Red Sox Diary: February thru May '99
May 1999: Bosox bust Bombers in Battle for 1st,
Bamboozle Tribe in Sweep at the Jake,
Come back to beat the Tigers at Fenway...
Life Is Good for Jimy Williams and his men.
Sox take 2 of 3 at Fenway Park, Yankees take 2 of 3 in New York. Rocket wins rubber game #3, three years later, against his old mates (many of whom he hardly even recognizes) at Yankee Stadium wearing pinstipes. The Bosox have a tough schedule ahead - the Indians, Detroit, then the Braves in their first interleague meeting in '99.
and this is how it happened...
Rocket to Yanks: Y A W N . . .
(Boston, February 19, 1999) This inevitability has generated an enormous amount of anxiety in Beantown. And unless you are masochistic, it really shouldn't. Okay, we sold 'em the Babe, gave 'em Boggs, Luis Tiant, etc. But that was at a pont in time when the Red Sox and the Bombers were a rivalry - bitter enemies - the BIG APPLE versus the BAKED BEAN. Maybe we never had a chance (or the balls). As we approach the millennium, it's hard to accept this competition as a rivalry. There are few teams in baseball that could aspire to be Yankee rivals nowadays. Perhaps the Red Sox should prepare themselves for wild-card competition, for this is where the future really lies. And in 1999, even this seems a distant dream.
Repo-Man II: Martinez Bros. Reunited
(Boston, March 5, 1999) The Sox have become the Repo-men of the AL East. On the heels of the successful Saberhagen salvage operation, they've employed the talented 30 year-old RHP Ramon Martinez, who is recovering from roto-cuff surgery. The hope is that he will be able to contribute at some point beyond the All-Star Break. All things considered, this sounds like a good gamble. Ramon, who has been somewhat fragile in his 11 year career, is a top-shelf arm when healthy. Perhaps even one of the elite. And in 1999, there aren't too many pitchers that even approach that status.
And the Bosox remain undefeated (after one spring game), besting the Minnesota Twins 9-2 on Wednesday. Manager Jimy Williams submitted an unlikely lineup - CF Darren Lewis, 3B John Valentin, and 2B Jose Offerman ahead of SS Nomar Garciaparra and 1B Mike Stanley. Originally I saw Offerman as a leadoff man, but, as the cards have been dealt, maybe these three, who all get on base and can score, will set the table for the incredible bat of SS Nomar and the clutch-hitting Mike Stanley. Dare I say DYNASTY!!!
(Boston, March 12, 1999) The Bosox officially signed Ramon Martinez, and who knows for sure, but this could be the start of something big! In a 30-pitch workout yesterday, Ramon was most impressive peaking at 80 mph on the gun, and confident of a mid-season return. Question is, can the Red Sox score enough to make his return meaningful? Ain't many in his class, so it's a good gamble in my eyes.
Pray-Lude...
(Boston, April 16, 1999) Great pitching, stingy relief, and timely hitting... the Bosox have thumped their way to the top of the AL East. C Mike Stanley and DH/1B Jose Offerman have lumbered the Townies to a 6-2 start, and the pitching has been, well, f*cking stellar! Of course, this has come at the expense of the soft underbelly of the AL, the Bucs, Royals, and White Sox, but what the hey... Beat up on the fluffs and hold yer own against the elite, that's a formula that will get you to the next round in this league.
Freefall...
(Boston, April 22, 1999) When you score 5 runs over a span of 5 games against AL teams like Tampa Bay and the Tigers, your confidence will falter and your stock will start to freefall. And this is precisely what has happened to the Olde Towne Team. They have stopped hitting and another superb Mark Portugal effort goes by the wayside. The Tigers prevailed 1-0 on an eighth inning 'tater by C Brad Ausmus. Portugal gave up a run and 3 hits, but Tiger ace LHP Justin Thompson was better, surrendering only 2 hits to the Sox, one a ninth inning single to leftfielder (!) Donnie Sadler which chased him. Incidently, this deed was completed in 1:49 - gotta like that!
The Sox now stand at 8-7, and Pedro Martinez's 1-0 gem on Tuesday is the only reason they're +1. As many predicted, Nomar Garciaparra, (finally back in the lineup and without the support of Mo Vaughn), is not seeing anything he can hack at. He's taking walks (7 in 27 AB now) and has 1 RBI for the month thus far. Mike Stanley and John Valentin have ceased hitting, and frankly, there's not much else. Jose Offerman, playing second base today, has been tearing it up, but touted prospects RF Trot Nixon and Donnie Sadler have not. Skipper Jimy Williams again shook up the lineup (13 lineups in 15 games), but to no avail. And the Indians will be taking aim at the Green Monster this weekend. No rest for the weary...
