So, as we wait for the Red Sox to start their postseason journey either tomorrow or the next day, I knew I would need something to occupy my time–and what better than a book about the Red Sox and the 1912 World Series? Thankfully, the good folks at Doubleday sent along a copy of The First Fall Classic.

Written by New York Post sportswriter Mike Vaccaro, the book chronicles the trials and tribulations of the 1912 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Giants.

This was a magical time, when legends like Christy Mathewson, Smokey Joe Wood, and Tris Speaker played the game, and vastly different than today’s baseball–The salaries ranged from about $1,500 to $15,000 a year and most baseball players had other jobs in the off-season. A tie game was also a perfectly acceptable to end a contest, with games often being halted due to darkness…

Lead by irascible and completely quirky Manager John J. McGraw, (whole books could be written about HIS exploits!) The New York Giants took on Manager Jake Stahl and the Boston Red Sox, (who were nicknamed “the Speed Boys” back then) for eight long and crazy games–think of the 2004 ALCS–times 5. Where anything could happen–more often than not, did.

Extremely well researched and written, The First Fall Classic is perfect book for a student of the game, or anyone looking for a great TRUE baseball story–you won’t be disappointed. You can pick it up at any bookstore, or order it online Check it out!

Coming up: The decision of who is playing the Yankees, and when, will be decided tonight–within an hour after the Twins and the Tigers fight it out for the Central Division in tonight’s tie breaker. The expected outcome is that the Yankees will play tomorrow, with the Sox/Angels series beginning on Thursday at 9:37pm–but we’ll see….

Am I the only one that is a bit concerned about That Clay Person? Another crappy outing, his 2nd in a row….Throwing 70 pitches, 41 for strikes, he only lasted 3 innings, giving up 6 runs on 5 hits (including a homer) while walking 2 and striking out 6. I guess we should be grateful it wasn’t 5 homers again. Thankfully it was the last day of the season, as the Sox needed 6 pitchers for this win–and it wasn’t even a close win…

And this is our 3rd starter? Against an Angels team who as #2 in hitting in the AL this year? Oh Boy…

But how bout Jed Lowrie’s 1st Grand Slam of his career–from his bad left side? WAY Cool…and then there was JD Drew and his errant shoulder, hitting 2 homers the 1st game back after missing 4…

Postseason is always the best part of the baseball season–and yes, for obvious reasons–but my favorite reason is that we get to hear a ton of times how the Sox game back from oblivion in 2004 to win the World Series–the only team to every go 4-0, after being down 0-3….Happy Happy Joy Joy….

No sense of talking about the upcoming postseason schedule in the ALDS, because the Skanks are driving THAT bus, and won’t be making their decision on whether they want to play starting Wednesday or Thursday until Tuesday, after they see who wins the 1 game tie breaker between Detroit and Minnesota.

I am personally rooting for Minnesota–the Tigers are annoying, and they should have buttoned this up weeks ago, but they let Minnesota get in, so they deserve what they get….

And why are they not playing the tie-breaker today? Well, it needs to be played in Minnesota, but the Minnesota Vikings also use the Metrodome, and since its Monday night, the field is a little busy….

So, if the Skanks choose to start on Wed, the Sox will start on Thursday in the middle of the night (9:37pm) but if the Skanks choose Thursday, the Sox will start on Wednesday–at freaking 6:07 pm….What a crappy schedule any way you look at it….

It would be the best if WHOEVER plays the Skanks, BEATS the Skanks–although I doubt that is going to happen–but then again, no one said the Sox could ever come back from the brink in 2004 either…

So no Tim Wakefield in the postseason AGAIN–and it sucks…And of course its no surprise–what surprises me is that they are holding off getting his surgery until after the postseason ends in case they need him to pitch. WHY??? Wake’s effectiveness and outing length have become less and less since this injury happened right after the All-Star break… The 1st one was pretty good, but the last one was 3 freaking painful innings–and they were painful for everyone…He is not going to improve until the gets the surgery–just GET IT DONE already…

And what about that 3-car accident MDC was in over the weekend? Holy Buckets! Thankfully, he is only achy and stiff, which is common, and there isn’t anything worse wrong with him–at least as a result of the car accident. He did not pitch Saturday or Sunday, and if he doesn’t improve enough to contribute, he may be off the ALDS roster…..

