Pedroia hitting a home run. Just Dustin bein' Dustin. (via cache.boston.com)

OTM COVERAGE:
Aug. 31: "His name is 'Destroyah' for a reason"
E-Coli's unforgettable "MVP" series:

• Ready to Lead? (Carlos Quentin)
• 'K is for Krazy - Rod? (Francisco Rodriguez)
• Morneau of the Same (Justin Morneau)

"Dustin Pedroia: Gold Glover extrodinaire"
"Dustin Pedroia wins AL MVP"

---------

Take a moment and do me a favor. Think of the best clean-up hitters in Red Sox history. Who's your No. 1 guy? You probably didn't think of the guy shown above, but maybe you should.

The 5'9" second baseman was argueably the best player in baseball this season, taking home the 2008 AL Most Valuable Player. He had one of the best seasons ever for a second baseman but there was one point that really catapulted him to the top: Aug. 30 to Sept. 3.

That period of time was when Red Sox coach Terry Francona decided to put little Dustin Pedroia into the clean-up spot in the lineup, instead of the normal two-hole. In his four games as the clean-up hitter for the Red Sox, the results were just awesome:

17 at-bats, 5 runs, 11 hits, 2 home runs, 8 runs batted in

All from a guy that needs a booster seat to drive his Cadillac Escalade (that's just a guess on my part).

It was only four games (with an appearance at the two-hole in between) but it speaks volumes about what kind of player Pedroia is. Not many players can be thrusted into the most pivotal part of the lineup -- a spot in the lineup he's never hit in before -- and succeed. He went further than succeeding and proceeded to kill.

Pedroia could have just pulled an 0'fer in his few games in his position and we wouldn't have said much about it. I mean, could we blame him had he not played well in the clean-up spot? We couldn't. But if he did go hitless, do you think he would still be the 2008 AL MVP? Maybe, but I think this demonstration gave him a huge push going into September and making his MVP run.

Since Pedroia has the biggest mouth this side of the Mississippi, you think he talked this up for awhile? Think he gloated to everyone in the clubhouse how big bad Pedroia could outhit Manny Ramirez or Kevin Youkilis in the four-hole? Yeah, I'd put money on that.

Ahh, Scrappy Doo. Gotta' love the guy. And now we get to watch him for at least another six years. It's going to be fun.

Manny thanks the crowd after his 500th home run. (via newengland.comcastsportsnet.com)

#8 - Manny joins the 500 homer club

OTM's coverage | ESPN's coverage | MLB.com's coverage | Manny's 500 HR breakdown

It was a home run for the ages.

On May 31 in a game against the Orioles, former Sox reliever Chad Bradford delivered a pitch in the seventh inning to Manny that he absolutely crushed.

"As soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone," Ramirez said after the game. "So I was happy to move on."

It was a long time coming at that. Manny struggled to hit the milestone through the months of April and May. It was a milestone that was obviously on the back of his mind as well ("Now I can go and have fun"). But what is 500? Allen explains after it all happened:

But what is 500? It's a reason. It's a reason to celebrate all things Manny. Since he's come to Boston, he's done nothing but hit. There are many large FA contracts handed out in the modern era of baseball, and you'd have to say that of those players, Manny is one of few who has really met expectations.

...

What else is 500? It's a reminder that when he's done, we're going to miss him. ...a lot.

Manny obviously didn't last much longer as a Red Sox. On July 31 he was traded to the Dodgers, bringing in Jason Bay from Pittsburgh to be his replacement. Manny had a lot of amazing moments as a Red Sox, but him hitting No. 500 will be right towards the top of the list.

Red Sox Nation's feelings towards Manny have definitely been sour since the trade (and, well, a while before the trade) but it's important to remember what Manny actually did for the Sox. While he caused headaches, he was also hitting bombs and helping the Red Sox win two World Series. No matter what we feel about Manny Ramirez now, we always need to remember one thing about the future Hall of Famer:

Manny was a bad, bad man.

At the time, we were actually one run ahead, though we eventually lost the game. The stage is set: inning 4, @ Baltimore, Sox ahead 1-0 with Jon Lester on the mound. 1 out, 2 runners on, and Kevin Millar at the plate. He probably looked a lot like this:

via i.pbase.com

Millar hit a deep drive to LF, one which we probably all believed was either going out or off the wall to score at least the tying run. "Being" comes in, seemingly out of nowhere (and didn't he always seem like that) to catch the ball at the wall. He also did something else:

via multimedia.heraldinteractive.com

As "Being"'s momentum carried him to the wall, the Boston fan in the front row, seen above, got a high five from "Being" before he came down to the ground and threw the ball into DP, who relayed the ball to Youks to double off Aubrey Huff at first.

