In A Perfect World

In a perfect world, Red Sox-wise, the team would be in first place. The players would have minimal injuries. Beckett and Lester would be battling each other for Cy Young contention. Ellsbury would be leading the league with stolen bases with 40-45 already. Crawford would be hitting .300+ with 20+ steals and 15+ home runs. Gonzalez would be hitting .350 with 25 home runs. Pedroia would have just made the All-Star team as a starter.

But alas, the world is not perfect, and neither are these Red Sox. I think everyone can agree that Ortiz is really the only player that the fans are satisfied with, as much as a Red Sox fan can be satisfied. Yes, there have been some surprises like Saltalamacchia, Middlebrooks, Morales and Cook (for the most part), and Atchison.

I know I haven’t concentrated on the positives much lately. It’s so much easier when you see the team in front of you playing to their potential. It’s a lot harder to sit back, try to relax, as you watch a team you know like the back of your hand not playing the way you know they can.

The unofficial second half of the season starts tomorrow for the Red Sox (and I say that because the team has played over half their games). The Red Sox take on the Rays, who have become a rival to them. The pitching match-ups are as follows:

Friday: Morales (1-2, 3.50 ERA) v. Hellickson (4-5, 3.41 ERA)
Saturday: Buchholz (8-2, 5.33 ERA) v. Price (11-4, 2.82 ERA)
Sunday: Beckett (4-7, 4.43 ERA) v. Shields (8-5, 4.17 ERA)

Let’s face it, the Sox need to get off to a good start with this second half. Their 4-10 start to the season really hurt them, much like their 2-10 start to the season hurt them the year before. But maybe, things will start to look up for them.

Ellsbury is supposed to be activated from the disabled list tomorrow. Buchholz follows on Saturday. Crawford will be shortly behind them, as he’s supposed to start in Triple-A today. Pedroia is still about 2 weeks away, but he shouldn’t need much time to rehab. With those core “All-Stars”(they have all made the All Star team at one point) in place, it might just be what the Red Sox need. Yes, trades will be made. The team will change, but it could all be for the better.

In 2004, the Red Sox traded away Nomar Garciaparra, the face of the franchise at the time. All the Red Sox fans I knew were upset. How could they trade away a player who meant so much the team, the fan base, and vendors (seriously, his apparel was the best selling). Maybe the Red Sox of 2012 need something like that to happen now.

With 76 games left to play, the Red Sox are only 2.5 games back from the second wild card spot. Making the post season is very doable, and the Sox could have the pieces to do it. They just need to stay healthy and win persistently. They can’t lose close games. Gonzalez needs to get his swing back (something he seemed to be doing better before the break). Ellsbury and Crawford will need to keep the other teams’ offenses on their toes and constantly get into scoring position. Papi needs to keep doing what he’s doing.

There’s the saying “It’s a marathon, not a race.” That’s true for a baseball season. Yes, in a perfect world, the Sox would be securely in first place without so many question marks. But, we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a world where there is heartache and miracles.