Pobody's Nerfect
By Karlsie
It's easy to like the Sox when they are winning and saying all the right things. It isn't easy when they don't appear to be shiny, happy perfect people - thus the recent disillusionment with the bullpen and with Manny sitting down more often.
Truth is, after Curt Shilling's "heroics" (and boy do I use that term loosely) by staying in the game too long cost us our #1 starter for months - I'd rather see Manny sit down with what the Eagle-Tribune writer called an "owie" than have to spend a month in Arizona rebuilding his strength for the rest of the season. Especially when you think about how hard Ramirez works to make it look so easy.
Of course I love seeing the first line players in the game. The graceful swings and artful catches are poetry in motion. I love watching Bronson on the mound - that high kick fascinates me almost as much as Nomo's Zen stretches before he throws. These are things are part of what make the game fun to watch.
As a former dancer, I also know how hard that level of activity can be on the body. I don't go a day with out thanking the stars above for Julie Gleason, the physical therapist that worked on my right ankle for years. Every time I sprained my ankle, I would wrap it a little tighter and tighten the laces on my boots until they strained and broke because the show had to go on. Reality is when you have 50 pounds of costume pulling you one way while you are consciously pulling the other - well something has to give. In my case, it was my ankle.
Julie patiently worked on the tendonitis that developed and slowly but surely got my hips back into alignment. I wasn't even aware of what was happening with my hips - but as I favored my ankle more and more, I unconsciously shifted that into my hips, which was also causing back problems.
Now, take a good look at those guys on the mound or in the field. Diving, catching, throwing from odd angles, stretching from odd angles - something's going to give over the course of the season and it's better to give them a day whenever you can to keep from aggravating the stuff you normally play through.
To illustrate my point, I think about the words of Jack Morris to Sparky Anderson back in the 80's. He reported told Anderson never to ask "how do you feel" when he's on the mound - he would always say he felt good because he would always feel like, no matter what, he could find a way to win the game. Anderson's job was to analyze what he was doing and note when he was losing his speed and tiring and just come out and say, "You did a good job Jack," and bring in the next guy.
That day all of us were screaming at the TV screen to pull Schilling, we knew that Schilling was saying, "Terry, I know I can do this - the ankle feels good." That's Schilling's job. Terry's is to say, "Curt, I need you for the whole season, not just one game," and sit him down. The hole left this year in the pitching staff is filling but still visible. I have to wonder how much of the problems facing Embry and Foulke have to do with Schilling's absence.
Now imagine losing Manny and Damon on top of that over what observers call "owies." Those same writers will then be all over Francona with "Why didn't you pull Manny when…."
I guess what makes me a real fan is that I get excited when I see a Kelly Shoppach be able to (literally) step up to the plate in Fenway. I love that we have the quality of a Jay Payton or Kevin Youkilis to fill in on the field (even if Payton would rather be filled in for rather than filler). Those are all the hopeful signs for someone like me. So giving players a day off is fine with me.
I know nobody's perfect, but with the back up on the bench and in the pen this team has, there are days when it really is easy to forget that.