Now, the play itself was terrific, robbing a near HR and turning it into a double play. The high-five, however, catapults it into being extremely notable.

Anyone remember the footage NESN, ESPN, etc. showed of players crowding around the nearest camera in the dugout to watch the footage? Lowell looked like he was going to piss himself, in particular. It certainly made everyone laugh. And yet, because it was "Being", it wasn't entirely unexpected. 

That's really some of the best about Manuel in a Red Sox uniform, and it's how, unless he decides to don pinstripes, we should remember him in my opinion. It was absolutely time for him to go, but he provided us with plenty of entertainment and a lot of excellent and clutch hitting. And that's the number 9 moment of '08.

My thoughts on an otherwise depressing series in Baltimore.

CC's Game Thread.

OTM's Game Thread (Kindly supplied by brit).

Words really don't do justice to the experience of this game. So I'm going to tell the story of the Rangers-Sox contest on August 12th with as many pictures as possible.

via cache.daylife.com

Continue reading this post »

UPDATE: Poll attached!

Coco "Neo" Crisp dodging Shields' fist of furry. This is an honorable mention in OTM's top 10 Red Sox moments of the year. (via d.yimg.com)

While the hot stove continues to sizzle, we here at Over The Monster are going to start our second annual top 10 Red Sox moments of the year. Starting today with honorable mentions, continuing every weekday until we're done, we're going to rank the best moments in Beantown this season. Make sure to follow each post to see where your favorite moment landed!

Honorable mentions, as you probably know, are the extra moments that just didn't quite fit into the top 10. Allen, E-Coli, SoxDevil and I prepared our individual lists and the following are the ones that made it in one of the lists but not all of them. These are some good moments that just didn't crack the top 10.

April 29: Jon Lester shuts down the Jays

B-R.com box score
OTM's coverage

Jon Lester, without a doubt, was the Red Sox's ace this season. Every ace needs his start, and this game was it for Lester. He allowed one hit, four walks and no runs over eight innings in a 1-0 win over the Jays' Roy Halladay. Lester didn't get the win, but this was his first step towards greatness this season. Allen covered the game afterwards:

Lester, however, went toe-to-toe with CG artist Roy Halladay and emerged the victor no decisioner. ...  Like (Clay Buchholz) Buch, we'll just have to see if some of this carries over to his next couple starts before making any kind of long-term judgments.

June 5: Crisp pulls a Neo

OTM's coverage

Who's going to forget what happened between Coco Crisp and James Shields? Shields throws a tight one, Crisp doesn't like it and charges the mound. Shields throw a right hook, but Coco goes all Matrix on him and dodges it. That's when the big, old touch Rays gang up on Crisp and start pounding him on the ground. Stay classy, Tampa Bay.

July 31: Manny gets traded

OTM's coverage

Ah, the saga that was Manny Ramirez. What a wonderful day that was, huh? I remember when the deadline hit and everyone was reporting that no trade had occurred ... but wait. Something had happened and Manny ended up as a Dodger. The trade brought us Jason Bay and I don't think anyone is regretting the move (at least, I'm not). This is my long-winded response a few hours after the trade:

I think all the fans in Red Sox Nation are really going to like Jason Bay. Yeah, he's no Manny (everyone will say that), but he's a damn good baseball player. And he's got the right attitude, which is one of the best parts of this deal. We're never going to hear, "Jason being Jason" and that's a good thing. Jason, like JD Drew or Bill Mueller is a professional that goes about his job the way he's supposed to. No antics (although I wouldn't be opposed to a high-five double play once in awhile).

September 26: Johnny Pesky's number retired

OTM's coverage

This moment may not be a top 10, but it's well deserved. Everyone knew Pesky's number should be retired, but no one knew if it would actually happen. The Red Sox do have some standards for retiring numbers, including being a member of the Hall of Fame, but they broke their own rule for Pesky. Rightfully so. Congrats, Johnny.

March 25: Season opener in Japan

B-R.com's box score
OTM's coverage

Opening Day is always fun, but when it's in Japan, it's good a whole different vibe. The Sox split the series with Oakland and I'm not quite sure if we can call the trip a success or not, but at least it was fun. The first game of the season was a 10-inning thriller thanks to Ramirez and Brandon Moss. Moss hit a solo home run in the 9th to tie the game and allow the Sox to eventually win the thing. Oh, and the game started before most people in New England were awake. Some comments of the game:

What else is there to say about this game? The Red Sox kept the game close despite a few bad innings and were able to put it away thanks to some clutch hitting.

I know one thing: I never want to be this stressed at 9 a.m. ever again.