It’s the All-Star Break, which is much needed for the .500 Red Sox. They are currently 9.5 games out of first place in the Division, and 5 games back for the Wild Card. Can they turn this season around for the second half? My guess is no.
If the Sox were 5 games out of the division, it would be one thing. They are not. They are tied for last place in the division, and you know the Yankees will be making moves before the end of July. The Red Sox will too, but who knows what this team will look like by the end of the week… let alone by the end of the month.
Yes, I’m still in my sour mood over the Red Sox and their frustrating season. How could I not? I successfully predicted the Red Sox would win 1 out of 4 games against the Yankees this weekend, and I successfully predicted that Lester and Beckett’s starts were the ones to worry about. Maybe I am a “Red Sox visionary,” as someone told me last week when I successfully predicted Matsuzaka would land on the DL during his start on Monday night.
I don’t want to be a “Red Sox visionary” though; I want to be proven wrong. I guess in terms of “good” things this weekend, Pedro Ciriaco was really fun to watch. He had this energy about him that we haven’t seen since Middlebrooks came up and started tearing it up. *Sigh* I miss Middlebrooks.
It was also “fun” to see Jeter making errors during the games. For the record, I like Derek Jeter, always have. I find him a very respectable player and a classy individual. However, he frustrated me because he has no range yet makes the All-Star team every year and wins Gold Gloves.
So, instead of dwelling on how horribly I thought the Sox looked this weekend, I thought I would do a few random thoughts regarding the team, this weekend, and where they need to go from here.
* I have a feeling two of the following three players will be traded soon: Nick Punto, Brent Lillibridge, and Pedro Ciriaco. I would love Pedro Ciriaco to be the bench player for the rest of the year, as I find his bat more reliable than the other two (though in limited playing time, obviously). It just seems very redundant to have that many bench players for the infield. Once Pedroia is back, two will be gone.
* My uncle informed my family that the Red Sox had acquired Arroyo via trade, and that it was announced during the broadcast before Saturday night’s Fox game (we weren’t receiving feed from DirecTV for some reason at that point). I quickly checked MLB Trade Rumors, The Boston Globe, and Wikipedia websites to confirm this without any luck. I have to admit, I was a bit crushed. I was ready to “un-retire” my Arroyo shirt, since he used to be one of my favorite players on the Sox.
* Adrian Gonzalez had his 18-game hitting streak snapped last night when he was pulled out of the game due to an illness; he was 0-1. It’s really a shame, but my thought was why did he even start if he was so ill? If he felt that ill, he shouldn’t have played, and his streak would still be active. Of course, that would be “selfish.”
* During our local news program Saturday night, the sports announcer called Youkilis “our Youkilis,” as in the White Sox. My brother had the best reaction: “He’s not your Youkilis; he’s our Youkilis.” I hope we always feel that way.
* My brother and I were having a discussion regarding who will be traded from the Sox and who won’t. My brother seems to think that Lester and Beckett are practically asking for a trade with their play this year; I don’t see that happening. Though, he did mention Lester’s performance is similar to Youkilis’s performance with our Sox, and Lester doesn’t appear to favor Valentine.
* “Thank Tek Day” is scheduled for July 21st. Well deserved. It would be great if they would offer him a position with the club at that point and announce it that day. Wishful thinking.
* Do people really put that much stock into the All-Star Game? I usually watch about two innings, then start switching back and forth between channels until I stop watching it all together. This year may be different, since players were not able to “opt out” of the game/honor unless they were injured or had another pressing matter (Yadier Molina being placed on the bereavement list comes to mind). Last year was the worst, since there were about 40 “All-Stars” for each team, as not many of the starters actually wanted to play.
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