Bromances and Baseball

I realize this is a few days late, now that the trade deadline has come and gone, but there is a storyline that wasn't covered too much. Most stories deal with usually the winners and losers, and what big star went from the basement of their division to the penthouse for a playoff run. In later years, we find out guys like Scott Kazmir or Jeff Bagwell are "the prospects to be named later," that get traded. But on Friday when the Red Sox traded for Victor Martinez, it changed the dynamic of two MLB clubhouses.

To get the All-Star slugger, the Red Sox had to give up 3 players, including the guy who's been solid in the Boston bullpen the last two years, Justin Masterson. Normally here I would complain as to why we traded Masterson instead of sure fire Hall of Famer Clay Buchholz, but the personal affect it has on the players. During an interview right after being traded you could tell Masterson was shell shocked.

Normally guys say after being traded, "Hey, this is a business, and I can't wait to start the new part of my career in (insert city name here)." While Masterson did have a touch of this in his comments after being traded, he also talked about how he would miss his teammates. After all, many of these guys have come upt through the Red Sox system. With at least one teammate, the feeling was mutual.

"It kind of stinks a little bit," Sox reliever Manny Delcarman told Monique Walker of the Boston Globe before the game on Friday. And take a look at this comment straight from the article:

“He gets along with everybody,’’ said Delcarmen, as his voice cracked. “He would give me a hug, and I would feel good about myself.’’

Sounds like it's getting hot and heavy in the Sox Bullpen. I haven't seen this much man love since Iceman and Maverick.



The scene was the same for new Red Sox
catcher/DH/1st baseman/hot dog guy Victor Martinez. Reports say that Martinez was crying at his locker when he heard about the news about moving to a new team. According to most reports, Martinez was a great clubhouse guy, so he must've been well liked too. You'd think moving to a contender would be all V-Mart needed to get over leaving his team, but he did have 8 long years playing for the tribe. Could be all the new handshakes he has to learn that had him sobbing too.


In all seriousness, I appreciate seeing the human side of pro athletes. Too often, all men feel that the true test of masculinity is not feeling emotion, especially in sports. But the reality is we do have feelings, and it sucks losing people we care about. I still don't believe that I won't see the guys I've lived with the last four years on a day-to-day basis come September. Sure we keep in touch with texting, twitter, and phone calls. But this doesn't compare to playing video games instead of going to class, eating cold pizza, and impromptu games of beer pong.

To some degree, I think it's the same thing in a Major League club house. These guys spend more than 150 games with eachother. In the bullpen, you spend most of the game in a cramped space trying to pass the time until you're called on to pitch. I can't speak from experience, but my guess is you get to know each other pretty well under circumstances like that.

So both Masterson and Martinez are already making impacts on their new teams. Masterson pitched three scoreless innings on Saturday, striking out four in an extra innings win for the Indians. Martinez played a big part in the Red Sox hit parade Sunday, where he went 5-6 with four RBIs in the win. These guys have proved that they can perform with their new teams. With 2 months in the regular season left, these guys will have plenty of time to make new friends and be happy in their new surroundings. It's all going to be fine. Ok, the end was really a pep talk for me getting on with my life, growing up, and getting over my bromances.

The Anti-Manny

As has been the case for most of the decade, a Red Sox player started in left field for the American League All-Stars last night. But unlike years past, his play spoke for itself. It wasn't about the lame excuse he gave as to why he couldn't play in the game. Such are the differences between Manny Ramirez and Jason Bay.

I've said it a million times, but my relationship with Manny in the last year has been like a break up with a long time girlfriend. I could deal with his BS, like peeing in the wall and or high fiving fans while making a catch. When the Sox traded him at the deadline last year I was crushed. I said that day that there was no way we could win the World Series without him. I don't remember for sure, but I probably put on some Simple Plan and cried in my room for three hours too.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that we could get anything as good as Jason Bay back in return. To be honest, my AL East bias told me that Bay was a good player on a bad team. Like Julio Lugo and Edger Renteria before him, I thought he wouldn't be able to handle to the heat from Boston fans and the media.

I could not have been more wrong. Yes his average has dipped quite a bit over the last month, but he still is top ten in the AL in home runs, and leads the league in RBIs. He also scored the game winning run against the Angels in game 4 last year to send Boston to the ALCS. Maybe most importantly, he already has a big hit against the Yankees this season to his credit.

Perhaps even better than his play, is Bay's demeanor. With Manny, you always had to be be prepared that he was going to do something stupid on or off the field. Fans, the media, and even the Red Sox management chalked this up to Manny being Manny. Thankfully, there is none of this nonsense with Jason Bay. The guy just goes out and plays the game. Bay has been a very model citizen while playing in a Sox uniform this year. In fact, his biggest off the field story was the fact that he became an American citizen.