And then there is Rocco Baldelli, who is still where his whoa hip flexor injury is at (he got hurt in Thursday’s night’s contest) He was getting an MRI today, as well as a more thorough examination of the injury–With 2 left handers in the Angels rotation, the Sox could really use Baldelli’s bat off the bench…

Record Breaker: With his steal in yesterday’s game, Jacoby Ellsbury reached the 70 mark–a single season Red Sox record–and the best in baseball for 2009…

Coming up: And so we wait–either 2 days or 3 days, for the ALDS to begin against the Angels (haven’t we played this riff before? Like a BILLION times??) Jon Lester gets the start for Game 1, opposed by John Lackey (yeah, that seems familiar too). 1st pitch: either 6:07pm on Wednesday, or 9:37pm on Thursday…

Could it be????

Nah…. But maybe, just maybe, could the Sox have actually WON A GAME???

It’s been so freaking long, I forgot what a win felt like…and I actually had to search for my red marker to mark the game on my calendar…

But, yes, they won this one, and behind excellent pitching by Jon Lester, with 6 1/3 innings of 2 hit, scoreless baseball. He threw 84 pitches, 52 for strikes while walking 1 and striking out 7. Looks like he really didn’t have any after effects from his beaning last Friday night….

The Red Sox Bullpen also did well, only giving up 1 hit in their 2 2/3 innings of work while walking none, hitting a batter, and striking out 3…

And while the bats were exactly overwhelming, the 3 runs driven in by the Red Sox offense was certainly enough for the win…

Mike Lowell was back in the lineup, after getting the tune-up and lube job on his surgically repaired hip before the postseason: “I feel good. I think the biggest thing is a lot of pressure is released once they take the fluid out, so that helps you feel a lot better pretty quickly. I feel like there’s more range of motion. All that is a comforting feeling. I really wasn’t too worried about it. It was nowhere near like the way I felt after that Phillies and Braves series [in June] where I almost felt like I needed the shot or I’d be struggling for a while.” And of course, in his 1st at bat, he fouls a ball off his left ankle! He stayed in most of the game, and had X-Rays after the game, which were negative–look for him to probably DH in tonight’s contest…

But now JD Drew was out of the lineup, apparently because of soreness in his left shoulder (!!!) From Tito on JD: “His shoulder is a little bit sore. He came to me during the game last night and we were just kind of talking about it, and I actually don’t even know what shoulder. It was like the fourth inning and we were getting massacred. But I told him, ‘You know what, we’ll give you a couple of days,’ and he didn’t seem like alarmed or anything but kind of along the same lines. I’d rather give him a chance to feel real good about himself.” Chances are, unless his arm actually falls off, he’ll be back to play this weekend…

Justin Masterson, who was traded to Cleveland for Victor Martinez (who saluted and then touched his fist to his chest to former manager Eric Wedge), returned to Fenway last night. He is a full time starter since joining Cleveland, but the Sox won’t face him, as his last start was Wednesday night, a brilliant complete game 1-run outing, where he struck out 12…I miss him! I dont know why they traded HIM–there were plenty of other pitchers they could have sent–I think Masterson is very versatile, and it was a mistake to send him away…

Looks like Nick Green’s season may be over, as his slipped disk is not really improving as he had hoped. He hasn’t played since that miraculous pinch hit walk on September 16th…Unfortunately, he was the best choice for the utility player on the postseason roster, as Jed Lowrie is still having issues with his wrist, and Chris Woodward, who has had all of 12 bats with the Sox, are the only other options at this point…CRAP….

