It Couldn’t Have Been Worse

I’ve got to say this. I just have to.
I’m ashamed to be a part of Red Sox Nation right now.
Tony Graffanino has been such a vital cog of the offense since arriving to Boston. He fits into the offense PERFECTLY, better than Bellhorn ever did. Batting ninth for us, he’s the best #9 hitter in baseball. Period. He’s got enough patience to deserve being a Red Sox, and he’s always stung the ball with power. This isn’t a slap hitter. He’s no MVP candidate, but he hit .319/.355/.457 for us … and we’re CRUCIFYING him.
Crucifying a man who made three errors for us all season at second. .987 FPCT, 4.90 RF, .805 ZR.
Crucifying someone when we were still two runs up. David Wells says blame him for the curveball. I’m not blaming anyone for the loss (some comments I’ve heard in Boston today are just vicious … chill out!) but he’s more of a mark than Graffanino. Blame our offense. One run in four innings, that’s all we had to do. And Graffanino had the only hit in the ninth, a double.
If Tony Graffanino ends up the scapegoat for the 2005 season, I will have to question the mental aptitude of the fanbase that I proudly call myself a part of.