 |
 |
|
| | Wednesday, April 19 Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||
| By Sean McAdam Special to ESPN.com
Record: 94-68, 9th overall Payroll: $72.3 million, 7th overall Runs scored: 836, 9th in AL Runs allowed: 718, 1st in AL What went right? Minor league journeyman Brian Daubach, a non-roster spring training invitee, became one of the best stories of the season, hitting .294 with 21 homers and 73 RBI. Ramon Martinez returned from shoulder surgery to pitch well in September and even better in the postseason. Led by the amazing Pedro Martinez, the team led the league in staff ERA despite injuries that forced the club to use 13 different starters. What went wrong? The infield defense on the right side was sub-standard and the team finished last in double plays recorded. Injuries sidelined key pitchers Bret Saberhagen and Tom Gordon for extended periods. The Sox didn't get much production from two outfield spots -- center and right field. In retrospect, the critical decisions were: 1. Shifting Tim Wakefield to the bullpen. When Gordon went down in midseason, the Sox made the unorthodox move of going with a knuckleballer in the bullpen. Wakefield converted 15 of 18 save chances. 2. Sticking with Trot Nixon after a disastrous first month at the plate. 3. Even before Scott Hatteberg injured his elbow, the club had made the decision to make Jason Varitek the No. 1 catcher. Varitek flourished and emerged as one of the game's best receivers. Looking ahead to 2000 Three key questions 1. Can the rotation cover for Bret Saberhagen (rotator cuff tear) until his expected return at the All-Star break? 2. Without Gordon, is Derek Lowe capable of handling the closer's role for a full season? 3. How do they find playing time for the first base/DH triumverate of Mike Stanley, Brian Daubach and Butch Huskey? Can expect to play better: Trot Nixon. Nixon hit a woeful .105 with just four hits in 12 games to begin the season. But manager Jimy Williams resisted sending Nixon back to Triple-A or to the bench. Nixon proved worthy of the faith when he improved with each passing month. Over the second half of the season, he hit 53 points higher than before the break. This is the same pattern that Nixon showed in his first year (1997) at Triple-A. Next season, a more confident and experienced Nixon will likely hit higher in the order and will be more consistent from the start. Can expect to play worse: Brian Daubach. Daubach enjoyed a great first half of the season, but slumped miserably over the second half. In the month of September, Daubach hit just .175 with only four extra-base hits as teams learned how to pitch him. Daubach spent nine seasons in the minor leagues and deserves credit for persistence, but the suspicion is that opposing teams had learned his weaknesses the second time around the league. He'll have to prove himself all over again to prove his rookie season wasn't some aberration.
Projected lineup 2B Jose Offerman 3B John Valentin CF Carl Everett SS Nomar Garciaparra LF Troy O'Leary DH Brian Daubach 1B Mike Stanley C Jason Varitek RF Trot Nixon Rotation/Closer Pedro Martinez Ramon Martinez Jeff Fassero Tim Wakefield Brian Rose/Jin Ho Cho/Tomokazu Ohka Derek Lowe A closer look For a franchise that has historically been identified with power -- tape-measure homers, runs by the bucketload -- the Red Sox now find themselves cast in another light. For the first time since Babe Ruth pulled double duty, the Red Sox are now defined by a pitcher. In just two short but glorious seasons, Pedro Martinez has come to be the most popular, essential and identifiable player on the team. This marks a radical shift in philosophy for the club that had long clung to the belief that offense -- especially in Fenway Park -- was the hallmark of a championship team. When it became evident that, some 80 years after their last championship, this wasn't true, the team shifted course and built itself around Martinez. For example, check their league rankings this decade in runs allowed and runs scored: Year W-L RA RS 1999 94-68 1st 9th 1998 92-70 2nd 3rd 1997 78-84 13th 4th 1996 85-77 12th 4th 1995 85-58 5th 4th 1994 54-61 9th 11th 1993 80-82 2nd 12th 1992 73-89 5th 13th 1991 84-78 6th 7th 1990 88-74 4th 7thThe Red Sox finished in the middle of the pack in runs scored and homers hit, but still managed to make the New York Yankees sweat out the American League East title by allowing the fewest runs in the league. Martinez alone makes the Red Sox contenders. Last season, the team lost No. 2 starter Bret Saberhagen to the disabled list on three occasions and survived without closer Tom Gordon for much of the season. Martinez went 23-4. In games he didn't get the decision, the Sox were 71-64. His 2.07 ERA was more than a run better than the second-best total in the league (David Cone's 3.44 ERA). In the postseason, Martinez represented the only blemish on the Yankees' World Series run. Against all other starting pitchers, the Yanks were 11-0. Against Martinez, they were 0-1. Red Sox fans, who by now are accustomed to asking themselves "What if?" can rightly wonder how the American League Championship Series might have changed had Martinez been available for the start of the series. What if Martinez, and not journeyman Kent Mercker, had started Game 1? Martinez provides the Red Sox with a security blanket once every five days. No losing streak will last long with Martinez in the rotation. "You just know you've got a very good chance to win every time he pitches," concludes manager Jimy Williams. Martinez has four years remaining on his gargantuan contract. If the Red Sox are to emerge from the desert after an 81-year championship drought, it will be Martinez who leads them. It's as if, after years of watching the game in black-and-white, the Red Sox are now playing the game in color. Martinez makes them that much more vibrant. And a whole lot better. Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal-Bulletin covers the AL for ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE Red Sox minor-league report ESPN.com's Hot Stove Heaters  | ||||||||||
