Red Sox Nation’s alternate universe

Sometime after 10pm EDT last Thursday evening, the earth must have drifted into an alternate universe. The switch or flip wasn’t immediately noticed.  In Boston, a tinkling may have been felt sometime in the bottom of the seventh inning when a couple singles produced a run; for citizens of Red Sox Nation, with their team down now only 7-1, it suddenly may have dawned on them that something must have changed when David Ortiz’ quick swipe sent a baseball into the right field stands.  

This is a universe where Red Sox players have a mystical upper hand and opponents turn into Little Leaguers still learning the game. The universe is familiar but comes and goes; sure-handed opponents stop catching difficult grounders; throws go off target; outfield flies become unpredictable and difficult to track; their bats become ineffective or Red Sox players show up everywhere they hit the ball.  

How does one explain the lackluster and inconsistent performance of the Red Sox middle relievers during a long season and the no-hit, no-run string during this past week? How does the well-meaning, hard-working but automatic-out catcher Varitek become the game-winning hit in Game-6 last night? How does one explain sure-handed Tampa fielders Longorian and Bartlett committing crucially damaging errors in the late innings of the past two games?

For this year, one can blame Tampa’s manager for mis-steps, the inexperience of the Rays’ players, or the tough, backs-to-the-wall Red Sox team spirit; I think it’s an alternate universe called Red Sox Universe, where Red Sox Nation expands into a universal phenomena we don’t understand and I hope it stays for one more week.

Maine lobster market derailed by bank failures in Iceland

This is a true story: the Maine lobster industry is reeling from a collapse in demand, and subsequent collapse in the market prices, for the deep-sea crustacean.  While supplies are adequate, Canadian seafood processors, who usually grab a significant portion of each day’s catch, have stopped ordering and buying lobsters because their credit lines with Icelandic banks have been frozen (no North Atlantic pun intended).

The crisis in Maine is tied directly to the collapse of Icelandic banks which were key lenders to processors in Canada, according to Dane Somers, executive director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council. Without ready credit from those banks, Canadian processors don’t have the cash to purchase lobster from Maine, Somers said. [Bangor Daily News]

Lobsters were at $4.99/lb at Augusta Seafood earlier this week.  Lobsters off the boat are barely fetching $2.0/lb at some ports. For the typical consumer, lobsters at $4.99/lb. is a tremendous difference from the $12-13 per pound rates earlier in the summer and should make lobster lovers rejoice.

However, lobstermen and women can’t make any money at these low prices.  Fewer and fewer boats will be departing for the lobster fisheries in the coming weeks; supplies will constrict quickly and prices will rise. The length of this crisis could determine how many lobster boats stay in the business.

Down to last three innings, Sox postpone defeat

After watching some of the third and fourth games of the 2008 ACLS, it was very painful and sad to sit down for Game 5 last evening and watch a lead-off single and Bam! another BJ Upton home run put the Sox in a 2-0 hole with nobody out.  I stopped watching after the second inning and went back later to find them down 5-0; it was the beginning of the 7th inning and Francona then brought Papelbon in!  Our premiere closer was being brought in to mop up a losing cause in the 7th?  I thought Francona and the Sox had given up.  This was reinforced when Papelbon gave up a 2-run double to the BJ Upton RBI machine. Sox behind, 7-0. Click!

So, when we checked the game a little while later, mostly by accident as one surfs the channels, we were intrigued by the new score of 7-4.  We continued to watch with mouths opened and frequent scratching of the heads as the pitching, hitting, and defense seemed to wake up.  Seven runs down, three innings to go, and the Rays seemed to be facing a mysterious force; ground balls became harder to handle, their pitches resulted in either balls or fouls or run contributing hits.

We watched the rest of this amazing game right to the new morning hour.

The champagne brought into theTampa Bay locker room half way into the game had to be packed up and put on the plane to Tampa. Very sad.

Gm 2 ACLS: Beckett stayed too long

The Red Sox lost game no. 2 of the 2008 ACLS when ace pitcher Josh Beckett attempted his second start in the playoffs after a problematic oblique injury in September.  Francona suggested he was going to be o.k. for last night’s game after his lackluster performance against the Angels last week.  He gave up 8 runs and this included 2 runs in the sixth inning when he should not have been returned to the mound after a lousy 5 innings behind him.

For the Sox as a whole, the 11th inning loss does not change the dynamic: the Rays should win this series based on talent across the board.  This does not mean the Sox are doomed.  If most of the players play to or above their averages, the Sox can win.  It is now a five-game series with three games in Boston.

Game 1 goes to Sox (2-0)

Last night’s game no. 1 of the American League 2008 Championship Series (ACLS) was another gem provided by the 2008 Soxtober crew.  In typical fashion, Matsuzaka put men on base and then pitched out of the jams; tonight’s quirky and tantalizing entertainment was his walks-only, no hit performance through six innings.  In suspenseful fashion, manager Francona allowed him to return from a tentative seventh inning session to pitch the eighth inning, where he promptly gave up two singles and was dismissed.

In an equally impressive performance, Sox middle relievers Okajima and Masterson then kept the Rays on the bases, sealing the victory rap-up by Papelbon in the ninth.  Read the game recap from the NYTimes sports desk.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/sports/baseball/11alcs.html?

Sox go to A.L. championship series

The Red Sox managed to put together play-off quality performances to take out the L.A. Angels, the Western Division leaders, 3 games to 1.  The sometimes lackluster middle relief pitching hung in to keep the Angels on the bases but away from home plate; this did not happen during the regular season with any consistency.  All-in-all, the Angels looked like a more solid team going into the playoffs; the Sox domination was a surprise.

Moving to the next level has the potential to be more exciting playoff baseball as the Sox face the division alpha team.  On paper, Tampa Bay should take care of the Sox, but that is what the Angels thought as well.  Is it possible that this current Red Sox team, plus or minus some participants between 2004-2008, is a peak-in-October outfit?  Based on the past week, we can be cautiously optimistic.

We can evaluate the effectiveness of the Manny Ramirez/Jason Bay trade at this point as a win-win proposition for the Red Sox and Dodgers.  The Sox went 33-19 after sending Ramirez to the Dodgers; the Dodgers woke up, went 30-19 to catch and surpass the Diamondbacks.  Since Manny’s salary is still paid by the Red Sox and the Sox failed to catch Tampa Bay, perhaps the Dodgers can say they won out, efficiency wise.  I am willing to bet Francona and a number of Sox players (such as Mr Bay) think it was an excellent deal.