For Sox, playoffs still reason to celebrate
TORONTO - On the final day of their final road trip of the 2008 regular season, the Red Sox had no choice but to wait. Boston assured itself of a tie in the American League wild card race pending the outcome of New York's night game with the Baltimore Orioles. Even in this age of instant gratification, Sox manager Terry Francona was among those who promised to be in bed when the results came in.
So this is what it has come to, Sox followers: Qualifying for the playoffs quite literally puts us to sleep. The Yankees ultimately defeated the Baltimore Oriooes by a 7-3 score in New York, but the Red Sox are still just one small stepn from a return trip to October. With one more Boston victory or one more New York loss this week, the Red Sox once again will participate in the postseason for the fifth time in six years while guaranteeing a legitimate chance at a second straight World Series title and third in five seasons.
My, how things have changed.
"There are a lot of good teams out there,'' Francona said in the aftermath of the Sox' 3-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. "Once you win, I don't think it gets any easier ... but I don't think the first time was easy. That's why you just go play. If you're good enough, you're good enough.''
Said Sox first baseman Sean Casey following Friday night's victory in Toronto: "Anytime you get to the playoffs, it's not easy. We cherish the fact that we're this close to being in."
And so, apparently, this is what winning does to you: It makes you expect success and it completely changes the standards. Five years ago, when the 2003 Sox qualified for the playoffs, the celebration might as well have been a toga party with Otter, Bluto, D-Day and Flounder. Sox newbies Kevin Millar and Todd Walker were among those who jogged across Boylston Street and into The Baseball Tavern like former pledges just initiated into the brotherhood that Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy so aptly dubbed Red Sox Nation.
Now? Now the Sox wonder whether they should celebrate at all. Last year, when the Sox secured a playoff spot in Tampa, they did so with a relatively tame, tasteful champagne toast. (The division-clinching party was another matter, with Jonathan Papelbon quite literally dancing in his underwear.) Following Friday's win at the Rogers Centre, one Sox player openly wondered how the team should celebrate a return to the playoffs whenever it is that the Sox clinch, if only because players recognize what many of us frequently fail to.
Namely: Do not take these times for granted.
More than anyone else, Red Sox fans should know that. In going 86 years between world titles, the Sox failed to qualify for the playoffs 75 times during an 85-year span. There were an assorted variety of near-misses along the way, from the one-game tiebreakers in 1948 and 1978 to virtually the entire decade of the 1970s. Major League Baseball has initiated multiple realignments along the way, leading to the creation of a wild card berth that sometimes seems as if it were created solely for the Sox, a franchise that often seemed to be stuck in the purgatory between first place and second.
In the 14 seasons since baseball instituted the wild card, assuming the Sox qualify tonight or tomorrow, this will mark the Red Sox' eighth trip into the playoffs. If the Tampa Bay Rays preserve their lead in the American League East, six of the Sox' appearances will have come via the wildcard. Because a Boston appearance in the playoffs would eliminate New York, this year's qualification grants the Sox ascension to elite status throughout Major League Baseball.
Think about it: Since the start of the 2003 season, no team in baseball will have qualified for more postseasons (or won more World Series) than your beloved Boston Red Sox.
Independent of whether the Sox win a world title, isn't that an achievement to be celebrated?
Nonetheless, we all recognize that things will never be the same here for the simple fact that the 2004 championship was a cataclysmic event. In Boston, the `04 title was baseball's version of the Big Bang. An entirely new universe was born. The moment that Keith Foulke fielded Edgar Renteria's one-hopper and flipped it to the sure-handed Doug Mientkiewicz - has he let that ball go yet? - it was as if the Red Sox signed the check and sealed the envelope on the final mortgage payment of their torturous past.
No more debts to pay.
Maybe now we can really start enjoying ourselves.
So here we are, nearly four years later, and a relatively carefree existence has manifested itself in a most unusual way. We do not really worry if the Red Sox are going to fail anymore; we worry about only how much they will succeed. Can they make the playoffs again? Can they win another division title? Can they get back to the World Series? Can they repeat as champions?
Of course, all of those questions were on our minds months ago and they remain on our minds now. Francona was asked during spring training about the difficulty in claiming consecutive world titles, and the manager essentially said then what he said following today's shutout win at Toronto.
"Winning [once] is hard," Francona answered.
Indeed it is.
Entering the final week of the 2008 regular season, the Red Sox have 91 victories and now trail the first-place Rays by 1 1/2 games. They lead the wild card race by seven games in the loss column with precisely seven games to play. Since the start of the 2002 season - the Sox missed the playoffs that year, but won 93 games - the Sox have averaged better than 93 victories a year; in 2006, their biggest failure, they won 86.
