One great Red Sox team (2013) recalls another (2004)

Only Papi remained -- but plenty remembered.

Editor's Note: Red Sox historian Bill Nowlin approached each 2013 Red Sox for their '04 reflections, Portions of some of the best are below, with Bill's questions and comments in italics; for the full roster's reflections, check out the "Blog" section of Bill's great new website, Boston Baseball, at http://bostonball.com/

By Bill Nowlin

As the 10^th anniversary of the 2004 season was approaching, I asked members of the 2013 Red Sox for whatever memories they might have of the 2004 postseason. Only one Red Sox player was on the 2013 team who had also been on the 2004 World Champions – David Ortiz. His thoughts are recorded elsewhere, and at some length. See, for instance, the book DON’T LET US WON TONIGHT.

The ages the 2013 players had in 2004 ranged from 14 (Jose Iglesias) to 29 (Koji Uehara) – and neither of them saw that year’s playoffs since they were in Cuba and Japan respectively. Only a very few of the players in 2013 were in the majors in 2004 – Ryan Dempster, David Ross, Jonny Gomes, and John Lackey. The latter – Lackey – would likely have started Game Four for the Angels against the Red Sox had Boston not swept the Division Series in three games. The only one who appeared in the postseason that year was David Ross, who was with the Dodgers and got into two games during the Division Series against the Cardinals. Dempster had been with the Cubs and Gomes had appeared in five May games for Tampa Bay.

Perhaps befitting their roles as professional ballplayers and perhaps reflecting their sense that their career might take them from organization to organization, few of the players held a strong rooting interest for any team in the playoffs, though they did tend to pull for individual players.  

Andrew Bailey was a 20-year-old student at Wagner College on Staten Island.

Man, I remember – all of my teammates were Yankee fans and I like rooting against my friends in some competitiveness so obviously I was rooting for the Sox that series. Coming back from 3-0 was incredible. One of the greatest stories in baseball history. I was obviously not in the professional level at that point in time but for a really true fan of the game, that’s something you’ll never forget. Now being part of that organization is such an awesome feeling.

I sort of wondered if most of the students there would have been Yankees fans.

Oh, yeah! It’s like, my buddies are sitting there rooting for the Yankees and my team wasn’t in it – the Phillies weren’t in it. I grew up as a Phillies fan. My team wasn’t in it so I wanted to root against my buddies, you know?

Xander Bogaerts, with an October 1 birthday, had just turned 12 in Aruba a few days before the playoffs began.

There’s a lot of Yankees fans and Boston fans in Aruba, but most of them were Braves fans because of Andruw Jones.  He was a big thing back then.

Did you watch any of that on television?

Oh yeah, definitely. That’s the one with Dave Roberts and the steal.  Pretty much everyone was saying that the Red Sox were done and then seeing them come back. Millar was always positive – Kevin Millar, he said things are going to change. If they win that night, he was positive that they would win the next one. The Yankees were obviously stunned that they came back.

Clay Buchholz, 20, was a student at Angelina Junior College.

We watched all the games. They were down 3-0. Sitting and watching those games unfold after [Boston] being down that much in the series and coming back and winning is obviously the thing that stands out in my mind. I grew up in Texas so I was always for the Rangers and Astros, and my favorite player to this day was always Derek Jeter. I played shortstop growing up.  A lot of the guys who are right-handed pitchers came up playing shortstop in Little League and high school.  So I watched him play.

If the Red Sox were playing the Yankees, then, were you rooting for…?

No, I  just liked Jeter. I liked watching him play. The thing that stands out in my head in that series is just David – Ortiz – and what he did. I definitely watched it.  I just watched all the games. It was neat watching it unfold as they came back knowing no team had ever done that.

Would you say you began rooting for the  Red Sox?

I definitely wanted them to win the World Series that year after they finished that series in New York. It was neat to watch. It had been a long time.

Pedro Ciriaco was 19. He’d played in the Dominican Summer League earlier that year, signed to an Arizona Diamondbacks contract.

I was, you know, a Red Sox fan at that time. I never did like Yankees. You know, Pedro [Martinez] was here at that time. Manny. Papi.  So I was a really huge fan.

You were in the D-Backs system, in the Dominican Summer League, but they weren’t in the playoffs.

