That's a wrap by Jared Carrabis
Sox season comes to a close, as we look towards the postseason


To my family, friends, co-workers, and professors,

This is my letter to you to let you know that you won't be seeing me for a while. When that first pitch is thrown in October, not a whole lot else matters to Red Sox Nation. For the next month, our hands will sweat, our stomachs will turn and our voices will cease to exist.

I can't explain what October is like to someone who doesn't care about baseball, but to a fan that does, there is no explanation necessary. Now, when it comes to emotions during the playoffs, they, of course, vary based on the team in which you support.

I'll tell you what you should expect in terms of what your October emotional roller coaster is going to be like if you are a Red Sox fan.

Angels' manager Mike Scioscia's pitching rotation for the ALDS is strong and deep. Headed by John Lackey, Scioscia will trot out Jered Weaver in game two, Scott Kazmir in game three and Joe Saunders in a potential game four. Not a bad four-some, but I think I'd rather take my chances with the Red Sox's top guns.

When healthy, the combination of Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz is just flat out unhittable. I go in depth with the pitching side of this series in my latest column for the Saugus Advertiser (which I will post when it is released), but I want to touch more on some offense.

The players that the Red Sox will need to get going from the start in order to win another World Series are David Ortiz and JD Drew. We all know Jacoby Ellsbury is going to get on base, we all know Jason Bay will hit, and the same goes for Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis.

When Ortiz is hitting, the Red Sox are usually winning. From June 6 until the end of the season, Ortiz led the American League with 27 home runs and after having a disaster first two months of the season, he finished the '09 campaign just one RBI short of 100.

"Like I told you guys, it's not how you start, it's how you finish," Ortiz said. "I'm a guy that fights back. My whole career, I've been a fighter. It's never been easy. This is a hard game to play, and sometimes, in bad situations, you have to learn something. I think I learned a lot this year."

Drew, who made his first start since Tuesday on Sunday, belted two home runs. When this guy is healthy, he is one of the best hitters in the league. The only problem is, he's never healthy. Drew has been toughing out an array of nagging injuries this season, but that didn't stop him from hitting the most home runs (24) he has hit in a single season since he hit 31 back in 2004.

Above, I referenced my confidence in Bay and Ellsbury's ability to produce offensively. In 2009, Bay set new career highs in home runs and RBI, while Ellsbury led the majors in stolen bases with 70 and set new career highs in batting average (.301), RBI (60), hits (188), doubles, (27), triples (10), games played (153). I think you get the picture that it was his best big league season thus far.

We can all thank GM Theo Epstein for the fact that we have baseball to watch in October. After dropping the ball on his low-cost no-reward players in Brad Penny and John Smoltz, Epstein made two deals that changed the complexity of this team.

Swinging Justin Masterson and company to the Cleveland Indians brought on board the biggest impact player of the season. Victor Martinez made an immediate impact on the Red Sox and never let up. In his 56 games in Boston, Martinez batted .336 with 8 HR and 41 RBI.

Had it not been for his putting the team before his personal stats, Martinez would have had a 31-game hit streak if he had not stepped up to pinch hit on September 27 in Yankee Stadium.

Theo's other major impact player that he brought on board is undoubtedly, Alex Gonzalez. After getting hit on the wrist with a fastball last week, Gonzalez returned and smashed a home run in the final game of the season to prove that he was ready. Since joining the Red Sox on August 15, Gonzalez batted .284 in 44 games with 5 HR and 15 RBI, including a walk-off single against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Mike Lowell has been feeling the effects of his surgically repaired hip down the stretch, leading into the postseason. His numbers speak for themselves, meaning that when this guy can contribute, he will do so in a big way. Lowell wrapped up the season batting .290 with 17 HR and 75 RBI, all while batting towards the bottom of the order.

If and when this offense comes together to provide runs for their more than capable starting pitching, it will be up to the bullpen to shut it down. Daniel Bard will be the reliever to keep an eye on, as he has proven to be inconsistent at times. From August 16 to September 18, Bard appeared in eight games, posting an ERA of 1.23, with 12 strikeouts in 7.1 innings. Opponents hit just .192 against Bard during that clip, as Boston won all eight of those games.

Finally, at the end of the day, there is only one man that has a job more important than the President of the United States. Ninth inning, one-run lead, the series is tied, cue "Shipping Up to Boston." He's a great closer during the regular season, but if you wave a World Series trophy in front of this guy's face, it's lights out.

Jonathan Papelbon is in the midst of a Major League record in which the right-hander has 25 consecutive scoreless innings to begin his postseason career. The closer has a nifty 22 strikeouts to go along with a 2-0 record, as well as being the man on the mound when the Red Sox claimed their second World Series title in four years back in 2007.

I'm not going to make any predictions, but I will say this. If this team performs as well as they all are capable of performing, opposing teams are going to have a really hard time getting past this '09 club.

-Jared Carrabis

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





Published on October 05, 2009

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