Red Sox Playoffs: They've Been Here Before

Down 2-0 in a five-game series? Pshhhh, please. That’s nothing. Try being down 3-0 to your blood rivals in the ALCS a year removed from them ripping your hearts out in Game 7.

Sunday’s Game 3 against the Angels is just another day at Fenway Park…we hope.

This is getting to be old news for the Local Nine: down 3-1 in ’04 against the afore-mentioned Yankees and down 3-1 in ’07 against the Cleveland Indians – both World Series winning seasons. They were also down 3-1 in the ALCS last season but since they lost in Game 7, many forget the accomplishment.

Some interesting (or potentially heartbreaking) stats:

– Since 2003, Boston is 13-3 in potential elimination games.

– The Red Sox have won three games in a row 14 times this season.

– In the Divisional Series, four teams have come back from 2-0 deficits, including the ’99 and ’03 editions of the Sox. In both situations, they lost their first two games on the road.

– Boston was 56-25 at home this season, 2nd best in baseball.

But the key today is to hit and hit early. In the first two games, the Sox offense has managed just eight hits and one run and will face old rival Scott Kazmir – someone is familiar with the confines of Fenway during his run with Tampa Bay.

Kazmir has had success at the Fens, allowing just 14 runs and fanning 46 in 40 innings of work from 2006-2008, holding the Sox to a .250 batting average. This season? Two starts and two wins in similar fashion.

But this is October and traditionally, this is when Boston plays its best baseball. There’s a reason why this club has come back time and time and time again. Until they falter, trust in the notion that this is old hat to Terry Francona. In fact, this is more the norm.

They’ve been here before. The question is can they do it again.

Josh Nason is the main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog on the MVN Network. Reach him via Twitter or josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com]. 

Media Notes: Gary Tanguay's research on Josh Beckett's numbers is quite terrible

Josh Beckett is the man even when he goes more than 200 innings.

On the early Monday edition of Comcast Sports New England’s Sports Tonight, co-host Gary Tanguay brought up concerns about Josh Beckett going into the postseason, specifically citing Beckett’s lack of success when he goes over 200 innings pitched in a season.

To paraphrase, Tanguay said that he simply wasn’t the same pitcher after he crossed that threshold. To be quite blunt, that is a ridiculous statement and simply not true.

Beckett has thrown more than 200 innings only three times in his nine-year career: 2006, 2007 and 2009. His regular season numbers in those years:

2006: 16-11, 5.01 ERA, 158 K’s, 74 walks in 204.2 innings (33 starts)

2007: 20-7, 3.27 ERA, 194 K’s, 40 walks in 200.2 innings (30 starts). He finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting and 22nd overall in the AL MVP vote.

2009: 17-6, 3.86 ERA, 199 K’s, 55 walks in 212.1 innings (32 starts)

So looking at these numbers, I guess I’m not seeing a trend of bad pitching. 2006 was his first season in the American League, so there’s going to be a transition year. 2007? Please. 2009? Despite a few bumps late in the season, how do you complain about those numbers?

With that myth debunked, perhaps Tanguay was referring to Beckett’s postseason performance when he goes over 200 innings. Alright then, let’s see the numbers.

2006: Boston didn’t make the playoffs.

2007: 4-0, 1.20 ERA, 35 K’s, 2 walks in 30 innings (four starts)

2009: His first start is Saturday.

Uhhh…what the hell was Tanguay trying to say? If there’s a point to be made, it’s that there could be concern over Beckett’s workload in the postseason considering he had a career-high in innings pitched this year and that last year’s playoffs weren’t that great for him. But he instead made a statement with no statistical backup and no one called him out on it…until now.

It took me roughly two minutes to look up Beckett’s stats and easily disprove Tanguay’s theory. And he’s the guy getting paid to be on TV and the radio? This was the same guy who said the Red Sox weren’t going to make the playoffs after their mid-summer swoon. Guess he was wrong there too.