Yeah, I was already with the Diamondbacks, but I remember that series. I enjoyed every game. The series with the Yankees, that was unbelievable. I remember every time Pedro Martinez was going to pitch, everybody in the country – the whole country was watching.

Felix Doubront turned 17 the day of Game One of the 2004 World Series. He was living in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela at the time.

I had signed with the Red Sox in July 2004. They were my team.

Were you able to watch some of the games on TV?

At that moment, we were in the Parallela. [The Parallela Liga is a minor league in Venezuelan baseball.] I was a rookie for Boston in Valencia. All the excitement – the guys, the manager, the hitting coach – they came here to watch the World Series. Josman Robles. Miguel Garcia. A lot of those guys. They came up to watch the World Series.

So I don’t have to ask you who you were rooting for? 

No (laughs). It’s weird. My favorite team at that moment, before I signed, was the Yankees and the Mets. Those were the two teams that I followed the most right before when I signed with Boston. My agent told me that Boston didn’t have enough lefty pitchers in the minor league system, so I…

You thought you might have a better chance to move up.

To move up. Quicker. At that moment, it was very exciting to sign.

Jonny Gomes played outfield for Durham and appeared in five games for Tampa Bay in 2004, at age 23.

I don’t pick a team [to root for in a situation like that] but I’ve been to eight World Series. Seven as a fan, one as a player.  I’m a big fan of the game. What really stands out is Kevin Millar’s walk, which led to Dave Roberts’ stolen base and, you know, Bill Mueller. But what I would say stood out to me the most was each series clincher and then, of course, the World Series clincher and the celebration between 25 guys and the staff. Some people might look at it like, “Oh, they were going crazy” but you just really saw the passion of how tight-knit they were. The hugs and the champagne, it was just like…

There was a little criticism that they over-celebrated in clinching a playoff spot in the first place.

Well, it turned out those people were wrong – again. You know, again!  But that’s what stood out – it was like a wedding almost. Just like a family. Everyone having a good time.

Jon Lester pitched for the Florida State League Sarasota Red Sox in 2004. He was 20 years old.

I came to Game 3 up here against the Yankees. The bad one. I was just kind of thinking they were pretty outmatched. Obviously, being part of the organization you watch them. I followed them a little bit, but I was probably like 99 percent of the country, saying, “The Yankees are going to another World Series.” But once they came back, I figured it would be over. They were on that momentum. That’s a big part of the playoffs, momentum. You forget about yourself some. I figured once they got to the World Series, it was going to be pretty easy for them.

John McDonald had just finished his sixth season with the Indians in 2004.

I like baseball so I like watching the playoffs. I was actually in Boston for a little bit of that – not at the games but seeing the madness, and the excitement of the team not wanting to give up. It was really enjoyable and after they won [over the Yankees], I don’t think anybody could reasonable think they were going to lose after that. They just played great baseball. 

The pitching they had – I think that’s what I remember the most about it. How well Derek Lowe pitched. How well Pedro pitched. And I’d played with Dave Roberts in the past – we were teammates in the minor leagues for Cleveland. Watching him go to first base, everyone knew he was going to steal in that situation. I don’t remember how many times Rivera threw over; he still went first pitch. Which was not surprising to me. He was going as soon as he [Rivera] picked up his front leg. That’s what he does. That was his gig. It was fun to watch.

You grew up in Connecticut. Red Sox fans? Yankees fans?

We grew up Yankee fans. Going to the Stadium. We went to both, though. We rooted for the Yankees more. That’s when I was a kid.  You don’t watch as many baseball games after you start playing a lot more in high school and college. As soon as I was an Indian, I was an Indian. I didn’t have any other allegiances besides the team I was on.

By 2004, when you were watching those games, with the Red Sox down three games to none, did your Yankees background kick in for you or did you start rooting for the underdog?

No, I was just watching. My wife is from Boston so I think it was pretty easy to identify with that team the Sox had. They were fun. Plus I knew some of the guys on the team, too. I was a little more familiar with them. You want to see them get over the hump. You want to see that excitement. After they won that first game, you wanted to see them win the second. They win the second, you want to see them win the third, and after they win the third, you want to see them finish it.

It obviously made for a good story but I’ve got a lot of friends and family up in this area so it was fun to watch and listen to their reactions and their excitement going through it.

