One of the most interesting abilities exhibited by the Red Sox this year has been their knack of “pulling rabbits out of hats.” The latest one is Aaron Cook. The 33-year-old injury-plagued hurler, who went into Friday’s contest with a 9.39 ERA, proceeded to throw a complete-game 2-0 shutout over the Mariners.
At 34-47, Seattle has one of the worst records in baseball. Outside of Ichiro, their lineup is made up of comparative nobodies. But Cook’s performance, rare even for the likes of Justin Verlander and Felix Hernandez, is a welcome surprise. On the same subject, the Sox inability to beat poor teams has often kept them out of the postseason- we all remember the meltdown against the Orioles at the end of last year. Some of us old-timers recall that in the infamous late season fold of 1978, sore-armed reliever Bill Campbell gave up a two-run single to Toronto’s immortal Rick Bosetti, producing a 5-4 loss to a squad that won only 60 games.
The second, and perhaps more important Sox ability to win on the road. Their present road mark is 21-16, one of the best in the league. For many years, Boston was a poor to average road team, even in some of their top seasons. This was often blamed on their inability to reach fences in big ballparks, where power is less important than in Fenway. To me as a fan, they often seemed less focused and aggressive away from Boston. But the present group, including young and aggressive players like Daniel Nava and Will Middlebrooks don’t seem to care where they play right now- they find ways to win.
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