WHY BOSTON GOT SERVED HUMBLE PIE

OK, I've been waiting to do this piece for months now. On January 2nd, a NESN.com writer wrote a piece on why the 2011 Red Sox could unseat the 1927 Yankees as the greatest team in the history of Major League Baseball. You can read the comedic gold HERE. Mind you, it was written before 1 pitch was thrown in spring training or even the season itself.

Casey was immediately outraged as well, and wrote WHY BOSTON SUCKS: PART II. Read it.

I saved the NESN piece the moment I read it. I knew at the time that this prediction would backfire on them easily and now, the season is over, the Red Sox didn't make the playoffs and, I just have to laugh. Who would dare suggest something so silly? Let's break it down. The piece started off saying: "The Red Sox have won 100 or more games three times in their 110-year existence. They will make it four in 2011."

We all know by now that he was way off in this prediction. The Red Sox finished with a 90-72 record and finished 3rd in the American League East. Meanwhile, the 1927 Yankees finished with an astounding 110-44 record. Can you say, EPIC fail? I can...oh, I did.

Next, the writer showcased the Red Sox lineup which looks like this:

CF. Jacoby Ellsbury- .321/.376/.552/.928 (BA/OBP/SLG/OPS), 32 Hrs, 105 RBI, 39 SBs
2B. Dustin Pedroia- .307/.387/.474/.861, 21 Hrs, 91 RBI, 26 SBsLF. Carl Crawford- .255/.289/.405/.694, 11 Hrs, 56 RBI, 18 SBs
1B. Adrian Gonzalez- .338/.410/.548/.957, 27 Hrs, 117 RBI
3B. Kevin Youkilis- .258/.373/.459/.833, 17 Hrs, 80 RBI
DH. David Ortiz- .309/.398/.554/.953, 29 Hrs, 96 RBI
RF. JD Drew- .222/.315/.302/.617, 4 Hrs, 22 RBI, 81 games
C. Jarrod Saltalamacchia- .235/.288/.450/.737, 16 Hrs, 56 RBI
SS. Marco Scutaro- .299/.358/.423/.781, 7 Hrs, 54 RBI
SS. Jed Lowrie- .252/.303/.382/.685, 6 Hrs, 36 RBI

That lineup looks pretty good, I mean, this team lead the majors in runs scored with 875, that's 8 runs ahead of the Yankees, but they're NOT the 1927 Yankees who scored 976 runs, 131 more runs than the second place Detroit Tigers... astounding. Also keep in mind that the 1927 Yankees had four Hall of Famers, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, and Earle Combs, in their lineup.Speaking of the 1927 Yankees lineup, let's take a look at how each individual fared that season:

CF. Earle Combs- .356/.414/.511/.925, 6 HRs, 64 RBI
SS. Mark Koenig- .285/.320/.382/.702, 3 HRs, 62 RBI
RF. Babe Ruth- .356/.486/.772/1.258, 60 HRs, 164 RBI...WOW
1B. Lou Gehrig- .373/.474/.765/1.240, 47 HRs, 175 RBI... WOW
LF. Bob Meusel- .337/.393/.510/.902, 8 HRs, 103 RBI, 24 SBs
2B. Tony Lazzeri- .309/.383/.482/.866, 18 HRs, 102 RBI, 22 SBs
3B. Joe Dugan- .269/.321/.362/.683, 2 HRs, 43 RBI
C. Pat Collins- .275/.407/.418/.825, 7 HRs, 36 RBI

Pretty good, huh? A couple of things...One, the writer of the NESN piece had us look at the Boston bench. It looks like this:

OF. Mike Cameron- He got DFA'd from the team in late June after hitting .149/.212/.266/.477 in 33 games with the Sox.
OF. Darnell McDonald- He hit .236/.303/.401/.704 in 79 games. Certainly doesn't strike fear to me.
INF. Marco Scutaro- .299/.358/.423/.781 (above)
INF. Jed Lowrie- .252/.303/.382/.685 (above)
C. Jason Varitek- Hit .221/.300/.423/.723 in 68 games, but he's the Captain of the team and wears that "C" on his jersey!

Now, in all fairness, the Red Sox improved their bench with the call up of outfielder Josh Reddick (.280/.327/.457/.784) and trading for utility man Mike Aviles (.317/.340/.436/.775 in 38 games for Boston).

And finally, I just wanted to say this before we conclude this piece. It is very hard, if not impossible, to compare different players performances between two completely different eras, not to mention that that 2011 season hadn't started yet. Baseball was an entirely different game way back when, and a lot of changed. But, the writer for that NESN piece brought it up in the first place, so it's his own fault.

Next we'll try and break down the pitching for you, comparing the 2011 Red Sox and 1927 Yankees. Stay tuned.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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WHY SORIANO HAS RETURNED TO FORM

Ladies and Gentleman, it looks as though the Yankees' high priced reliever Rafael Soriano has returned to form. Soriano had a nightmare beginning to his Yankee career. First, he started the season with a 5.40 ERA in 16 games. He landed on the DL due to elbow inflammation, and in an outing in which he blew a four run lead against the Minnesota Twins by allowing four runs in 2/3 of an inning, he refused to talk to the media after the game. A huge no-no in New York. But with his 78 day layoff, he may have recollected himself, and adjusted his attitude a bit, which was needed.Since returning from the DL on July 30th he's been perfect. In three outings he's retired every batter he has faced, including four strikeouts. This is obviously the best he has looked since last season when he was the closer for the Tampa Bay Rays. In fact, the last time Soriano pitched a perfect inning before his return was on Opening Day against the Detroit Tigers. And since his return, he's lowered his ERA from 5.40 to 4.50. Also in his last eight outings dating back to April 30th against the Toronto Blue Jays, he hasn't allowed one run. I'm really starting to believe Soriano is the real deal, and so should you.

But, the one game that made me 100% convinced that he's back was Friday night in Boston. It was another tight one at Fenway Park, they usually are between the Yankees and Red Sox. But, it was a 3-2 game going into the bottom of the seventh. Remember, Soriano came into two blowout games against the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox. But this had a whole new feel to it. Fenway Park, close game, the pressure was on Soriano to perform and God dammit, he did. (Photo: Getty)
He forced Josh Reddick to pop out to Eduardo Nunez in third base foul territory, then he made Marco Scutaro fly out to Brett Gardner in left field, and finally he struck out Jacoby Ellsbury to end the frame. Just a fantastic job by Soriano when the stage was set.

Folks, I know the vast majority of you have doubted Soriano and wanted him out. I'm sure you've changed your minds by now and you should. But I've been behind him he entire time. You can read a piece I wrote way back in May in a piece titled WHY SORIANO WILL BE FINE, check it out.

He was solid in his last few outings before the DL stint, and he's been better than ever since coming off. If he continues it looks like we have a lethal 7-8-9 in the bullpen with Soriano, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.