The only question that remains now with Jay Bay is how long he'll be taking the field at 4 Yawkey Way. He is making close to $8 million this year, and he will certainly cash in this off season. In a perfect world, something would get done before the end of this season, so I wouldn't have to suffer another coronary about the Red Sox left field spot. But with Johnny Damon coming up as a free agent this off season too, there's a chance Jason Bay could break my heart worse than Manny by heading to the Skankees, I mean Yankees.

Road Warriors

There are three basic reactions fans have when their team suffers a loss: The "Meh." It doesn't really phase you either way. The "heart breaker." I think that one speaks for itself. And finally, the "ARE YOU SHITTING ME?" where a play in the game can only be described as what Chaz Michael Michaels would call mind bottling.

The Red Sox game last night was somewhere in the middle of the last two. I couldn't believe the entire infield would forget how many outs there were in the sixth, and it was even harder to believe the best bullpen in baseball could blow a 9 run lead with 9 outs to go. Things have been so good for the Sox the the last 5 and a half seasons that I forgot what those losses were like.

Luckily, I was over it by this afternoon because the Red Sox rallied this time, and came back to win the game 6-5 in extras. The road has been tough for the Sox over the last two seasons. It cost them a trip to the World Series because Game 7 of the ALCS was played in St. Petersburg and not in Boston. But after this very successful road trip (6-3) the Red Sox seemed to have solved that problem.

Or maybe it's really because these games don't seem like true road games. Red Sox fans are flooding their opponents ball parks, getting rid of home field advantage. I swear, watching a Sox Nationals game last week I heard Big Papi hit a home run, and the crowd went wild like it landed on Landsdowne.

Now this road trip included the Orioles and Nationals. Baltimore and D.C. are both short trips for fans from Boston, and are cool cities that have stuff to do other than baseball. Like the Lincoln Memorial and Hamsterdam.

But the big crowd in Atlanta really surprised me. The Braves are a little down this year, but I still didn't expect to hear a very audible, "LET'S GO RED SOX," chant sparingly throughout the game. This isn't a series in the middle of the summer when you would expect lots of fans to make a trip down south; this is the weekend before July Fourth in a recession. At least Red Sox Nation is doing their part to stimulate the economy. You're welcome America.

The Sox don't play another road game until after the All-Star Break, and that series is another short road trip to Toronto. After that, the Red Sox never go further than Arlington Texas for a game. So if this road trip was any indication for the rest of the season, the Sox have as many true road games left as Michael Jackson London Tour dates (Too soon?).

Panic Button? Not this Red Sox Fan

Technology today is pretty crazy. I planned on getting on my Blog Box and explaining why there is no reason for Red Sox fans to be freaking out about the poor start thus far. However, just got a text update from WEEI Daisuke Matsuzaka will be placed on the DL because of shoulder fatigue, and Hunter Jones is being called up. Certainly not good news, but let's try and look at the big picture on this one.

Yes, the Red Sox are 2-6. Yes, they are off to their worst start since 1996. Yes, Jason Bay isn't Manny. Yes, the 2 time WBC MVP looks terrible in a Red Sox uniform, and now may be hurt. And yes, I am still very confident that this team will make it to the playoffs as either a division winner or wild card winner.

I can only speak for myself, but I feel that many Sox have a different outlook on Boston sports since the "Tuck Rule Game." Since then, I am no longer turning away during a big spot one of my teams' games. In fact, I feel confident that they will thrive in it.

First of all, this is a tough stretch for the team. They started against the defending AL champs, and then headed out west to play the AL West favorite, and an A's team with solid pitching and nice line-up top to bottom. And for whatever reason, the Red Sox always struggle out west.
It is bad that they are getting off to such a poor start, but that's all it is: the start of the season. 8 down, 154 to go. No team has ever lost the pennant on Tax Day, and I don't think this year's Sox team will be the exception.

However, I will admit their is some cause for concern. Lester and Dice-K have looked pretty bad on this road trip. With the exception of Youkilis and Bay, the rest of lineup is really struggling. Maybe the biggest concern: that I'm looking to Julio Lugo to be the spark to get this team going.

But like I said, I'm staying optimistic. The Yanks will struggle at some point, the Rays will struggle, and the Red Sox will get out. That's baseball. And in the end, one of these three very good teams will be left on the outside looking in at the post season. And in my opinion, that team won't be the Boston Red Sox.