Will Middlebrooks was 16, at Liberty Eylau High School in Texarkana, Texas.

I was a freshman in high school. I remember watching. I always enjoyed watching playoff baseball with my buddies.  I remember it being really fun baseball to watch – high intensity baseball. A lot of intense situations. It was a lot of fun to watch. 

The Red Sox swept in the first round against the Angels when one of your current teammates homered in the 10t^h inning.

Yeah, David. I remember that. And I remember the Damon grand slam.  I wanted the Red Sox to win. I just wasn’t a Yankees fan. I wasn’t a Yankees hater, by any means, but when I grew up I liked the Rangers and the Red Sox. That was the team I was able to go watch because I was from there, so I liked them and I liked the Red Sox because of their history.

So you were pulling for the Red Sox against the Cardinals, too.

Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Dustin Pedroia was in the Red Sox system. He had played with Augusta and Sarasota in the summer of 2004. He was 21.

I was in the Fall League, in Arizona [during the playoffs].

Watching the games on TV with some of your friends?

Yeah.  Everyone saw the games. It was awesome.  I just thought it was great, the comeback, you know? All the stuff they did was awesome.  

And then you were up here for the next one [2007].

Yeah, we gotta get another one of those, you know.

Maybe this year...

There you go.

(Editor's Note: Mission accomplished -- at least in 2013) 

Brandon Snyder turned 18 the month after the 2004 playoffs were over.

I was a junior in high school. My dad was a Yankees fan. My younger brothers – they’re twins – one’s a Yankees fan and one’s a Red Sox fan. At the time, I just kind of sat back and watched them battle it out. It was just one of those all-time greatest moments in baseball where you see a series turn around so quickly. The way they did it, it was just amazing. If you’re going to do it, you might as well make it interesting, right?

After that, it was just a different mentality. We stopped talking about curses and all this other stuff and we started talking about building good organizations to win baseball games.

Alex Wilson was 17, still in high school at Hurricane, West Virginia.

I actually was a Red Sox fan, a huge Nomar Garciaparra fan. That kind of led me to like the Red Sox. I definitely remember watching the games. I think the biggest thing was them coming back from the 3-0 and everything. That was definitely something to remember.

I was a shortstop. I wore #5. I pitched some but I was definitely more of a position player.

I was really happy. I was razzing my buddies that were Yankees fans in the Championship Series and in the World Series everything fell into place.

--END

 

Pedro Cerrano and Jo-Bu key Red Sox resurgence

This guy deserves a Bobblehead night.

The streets outside Fenway Park were quiet during Monday's day off, but Fenway Reflections has learned that a special visitor was seen on Yawkey Way who may have had a direct impact in Boston's 7-4 victory over the Rays Tuesday night.

Pedro Cerrano.

For those of you who may not remember him, Cerrano was the power-hitter from Cuba whose two-run homer in a one-game AL East playoff game against the Yankees helped the Indians to the 1989 division title -- a season documented in the movie Major League. Cerrano was a great fastball hitter who had trouble with curves, a dilemma he resolved with the help of his beloved voodoo God Jo-Bu (and some rum, cigars, and sacrificial chickens). 

Cerrano and Jo-Bu were at Fenway Monday in an attempt to wake up Boston's sleeping bats, and apparently the intervention worked. Although Boston entered Tuesday's game in the bottom half of the American League in batting, on-base-percentage, and home runs, the Sox blasted 13 hits enroute to their third win in four games.

Victorino was thankful to Jo-Bu.

"Jo-Bu came through for us, no doubt about it," says right fielder Shane Victorino, who led the attack with a 4-for-4 night including a double and two RBI. "That's what I like about this team; we're willing to try anything in order to win."

Boston (13-14) now is just one game away from reaching the .500 mark for the first time since it was 2-2 on April 4. In contrast, the 2013 Red Sox were 18-7 and in first place by 2.5 games entering play on April 30. The Sox are currently in third place, 2.5 games behind the East-leading Yankees.

Jo-Bu and home cooking may be just what the witch doctor ordered for Boston. In addition to their current eight-game homestand, the Red Sox are in a stretch in which they will play 19 of 30 games at Fenway Park -- where they had a .654 winning percentage en route to winning the 2013 World Series. Including last night's win, the Sox are just  6-8 at home this season.