Sox not good. No good. Veddy veddy bad team. Veddy bad team. Pedro and Nomar good ballplayers. Pedro got 15. But Sox still veddy bad.
(Boston, May 7, 1999) We're a month in, and the Bosox are hovering around .500, the pitching starting to bend under the pressure of an anemic offense and Flash Gordon's injury. Saberhagen's having shoulder problems as well. But Wakefield filled in for a nifty save last night, and Pedro Martinez faces down Anaheim's Mo Vaughn tonight. Word is the 3 Brothers Martinez have been reunited - Jesus will join the Red Sox.
Thoughts as I watch tonight's game... There is something about Mo Vaughn's hitting that is very Reggie Jackson - Mo is this generation's Reggie. There really is a vibe that great hitters bring to the plate. A vibe that is lacking in the Sox attack this spring.
Let's face it, you need to score in Fenway Park. Even the addition of Ramon Martinez, the Sox must put some runs on the board. They got 6 tonight as Pedro leaves the game with a career high 15 K's... Without going too over the top, this man now IS the Red Sox. With 15 strikeouts (his friend Mo was 2 of them) and 0 walks, he now takes the Major League lead from Randy Johnson with 76.
It's Go Time: Yanks Visit Fenway for 3
Sox on the radio,
Bruins on the tube,
Dregs on the stereo
and a pint of Ipswich IPA...
(Boston, May 14, 1999) Interesting day for me - an hour after chatting (and mostly disagreeing with) Red Sox and Boston Globe beatwriter Dan Shaughnessy, a car was sent hurtling into my truck as I sat at a red light. (The car was totaled, the truck needs a bandaid, and the folks involved are OK, just a bit rattled.) Litigation will follow no doubt, 'cause in America there is no such thing as an accident, only lawyers cashing checks... don't get me going... Dan seems to be a decent fellow, and I like his new coffee-table book "Fenway", a pictorial history of America's oldest ballyard. Great photography and great writing by the Chairman of the Nattering Nabobs of Negativity. Maybe that's a little harsh, but I read him regularly, and he is a great baseball writer. Anyhoo, looking forward towards this evening's opener of a three game set with the notorious Bronx Bombers, which I now have tuned in on my walkman radio... God Damn the Cable Man! (Or pay TV, more accurately, which I stubbornly refuse to patronize... yeah, that's right, I'm a cranky old goat lost hopelessly in the past.) Got the Bruins-Sabres on the tube (the Bruins are down 3 games to 2 and facing elimination, and the Sabres lead 3-1 going into the 3rd period.) The Boston Bruins are your classic overachievers, a low budget collection of scrappers young studs, built to the personality of Pat Burns, an old school no-bullshit hockey coach. ... update: it's Sabres 3-1, who go on to face the Toronto Mapleleafs... And the Dixie Dregs on the stereo... don't get too much better than this (at least with your clothes on!) Think I'll take my shoes off...
Eastern Beasts
The Sox (21-16) have rallied of late, taking 3 of 4 from the Blue Jays. And the Yanks (21-15) have stumbled a bit, with Andy Pettitte snapping a rare 5 game losing streak yesterday. Gotta give Manager Jimy Williams credit - he seems to get mileage out of these guys, a club with a very light offense and not a whole lotta room for error. That being said, they are not in the class of the Yankees.
Overture
Perhaps in New York this is just another game. In Boston, it is clearly an event. There are blimps and banner planes floating above Fenway Park. Joe Torre, prompting a Fenway standing ovation, is making his season debut and the pitching matchup is of the highest order: Pedro Martinez (7-1, 1.81, 91 k) and David Cone (4-1, 1.33, 41 k). AL batters are hitting .143 against Cone - lowest in the league.
Extrapolation
Going into the 7th, it's 3-2 Boston, and Pedro El Magnifico Martinez (11 k) and Coney have turned the game over to the bullpen. Pedro turned in a gutsy performance, getting tough when when the Yanks were surging. Martinez struck out the side in the 7th, his seventh straight 10+ strikeout game, tying Nolan Ryan... Former Yankee Mike Stanley homered and Nomar Garciaparra doubled high off the Wall and scored the go-ahead run. An excellent game, a real battle to this point...
Finale
In the 8th, the Sox topped off their lead after 2B Chuck Knoblauch threw one away with the bases loaded, taking a 6-2 lead. The Yanks threatened in the the ninth, but closer Flash Gordon prevailed, and the Red Sox are in sole possession of first place. Final score was 6-3.
