So any chance of a perfect season for the Sox has been dashed. Big deal. One night, sports talking heads argued whether David Ortiz or Curt Schilling would be World Series MVP this year, and the next they were cringing over Josh Bard's inability to catch Tim Wakefield.
That's the nature of the beast.
A team is only as good as it is the next night. But as baseball begins its long and wonderful 162-game season, here are some thoughts on this season.
"Spaceman for President." This is my slogan for the season. With grouchy anti-heroes like Barry Bonds dominating baseball, we need more characters like former Sox southpaw Bill "Spaceman" Lee. With his long, loopy curve ball and even more absurd off-field comments, Lee is exactly what baseball needs. If Johnny Pesky can still find work with the Sox, there's no reason Lee can't. But the Sox may be too small for Lee; let's put him at the top of baseball.
The game has always been a part of American history, and a powerful force in social change, but in the end it is just a game. With Congress and oversight committees scrutinizing the American Pastime, we need a guy like the Spaceman more than ever to lighten the mood.
On the topic of baseball, Lee once quipped, "I would change policy, bring back natural grass and nickel beer. Baseball is the bellybutton of our society. Straighten out baseball, and you straighten out the rest of the world." Beat that, Bud Selig.
And you think the World Baseball Classic was an innovative idea? Lee has been barnstorming all over the world during his life, playing baseball in South America, Russia, China and Cuba, among others. Get Lee in the Commissioner's chair and we'd see some real International Ball. Lee lives in Vermont, is still a diehard Red Sox fan and even owns his own bat-making company. So if Theo decides to run away again, the team knows who to turn to.
As for the Sox, the season has barely started and already there are distractions of trade rumors and other shenanigans that need to be extinguished right now.
Everyone's talking about Roger Clemens. I for one don't care if he finds his way back to Boston or not. Sure, it would be nice to have his heater in the rotation, but like every good Red Sox youth, I was raised to loathe the Rocket after he jumped ship to the Yankees. Yes, I know it was Duquette's fault; the real disgust comes from the fact that Clemens used to charge his fans for his autograph, a fact that my mom, a rabid Red Sox fan, ingrained in me from an early age.
Instead of fawning over Clemens, let's look at a guy who has already garnered comparisons to #21, Jonathan Papelbon. He's consistently pitching in the mid-90s and has a wicked splitter. A lot is going to depend on this kid, who could be a solid anchor at the end of the pitching staff if Matt Clement proves ineffective or if David Wells decides to get an early start on that retirement. He'll also probably find his share of relief time if Keith Foulke can't get it together.
Papelbon isn't the only hopeful crop from the team's farm system. Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, Dustin Pedroia and Manny Delcarmen are all waiting in the wings. As questionable as this season's team may be, it should, at the least, be comforting to know the future looks to be in good hands.
While I hate jumping on the early season bandwagon, I have to make at least one outlandish claim: David Ortiz for MVP. Through two games, Big Papi already has a homer and four RBI, is batting .500 and slugging 1.125. Heck, in the season opener he was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, and let's face it, unless the opposing team gift wraps it for him, the Big Man probably isn't going to be racking up many three-baggers.
So does any of this mean anything? No. But it's the start fans expect from a player whose slugging percentage and batting average have increased over the last five seasons, and who looks to only continue to rack up the hits and homers.
Each year we are shocked at just how good David Ortiz is. Any day now it seems we're waiting for him to implode. But these last three seasons have been comparable to Mo Vaughn's run with the Sox in the mid-'90s. Vaughn won the AL MVP in 1995 with a .300 BA, 39 home runs and 129 RBI. In 2004, Papi batted .301, with 41 dingers and 139 RBI, and last year he followed this up with a .300/47/148 stat box. If Ortiz continues this hitting tear, there's no reason he shouldn't win the MVP this year.
Last night was the rubber match with the Rangers and the first appearance of Josh Beckett in a Red Sox uniform. Whether he won or lost, he should remember these words from the Spaceman: "I think about the cosmic snowball theory. A few million years from now, the sun will burn out and lose its gravitational pull. The earth will turn into a giant snowball, and be hurled through space. When that happens it won't matter if I get this guy out."
Spaceman for President.
Andrew Bauld is a junior majoring in English. He can be reached at Andrew.Bauld@tufts.edu.
