But let’s start with someone I hold dear to my heart. Retired Red Sox Short Stop, Nomar Garciaparra. Two days ago was Cinco De Mayo, no not Ocho Cinco De Mayo yet I wish it was, but rather 5/5/10. The Boston Red Sox, who are in the midst of a horrible start to their season, honored the memorable #5 and had Nomar Garciaparra day at Fenway. The Red Sox won the game, and the next day went on to sweep the Angels, who may actually be worse than the Sox this year.
So the Red Sox are now 1 game above 500 looking at a series against the Yankees beginning tonight. What are the Red Sox going to do to be able to hang with the Yanks and Tampa Bay this year? The team is missing something. Power? Drive? Intensity? All of it. I attended the Sox/Orioles game at Camden Yards last weekend Boston felt so different from the days of Curt Schillings bloody sock, Manny being Manny, and Kevin Millar being, well, Kevin Millar. The team is no longer fun to watch and maybe they are no longer having fun playing. If it weren’t for Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, I may stop watching baseball all together. These two guys show me, each and every game, that they are truly winners and will do what it takes to make the city of Boston and their fans proud.
As I watched J.D. Drew leisurely play Right Field that game (See Above), I sat in the first row of my right field section thinking, “Do these guys actually care?” It was like that scene from Fever Pitch when Jimmy Fallon sees Jason Varitek and some other Sox players at a restaurant. He realizes that he, the fan, was more invested in baseball than his teams players. I felt like Jimmy Fallon. I, the dorky, baseball fan, seemed WAY more into baseball than my own team. It was discouraging and I felt a sense of entrapment. First, I am a female, I cannot join the Red Sox and start hitting for them. And second, even if I was a male, I do not have the skill, talent, and athletic ability that these players possess. The only thing I felt I had over these guys, except for Pedroia and Youkilis, was heart. So I sit in the stands, or on my couch, trapped. There is nothing I can do to help this team.
It has been obvious that with the loss of Manny Ramirez things have not been the same. Although some Red Sox fans may have been fed up with or disliked Manny, he was and still is, exactly what this team needed. And yes, yes, I know that some of you will say, that we got rid of him at the right time because of his suspension. No matter what, Manny is a great hitter. His swing is one of the most beautiful swings in the game. Every time I see him I think, “I wish I could swing the bat like that.” My fiancé who is an Indians fan and has been a fan of Manny since his rookie year, tells me over and over again that when he first saw Manny hit the ball he changed his swing. My fiancé began to model the swing of Ramirez, and now when I attend his recreational softball league games, I see an American Manny Ramirez at bat each time he steps to the plate. Manny was a great part of the Red Sox team while he was in Boston. With Manny hitting 3rd in the line-up, and Ortiz 4th, the pitchers on opposing teams needed to pitch AROUND Manny and TO Ortiz. This allowed Ortiz to be a force on our offense, however, with Manny out of the line-up the Red Sox DH, David Ortiz, has a batting average lower than everyone on the team except Rookie outfielder Josh Reddick and the Sox players who have not played in a game. The Philadelphia Phillies, 47 year old, pitcher, Jamie Moyer, has a batting average more than .100 points above David Ortiz. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of David Ortiz and was wearing his T-shirt jersey on the night of May 1, 2010 at Camden Yards when he blasted 2 home runs into the stands. He is likable, he seems to be pleasant and he has done some amazing things for the Red Sox, but I think it’s about time for the Sox to pull the plug on him. How can your DH, who does not play defense, and who is suppose to be the driving force of a ball clubs offense, hit worse than all but 1 player on the team? The Sox might as well join the NL and allow their pitchers to hit the ball since that is the level at which Ortiz is hitting now. I am sorry that I have to be like this. Like I said, I am a fan or Ortiz, and I am not trying to down play what he has done for the Sox but I am also a fan of baseball, the Red Sox, and winning, and with a struggling offensive force, the Red Sox will not be able to make a legitimate run at a pennant this year. Ortiz needs to pick it up, or he has to go. With that being said, Ortiz can win me over again tonight against the Yankees. The Yankees are now sitting in 2nd place in the AL East, with the Sox at 4th, with only the horrible Baltimore Orioles, who swept us, behind them. I hope that we can pull out some wins against this great Yankees team but I am not going to get my hopes up.
Unfortunately since the game will not be on TV here in Philadelphia, I will be watching as the Cavs try to defeat the Celtics in the NBA playoffs, while watching the GameCast of the Sox/Yanks game. The Cavs/Celtics game will be followed by the Spurs vs. Suns game. If you have not yet seen Barbosa's impression of Avatar, check it out below. Hilarious! Go Sox and Cavs! Weird I know, we will get to that later! Bye!
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