Sox Win 2 of 3, Head to the House
(Boston, May 24, 1999) Our beloved RED SOX, those who took two of three in Fenway Park last week, will start Scene Two tomorrow in the House that Ruth Built. They took first place from the Bombers and have held on to it, winning 14 of 17 games. Last night against the Jays, Pedro Martinez was once again the benificiary. He now stands at 9-1, 1.98, with 108 sidDOWNs.
So the Boys go to the Bronx redhot. The Yanks are lukewarm (for them), but Bernie Williams is on fire. They'll throw Irabu (1-2, 5.46) up against Yankee-Killer Brian Rose (1-0, 2.00). Don't think we're going to see Martinez or Clemens this series...
The Yankees fall back to earth was inevitable, after all, how to you follow a 125 win season? But they are still the best team in baseball, until proven otherwise. Bastids! Rainout today, game tomorrow.
After losing 2 of 3 in Fenway Park, the Yankees take 2 of 3 in 1st meeting with Red Sox in New York for '99
Stanley, Rose Carry Sox in Game 1
(Boston, May 25, 1999) Brian Rose (2-0, 1.80) came up with another big game - 6 three-hit innings, one run in their 5-2 win at the Stadium. Flash Gordon closed it up for his 8th save. Mike Stanley blasted a three-run homer against his old mates. Nomar lost one as well. That's 15 of 18 games. 10 games over .500. 2 1/2 games up in the East. Time to start taking this club seriously??
Since Saberhagen's injury, Rose and Juan Pena have each won 2 games, and all were pitched with great skill. Portugal is pitching well... Martinez... back to earth... It is, of course, only May...
The Yankees woes continue. Irabu (1-3, 5.59) is struggling - he lasted 5 2/3 innings, gave up 4 runs. Knoblauch homered.
El Duque, Tino Slam Sox in Game 2
(Boston, May 27, 1999) Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez (5-4, 5.11) has not had a great spring. But he continues to be Cy Young to the Red Sox. They have yet to figure him out. And I suspect it's because he is a fantastic pitcher. Jimy Williams' lineup (minus Garciaparra, out with a bizarre finger injury) managed only 3 hits in 7 innings against El Duque, and didn't mount a rally 'til the 9th. And by then it was long over. Mark Portugal (3-3, 4.59) took the loss, but Wasdin gave up the Grande Salami to Tino Martinez. Tino and Paul O'Neill are starting to hit for the Bombers, and we will see the Rocket after all...
Rocket bests Rapp and Sox in Game 3, 4-1,
Yankee pitching takes 2 of 3 this time around,
but Sox leave Stadium in First Place.
(Boston, May 27, 1999) Watching this one on radio as we speak... the much-anticipated Rocket-Rapp righty pitchin' showdown has been a classic. At least going into the 5th... They're trading goose-eggs. That Clemens... he's a mean mother - a headhunter - he was such a nice boy when he was here... He now (at this moment) shares the American League record of 18 straight wins. Clemens has proven himself the AL's best pitcher since Jim Palmer. Go to the Hall, do not pass GO, . . . .
Valentin has tied it up 1-1 in the 6th, with an RBI double off Clemens. And Clemens busts Garciaparra for a pop fly to end the inning... These two never played together for the Sox. Go figure.
Sox sound like they're playing scared. If I can feel this from the radio, it must be true! Perhaps this is where Mo is missed the most - he was fearless. And Yankee Stadium can be overwhelming, maybe the highest energy level in baseball.
Yankees win 4-1. Don't wanna 'scussit. Nope. ssshhh... Sssshhh... SSSSHHHHHHH!!!!!!! (quote courtesy Dr. "I didn't go through 6 years of Evil Medical School to be called Mister" Evil)
...POSTSCRIPT...
(Boston, May 29, 1999) Roger Clemens (mercy) gave up only 2 hits to the Sox in 7 innings, both to old mate 3B John Valentin. Valentin's rallied of late, and now has the team lead in RBI. And he bats second these days... When Valentin hustles, he's one of the best third baseman in the league. He absolutely doesn't miss being the shortstop - he saw greatness to his left in a hurry (Nomar, sonny-boy williamson!). But he still must compete 100% - the fact that you're not Joe DiMaggio is no excuse.
(Boston, May 31, 1999) After sweeping the Indians at the Jake, Nomar, Pedro and their Merry Men return to Fenway in first place, 1 1/2 games up on the surging Yankees, whose 5-game win streak came to an end today at the bats of Jim Thome (grand slamma) and the Indians.
-- Johnny B --
the Bambino: Babe Ruth
The Kid: Ted Williams
the Hit Dog: Mo Vaughn
the Eck: Dennis Eckersley
1998 Red Sox Diary