Just when we thought we’d never have to hear about this again, some MORON who worked at Alcor Life Extension in Arizona decided to write a book. Called “Frozen”, it details horrible things that were done to Ted Williams’ head during the freezing process…Is this REALLY necessary? It’s bad enough someone would actually want to write about this, but who in their right mind would actually PUBLISH it???? UGH…

There will be some Red Sox contingent in the commentary of the ALDS–DO will be on TBS to call one of the Division Series–I had heard it would be the Sox Angels–but apparently that is now up in the air….Eck will be in the TBS studios giving insight there–and he will be joined by old friend David Wells—can you believe he actually pitched 37 games for the Sox? I didn’t think it was that many…

Coming up: Daisuke makes his last regular season start tonight, in game 2 of this 4 game series. He is opposed by Jeremy Sowers. 1st pitch 7:10pm…

I don’t even want to get into it: Suffice it to say: TIM WAKEFIELD SHOULD HAVE HAD HIS SURGERY 2 MONTHS AGO…was it really necessary to trot him out there for THIS? 3 innings, throwing 76 pitches 48 for strikes, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits (including 2 homers) while walking 2 and striking out 1. And then, the Sox has to blow through their bullpen, even getting to backup catcher Dusty Brown to pitch the 9th (Nick Green, as we know, wasn’t available)–so that gives the Sox the dubious honor of having a catcher pitch in a game for the 1st time–ever–freaking wonderful…

Oh, and I probably should mention that Rocco Baldelli got his 1st ever chance to play 3rd base…but he had no fielding chances in the 3 innings he played at the position…

So, in honor of this horrendous, embarrassing loss, here is another Haiku:

The Bats were asleep

Depleting the bullpen staff

Postseason Worthy???

And while all of this was going on? Doc Halladay, in his last start of the season, put on a clinic, throwing a complete game 3-hit shutout (including taking a no-hitter into the 6th inning), while walking 2 and striking out 6

Of course, most of the starters got rested last night, in preparation for the post season beginning next week–I know they are just playing out the string, but if this keeps up, they are going to forget how to WIN when they get to Anaheim….

Coming up: Jon Lester kicks off the 1st game of the final series of the 2009 campaign, against the Cleveland Indians (who just fired Manager Eric Wedge, AND his whole coaching staff–but they will finish out the season). Let’s hope there really isn’t any after effects from him being hit on the leg on Friday night. He is opposed by Carlos Carrasco…1st pitch 7:10pm…

Ya know when the last time Red Sox pitching gave up 6 homers? I’ll tell you: on August 6th, 2004, the Tigers hit 7 against the Sox…

That Clay Person gave up the 1st 5 homers, with a line that is reminiscent of 2008 for him: 5 innings, throwing 79 pitches (56 for strikes) giving up 7 runs on 8 hits, while walking 1 and striking out 4…UGH

Takashi Saito gave up the other one in the 7th inning, and he also had a throwing error (his 1st of the year) in his outing…

RR, Billy Wagner and Jonathan Papelbon all contributed a clean inning of work in the contest….

Yeah, the 5 run 8th inning, and the nail biter of a 9th inning was nice, but it was just too little too late…

But, despite the Loss, the Rangers lost as well, so the Sox Clinch the AL Wild Card…Yay…

I’m sorry, I just can’t work up a ton of enthusiasm for this–Yeah, I am happy they got into the postseason–but actually WINNING to get there would have be better–this feels like process of elimination–and not even in a good way…The Sox have lost 7 of their last 9 games, including 5 in a row…Nope, not too much excitement here…

And I won’t even get into the fact that, right at this moments, I dont think the Sox have a snowball’s chance in hell of GETTING to the World Series, never mind winning it…As terrible as it may sounds, I would much rather the Angels beat the Sox in the ALDS, than have to face the Skanks in the ALCS again–have no desire to relive THAT again–even if the last 4 games in 2004 were a ton of fun–I’m not as young as I used to be–my nervous system can’t handle that stuff anymore…OK, so I wont get into it ANYMORE…