Middlebrooks' return should help.

Another key to a hopeful Boston resurgence is good health. The activation of third baseman Will Middlebrooks and Victorino from the Disabled List during the past few days gives the team its projected starting lineup for the first time all season, and enables manager John Farrell to use his strongest defensive outfield with Victorino in right, Jackie Bradley Jr. in center, and Jony Gomes in left.

Now if the Sox can get starting pitchers Clay Buchholz (6.66 ERA) and Felix Doubront (6.00) turned around, they may be able to stop the runs to Popeye's for more Jo-Bu offerings.

Why Opening Day reminds me I'm aging like Fenway dirt

This shirt is eight years older than Xander.

Another Opening Day at Fenway Park is nearly upon us, which also means it's my birthday week (actually, it's my birthday day). In many ways this is a nice congruity, since the beginning of a new baseball season also signifies the start of spring and (hopefully) better New England weather -- but it also calls attention to just how old I'm getting.

How does my first Fenway sojourn of the season remind me that I'm aging faster than cheddar cheese on a bleacher seat in August? Let me count the ways.

1. Most players are young enough to be my kids. I'm 47 today, so this is a relatively new phenomenon. Still, it's downright depressing to think that not only am I no longer a like-aged peer of the guys on the field, but most of them would now be apt to look at me like an old man -- their old man. 

I was 21 in 1988 -- old enough to be Will's dad.

2. Nobody playing for the Red Sox is older than me. As long as the Sox had Tim Wakefield, I was safe from this indignity -- since Wake was born exactly eight months before me. Now my closest contemporary on the Boston roster is Koji Uehara, born one day after my eighth birthday (Happy almost-birthday Koji), unless you count the coaching staff. I don't like to count the coaching staff. 

3. I've got sneakers and concert t-shirts older than Xander Bogaerts. This one speaks for itself. In fact, I was already out of college and well into my third newspaper job before Bogaerts entered the world in October 1992. 

If I was 21, I'd be smiling too.

4. I fill out a uniform -- too much. Ever make fun of the coaches and managers whose big guts droop over the belts of their uniforms? Me too, but not anymore.

5. Who the hell is that guy in right field? Without my glasses, I can't read the names on the backs of uniforms, which means I'm a slave to the JumboTron when it comes to identifying opposing players. I can recognize the Red Sox by their numbers, of course, but now those are starting to get blurry too.

The (not so) Ancient Warrior

6. "Old Man Yaz" was younger than me. This puts things into perspective, doesn't it? Captain Carl Yastrzemski was dragging his creaky bones around the American League at the ancient age of 44 by his last season, or three years younger than I am today.

7.  During spring training, the Red Sox played against Yaz's grandson. This one kind of makes my head spin. I mean, I was happy for Yaz and all, but it's still depressing.

 Yaz's grandson is playing? Oy vey...

8.  When planning out which games I'm going to, I check my kids' schedules. Parents, you know what I'm talking about here. Once the conflicts were house parties; now they are birthday parties. 


9. I sometimes turn on the Channel 5 News at 11:23 to catch the scores from Mike Lynch, or reach for the phone to call the Globe hotline. Yeah, I know every MLB box, video highlight, and updated batting average is on my iPhone, but old habits die hard.

My 1985 electronic scoreboard source.

10. I have a tough time staying awake for West Coast games. Or writing blog posts after midnight. Happy birthday to me.   

As Bogaerts matures, could there still be room for Drew?

Drew shined defensively in the postseason.

The Red Sox finally made David Ortiz a Happy Papi with a contact extension that all but assures the greatest clutch hitter in team history will finish his career as a Red Sox. Now, with Opening Day almost upon us, the Sox have the opportunity to make another move that could help one of their rising stars reach his potential.

Bringing back Stephen Drew.

Sure, Xander Bogaerts may be the best thing since Big Yaz Bread, or at least appeared to be when he took over at third base for a slumping Will Middlebrooks in last year's playoffs, but he's still technically a rookie with just 18 games of regular season experience. He showed tremendous poise and patience in becoming the youngest player (at 21) to ever start a postseason contest for the Red Sox, but he also made an error in Game 4 of the World Series with a rushed throw to first base and hit just .238 with one extra-base hit in six games against the Cardinals. 

