Alright, folks. I didn't want to write this column. I wanted to spare you all, and to keep this hurt and pain hidden as long as possible. But I can no longer keep silent. So here it is: a P.G.E. Red Sox article (that's post-Grady era).
I am as hard-core a Red Sox fan as any who has lived. Those who saw me drop to my knees and cry for an hour after Game 7 know that it was not in jest, or in any way weak or absurd, it was merely an expression of just how much I love this team, and how deep my commitment to it is. As such, I can say this is one of the darkest days of my life as a Red Sox fan.
We just fired Grady Little. And I cannot accept that. But who's really to blame for this mistake? Larry Lucchino? Theo Epstein? The fans in Boston who were so broken that they stopped thinking? Nope. The culprits are those who inflamed all of the above. Dan Shaughnessy, Bob Ryan, Adrian Wojnarowski, et al. All of you, you have defiled your media credentials and sacrificed any integrity you have. Go directly to jail, do not collect your vastly inflated pay checks and DO NOT print another word to the rest of us. GRADY LITTLE DID NOT COST THE BOSTON RED SOX THE 2003 AMERICAN LEAGUE PENNANT!
The Boston Red Sox bullpen has been made fun of and maligned more in the past year than President George Bush, but all of a sudden, after two very impressive series, it was the clear strength of the Sox pitching staff. Let us not forget that Scott Williamson tried to blow Game 5 of the ALDS for the Sox, and that one of the most key performances by the Sox pen came from Derek Lowe, a starter.
Let us also not forget that the key problem, according to the fans, was leaving Pedro Martinez in the game too long. PEDRO MARTINEZ. One of the best pitchers alive today. And you wanted him removed for ALAN EMBREE? Nick Johnson, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Hideki Matsui were 2-11 off Pedro in the game, and they don't hit Pedro well in general. Embree was not going to pitch to Jeter and Williams, who would hit right handed against him. So, it comes down to Pedro or Mike Timlin. The same Mike Timlin who allows lefties (four of the next five batters) to hit .287 off of him. Let's also remember that Matsui has ONE career hit against Pedro. And you're telling me that it was A CERTAINTY that Pedro should not have been on the mound?
Pedro got Johnson, had Jeter 0-2 before making a mistake, and two strikes on Williams. This makes it 5-3. No big deal. Could you use Embree against Matsui, a lefty " lefty matchup? Yup. But Hideki can't hit Pedro, as long as Pedro stays away. That one hit came in the fourth inning on a fastball inside that Matsui roped. So what does Jason Varitek call for an 0-2 pitch to Godzilla? AN INSIDE FASTBALL! With Pedro over the 110-pitch mark. Yeah it was 92 mph, But, it's the ONLY pitch Matsui can hit! That is a mistake call by Varitek, and Pedro should have shook it off.
Then came Posada. He hits .375 off Timlin, is right-handed against Embree, and a career .191 hitter against Pedro. Again, Grady made the RIGHT call. And Posada got a seeing-eye pop into center that tied the game. Not a mistake by Pedro, Grady, Jason or anyone else, just great Yankee luck, the same crap that the baseball world has seen Posada, Jeter and every other pinstripe-prick come up with in the clutch for a decade. No mistake by Grady. None.
Wojnarowski wrote on Monday that "Grady Little blew Game 7 of the ALCS. He's most responsible for the Red Sox losing to the Yankees." What about the Sox going 0-4 with two runners on base and less than two outs in the 4th and 5th against Mike Mussina and thus NOT putting the dagger in the Yankees? How about Varitek's awful pitch call to Matsui? How about Pedro, who personally took the blame after the game for not making the pitches himself, which should show how important Grady was to this team? How about the 3-20 with six runners left on base by Johnny Damon, Todd Walker, Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez?
To blame the Sox failure on Grady Little is to show complete and utter ignorance of baseball and to forfeit all claim to legitimacy as a baseball writer. This was a case of a great game where many individuals on both sides made mistakes, and in the end the team with more playoff experience, success and luck won the game. Just the way the REAL experts have so often claimed it ought to be.
The Boston Red Sox just made their single biggest mistake since not re-signing Roger Clemens (I cannot believe I just said that, but it's true). And they will be brought to task by the players and eventually by the fans for this mistake. But it's time that we hold the media in Boston and the rest of the baseball world to the fire for their lack of focus and integrity and their desire to sensationalize and blame the most obvious person instead of -- GASP -- investigating and thinking! Shame on the Red Sox for bowing to the media's criminal incompetence, and to hell with the media for purveying it in the first place. In the words of the immortal Jim Ross, "Damn you, Damn your souls!"
