Saturday, June 4, 2011

What a Difference a Month Makes


Red Sox, for a moment, I believe I spotted your doppelganger (the winning portion). Thank gosh Red Sox fans are too quick to praise and too quick to judge. Thank gosh for the month of May 2011 the Sox gave them reasons to. We’re only 100 some-odd games away from post season, but oh, how I love May- you’re either clicking or you’re… the ’09 Pirates. 
Some stories of May that will make you think.

            From suckage to awesomeness. WINNING is the Sox new mentality. Who ever’s slipping them the win juice don’t stop. (And no, I am not accusing of the ‘riods, but damn)
            The Red Sox win in all sorts of fashions. The hard, the close, the not at all- the rare but always welcome easy. Who knew come the May/June transition it would be the annihilation win that fans would witness with 14 run games.
            The Red Sox have scored 14 runs in back-to-back games for the eighth time since 1920, the first time since 1998. What’s even better for sports writers and not better for fan’s ulcers is this comes in a season where the Sox started out with less happy statistics. The longest losing streak to start a season, or it felt like it with an embarrassing 0-6 start that evolved to a 2-10 beginning.
            But an offensive explosion has happened and at least for three games it is having an atomic bomb effect for the batting order. The Sox recorded a seven game win streak then had a slip up to the Cubs and NOW- well now I’m in heaven and all of Boston can breathe again.

            That was a little snippet to my larger commentary to the Red Sox turnaround. Then Lester happened. Again.            
            “Jon Lester is the best left-handed pitcher in baseball.”
That’s at least what some commentators from MLB Network think… or thought. ESPN Power rankings had revealed Boston at a solid third place, the only people that disagreed thought the Sox should be at second. 
        Carl Crawford was dubbed the best hitter in the league. He batted .423 with three homers, eight RBI’s in seven games and was named AL player of the week last week. It’s hard to think, when a few games ago hearing, “Crawford is 0 for four on the night” was a regular saying.
            What a difference a month makes. Or, for the Sox, what a difference one game makes.
            When their last winning streak ended to the Cubs in game two of the series, it was okay because then Boston fans saw it as a fluke and a thankful pinch of reality as fans knew greatness was close.
            Then it happened and a dormant Boston offense awoke with a fierce fury of bats. Those in Bean town secretly chuckled remembering distant memories of panic in an early losing season. Remember when we were worried? pssh.
            It was a wonderful sight to behold as Ortiz, Gonzalez, Youk, Pedrioa, the ever consistent Ellsbury and of course Crawford became a confident front. A look at the past and the turnaround was a true manifestation of the sport’s great power to take control of those who should have been in control all along. But at least for May, the batting order that once evoked goose bumps in early expectation, were doing exactly what they were expected- with even more results then imagined.

            Which brings us back to Monday May 30, 2011, the cusp to another month. Another reminder that the winds of summer are coming and this is a long season.
            This brings us back to the glorious accolades Lester received before a darkly witnessed Sox loss handed by a team with a seven game win streak. Almost as large as Boston’s once-upon-a-time win streak. Now that goes back to 0.
            The series was not lost after game one but more people looked at the mechanics that were so greatly admired in the left-handed pitcher that did Lester no good on Sunday, especially in the sixth inning. Try telling of his infallible greatness to Red Sox nation who worried every time he took to the mound, try telling the four batters he hit on Sunday alone.

            This game, especially when the ball rests in dominated hands is an imperfect game. Especially when it takes one inning to turn back the clocks of perfection.
            The Chi Sox series was lost in a dominant sweep, and a brief stint at first is now just a memory. No, it’s not the end of the world, but Boston has lost its fourth straight for the first time since a six-game, season-opening slide. Well damn it.
            A new month, a new power ranking, a new series. Nothing is certain in sport and I for one just realized June is barely waving it’s welcome into the summer portion of the season. And just like the sound of an enemy home run smacking the Green Monster’s wall, a loss now is a rude push back to the reality of the game.
             
            Ebbs and flows of a season are the tugs and pulls on the passion of baseball fans. You can be on the top of the world, then come crashing down. Rockies fans know this toll well. In April the Rockies pulled away with a dazzling record and spots on ESPN’s top plays. But May would be a struggle of pitching, injuries and double headers. And still, star Ubaldo Jimenez was battling his own demons and a win drought dating back to September 2010.
            Rediscovering success and proving your own mind wrong can be the biggest battles an athlete can face. On June 1st, the first day into a new month, Jimenez sent 14 in a row back to the dugout and struck out seven and walked no one for the first time this season- this being his 10th start. He kept batters off balance and recorded his third career shutout, the last one in May 2010.
            Jimenez’s smile that June night was that of a man who could breathe for the first time in a long time, of an athlete that was reminded that no matter the deficit- persistence and focus will reward you eventually. He proved to himself at the age of 27 he, thankfully, could still pitch.

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