore. So who do we have? Youkilis occasionally shows fits of anger and enthusiasm on the field but... meh. Lowell and Gonzalez continue to astound us with great defensive plays but those have become the norm. Captain Varitek is out and wasn't exactly thrilling fans with offensive heroics earlier in the season. I haven't warmed up to Loretta, Pena, or Beckett yet. Our pitching staff has been less than stellar, Coco hasn't become beloved in the way Damon was, and Manny hasn't really been Manny as in years past (which might be a good thing, depending on your perspective). I dunno. I just don't feel a bond with this team like I used to. When I see interviews with players or read articles about the team, I don't find myself smiling and thinking, "God, I love these guys." Do they have passion for the game? Do they appreciate the fans? Do they even like each other? I'm not so sure. Hmm.
*****
I thought this was interesting. Curious what everyone else thinks about Eric Neel's A-Rod theory.
*****
Finished Seth Mnookin's Feeding the Monster this weekend. Here's my mini review: Mnookin gives some good background on the history of the Red Sox organization, particularly highlighting instances of heartbreak, and then launches into the John Henry era. His sections on Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino were engrossing and I enjoyed reading about the new ownership, how they bought the team, how they put together the front office, and how much Henry hated Grady Little. (It's nice to know that someone so closely bound to the organization felt nothing short of "rage" during the infamous Grady/Pedro/Game 7 2003 incident.) Also enjoyable was the space Mnookin devoted to criticizing Larry Lucchino, discussing Kevin "I'm a huge pain in the ass" Millar, and shitting on Dan Shaughnessy. I read the first half of the book like it was a suspense novel ("Will they win it all??!!") but things slowed down considerably after that. Mnookin beat us over the head with "Theo and Larry's relationship was deteriorating at a rapid pace!!!1" but never explains why and how it was able to be repaired (if it ever was) in the end. I also grew tired of the footnotes. (Hi, I'm reading a book about baseball so I think you can safely assume I know what an RBI is. Thanks.) On a related note, I really could not figure out who the target audience was. If it's Red Sox fans, do we really need all the historical background? If it's baseball fans in general, are idiot-proof footnotes necessary? And if it's the casual reader, the talk of sabremetrics is a bit much. Overall, Feeding the Monster proved a decent read but it wasn't quite what I'd hoped for.
*****
And since everyone's making MLB final standings predictions right now, here are mine...
American League
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Detroit Tigers
West: Oakland A's
Wild Card: Minnesota Twins
National League
East: New York Mets
Central: Cincinnati Reds
West: LA Dodgers
Wild Card: San Diego Padres
(So maybe I've made some risky choices. But I really think the White Sox will choke, the Red Sox will beat out the Yanks, the Twins will dominate over the next month and a half, and the Reds will overcome the Cards, who are looking ehh. We'll see...)
EDIT (8/20/06): Well, now that the Red Sox and I are no longer on speaking terms, I might have to change my AL East prediction to They-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Hmph.
*****
I've been trying to put my finger on why, exactly, this Red Sox team doesn't "feel right" this season... and I think it's because (with the exception of David Ortiz) there's no real standout player. Additionally, there isn't that one crazy guy who simultaneously evokes smiles and head shaking. There's no outspoken player who we have a love/hate relationship with. There's no one who gives us goosebumps when he emerges from the dugout or bullpen. I know everyone's thinking, "What about Jonathan Papelbon?!" and okay, that's a fair rebuttal. Papelbon arguably reached Goosebumps Status earlier this season but with the absence of Varitek, he's clearly showing signs of mortality and isn't so lights-out anymore. So who do we have? Youkilis occasionally shows fits of anger and enthusiasm on the field but... meh. Lowell and Gonzalez continue to astound us with great defensive plays but those have become the norm. Captain Varitek is out and wasn't exactly thrilling fans with offensive heroics earlier in the season. I haven't warmed up to Loretta, Pena, or Beckett yet. Our pitching staff has been less than stellar, Coco hasn't become beloved in the way Damon was, and Manny hasn't really been Manny as in years past (which might be a good thing, depending on your perspective). I dunno. I just don't feel a bond with this team like I used to. When I see interviews with players or read articles about the team, I don't find myself smiling and thinking, "God, I love these guys." Do they have passion for the game? Do they appreciate the fans? Do they even like each other? I'm not so sure. Hmm.
*****
I thought this was interesting. Curious what everyone else thinks about Eric Neel's A-Rod theory.
*****
Finished Seth Mnookin's Feeding the Monster this weekend. Here's my mini review: Mnookin gives some good background on the history of the Red Sox organization, particularly highlighting instances of heartbreak, and then launches into the John Henry era. His sections on Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino were engrossing and I enjoyed reading about the new ownership, how they bought the team, how they put together the front office, and how much Henry hated Grady Little. (It's nice to know that someone so closely bound to the organization felt nothing short of "rage" during the infamous Grady/Pedro/Game 7 2003 incident.) Also enjoyable was the space Mnookin devoted to criticizing Larry Lucchino, discussing Kevin "I'm a huge pain in the ass" Millar, and shitting on Dan Shaughnessy. I read the first half of the book like it was a suspense novel ("Will they win it all??!!") but things slowed down considerably after that. Mnookin beat us over the head with "Theo and Larry's relationship was deteriorating at a rapid pace!!!1" but never explains why and how it was able to be repaired (if it ever was) in the end. I also grew tired of the footnotes. (Hi, I'm reading a book about baseball so I think you can safely assume I know what an RBI is. Thanks.) On a related note, I really could not figure out who the target audience was. If it's Red Sox fans, do we really need all the historical background? If it's baseball fans in general, are idiot-proof footnotes necessary? And if it's the casual reader, the talk of sabremetrics is a bit much. Overall, Feeding the Monster proved a decent read but it wasn't quite what I'd hoped for.
*****
And since everyone's making MLB final standings predictions right now, here are mine...
American League
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Detroit Tigers
West: Oakland A's
Wild Card: Minnesota Twins
National League
East: New York Mets
Central: Cincinnati Reds
West: LA Dodgers
Wild Card: San Diego Padres
(So maybe I've made some risky choices. But I really think the White Sox will choke, the Red Sox will beat out the Yanks, the Twins will dominate over the next month and a half, and the Reds will overcome the Cards, who are looking ehh. We'll see...)
EDIT (8/20/06): Well, now that the Red Sox and I are no longer on speaking terms, I might have to change my AL East prediction to They-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Hmph.
posted by Pam at 3:03 PM
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