Keeping the Faith
As a Red Sox fan, I’ve had to learn the true meaning of keeping the faith throughout the years.
This is what I’ve come up with.
Faith (n.) – Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
OK, now what does that have to do with the Red Sox? I truly believe that the passion, belief and love I have in my team is far more helpful to my well-being than it hurts.
I know I’m speaking about the Red Sox, for me… but, no matter what team we root for, can’t we all agree that having faith in a baseball team is good for the soul?
Baseball is America’s pastime. It’s the epitome of a beautiful spring day, and the fright of a late-inning rally from your enemy on home territory. If you love America, how can you not love baseball and everything it stands for?
Without baseball, what would I have to live for? What would I put all my faith and hope in? What would keep me up all hours of the night, hoping that we can come back and win with a walk-off home run from Big Papi? Or what would get me out of bed, when I can’t even talk because I’m so sick, and give me the energy and strength to walk downstairs just to be able to watch my favorite players? What would give me hope that there is still good in this world, that there is still people out there who absolutely love what they do for a living, and enjoy every day on this earth? There’s only one thing: baseball, the players and everything that they represent.
This has been a difficult season for Red Sox Nation. We have gone through some of the hardest times in our history. We have lost so many players to injuries and it seems as if we won’t ever get a break. But as a die-hard, true Boston Red Sox fan, I can’t lose faith. How can we lose faith after witnessing, with our own eyes, the comeback in 2004? I know I bring it up a lot, but how can I not? 2004 represents what this Nation is all about. To come from behind in the ALCS like we did, and to completely dominate the WS and walk away with the trophy after 86 years of pain and hardship? You can’t tell me that those fans, through all those years, gave up faith. They didn’t. Because, if they did, there wouldn’t have been a single Red Sox fan witnessing those games. The players go out there every single day for the fans. They do what they do for none other than the people who support their every single move. They need us just as much as we need them.
As Red Sox fans we must keep the faith. We must have hope that we can do this, no matter how bad it looks now. We have to understand how truly amazing this game is. Because, as we all know, the game is NEVER over until the last out is made. So, who’s with me? Who’s willing to stick with me through all these troubled times and have hope that we can still do this? Because, no matter who comes along for this journey, I will be there–every step of the way, through every injury and loss. Because we will win, and we can do this.
I have faith.
RSD
Almost Doesn’t Count
Unless we’re talking about hand grenades and horseshoes, of course… But, this is baseball.
David “Big Papi” Ortiz hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to get us within one run of tying the game. We were trailing 6-1 with almost no hope of winning when we came up to bat in the ninth at Fenway Park. With one out, Detroit Tigers closer, Jose Valverde, walked the bases loaded and Big Papi took full advantage and went yard with his 22nd homer of the season. Adrian Beltre hit a 2-out double to keep the momentum up and J.D. Drew was then intentionally walked to enable a force-out. But, that wasn’t needed when Mike Cameron came up to the plate and with a full count, struck out looking to end the game. We walked off the field with the scoreboard showing 6-5 in the Tigers favor.
This was a tough loss for the Red Sox. There was one positive I can think of, though, and that is the determination and drive our players have. They didn’t give up. That is what baseball is all about. The game is never over until it’s over– not until the last out is made.
With that being said, we have to look back on this game and wonder what happened, wonder why we lost and what went wrong. I mean, if you look at who was on the mound for us tonight, and the fact that Papi hit a grand slam, and we still walk away with the loss, it just doesn’t make much sense.
Jon Lester had one of his worst outings. He gave up 4 runs on a career high 11 hits, throwing 115 pitches in 6 innings. I hoped after sweeping the Angels, and having an off-day, our offense would have stayed alive and we would dominate this series. However, we didn’t even get on the board until the 5th inning when Marco Scutaro hit a solo homer on a 1-1 pitch. We leave too many runners on base, especially RISP, in crucial situations. We must get on the board early and keep the momentum up throughout the game.
We need to make sure everyone stays healthy and hope that we can gain some major ground in the 59 games that are left to be played (currently we are 58-45). After the Rays beat the Yankees tonight at Tropicana field, we are now 6.5 games out of the wild card and 7.5 games from first. With the trade deadline quickly approaching (4 PM on Saturday), I really hope we can get some bullpen help. Luckily, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury will be back in the line-up within the next few weeks so our fielding and offense should be set.
I feel like these wild, late-inning wins rarely happen for us anymore. I feel like all of Red Sox Nation is hurting, right along with our team, and nobody has any hope anymore. We have to keep the faith. Our boys, our players that we live for and watch every single day still have hope that we can do this, and we should too.
