A Curse in Transition…
Not since the heavy hitting Yankee teams of the early 20th century has the term “Bombers” seemed so appropriate. This new squad of mercenaries in pinstripes has looked flatter than the anorexic Olsen twin on her back at the beach, with the most expensive rotation in baseball falling apart faster than an “Armani” suit purchased in Chinatown. As of this writing, the highest paid team in all of baseball is now residing in last place in the A.L. East, a full game behind the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a team whose combined payroll is less than the annual salaries of left side of the Yankee infield.
To make matters worse, this past week saw the oft-injured Jaret Wright ushered off the field with an injury to his recently repaired shoulder, Kevin Brown suffer another first inning meltdown, and Randy Johnson surrender his fifth homerun over four games (for comparison’s sake, he gave up eighteen taters over thirty-five appearances last season). The team’s only bright spot has been Tanyon Sturtze, who’d be a shoo-in to replace Wright in the rotation were he not on the disabled list as well.
So it looks like it will take yet another eruption from Mount Steinbrenner to get this nearly quarter-of-a-billion dollar franchise back on track. After all, the last time he spoke, his team went out and slaughtered the Devil Rays 19-8.
Then again, we all know what happened the last time the Yankees won a game by that score…
Save a Prayer for Number 5…
Say the name Garciaparra around these parts and the reaction will likely be less than positive. The faded icon that was once considered the next Ted Williams in the eyes of many a Sox fan is now little more than a sulking and selfish footnote to most. This year, at the start of his first full season with a Sosa-less Cubs team, Nomar was batting well below the Mendoza line (.157 in 51 plate appearances), struggling defensively, and feeling the wrath of the Chicago press (a lot who are just as virulent as their Boston brethren). To add injury to insult, Nomar collapsed just a few feet from home plate after grounding into a double play, and lay on the ground clutching his groin. The diagnosis was a torn groin muscle, and the prognosis was that it could be at least three months before Garciaparra would be back to work for the team.
In the off-season, the shortstop signed a one year deal to prove he could have an injury season before going onto the free agent market at the end of the 2005 season, and this latest setback has set the media in motion, with the Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan even suggesting that the once-buff Garciaparra may be suffering the ravages of steroid abuse. Garciaparra dismissed the notion immediately, as one would expect, and stated it was simply a freak thing that he would have to work through.
Just like the mysterious tendon injury that sidelined him for 57 games last season…
A View from the Top (Sort of…)
Meanwhile, the Red Sox continued their winning ways, following a home sweep of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with an end-of-the-homestand split with Toronto, and a two game sweep of the hard-hitting Orioles (which included two masterful performances by David Wells and Matt Clement). The Sox sat perched alone atop the A.L. East for exactly one day before dropping not one, but two games to the Devil Rays in a rematch at the concrete tomb that is Tropicana Field.
Tim Wakefield took his first loss of the season as he left the game with his team down 4-1. However, the Sox came back to tie it in an exhilarating top-of-the-ninth, only to have their hopes dashed as pinch hitter, Eduardo Perez, launched the first pitch of the bottom of the inning, a mislocated fastball from Alan Embree, into the upper level in left field, giving the Devil Dogs a rare walk-off victory.
Embree would later be seen icing his shoulder, but told reporters that he was really icing his shattered ego.
Game two looked like a lock, as Curt Schilling took the hill. Schilling, who knows a lot about Ford trucks, but has apparently forgotten how to locate his slider, was knocked around more than one of Tony Soprano’s girlfriends, surrendering six runs over six innings, and blowing an early 4-0 lead. On the bright side, David Ortiz hit two tape measure blasts to show he was coming out of his recent funk, but they were all for naught, as the Sox dropped two-in-a-row to Tampa’s finest softball team, 6-5.
The Road Ahead…
After the series finale in St. Pete, the Sox return home for a three game series against a bloodthirsty Orioles team, followed by their first day off in fifteen days. The team will then make the trek out west to face the young and lethal Texas Rangers, followed by a showdown in Motown with the Detroit Tigers.
Not since the heavy hitting Yankee teams of the early 20th century has the term “Bombers” seemed so appropriate. This new squad of mercenaries in pinstripes has looked flatter than the anorexic Olsen twin on her back at the beach, with the most expensive rotation in baseball falling apart faster than an “Armani” suit purchased in Chinatown. As of this writing, the highest paid team in all of baseball is now residing in last place in the A.L. East, a full game behind the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a team whose combined payroll is less than the annual salaries of left side of the Yankee infield.