This spring training, with the eyes of the baseball world looking on, he's batting .227 with 1 homer after a fairly large sample size of 44 at-bats. He does have 3 triples, but he also has 10 strikeouts.

He may be the future, but we're not there yet.

In other words, he may still be a great prospect, but he's not yet an every-day great player.

He's also about to start his first season as a big-league regular, at one of the game's most demanding positions: shortstop. He's shown excellent hands and range at every level, but he's never played more than 134 games in a campaign (last year, when he played 60 at Portland, 56 at Pawtucket, and 18 in Boston). Suiting up in the majors every day is a grind, as he'll soon discover.

Middlebrooks, after some talk of a move to first base, is back at third, apparently for the duration. Bogaerts is slated to be the everyday shortstop, with Jonathan Herrera the likely back-up option. Herrera has 375 games of MLB experience under his belt, but has never been a regular or played in an intense atmosphere like Boston.

Stephen Drew, of course, has done both.

Drew is a Dirt Dog who rebounded well in 2013.

Last year Drew recovered from an awful start at the plate to produce an excellent slash line of .291/.367/.497 in August and September combined as Boston pushed toward the postseason. His overall power totals of 29 doubles, 8 triples, 13 homers, and 67 RBI placed him among the upper tier of American League shortstops offensively, even though he was limited to 124 games by a hamstring injury in mid-season.

Drew's fielding was also very solid. He ranked third among AL shortstops in range factor, second in fielding percentage, and during the playoffs was particularly flashy with the glove -- playing so well defensively that John Farrell kept him in the lineup despite a .111 postseason batting average.

Farrell figured eventually the veteran would come through with the stick, and his patience paid off. Drew led off the fourth inning of Game 6 of the World Series with a home run -- igniting a three-run inning that broke open the clincher for Boston.

In Game 6 versus St. Louis, Drew came through.

His ego boosted by all these positives -- and a money-hungry agent in Scott Boras -- Drew chose as a free agent to turn down Boston's one-year, $14.1 million qualifying contract offer. Surely he figured better deals from other teams would come, but despite persistent rumors of suitors he's still without a home. 

The Sox are gambling on Bogaerts, but since Drew can't seem to find anybody else willing to meet his price, perhaps it's time Ben Cherington finds out if Boras might just take a lower offer. (One reason other teams are hesitant to sign Drew is that they would have to forfeit a draft pick to the Red Sox as compensation.)

Bogaerts may be the future, but Drew has been there and done that -- and would be an excellent insurance policy if the rookie were to struggle early or later on. He may even have a few tips to give the kid after more than 900 games at shortstop. At this point he likely would not mind a backup role as a chance to stay in the majors.

Drew apparently would love to be back.

Would Drew want to come back? He told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he would,  saying that "The chemistry Pedey [second baseman Dustin Pedroia] and I had was tremendous. But it's a business. It would be great to go back there. The owners, management, maybe that's something they want to do different. That's all I can think of."

Cherington and Co. want Bogaerts at short, and they want him there every day. But it's a long season.

Look at it this way: What if the Red Sox had handed left field to Jackie Bradley Jr. last year, and didn't have Shane Victorino to step in when Bradley faltered?

There might not have been a chance for Bogaerts -- or Drew -- to shine in the postseason.
     Mar

Bud Selig: MLB to rename ALCS MVP Award "The Big Papi"

It ain't over till the Big Papi swings.

After Dustin Pedroia's laser-drive single to short-right field last night loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth -- and Will Middlebrooks slammed on the brakes rounding third -- I turned to the guy sitting behind me in Section 14 at Fenway Park for a very brief conversation as David Ortiz stepped to the plate.

"I wonder if they should have sent Middlebrooks?" I asked.

"No, you don't want to take the bat out of Papi's hands."

"But he hasn't been hitting this series."

"Maybe, but there are two outs. You don't want to make the last out at home plate down four runs. We only have four outs to go in the game."

He was right from a baseball strategy point of view, of course. But after watching the Red Sox record 1 hit and strike out 29 times over the first 16 2/3 innings of the ALCS against Detroit , I have to admit I wasn't even sure Big Papi could bail us out of this one.

I should have known better. 

Papi over...