Looks like Josh Beckett will take his next turn in the rotation this Saturday night against Cleveland, after being a last minute scratch for Monday’s contest with “mild muscle spasms in his upper back” From Josh: “”Absolutely, I think I’ll make my next start. I think if I had to, I don’t think we’re going to need this, but I could go sooner than Saturday. I think right now, we’re just kind of looking at Saturday to hopefully set things up….” Let’s hope this is the truth, and this is not a reoccurrence of last year (even tho they say its not…)

Nick Green is also on the mend, having resumed baseball activities, and can actually hit the ball without falling over: “I hit off the tee, did some sprints, threw way better than I threw when I was trying before. I’ve done a lot of things that I haven’t been able to do in the past week.” He is looking to get back into the lineup sometime this weekend…

Minor League Hardware: Sox minor leaguers were honored before last nights game, with Casey Kelly (Greenville & Salem), being named Pitcher of the Year, Ryan Kalis (Salem and Portland), Offensive Player of the Year, Ryan Dent (Greenville & Salem), Defensive Player of the Year, Derrik Gibson (Lowell), Baserunner of the Year, Juan Rodriguez (Dominican Summer League Red Sox), Latin Program Pitcher of the Year, and Keury De La Cruz (Dominican Summer League Red Sox), Latin Program Player of the Year.

Coming up: Tim Wakefield, in what might be his last start for the season (I hope its not, but lets not kid ourselves, he needs that surgery–he is not getting any better…) to hopefully avert being swept by Toronto, and , oh, I dont know maybe WIN A GAME??? He is opposed by, of course, Doc Halladay. 1st pitch 7:10pm…

Well, at least the Magic # is down to 1…

So, are the Red Sox going to make any effort to clinch the Wild Card by winning? Or, are they just going to wait until the Rangers lose another game, thereby securing their 6th appearance in the post season in the last 7 years…

I understand that Josh Beckett was not feeling 100%, and god know that the Sox need him fully functional for the Postseason, but the way this game ended up, was AWFUL…

Michael Bowden and Hunter Jones combined to throw 4 2/3 innings of eleven run ball–ELEVEN RUNS–against Toronto…

Here are their lines: Michael Bowden (with his 1st major league loss) went 3 innings, throwing 67 pitches, 37 for strikes, giving up 7 runs on 7 hits (including 2 homers) while walking 1 and striking out 3

Then Hunter Jones comes in and adds some fuel to the fire in his inning and 2/3–giving up 4 runs on 5 white (including a homer) while walking none (but hitting a batter) and striking out 1…

One bright spot is last minute call up Dustin Richardson, making his major league debut, pitched 1 1/3 clean innings, giving up only 2 hits…

Of course, because of the horrible rain, this game was called in the 7th inning, when the Sox has a man on 2nd and 3rd, and no out–and Victor Martinez was up to bat…I think there was a good chance the Sox could have come back and done something in this game…

Here is the scoop on Beckett from Tito: “First of all, it’s upper left, which is good. He’s been feeling it. And again, this time of year, guys feel a lot. But on the plane last night, I think he tried to get comfortable and didn’t. I think he thought he’d wake up and take a hot shower and go about his business. When that didn’t happen, he called me, and me and (pitching coach) John Farrell were actually in there at the time….So it wasn’t a real difficult decision to say this doesn’t make sense to [have Beckett pitch]. And I think he kind of agreed. So we’ll try to use good judgment and let him get worked on and let that thing relax as opposed to letting him pitch through it, which he could have. It just didn’t seem like today was the day to do that.” Barring any unforeseen, Beckett will take his final start of the 2009 campaign on Saturday against Cleveland…