So, no, almost didn’t count tonight. But, can I please remind all of you about 2004? I’m sure none of you can forget, but take a look back at the standings on July 31st and tell me again that we can’t do this, and that there is no hope for us.
RedSoxDoll
Not-so-perfect
Ok, so it wasn’t as jaw dropping
as Armando Galarraga’s un-perfect-perfect game. But, Jon Lester had a perfecto
into the 6th inning of Saturday night’s game against the Mariners.
Eric Patterson ruined his heroic act from Thursday nights game, when he dropped a fly ball with 1 out in the 6th hit by Jack Wilson for
a two-base error. When will major league players understand the little league
concept of using two hands when catching a fly ball? Lester still had the no-no
possibility but that was shortly shattered by the next batter, Michael Saunders,
who jacked a 2-2 curveball over the right field wall. We then trailed 2-1 and
nothing good came after that. Lester had 13 strike-outs (career high) in his 8 and 2/3
innings pitched. He was obviously solid through 7 innings, other than the
homerun he gave up. However, in the 8th inning, something happened, and he lost
his momentum and gave up 2 more runs. When he was taken out of the game, we
were down 4-1 and we were not able to score again. We ended up losing the game
5-1.
It’s not rocket science, but we can’t expect to win games by only scoring 1
run. And we definitely can’t count on our starter’s to do all the work, as much
as we’d like to be able to. Run-prevention can only do so much when you have a shaky bullpen like we do. David Ortiz was
the only reason we were even on the board that night, belting his 19th homer of
the season in the 4th inning. It’s so frustrating that we keep losing these games in late innings, which only proves one thing— we need to work on our pen.
Fast forward to Sunday’s afternoon game in which Daisuke Matsuzaka started. He prevailed through 6 innings, giving up only 1 run on 4 hits with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts. He was taken out and replaced by Daniel Bard who came in for the 7th. Bard pitched the 7th with 1 hit, 2 ground outs and a strike out. He was taken out in the 8th with no outs after giving up a single and Hideki Okajima came in (which was, without a doubt, Tito’s mistake). From there, all hell broke loose. Oki loads the bases with no outs. He gave up 5 straight singles, Michael Saunders being one who hit a 2-run single which put the Mariners up front 3-2. Milton Bradley came in as a pinch hitter, and singles on a bunt which scores Casey Kotchman. We end up losing this one 4-2, giving up 11 hits, and no errors, although we had a few mental errors.
Oki misplays two bunts which truly cost us the game. Bard should have been kept in to finish the 8th, then bring in Jonathan Papelbon for the 9th to close it out. Why did Terry decide to bring Oki in when Bard is completely and utterly dominating? We have a one run lead in the 8th inning, and we replace Bard, who now has a 1.86 ERA (lowest on the team) with Oki, who now has a 5.81 ERA. I understand the pitch count, and the idea that we need to save him so we can use him more. But, I’m sure you all have heard the quote by Leo Durocher, “You don’t save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it may rain.” We need to win games one at a time and not worry about the next day’s game. If we keep doing this, we’ll go 0 for the next 30 games.
We need to start making better defensive decisions. Our starters, for the most part, are doing their job and leaving the game with the lead. But, our pen is really struggling and we need to do something about that ASAP. It’s also tough for our offense to truly dominate when we aren’t playing with Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez or Jacoby Ellsbury.
It’s hard to stay hopeful when we are now 8 games out of first and 5 from the Wild Card spot. This is the worst deficit we’ve sustained since May 23. We are now 55-44. Positives— V-Mart could be back tonight for the series opener in Anaheim and most of our guys should be back by mid-August. But, is it too late? We can’t let this split series against the Mariners keep us down. We have to keep going out there every single day and fight—fight for our lives, practically. We must stay in contention with the line-up we have, so when we get all of our boys healthy, we can come back and, at the very least, take over the Wild Card. Let’s just hope the Yankees and Rays go on some major losing streak so we can gain some ground. We’ve done it before and we can do it again.
RSD 
Blood Pressure Meds at 20?
I feel like the Red Sox might give me a heart attack before I turn
21.
Tonight was a very smooth night for the Red Sox. John Lackey pitched great–he
had a no-hitter into the 8th inning against the Seattle Mariners and lost it
with 2-outs when Josh Bard hit a line-drive into right-center for a single. So,
it was a bummer that Lackey lost his bid for a no-no, but we went into the 9th
inning with a 5-run lead (6-1) and brought Manny Delcarmen in to close it out.