On the very next pitch -- the first he saw from Tigers closer  Joaquin Benoit -- Ortiz hit a bullet to right field that just made it over the glove of a leaping Torii Hunter and into the Red Sox bullpen. Just like that, a 5-1 deficit had become a 5-5 tie, and a two games to none series deficit heading to Detroit was no longer a near certainty.

...and out (Stan Grossfeld, Boston Globe)

The Red Sox were alive in the game, and an inning later -- when Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled home Jonny Gomes -- they were very much alive in the ALCS. "Love That Dirty Water" started playing, cell phones started ringing (and serving as cameras), and I high-fived the guy behind me. Perhaps, if he reads this, he'll email me his name.

So ended one of the most incredible nights in Fenway Park's long postseason history, a night the Red Sox turned the tables on the Tigers with one swing and left fans feeling that this very likable, hairy team might just have the mojo to go all the way.

Seldom do emotions switch as dramatically as they did in this contest. The good karma started well before the first pitch, when fans arriving at Fenway were treated to a wonderful last-second comeback by Tom Brady and the Patriots down in Foxboro, courtesy of flat-screens throughout the ballpark.

Comeback No. 1 (Nancy Wall Farrington)

When my wife Michelle and I ran into Nancy Wall Farrington, our regular season weekend seat mate, we thought it was another good sign. The Sox almost never lose when we see each other in Section 30, so maybe seeing each other in the Gate A concourse would work as well.

After slipping our lucky $1 into a Jimmy Fund collection box (an every-game ritual), we settled into our seats just as the pre-game ceremonies were wrapping up with 2004 ALCS hero Dave Roberts threw out the first pitch. (Shameless promotion: Roberts was my favorite interview for my upcoming book, "Miracle at Fenway," in which you'll learn just what he was thinking before the biggest stolen base in Red Sox history.)

Dave Roberts: excellent karma

Because this was a "date night" with my mom babysitting the kids, I promised Michelle I would not keep score and instead focus completely on her (and the game, of course). This felt as uncomfortable to me as showing up in the fifth inning, as we did at our son Jason's first game, because she thought he'd never last nine. (The game went 14, and we stayed, so he saw his 9).

Still, I kept the pen in my pocket. I've survived 14 years, 11 months, and 6 days of marriage by knowing when to let things go, so I wrapped my arm around my bride and settled in to watch Clay Buchholz and Max Scherzer do battle.

Another good match-up.

Over the next five innings, the game took on an almost uncanny resemblance to the previous night's Jon Lester-Anibal Sanchez affair. The Red Sox could not record a hit or even get much wood on the ball over the first five innings, with Scherzer recording nine strikeouts, but a strong performance from Buchholz was keeping Boston in the game. My buddies "The K Men" were pretty busy with six cards posted for Clay through five.

The lady in front of us was keeping score, which naturally had me longing to have a pen and program in my own hands. Before the top of the sixth, with a 1-0 Detroit lead and tension in the park building, I told Michelle I couldn't take it anymore -- and flipped to the scorecard in the center of my official ALCS program. I needed to keep busy, and she understood. 

Date Night...and no scoring (for a while)

After filling in the names and writing in an "8" for the first out of the sixth (fly to deep center by Torii Hunter) I quickly began questioning my decision. Double-home run-double-single-home run were the next five entries on my cardboard grid, as the Tigers chased Buchholz with four more runs.

When he was lifted for Brandon Workman, I was among many fans giving Buchholz a standing ovation as he walked off the field. "You had a great year, Clay!" I yelled, fearing it very well might be the last time I'd cheer him or any Sox starter at Fenway this season. 

Boston did break its 16-inning scoreless drought in the bottom of the sixth when a Victorino single and Pedroia double off the Wall made it 5-1, and the fans came to life as Ortiz stepped in with two outs. Scherzer blew him away with a 96-mile-per-hour fastball, however, and silence quickly returned.

Scherzer was dealing.

By the end of the seventh, with the help of the JumboTron, I had completely caught up on my scorecard and was thinking ahead to whether John Lackey had any chance against Verlander in Game 3. I'm not a doubting man by any means, especially having lived through 2004, but I can guarantee there were not 1,000 people among the 38,000-plus at Fenway who figured the Sox had any chance in this one.

