Red Sox Sweep Hopes Raised And Dashed In Seesaw Ninth

by Ben Buchanan on Sep 27, 2010 12:27 AM EDT in Game Stories

In a season with so few redeeming moments, a late-season sweep of the Yankees would have been something to smile about.

But we just can't have nice things.

Simply put, Daisuke pitched well enough, allowing only a big homer to A-Rod in the seventh to put the Yankees on top 2-1. The Sox rekindled some old magic in the ninth inning to stage a comeback with four stolen bases by Ryan Kalish and Bill Hall bringing the Sox a 3-2 lead. But Jonathan Papelbon walked some guys, gave up some hits, and got some bad calls from Phil Cuzzi, and the game went to extras where Hideki Okajima walked in the game-winning run.

In one of their few lucid moments between hours of babbling, the ESPN announcing team managed to come up with "anticlimactic" to describe the ending. Accurate enough, and in more ways than one. In a week which saw the media come back to life with the memories of 2004, to have it come to an end with the Sox not managing the sweep thanks to the same thing that's ruined so many of their other chances throughout the year...It's just not what we were looking for.

The Yankees weren't going to lose their last seven, and the Red Sox weren't going to run the table (this, for those few still wondering, is exactly what needs to happen for the Sox to even earn a one game playoff), so it's not as if the Sox blew some huge opportunity to re-enter the postseason conversation. But it's a shame to miss out on that last stand that strikes just a bit of fear in the hearts of New York. Our own little Thermopylae.

Oh well, you know what they say. There's always next year.

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They made it interesting

And I guess that is all you could ask for.
I don’t think anyone can be mad at this team. They have a bright future.

Go Bruins!
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by bestbostonsports on Sep 27, 2010 1:09 AM EDT reply actions

memorable game

They gave it what they could, short-handed as has been the case for some time. A very memorable game. The stolen bases, Dice-K’s brilliant outing save one 0-2 pitch. Very memorable….

by DC sox fanatic on Sep 27, 2010 1:38 AM EDT reply actions

value added, not

Papelbon just keeps lowering is value.

by Old Fan on Sep 27, 2010 8:44 AM EDT reply actions

Papelbon

There has been plenty of blame to go around, but if you had a gun to my head and told me to pick one player to lay it all on or you were going to pull the trigger I’d tell you Papelbon. Just give me back six of his blown saves and we’re back in it. He definitely needs to go away during the off season. I don’t how, when, where, or why he’s lost it; but it’s definitely gone. And the sad thing is I wasn’t at all surprised with the the results last night. As soon as he took the mound I knew we were going to lose. What a shitty closer he’s been this year. I guess last year’s playoff implosion was no fluke.

by 75bandwagon on Sep 27, 2010 10:35 AM EDT reply actions

Certainly

When you have two effective pitches (one which is only an out pitch), you’re up and down like Brad Lidge. Just maybe not that extreme

"Every night I go to bed thinking about when I’m going to play again. I dream about playing at Fenway."-Ryan Westmoreland
Twitter: @BoldandBrash

by BoldandBrash on Sep 27, 2010 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions

I actually have to agree with this

This year has been really tough to watch because the team is just sooo good, and yet we have been brought down by so many injuries. Many of the players have been giving it their all, and many have played through injuries. I know Ells being gone was tough, but i really don’t think it’s a case of him almost “holding out” or something. It’s been incredible to see guys like Darnell McDonald and Lowrie step up to make it an interesting season.

That said, it has been almost sad watching Papelbon. I realize that Beckett and Lackey both deserve a lot of blame, but Lackey is on a new team in a new environment and has a huge amount of pressure, and Beckett has been injured and just plain off. I have a feeling that both will be better next year. Papelbon has me worried and slightly angry. He is regressing terribly, and I realzie that you can say he’s still one of the best closers in the game, but even a number of saves he has notched have been ugly. I just don’t see how this guy has kept getting worse. Is it a lack of hard work? Is it just mental? Physical?

by MikeAtBU on Sep 27, 2010 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions

I hate that he will probably get a raise

if he stays with the team. Yes, I understand that that’s how arbitration works. But the arbitration system is not just about rewarding players for their service time, it is based on the assumption that those players are getting better with time! Yet we’ve watched Pap regress for a few seasons now, and yet, in all likelihood he will be paid more than his already lofty price tag of $9.35M… Even paying him that much seems excessive to me. I don’t know when it happened (maybe with KRod a few years back), but it seems like it has gotten to the point where all closers are simply overpaid.

by travben85 on Sep 27, 2010 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions

this is exactly why he should be non-tendered

Yes Theo, we like to have more good pitchers, but when we could almost certainly sign two better pitchers for the same annual amount Papelbon would be making, going through Arbitration would just be ridiculous.

by wolf9309 on Sep 28, 2010 9:22 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm not opposed to the non-tender

I think your math of 2 for the price of 1 sounds ideal to me. There should be quite a few quality relievers coming into the market this offseason (guys like Putz, Downs, Affeldt, Balfour). Surely the combination of two of them can equal the production we are getting from Paps.

My question is do you think anyone would trade for Pap? I’d love to get some sort of prospect for him. I know he’s got a big price tag, but you’d have to think that if Theo kicks all the right stones, someone will want an established closer. Maybe the Mets or the White Sox?

by travben85 on Sep 28, 2010 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions

The Mets might

I dunno, I’m never as good as getting into the heads of other teams. All I know is that he doesn’t look worth close to what he’ll make. If there’s someone out there that Theo knows for sure would give up something (anything) for him, cool; if not, I just don’t think it’s worth the risk.

by wolf9309 on Sep 28, 2010 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions

It's Lowrie's fault

For the 42nd time in 48 games, Jed Lowrie failed to hit a home run. Sure blame it on the vicious wind that knocked that ball down at the warning track in right. Do that if you want, but it’s a cheap excuse. If he had manned up and hit that dinger, this would have been a W. They need to trade him for a bag of balls this winter. We expect a lot more power from our second string short stops. Between this shocking power deficit and his well documented injury history (you know that one wrist injury), he’s toast.

by 111SoxFan111 on Sep 27, 2010 12:17 PM EDT reply actions