C’mon Gary. You’re better than this.

Josh Nason is the main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog on the MVN Network. Reach him via Twitter or josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].

Despite playoff berth, Red Sox management failed their fans Wednesday

As someone who spent the better part of a decade working for a successful minor league hockey team, I know that it’s not easy working in a pro sports front office – especially when you’re on top at the box office and in the standings.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned was that no matter how successful your organization gets, you always need to listen to your audience and when it’s possible. always do the right thing. A free pair of tickets here or a free t-shirt there doesn’t mean a whole lot financially in the long run and if that small gesture is appreciated and keeps that fan coming back after they feel like they’ve been wronged, it can mean a lot.

The best organizations seek these fires out before they happen and are proactive. There’s a reason why clubs win awards for great customer service and have loyalty beyond belief. Even a cynic like myself saw what just a little compassion and a eye for helping out can do for long-term fan loyalty.

Sadly, most teams in this era are driven solely by the dollar collected in the now and don’t see that big picture of ‘paying it forward’. On Wednesday, the Red Sox – an organization that has made a tremendous effort to improve the fan experience – had an opportunity to really go above and beyond, but didn’t. Instead, they stayed content with a packed house that had already paid their money to get in and were going to spend more anyway.

As the lineups for Wednesday’s game were announced, you could hear audible groans from across the Nation as our heroes like Pedroia, Youkilis and Bay were replaced by names like Gathright, Kotchman and Woodward. As the Sox had celebrated another postseason appearance thanks to Texas the night before, manager Terry Francona decided to give the regulars a well-deserved game off.

That’s not the issue. A manager has to worry about what’s best for the team, not for the fans. Allowing the outside world to influence on-field decisions can have disastrous results and implications. Having said that, you have to feel for the people who make it down to Fenway Park for one game a year to see the dregs of the lineup in there.

It’s an unfortunate coincidence and a hazard of going to a game that late in the season. I don’t have kids, but would hate to have to attempt to explain to my son or daughter why their heroes aren’t on the field. But that’s life and letdowns happen.

But here’s where management could have stepped up.

The afore-mentioned playoff celebration was done behind closed doors as Boston couldn’t punch their postseason ticket on their own and needed helped to do so in the late, late hours of Tuesday night. Normally, a berth to the playoffs ‘won’ at home elicits some in-stadium celebration with the fans watching on and celebrating in their own. But this time – due to the time of night, the nature of the win and the team decision – that team celebration was done with no media and no fans. 

In other words, the fans were shut out of something they deserved to enjoy as well. There’s a lot of commitment being a baseball fan, but again, letdowns happens.

So given that scenario above and then knowing the equivalent of a AAAA team was going to be on the field hours prior to the game, management should have done something to make it right. People paid top dollar to go to the game and while management couldn’t control who went on the field, they have full reign with what happens once that ticket is scanned in. Instead, they did nothing.

It could have been a one-night only deep discount on merchandise or $1 hot dogs all night or some other gesture that financially would have been appreciated and noticed. Would they have taken a hit on the nightly take? Sure, but hey, letdowns happen, right? There’s going to be a few playoff games where they will make it back.

Simply put, there was a right thing to do Wednesday night and they just chose not to do it.

You do get into a slippery slope situation where you don’t want to set a precedent that this is going to be the case every year. Every time a lackluster lineup is out there, ownership can’t just financially apologize as that’s way too subjective to legislate.

But Wednesday was different as you had the perfect excuse: the missed celebration the night before. Call it a playoff party and do something that makes it a special night to be there, no matter what lineup is on the field. It’s shouldn’t be a news flash here, but sometimes just going to Fenway isn’t enough – especially when the team on the field manages just a few hits and gets destroyed which was the real mule kick to the night.

Like I said before, working in sports isn’t the easiest thing to do. But sometimes the right decisions have to be made. On the field? That hasn’t been a problem for the Boston Red Sox. Off the field? There’s clearly still a lot of work to be done.