Last fall, in sweeping the Colorado Rockies, the Red Sox became the seventh World Series winner of this millennium and the only franchise with multiple titles. Of the previous six world champions, only two have reached the postseason in defense of their world title (the 2001 Diamondbacks and the 2005 Sox) and not a single one has won a postseason game. Baseball is a game designed to break you down, after all, and any weaknesses are impossible to mask over the span of one full season, let alone two.
The point?
Francona and Casey are right.
Winning is hard and it is to be cherished.
No matter how easy the Red Sox have sometimes made it look.
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Let's first clinch the doggone thing and then speculate and talk about what it means, we could lose 4 or 5 games and the Yankees could continue their winning streak and then what, we would be playing the Yanks in the final series for the wild card, wouldn't that be something ? If this were to happen all those old fears and insecurities would be sitting in the front row, let's get back to Fenway with a magic number of 1.
A playoff berth this year - via division or wildcard - will be especially worth celebrating due to the schadenfreude factor. But at the same time, I fear the Rays more than I ever feared the Yankees. It's easy to root against a team that oozes a sense of entitlement. It's much tougher to root against a team that exudes a magical aura of destiny in a Cinderella season.
That said, it's time to go on another magical roll of our own to take the division and a repeat!
This year, it may all boil down to whether Beckett & Lester can win in LA
So do they celebrate with champagne if the Yanks win tonight and the Sox clinch it with a win tomorrow?
I know...we have to win three and rays have to lose three (correct)? to take sole possession of first place, which I'd really like to see the Sox get. I'd like to know the possible scenarios that could land the Sox as AL East Champs...
So true. We totally take for granted a playoff berth.
I can't see the Sox celebrating their clinch "Tampa Bay" style.
Sox isnt going to lose all these games before facing the Yankees next weekend cuz the Yankees got to face Toronto in Toronto. That is a tough opponent for the Yankees to face!!
Sox either will win at least one game out of three games against Cleveland or the Yankees will guarantee lose any game at Toronto!!
But would love to see the Yankees loses at the house that Babe Ruth Built at the same time the scoreboard above the bleacher will say "Yankees have been eliminated from the post season"!!
Go
good article .
Is the person who wrote the first post high? The Yankees have absolutely no shot at coming back, there are 7 games left for god sake. The important thing for the Sox is to somehow win this division so they don't have to play LA in the first round. Can they win the WS with another wild card berth? Sure, these guys never say die.
Nelson said: "Let's first clinch the doggone thing and then speculate and talk about what it means, we could lose 4 or 5 games and the Yankees could continue their winning streak and then what, we would be playing the Yanks in the final series for the wild card, wouldn't that be something ? If this were to happen all those old fears and insecurities would be sitting in the front row, let's get back to Fenway with a magic number of 1"
Nelson, the Yankees are done. I know it's hard to say - but, say it, since it happens to be the truth
The road Rays will now be truly tested...as will their class, which is abundant. 7 road games for them - 7 home games for us. As far as I'm concerned, given the fact that we lost 4 of 6 to them head on, The Rays deserve their position. But.....................if we end up with the division: THEN WE C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, what if they lose 4 straight games...for the first time this year! Don't be pathetic. Enjoy the fact that the Sox are one of the elite teams for the first time since the early 1900's. An entire playoffs without the Yankees, what could possibly be better?!
How sweet it is that the final game in that Stadium could be The Clincher for the Sox.The Sox should hurry down there and declare that place officially closed.Have fun playing out your string Yankees.
Tony Mazz, I wish you a belated Congrats on your new gig here at The Boston Globe / Boston.com! Your Blog gives us all a different type of look than what we are used to around here, a toast to T-Mazz is in order....TING....
What true Sox Fan would ignore a playoff clinching celebration??? Speaking of cherishing the winning we've had, our beloved Patriots gave us a little dose of NFL reality earlier today.
The Yankees haven't won a series in Toronto this season, nor have they swept the Blue Jays anywhere. Of course, it would be kind of embarrassing to make the playoffs in the middle of a losing streak by virtue of the Yankees only going 2 for 3, but it's highly implausible that the Yankees won't be eliminated by the time they get to Fenway. I'm pretty sure that no team in any professional sport has gotten a favorable outcome in all ten of the remaining (relevant) games when they needed all of them at that point.
Tony love the article. Couldn't agree with you more. The Sox will make the post season.
One correction, though. The new millenium (and century) actually began on January 1, 2001. This means there are 6 teams that have won the WS in the new millenium, and the Sox are up 2-0 (and possibly counting) in WS titles to the Yanks this century.