Then, with blinking lights flashing, one of my newest Fenway friends surprised me by showing up to say hello. Lynne Smith, aka the Fenway Park Hat Lady, sat down beside Michelle and quickly started gabbing about Detroit (where they are both from). I interviewed Smith for "Miracle at Fenway" a couple weeks back and we've become Facebook buddies -- but this was our first time connecting for more than a quick wave at a game.

The Tigers went quickly in the top of the eighth, and after Lynne's husband Gary took her picture with me and Michelle (along with several other requests, as Fenway's 2012 "Lib Dooley Fan of the Year" gets wherever she goes), they departed. I quickly posted the photo on Facebook with the tagline "Lucky Lynne Smith joins us in eighth -- can it help?"

The Fenway Hat Lady delivers the luck.

Apparently it did. Papi and the boys staged their great comeback, my phone died immediately after I took a picture of the JumboTron flashing "RED SOX WIN," and I had to ask a couple other fans to take our picture with the Green Monster scoreboard behind us. 

So Good! So Good! So Good. (Julie Fogharty)

I call Michelle "The Reluctant Fan" because she often sneaks a book with her to the ballpark, but this one even had her giddy. We spent several minutes cheering for the cameras with a few hundred other folks over by the NESN setup on Yawkey Way, then went into Twins -- where my wife the serious Harvard doc purchased the silliest-looking Wally hat you'll ever see (along with tee-shirts for both kids). 

Where does this game rank with my best ever seen at Fenway? Well, nothing can top Game Five of the '04 ALCS and Game Six of the '75 World Series, but this is right up there with the Trot Nixon Game in the '03 ALCS, the 14-inning Father's Day win (Jason's first game), and the Opening Day ring ceremony of 2005. 

For games with The Reluctant Fan, however, it's tops. I'm betting next time she leaves the book at home...  

...but maybe not the towel.

Patience with Mike Napoli pays off for Farrell and Red Sox

Mike Napoli is locked in.

Mike Napoli shared last week's American League Player of the Week honors with his teammate Will Middlebrooks, but it would have been fitting if their boss got a portion of the award as well.

After all, it was Red Sox manager John Farrell who kept penciling Napoli into the lineup nearly every game despite a three-month power drought and a dismal August in which the first baseman hit .208 and seemed to strike out every other at-bat. Even when Boston's lead in the AL East race disappeared, Napoli got the call again and again.

Farrell's patience paid off, as Napoli has emerged from his long dry spell to hit .391 (20-for-51) with 6 doubles, 6 homers and 18 RBI over his last 15 games (including a two-run double Wednesday night). 

Napoli has plenty to smile about lately.

Not surprisingly, the hot streak has sparked the Sox to a sizzling 13-2 stretch, and Boston has built its East lead up to 9.5 games over second-place Tampa Bay.

Farrell was likely aware of Napoli's past history. A streak hitter, he traditionally does better late in the season -- including a .429 average and 1.361 OPS in September/October 2011 and 7 homers in 16 games last September. Still, it takes a cool head and supreme confidence to stick with a guy who's flailing, especially as a first-year manager trying to turn around a last-place club.

The approach Farrell took with Napoli is similar to that displayed in 2004 by another rookie Boston skipper, Terry Francona, who played Kevin Millar all through a first-half slump. Like Napoli, Millar got hot down the stretch, batting .331 with a .987 OPS starting July 4 as the Sox nearly caught the Yankees in the East and reached the playoffs as the Wild Card entry.

Millar's hot stretch helped deliver a title.

What happened next is well-documented. Millar had some clutch hits during the postseason and the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years.

Boston has no need for a Wild Card this year, having all but clinched the East with 15 games to go in one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in franchise history. Last year's Red Sox team finished in last place at 69-93; this year's club is currently 89-58.

Can Boston cap off its magical revival with a title run in October? That remains to be seen, but if Napoli keeps up his sizzling pace, he could play a major role in determining the outcome. 

Can Nap keep it up into October? We shall see.

What on earth do Jose Iglesias, Ted Williams, and Manny Ramirez have in common?

These day, the AL's top rookie is all smiles.

Ted Williams. Manny Ramirez. Jose Iglesias. 

One of these things is not like the others -- right?