Josh Nason is the main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog on the MVN Network. Reach him via Twitter or josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].

Red Sox Stretch Run: 10 Interesting Fun Facts

Even with Sunday’s disappointing and depressing Patriots/Jets outcome, there is still plenty of reason to be happy, that being the Boston Red Sox. Left for dead by many after a four-game sweep by the Yankees in early-August, Terry Francona’s charges are showing all the doubters why they should just let the season play out before making bold claims.

There’s a reason why the word ‘believe’ was so important back in 2004 and 2007. This team does not die, no matter how many times people forget history and assume that they will.

So here are 10 Red Sox-related numbers and factoids I came across as we enter the regular season’s final two weeks. Let this ease your Patriots-related pain, at least for a little bit. It’s going to be a fun October.

All numbers are going into Monday.

– Boston has 14 games (7 home/7 away) remaining with no off-days.

– Heading into 2009, they won 93 games or more in six of their last seven seasons, making the postseason in four of them. They currently sit at 89 wins.

– The Red Sox are 52-22 at home and an even 37-37 on the road.

– The Red Sox have a 99.9 certainty of making the playoffs, just behind the Yankees’ 100%. Their all-important magic number is seven.

– AL Central leading Detroit has a 77.5% chance of making the postseason, the lowest of any divisional leader by a long shot. The Angels (the team Boston would play if the season ended today) have a 99.2% chance.

– Everyone that thought John Farrell was to blame for John Smoltz and Brad Penny excelling elsewhere should have to revoke their pink Boston hats. The starters have allowed three runs or less in 13 straight and have an 8-1 record and 2.18 ERA during that time.

– Josh Beckett’s 201.1 innings this year are the most he’s thrown since 2006 when he threw a career-high 204.2 frames.

– Since giving up five runs on May 26th in a loss to Minnesota, the highest amount of runs Jon Lester has given up has been four – which happened one time in a late-July win. He’s lost just once in his last 16 starts.

– Since joining the Red Sox on August 1st, Victor Martinez’s batting average has jumped from .283 to .297, along with his slugging (.461 to .477) and on-base percentage (366 to .378). In September, he’s batting .370 and has a 19-game hitting streak heading into Sunday. He is just two RBI short of his 3rd career 100-RBI season.

– Finally, the Red Sox are just five games behind the Yankees in the AL East. Back in August after that sweep and in subsequent weeks, Boston winning the division seemed to be so far-fetched it was ridiculous.

Not anymore.

Josh Nason is the main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog on the MVN Network. Reach him via Twitter or josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].

*Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

Red Sox win World Series: this is what it's supposed to feel like

It’s been less than 24 hours and I’m still beaming. It’s a very weary, tired and scummy beaming, but nonetheless….

Thursday, October 28th was the
day we always wondered about – the day after the Boston Red Sox won a
World Series. Like most of you, the constant good thoughts and random
fist-pumping/fits of yelling excitedly/smiling for no reason have not
left you all day and probably won’t for a while. This is what it’s
like…this is what it’s like to realize a dream and become a winner.

This is what it’s supposed to feel like.

I work in an office that, despite
being 45-minutes from Boston, only features five or so Red Sox fans.
The others are a mix of Phillies, Indians, Twins and Cardinals fans who
couldn’t even begin to imagine what was churning inside us today. It’s
been said that if you’re not from New England and not a true Sox fan,
you will never really understand. People may scoff at that notion, but
it’s true. You just can’t.

Watching everyone try to get stuff
accomplished today (a normal positive in most offices) was an act of
futility. Talking, laughing, sighing and even just sitting in silence
with other Sox fans while drinking some Dunkin’ Donuts coffee? That’s
what today was supposed to be about. Waking up and realizing that it
wasn’t a dream? That’s what today was supposed to be about. Calling the
guy that got you into the Sox to begin with? That’s what today was
supposed to be about. Thursday, October 28 was not a day for work – it
was an unofficial Red Sox Nation holiday.

