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Tuesday, September 12, 2017

What is wrong with the Redsock '17 Hall of Fame Superteam of Destiny (TM)?

They're limping toward the restrooms, three up with 19 to play. Nobody's hitting except Li'l Pete, and he's a living "Get well!" card. (See: Bird, Greg.) Tonight, they face the Oakland A's, a/k/a the Charlie Sheen School for Wayward Girls, and their prayers have been answered: They found someone - at 17 games below .500 - playing worse than they. Jubilation! Glory to Dombrowski, the Belichick of baseball! 

But it wasn't supposed to be this way.

Everybody knows the Redsocks, as God's most beloved tribe of suffering saints, continually consolidate all their woes, finish last for a while, and then rise to win miracle championships. Ever since vanquishing the evil curse of the Bambino, many years ago, Boston has lived the dream, embracing that puritanical New England spirit of hope and self-righteousness, knowing the dreaded Yankees have been exorcised like that Annabelle horror movie doll, and the new millennium belongs to those who are willing to lose for a few years in order to draft high. 

Last 30 days
And 2017 was going to cement their future. This would be the year when the B's - Benintendi-Bradely-Betts-Bogaerts - would replace Belichick-Brady, and the Sale-Price dynasty would begin. For the first half of the season, they simply lurked, waiting to make their move. In July, when the Yankees had punched themselves to sleep, Boston took first, and ever since, the only question was how much space they would put between themselves and the AL East.

Well, they're sputtering. The above chart shows Redsock hitting over the last 30 days, and it's not Ted Williams or even Trot Nixon. Most notable, I direct you to the numbers for Mookie Betts, now hitting .261 on the year with 19 home runs. (Keep in mind, practically everybody in baseball has at least 20.) We can debate hopes and fears about Aaron Judge throughout the coming winter, but Betts has dropped 60 points in average since last season, when the Gammonites pushed him for MVP. (Mike Trout won it, by the way.) Of course, he could go on a tear and lift his average 15-20 points, but that "future superstar" trajectory is no longer in place. He's just 24, so we won't dismiss him. But Boston's mad expectations have taken a turn.

And then there is Bogaerts, who last winter in the World Baseball Whatever forced Didi Gregorius to play 2B, causing him to hurt his arm on a twisting throw to first. Then, Bogaerts was the star and Didi the bench warming underling. Would anyone now buy such a comparison? For the record, Xander has 8 home runs and is hitting .266 on the season. Didi is the Yankees' best player. Period.

Still, with 19 games to go, it'll take a full collapse for Boston to lose the AL East. Once in the playoffs, anything can happen. But they are a team the Yankees can beat, and that - my friends - says it all.

11 comments:

Urban Farmer formerly known as Dutchfan said...

Of course I entirely agree with this analysis. Howevah:
...in this era of the overshift it occurs on a very regular basis that a position player has to make a play from not his own position. Didi shading towards first, Castro sort of in the outfield, third baseman playing second.....

If Didi hurt his arm simply because of this position shift, he is a wimp.

Ken of Brooklyn said...

I'm not proud of this sentiment, but if the Yankees knock the Sux out of first and the Sux lose the Wild Card 'series', that's the equivalent of winning the World Series for me, BWAH HAHAHAHA!

Anonymous said...

Didi is a player who takes chances, and tries to make every play, if he can reach the ball - - such players are basically fearless, but they are prone to injuring themselves, going all out.

Ironic that the WBC people adjudged Bogey to be the better of the two, don'cha' think?? Ain't turning out that way, at this point. In any case, Sir Didi's a real gamer, and we are grateful to the nurture he got in Amsterdamster AND Curacao...and, shucks, why not Rotterdam, too?? LB (No J)

JM said...

Three games is not a lot.

Keep in mind that the Sox are not the Dodgers, and the Bums have lost 16 of 17 and 11 straight. It seems impossible that the Beanheads would do something like that to end the year, but then, it was impossible that the Dodgers, fifty-gazillion games over .500, would find themselves now only a mere 40 over.

Gasp. Buster Olney says it could be a collapse of historic proportions. Their lead on Arizona is down to 9 GAMES!!!

So, the Sox going .500 into the playoffs is not unreasonable, by any stretch of the imagination. They do have a slight history of swanning at the end of a season. We just have to be three games better.

Joe Formerlyof Brooklyn said...


I don't care what they do. NYYs do not play the father-raping Red Sox anymore.

All that matters is what WE do. Winning a lot of games (like 13-6) might not put the Sox in the rear-view mirror, but it sure would be encouraging.

NOW: Duya think we're gonna go 13-6.....?

Parson Tom said...

In moments like these, I revert to an old standby slogan that has served me well for many years: Boston Sucks!

Anonymous said...

"and so castles made of sand, melts into the sea... eventually," - J. Hendrix

Doug K

Anonymous said...

Can someone tell our brain dead manager binders CLEARLY CASTRO NEEDS A FRIGGIN BREAK!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Dear Joe,. Stop batting Judge second

Sincerely loyal fan

Anonymous said...

EXACTLY.....

STOP BATTING JUDGE 2ND!

PLEASE, SOMEONE FIND OUT OUR RECORD WHEN JUDGE HITS 2ND?

I FEEL LIKE WE LOSE ALL THE TIME WHEN HE BATS 2ND.

AM I RIGHT?

IF I AM, HOW DOES GIRARDI NOT KNOW THIS???????????????

IF I AM WRONG, DISREGARD THIS RANT.

FUCK IT, LET ME RANT.

WE SUCKED TONIGHT.

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