Just 3 outs… that’s all we needed and the Red Sox could walk away from a
great game with the win and all of Red Sox Nation could get some much needed,
deep sleep.
But, the Red Sox have to make things interesting. Manny…being Manny… (never
heard that one before) and Jonathan Papelbon jointly ruined our lead and the
game ended up tied after 9, which forced us into extra innings. Daniel Bard
came in for the 10th and had a nice 3 up 3 down appearance (I can’t get over
how much I love him). Hideki Okajima came in for the 11th and 12th and managed
to get out of a 1-out, bases loaded jam to end the 12th inning. Eric Patterson
turned out to be the hero of the game, with a 2-out, 2-run double in the 13th
to put the Red Sox on top 8-6. Then, Ramon Ramirez came in for the bottom of
the inning and earned the save while Oki was given the win.
It’s upsetting that Lackey was snubbed of his 10th win this season because our
pen was unable to hold the lead. Over 8 innings, Lackey threw 116 pitches, gave
up only 2 hits and 1 run, with 6 strike outs and only 1 walk. He left the game
with an enormous lead, and no question, his best outing in a Red Sox uniform,
and ended up with a no-decision. I guess, as they say, life isn’t fair and
obviously neither is baseball.
That was the short version of what happened in the game tonight. But, really,
it ended up being a little over a 4 hour game with my blood pressure raised to
a point where it might be safe for me to be put on some medicine for it (just
kidding, kind of).
Before this game, the Red Sox just ended a 3-game series in Oakland where we
lost 2 out of 3 and lost even more ground in the AL East race. After winning
tonight, though, we are now 7 games behind the first place Yankees and 4 games
from the Rays who still hold the Wild Card spot. Josh Beckett will make his
return tomorrow night for the second game in this 4 game series against the
Mariners. I’m so glad he’s back, I just hope he’s not too rusty and can make it
at least 6+ innings. After using a lot of our bullpen tonight, we really don’t
have many options if he gets in to trouble early.
So, I don’t think I’ll need blood pressure meds just yet, but if the Red Sox
keep this up, come October, I might just have to make a visit to my doctor. I’m
not sure she would understand, though. “Ms. Doll, why are you stressed out
lately? What is the reason for the rise in your blood pressure? You are only 20
years old.” Oh, the Red Sox bullpen keeps blowing leads and my boys aren’t
hitting. I’m sure she would love that as an answer. Her solution would not be
medicine, but a referral to a therapist, I’m afraid.
Go Red Sox!
Jenn
Second half has begun
I finally get a chance to sit, relax, write and watch a Red Sox game.
It’s been a few days and I’ve definitely been having withdrawals. I’m
writing this as I watch the Red Sox start their 10-game road trip in
Oakland.
This past weekend’s 4-game series against the Rangers
was not the kind of second half start I was hoping for. We lost three
out of four games at home and are now playing ten games away from Fenway
starting in Oakland with a 3-game series against the A’s. Then we head
to Seattle for a 4-game weekend series against the Mariners and end our
road trip in L.A. with a 3-game series against the Angels. Is it just
me, or is everyone else nervous about this trip? What happened the last
time we went out west? I’m sure none of you have forgotten about that
dreadful series against the Giants where we lost Dustin Pedroia, Clay
Buchholz, and Victor Martinez to injuries and all three were placed on
the disabled list. 
Luckily, Clay Buchholz will be
back on the mound for us on Wednesday night to end the series against
the A’s. Also, Josh Beckett is scheduled to make his return to the big
club on Friday for the second game against the Mariners. Jeremy Hermida
is now with Pawtucket on a rehab assignment and could be rejoining the
Red Sox as early as this weekend in Seattle. And Mike Lowell is ready to
start rehab, will be playing with the PawSox, and could be back next
week, depending on his recovery.
As doubtful as I could be just
because of all the injuries we’ve sustained, not even mentioning our
record in the last 13 games (5-8), and how many games back we have
fallen from the first place Yankees (6.5 in case you were wondering), I
still believe that we can do this. There is still plenty of baseball to
be played and it is looking very likely that most of our guys who are on
the DL will be back by mid-August (just in time for my trip to
Tampa…!!). We are only 2.5 games behind the Rays who hold the Wild
Card spot. We have to stay positive. There are so many people who say
they are a part of the greatest Nation in the world, who sure seem to
be fair-weather “fans.” What happened to having some faith?
mlblogsredsoxdoll
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