Post Season Maintenance: To make sure he is all ready for the postseason, Mike Lowell went and had a Synvisc and Cortisone cocktail shot into his right hip yesterday morning. And no worries, it’s just a precautionary thing: “…We were talking about it a couple of weeks ago. Just to, more of heading into the postseason, I’d rather be with more mobility than less. I spoke to the doctors, and they said this would be a way to alleviate the pain, and it’s looking pretty good. This was a good time to take two or three days off to really get my hip, hopefully, feeling a lot better.” Because the medicine needs time to work, Lowell will be out for the next few days…

Looks like Jon Lester is fine, as evidenced by his successful side session yesterday. From Jon: “I felt fine. No problems. Just the normal long tossing and everything. Right around 55 pitches. Everything was good. I felt good this morning when I woke up and walking around and everything. But there’s that question in your mind, ‘OK, when I get on the mound, is it going to bug me?’ And it didn’t. Everything was good…” So it looks like Jon will be making his next turn, which is slated on Thursday….

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Johnny Pesky, and there is not a classier man to ever play the game. The Red Sox icon celebrated his 90th birthday on Sunday, so the Sox celebrated with an on-field presentation before last night’s contest, which included Johnny throwing out the 1st pitch. I cannot believe he is 90–the last of the Teammates (Dom DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr and Ted Williams). I am SO glad they retired his number–can we get him back in the dugout for games–Please???

Coming up: That Clay Person has the chance to be THAT GUY–the one who delivers the Sox into postseason glory–let’s just hope his trend of great pitching continues. He is opposed by Rickey Romero, who has a respectable record in his rookie year (12-9 with a 4.28), but is 0-3 with an 8.83 ERA against the Sox….Here’s to hoping….1st pitch 7:10pm…

The Sox went to the Stadium on Friday, with a Magic # of 3–and left the Stadium with a Magic # of 3–the only reason the Sox are currently at #2, is Tampa Bay made a great comeback in their game yesterday, beating the Texas Rangers….

So, after beating the Skanks EIGHT TIMES IN A ROW to open the season, the Sox only managed to squeeze out ONE lousy win over the last 10 times they faced them…leaving the season series tied at 9…

And this weekend was a cluster from the get go–our best and brightest hope for a win this weekend was knocked out of game 1 in the 3rd inning, when freaking Melky Cabrera hit Jon Lester in the right quad with a liner–and everyone’s heart stopped. Fortunately, he is fine, and is scheduled to make his next start on Thursday…

Then it just went down hill from there…Although, to be fair, Daisuke (even tho he morphed back into vintage Daisuke–too many pitches, too many walks, etc etc) and Paul Byrd (who was the victim of Takashi Saito’s audition to make the Demonic Bullpen tandem a freaking quartet–allowing 2 inherited runners to score–indeed….) pitched well enough to win–its just that the Sox chose this weekend to stop hitting–AGAIN…

The Sox have beaten CC Sabathia before–the 2007 ALCS comes to mind–why are they so ineffective now?

So now the Sox go home for the rest of the year, with a losing record on the road (39-42) and the best record in baseball at home–let’s see if they can right the ship and get to the postseason already…

But I am telling you right now, I have grave concerns about another Sox and Skanks ALCS–and I think its going to happen–AGAIN…because the Sox can beat the Angels, and I think the Tigers will be no match at all for the Skanks….Not looking forward to that–AT ALL…I have gotten used to the quietness that are the Skankee fans…

Preaching to the choir–The Skanks have not won a world series since 2000–since 2004, the Sox have won TWO–but which team do you think the ESPN commentators gushed about in yesterday’s game? I’ll give you a hit–Joe Morgan had his pinstriped suit on–the one he only wears for Skankee games, I might add…UGH…

Finally, today’s post marks # 750  written here at Boston Red Thoughts.  Never thought that when I began this journey in 2006, that it would have been the amazing experience it has turned out to be…Here’s to 750 more!

Coming up: Josh Beckett kicks off the final homestand and series against Toronto this evening. He is opposed by Scott Richmond, who, in his last 9 starts is 0-6 with an 8.14 ERA–maybe the Sox could do some scoring? Ya think? 1st pitch 7:10pm….