Did A-Rod Wake a Sleeping Giant?
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For the past three months they’ve been fast asleep while the 2004 baseball season has continued to take place. In April, they led the Yankees by five games after winning 6 of the first 7 meetings but since then, it’s been constant turmoil for The Boston Red Sox - the league’s best hope to derail the freight train that is the Evil Empire.
Injuries, listless play, bad fielding, stranded base runners, unhappy superstars (are you listening Nomar?) and bad managing by the Clueless One, Terry Francona, have all contributed to what has been so far an unproductive season for the Sox.
But despite it all, there is a ray of hope. And it may just be that the New York Yankees, and one Yankee in particular, Alex Rodriguez, (referred to after this point as A-Fraud) are responsible for re-energizing the Red Sox and their fans with that ridiculous "brawl game" on July 24.
I felt the Sox were as good as dead after Keith Foulke blew the game Friday night to lose 8-7. It only got worse as the Yankees were about to again deliver the death blow to the Red Sox season when they went up 3-0 in game 2 of the series. It’s not as if I didn’t believe in the Sox. I remained a fan even after that debacle in the Bronx last October. Enough said. But down 3-0 on Saturday and with what the team has shown to this point in the season, I just felt that this was the end of the line for this group of Sox.
But then, something happened. Sox starter Bronson Arroyo threw a pitch that hit the newest Yankee-for-hire, A-Fraud, in the 3rd inning. A-Fraud seemed to think he was hit intentionally and started yelling as much at Arroyo, instead of going quietly and professionally to first base in the "Yankee Way." (Gag!) End result: Jason Varitek takes exception to the comments directed by A-Fraud toward his pitcher and steps in front of A-Fraud who then turns his attention to Varitek, dropping F-bombs and challenging Varitek to bring it on. So Varitek does and next thing you know, all hell breaks loose on the field. Fights all over the place. Like a repeat of Zimmer vs. Pedro last October.
After order is restored, the Yankees jump out to a 9-4 lead and it’s business as usual for the Yankees. Until the Red Sox battle back to a 9-8 deficit going into the bottom of the 9th inning.
Now a year ago, this is the spot where the 2003 Sox would definitely "Cowboy Up" and win this game in the 9th for sure — Mariano Rivera notwithstanding. But this is 2004 and this edition of the Red Sox seemingly had no life left in them. But Bill Mueller remembered the good times of last year when he stepped up to the plate against Rivera with two on in the 9th and blasted a 3-run homer to give the Sox a pivotal 11-10 win. And it seemed to propel them again on Sunday when they blasted Jose Contreras right out of the gate in a 9-6 win that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
The Sox have now moved on to Baltimore. This is an immediate test as to whether this team has turned the corner or not. The Orioles have given the Sox fits for two years now (including going 5-3 vs. Boston this year). So if they take care of business here and on the rest of this 12 game trip, it is a good omen. The Sox got it going with a 12-5 victory Monday followed by a rainout Tuesday. They send Curt Schilling to the mound tonight, so the good vibes are likely to continue. It remains to be seen what the fallout will be from the suspensions expected to result from the brawl, but it will be a small price to pay if the team stays hot.
It will always be debated whether Arroyo’s pitch was intentional. Sox fans will say no, Yankee fans will say yes. But what seems certain is that A-Fraud’s stupid behavior woke up the only team that seems to be a threat to this ridiculous Yankee dominance of the last 10 seasons. Any team with Pedro, Schilling and Wakefield in a short series has to be taken seriously. The Yankees know it, whether they want to admit it or not. It just seems Boston needed some sort of kick in the pants to bring them together as a team. An old-fashioned dirty fight with their worst rival may just do the trick.
The last chapter of 2004 hasn’t yet been written and only time will tell if that bench-clearer is what ultimately kick starts a listless Red Sox team in 2004, but it’s sure going to be fun watching to see how it all unfolds. And it’s especially satisfying if Steinbrenner’s collection of superstars loses to its fiercest rival in the ALCS after his latest trophy player provided the wake up call.
