When you look back at the 2008 Boston Red Sox, the performances of A.L. MVP Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, and Jon Lester jump out at you as stand outs. Heap all the accolades in the world at that group of players.
They are worthy of all of them… save the 2009 Fire Brand of the American League Award, in which voting opens today (check the sidebar to cast your vote after reading the case for the three candidates).
It’s not that they aren’t deserving of such honor, its that the very nature of the FBotAL Award
precludes them from being a part of the conversation.
“The Fire Brand of the
American League is a Red Sox player who exhibits character under
pressure, an unassuming man who leaves the spotlight for other people but makes his indelible mark on the past season’s Boston Red Sox. A piece most people take for granted, but whom we would have missed dearly.”
While Manny Ramirez may have contributed to more wins at the plate (in the eyes of Win Probability)
than any other member of the 2008 Red Sox, it was his exit from Boston that will be recalled in the tomes of Red Sox history past as the defining moment of the season.
Enter the “unassuming man who leaves the spotlight for other people but makes his indelible mark on the 2008 Boston Red Sox”, Jason Bay.
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Jason Bay – Evan Brunell
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The Red Sox’s tear in August and September (34-19, .641 winning percentage) isn’t only attributable to the new face below the Green Monster, but the net effect of his arrival and Manny’s departure, which are now inexorably linked, is impossible to ignore. Bay’s impact would be immediate. If a Fire Brand were to “exhibit character under pressure”, how about game one in a Red Sox uniform to set the tone.
After
drawing two walks and scoring the Red Sox’s only run, Bay came to the plate in the bottom of the 12th inning with two outs and no one on. After ripping a triple high off the Monster in right-center field, Bay would cross the plate with the winning run off the bat of Jed Lowrie.
The ovation was a little unexpected, especially the pregame announcement, and then at the plate, I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to do with that,” Bay would say after the game. “It was very flattering. I hadn’t even played an inning yet and to get that ovation was a pretty nice little welcome.
This was a man who wouldn’t crave the spotlight, instead perform under its hot light.
two months as a member of the Red Sox, Bay would hit .293, with 9 home runs, 37 runs batted in and 39 runs scored. Over that time, his steady influence filled the chaotic void that had been left by the player he replaced.
Boston, the post-season would be his statement that he was an impact player despite the relative lack of fanfare surrounding him. In 51 post-season plate appearances, Bay would hit .341 with 14 hits (3 doubles, 3 home runs, 10 walks) and a 1.105 OPS.
remembered for the exit of the sure fire Hall of Famer that proceeded him, Jason Bay’s arrival was as much the indelible mark on the season as Ramirez’ departure. For that and his performance under the glare of a pennant race in Boston, I nominate Jason Bay for the 2009 Fire Brand of the American League award.
— Tim Daloisio
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Coco Crisp – Evan Brunell
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Coco Crisp doesn’t just deserve this year’s Fire Brand award, he
lived every part of the mission statement. Crisp was as good as gone
after Jacoby Ellsbury took his starting position in spring training,
but the front office was unable to secure any players that would
justify losing his role on the team. You never heard Coco publicly
complain or saw him privately sulk (I’m lookin’ at you, Nomar) throughout
the entire season. Instead, he exuded pure professionalism and
dedication while playing numerous outfield position to compensate for
injuries or poor performance.
guy’ in the game, think about Coco and his performance and handling of
an impossibly difficult situation last year. We would have been in a
lot of trouble if we didn’t have his patience and gold glove-caliber defense to fall back on every time we needed it. Coco’s short
tenure with the team will make him a forgotten piece as the years pass
by; help immortalize his contributions by voting Coco Crisp for the
Fire Brand of the American League award!
— Ryne Crabb
Jason Bay and Coco Crisp are all very deserving candidates, but in trying to think about who deserves the award, I focused on the “most people take for granted” and “leaves the spotlight for others” the most in trying to isolate the person that had a significant impact on the Red Sox.
It wasn’t easy, but there’s a person out there that I think gets short shrift from a lot of fans when the truth is that he was a very important, stabilizing force for the Red Sox last year.
I’m talking about, of course, Javier Lopez.
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Javier Lopez – Evan Brunell
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The left-hander had a 3.10 ERA in 40.2 innings in 2007 but you wouldn’t know it given the hatred many Sox fans had for him. He seemed unable to get any left-handers out and could be counted on to give up a lot of big hits. In 2008, despite the public not changing their feelings for Lopez, he had a far more impact on 2008 that he did 2007.
Lopez’s “reverse splits” in 2007 righted themselves and he was able to serve as a lefty situational guy, freeing up Hideki Okajima for more innings. He was also able to come on and get double play groundballs seemingly at will and gave the Red Sox two bonafide weapons from the left side of the mound out of the bullpen, a luxury most teams don’t have.
He finished 2008 with a 2.43 ERA in 59.3 innings and left 83.8 percent of baserunners on base, up from 76.1 in 2007. He had a great 2.72 GB/FB percentage, up from 1.91 the year before, and also was able to keep the ball in the infield far more often. In 2007, his infield fly rate was 5.9 percent which rose to 7.7 percent in 2008.
He wasn’t always pretty — he gave up 2.3 percent more infield hits and actually saw his BB/9 rise from 3.98 to 4.10, but he never rocked the boat, he came out and did his job and was an important member of a bullpen staff that can be considered among the best in the league.
— Evan Brunell
The three nominees for the 2009 Fire Brand of the Year Award, held by Mike Lowell for 2008, are Jason Bay, Coco Crisp and Javier Lopez. The poll is open to the right on the sidebar, vote away!
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