Things you'll need to know: Saturday by Jared Carrabis
Praise for Papi, V-Mart continues to roll and more!


Here are the things you'll need to know to impress your friends for Saturday, September 26, 2009:

The legend of David Ortiz continues to grow. For the second time since mid-August, Ortiz has belted home runs in three consecutive games.

Here's my favorite stat that I've read in a while: Since June 6, the 26 HR hit by David Ortiz lead the American League. Now, if you can just imagine what Big Papi's season would be like, had it not been for those miserable first two months of his season. Realistically speaking, Ortiz would more than likely be closing in on the 45-50 HR mark if he had been hitting home runs at the consistent pace that he has been from June 6 on.

Ortiz also drove in three runs in Friday night's loss, to give him 94 on the season. Those 94 RBI are good for 13th best in the American League, as Victor Martinez (102, 6th) and Jason Bay (115, 2nd) crack the top ten for the AL RBI leaders.

To me, it's absolutely incredible that after starting the season the way he did (.203 AVG, 0 HR, 15 RBI, 32 SO, 35 games), that the fact that Ortiz is even close to having a season of 30 HR and 100 RBI is remarkable.

Papi said it best when he said, "Like I always say, a bad season for me is a good season for another guy." Couldn't agree more.

Jon Lester's outing of two-and-a-third innings on Friday night was his shortest outing of the season, and the quickest he's made his exit since going the same 2.1 innings back on August 23, 2008 in Toronto. A start in which the left-hander yielded seven earned runs on eight hits.

The struggles of Jason Varitek have caught the eye of just about everyone. From the fans, to the media and now to the manager and the front office.

In the second half, the Red Sox's captain is batting .151 with 39 strikeouts in 39 games. In 143 plate appearances, Tek has mustered just 19 hits, with just one being a home run. On Friday night, he allowed seven Yankee base runners to swipe a base, marking the second time this season that he has allowed seven or more base runners to steal on him in a single game (Tampa Bay, 8).

Some more bad news, Dustin Pedroia's hitting streak finally came to a halt at 16 games after an 0-for-4 performance in the Bronx. Over the 16-gamer, Pedrioa batted .375 with 3 HR and 10 RBI.

On the bright side, Victor Martinez broke up a short-lived perfect game that Joba Chamberlain had going by smashing his 22nd home run of the season. The long ball by Martinez extended his hitting streak to 24 games. Following a 2-for-4 night, Martinez improved his average during the streak to .359.

-Jared Carrabis

To order my debut book, One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, click HERE!





Published on September 26, 2009

---