This is what it’s supposed to feel like.

Between the game and the
post-game festivities – seeing them celebrate, seeing the joy, seeing
the images of heroes past that couldn’t accomplish the goal – it was
like a movie, a great big beautiful movie. Everything just came
together, 18 years after the Sox lost Game 7 in 1986. The signs were
there and looking back, this was the way it was supposed to happen.

We
were supposed to lose that Game 7 to the Yankees last season…it set
everything in motion. If you look at it, this season was perhaps the
greatest story in sports. Seriously…

• a great defeat (game 7) followed by a triumpant return (start of the season)
• a strong beginning followed by all lost hope (middle of the season) only to end with an unexpected surge (August)
• amazing characters (what don’t you know about this team?)
• twists and turns (Nomar, free agents, Francona)
• an emotionally draining final step against all odds to get to the promise land (THE Yankees Series)
• a nation waiting (the fans from San Fran to Boston and beyond)
• a dream realized

But what was it that didn’t seem
right? Wasn’t it supposed to be harder than this? Where was the
heartache? Where was the moment when we hung our heads and said, “Not
again”? It never happened because of the best sign of all was that this
team was really, really good

This is what it’s supposed to feel like.

They told us this club was built
for a World Series. We didn’t believe them. Lucchino, Henry and Epstein
all said to Keep The Faith and that everything would be ok. We didn’t
believe them. When the team went into a .500 swoon, Pedro started
making waves and the Nomar situation reached critical mass, they told
us it would be ok. And they were right. All along, they were right. No
false hopes. No empty promises. The day after Game 7 of last season,
they said we’d be back to win it. And we did.

This is what it’s supposed to feel like.

But with every ying comes a yang.
What made it so special to be a Red Sox fan was that certain something
that very few other teams truly have – passion. Through generations,
the burden of being a Sox fan was handed down to us like a bad sweater.
We learned about the game, learned about our players and over time,
became the most knowledgable fans in baseball. We learned to eat,
sleep, breathe and cry the Red Sox.

This team did what is almost
impossible to do: cross every kind of barrier (gender, race, age)
possible. Men, women, kids, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, dogs,
cats: everyone could get into the Sox. It became the glue that held so
many of us together – a common bond in a world that is rapidly losing
the few it once had. When they won, we’d rejoice. When they’d lose, we
ached. Oh, did we ache. Sports teams aren’t supposed to make people
feel like this, a few steps shy of mass hysteria. But the Red Sox did,
but will that change?

While we’ve gained something big,
Red Sox Nation has also lost something big – the only identity we’ve
every known as the chasers and not the champs. What helped make that
bond so strong was hope and faith that someday, it would be our time.
It ironclad 86 years worth of fans who all wanted the same thing. Now,
it’s all changed. We’ve won. That hope and faith has been realized and
we can enjoy what we’ve wanted for so long. Will it feel the same next
year?

Will cheering this team onto victory mean the same now that we’ve
experienced what it’s all about? Will being a Red Sox fan be any
different now? It’s a scary thought, almost like losing a loved one.
Next year will be surreal to say the least. This team deserves the same
love, deserves the same following and deserves the Nation cheering it
on for another title. We’ll have to wait until next year to see if it
happens. Be careful of what you wish for…we now have it.

That’s what it’s supposed to feel like.

So after seven months and the
past two fantastic weeks, it’s time to take a break from the Sox.
Honestly, I’m worn out. But that’s not stopping me at 9:22 on Thursday
night, trying to find anything reminiscent of 24 hours ago when just
for a while, everything was right with the world. But that world is
starting to move on, looking to shift our focus on an election, the NBA
or anything else that is just plain ‘next’ even though all we want to
do is have time stand still. Sadly, this feeling will go away with time
– all strong emotions do. But I made a decision to have a copy of
today’s headlines framed and keep it as a constant reminder that no
matter what happens, life was never so good as it felt today. Ever.

And that’s what today felt like to me.