At first glance, most definitely. Williams and Ramirez are both members of the elite 500 home run club, with slugging and OPS marks that rank among the highest in MLB history. If it wasn't for steroids Ramirez would be a lock to join Teddy Ballgame in the Hall of Fame -- provided Manny ever stopped making comebacks.

Iglesias, in contrast, has hit exactly two major league home runs in 85 games spread over three major-league seasons -- which isn't too surprising considering he hit six in 294 minor league contests. Last year at Triple A Pawtucket he batted a so-so.266, and after a September promotion to Boston went a pitiful 8-for-68 (.118).

Jose is, or was, the classic good-field, no-hit player -- as much a magician with his glove at shortstop as Williams and Ramirez were with their bats. The big question about his chances of sticking with the Red Sox was whether his defense would compensate enough for his anemic offense.

After a 62-150 start in 1941, Williams finished at .406

Now that's all changed, and Iglesias has inexplicably joined Manny (in 2001) and Ted (in 1941) as the only players in the 112-year  history of Boston's AL franchise to achieve an early-season batting feat of red-hot proportions.

A batting average of.400 or better after his first 150 at-bats of the year.

Think about that. The Red Sox have spent more than a century at hitter friendly Fenway Park, home to such expert batsmen as Tris Speaker (a .383 average in 1912), Jimmie Foxx (.360 in '39), Wade Boggs (.368 in '85), and Nomar Garciaparra (.372 in 2000) -- not to mention Ramirez and Williams -- only twice entering 2013 had anybody gotten off to that fast a start.

Had you asked everyone which player on this year's Opening Day roster had a chance of doing it, Iglesias might have been the consensus last choice. 

Despite his fantastic defense, he only made the team because of an injury to projected starting shortstop Stephen Drew. Iglesias went 7-for-12 in the opening series of the year at New York, but experts said it was a fluke. General Manager Ben Cherington apparently agreed, because once Drew was cleared to play Iglesias was sent down to Pawtucket after seven games, a .450 batting average, and a growing list of Web Gems. 

On paper, Drew -- an eight-year veteran with pop in his bat and a steady glove -- was still considered the better player. The Sox were not paying him $9.5 million for the season to sit on the bench, and naysayers pointed out that the majority of Iglesias' early-season hits had been dinky grounders or bloops that found holes. Back in the minors, he actually regressed, hovering around the Mendoza Line at .202 through 33 games.

At Pawtucket in May, Jose was all-field, no-hit.

Then the inexplicable happened. Drew slumped, third baseman Will Middlebrooks got hurt, and Iglesias was recalled on May24 to fill a roster spot. He went 1-for-3 with a run scored that night, playing third and batting ninth. The next day he spelled Drew at short, went 3-for-4 with a double, and raised his average to .484.

Iglesias has been starting ever since, predominantly at third, and Middlebrooks has been dispatched to the minors to play every day and shake off his sophomore slump. As adept at the hot corner as he was at shortstop, Iglesias has made just two errors all year and snatched up every ball hit anywhere in his zip code. He's even played three flawless games at second base.

The bloops and bleeders of April are now line drives and shots to the gaps, as he has shown more patience and aggressiveness at the plate. His average was still a ridiculous .451 in mid-June, and stayed over .400 all the way until July 6. Named "Rookie of the Month" for June, he is now a front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year. 

Iglesias (scoring) is at the center of the Sox uprising.

A mini-slump (.270 over the last 10 games) has "dropped" Iglesias down to .384, but he's still had at least one hit in 40 of the 50 games he's played -- in which Boston has gone 33-17. He has 10 doubles and a .917 OPS, and nobody is talking about whether Iglesias can hit MLB pitching anymore. He runs hard out of the box and is a fan favorite.

What's next? Will Iglesias' drop-off continue as pitchers get more of a book on him? Will he find himself back on the bench if Middlebrooks returns from Pawtucket and Drew continues his recent resurgence (.364 over nine games). It seems unlikely.

In a way, Iglesias' fortunes mirror those of his team. The Red Sox, 69-93 last year and picked by most experts for another last-place finish in the AL East, currently possess the best record in baseball at 58-37. Nobody expected it, and no one knows how long it will last.

Will it last? Time will tell.

For now, however, it's a ride everyone -- especially Jose Iglesias -- is enjoying.