You're so freaking done. Trust me...no Manny, no ring... You'll see. Sox and Pats suck.
Good article, Mazz, much better than the DiceK dis, after he shut down the Jays with seven strong innings on the road.
The Sox should celebrate mildly when they clinch the playoff position, as they still need to try and win the division through normal rotation.
I'm shocked at the ignorance on the remaining schedule. The Rays have 8 road games in 7 days. That's the good news. The bad news is that they play against the coldest doormats, the reeling O's and Tigers. We have 7 home games, and 4 against Cleveland, not 3, then 3 against the Yanks. I thought Carmona might be suspended for fighting, but he's been cold anyway. Even Lee's cooled off a little bit. 2 Cleveland starters are weak. No way we get swept 4 by the Tribe, even though they are hot. No way we go 0-7 at home and the Yanks go 6-0 @ Jays and Red Sox, even though they're hot. That would be a playoff, and that's not going to happen. Stop with the delusional paranoia.
If we were going to fold, it would have been in Toronto against AJ and Halladay. We beat a hot AJ, and then had a chance to tie it up late against Halladay. Then, we win today for 2 out of 3 against a hot team and against the best overall pitching the AL. We've earned this, big time, and we'll have a shot at the division. Here is a plausible path:
We go 3 out 4 against Indians and 2 out 3 against Yanks for 96
Rays go 3-5 against O's and Tigers, on the road and 8 games in 7 days, for 95 wins.
The key is for us to take the first 2 against Cleveland, keeping the heat on the
Rays. If we can get to 1 out in the loss column, with 5 to go for us and 5 to go for the Rays, they will really feel the heat outside the comforts of that dump stadium at the Trop. A few ifs, but plausible.
Tony I love your blog! Just the kind of sober assessment we Red Sox fans need. Keep it up.
Despite the recent success our beloved Sox have had, the grim prospect of playoff failure is not foreign to me. Can you really erase all those awful defeats? However, this team has showed charcter since the All Star game, and they look poised to defend their title, but the competition will be strong in this years American Leage playoffs. The Angels are not far removed from their 2002 title, as are the White Sox with their recent 2005 triumph. The Devil Rays appear to be the Cinderella story of the year. I haven't even mentioned the National Leage. Wow, this is what a true baseball fan lives for. These playoffs will be the most entertaining in years, and this years champ will have earned it. (Not that all champions do'nt earn their title, they do, this years champ though has tough competition in every direction). The Dodgers with Torre as manager, and Manny as superstar make for great television. I'm looking forward
Does anyone know when the Angels have to decide whether to start their series on Wed or Thursday?
And I have a gut feeling Tito might have Dice-K start Game 2, on the road, where he's been our best starter, and save Lester for Game 3, at home, with the crowd.
I like the wishful thinking about the Red Sox winning out against the Indians (anybody know Cliff Lee?) and the Yankees (who are pissed and more likely to sweep the Sox than the reverse). Sox go 3-4 and miss Rays by 2 games.
The Rays are playing the Tigers and Orioles. Those teams will be evaluating talent for 2009. Rays will win at least five of those games.
Daniel - Might want to check how the 78 red sox did in their last 8 regular season games
I think what's been slightly overlooked is how well we fared against the vaunted Jays pitching staff this month... 7-3 over our last ten vs Toronto, and they were red hot in early Sept...
We have struggled overall this season vs. top staffs, but it seems we're getting the ship righted, as evidenced by our recent success against the Jays...
We figure to win either beckett's or lester's start in anaheim, I like our chances w Dice at home in game 3, so game 4 looks to be the key... Who would you guys rather have, Wake or Byrd?
If Wake melts down again this week, he doesnt deserve the ball, regardless of how long he's been with us... Since he came off his DL stint it's anyones guess what that goofy knuckleball is gonna do... Byrd has shown he can battle and keep the club in the game for 6 (he showed the same mettle in last years playoffs). Whereas Wake has the second worst postseason ERA of all time (min 40IP). I hope they give it to Byrd...
Even if Yanks are eliminated before the series in Fenway, they will play us tough if they know they have the chance to keep us from the division title. The question for Francona will be how hard to push the pitching in the first game or two of Yanks series if Sox are still alive for the division.
I think I'd rather play Cali in a 5 game than a 7 game, but having a second AL East title would be nice also. What to do....what to do?????
"If this were to happen all those old fears and insecurities would be sitting in the front row, let's get back to Fenway with a magic number of 1."
THE MAGIC NUMBER is 1 - as in , WE win 1 more game and the Sox are in the playoffs
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