Thoughts of an idle mind

Sorry for the radio silence on my part on the site the last week. A much overdue and needed vacation and some time on the beach has me ready for the second half of the season.
Given that I’ve not been able to watch the team since the second game in New York, I figured that the best format for my thoughts upon re-entry to “non-beach and golf filled” real world was a little free form reaction to the first half of the season and a look forward to second half as teams jockey for position heading into the stretch run.

• Coming into the Tampa Bay massacre before the holiday weekend, I mentioned that a worse case scenario would see the Red Sox swept away in the Trop and splitting in New York. I also thought that even with having lost five of seven in that critical stretch, the Red Sox would feel some comfort back at home against Minnesota and Baltimore. As I played out the scenarios, I couldn’t see the Red Sox entering the All-Star break more than five games out of the Tampa Bay Rays in the A.L. East.
  As we watched the Sox drop five out of seven to their A.L. East rivals, I couldn’t believe that my worst case scenario was in fact playing out. And while I had encouraged you all to “take the long view” as that is what the Red Sox themselves would do, I started to feel a little panic and doubt creep into my psyche. Of course, just as usual, a trip to Fenway would cure most all woes that strike the team when they are on the road and the Red Sox nicely rebounded with five out of six on their way to the All-Star break. But with the way the Rays were playing, would that be enough?
  Paul and I have often talked on the podcast about the Rays and could they keep this all together for the long haul? Our theory was that this was and is a very good Rays team and that they are going to be in contention all year long. But we also believed that we would see this Rays team hit a bump in the road and that due to their youth and inexperience playing from the lead, that bump could turn quickly into a slide, derailing the Tampa Bay Express that was barreling away from the Red Sox.
  I certainly didn’t expect the train to fall off the tracks so quickly and as the Red Sox saw themselves slipping five games out of first place, I was prepared to be in second place come the All-Star break. A seven game losing streak later, and the Red Sox have reclaimed their spot at the top of the A.L. East.
• Thank goodness I was on vacation as the “Barry Bonds” rumors began to run amok. I don’t know that I could have handled Barry to Boston talk with any semblance of objectivity. While I played the part as foil to Paul’s emotional reaction in this week’s podcast, I found myself falling further in line Paul’s raw emotional reaction as the though of Barry in the home white’s crystallized in my mind’s eye. This is something that I could not stand for and it would be a blight on my opinion of this organization. Sometimes, win at all cost isn’t the best strategy. This is one of those times.
• Viva le Lowrie!!!! I don’t know if the elation of the Red Sox righting the ship or if the news that Julio Lugo would see an extended DL stint was better news to gather from afar over my time away. I know that starters losing their jobs to rookies because of injury is not common practice, but if Lowrie can hit as consistently as he did earlier this season when he filled in for Mike Lowell, I think you have to officially hand him the job.
• Just as I was about to start ripping Manny Ramirez and his sub-.280 average, I was saved by a week in blogging limbo. It would appear that my vacation not only allowed me to recharge, but it also saved me from having to eat crow by calling out Manny Ramirez. There’s nothing quite like a locked in Manny Ramirez.
• My first half MVP has to be shared between Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew.
• Rumors of a Mark Teixeira for Kevin Youkilis and Craig Hansen deal are out there. The Braves supposedly put it on the table and the Red Sox said no. I don’t think that their saying no had anything to do with Craig Hansen’s inclusion in the conversation.
• How C.C. Sabathia and Rich Harden can trade uniforms and neither end up in Tampa Bay or New York boggles my mind. But for the Red Sox, just that fact alone makes them the big winners early returns from the A.L. East trade deadline positioning.
• Just wait until Papi’s bat is back in this lineup. I think his loss cost this team five plus wins in June and early July.
• I looked at Daisuke Matsuzaka’s line last night (6 IP, 0 runs, 4 hits, 5 walks, 7 K’s, 115 pitches) and I didn’t bat an eye. Is there a pitcher in baseball that is so uncomfortably dominant? Can he continue to be wild and put up zeros? Does anyone else find watching Dice K near unbearable?
• Justin Masterson will be one piece to the bullpen in the second half of the season, but I think there will be more moves made to shore up the seventh and eighth innings.
• Is Jonathan Papelbon afraid of his splitter? He’s not finishing people as well of late and I think it’s because he’s lost the split. He throws many more sliders and fastballs when ahead with two strikes. I think he’s afraid of the non-splitting splitter.

Enjoy the All-Star break everyone. No matter what you think of the All-Star game and the surrounding fanfare, take this opportunity to soak in Yankee Stadium while you still can.