I've always felt that a baseball team can't be judged until the mid summer classics final out is made. You can't get too high or too low on any player (except Wily Mo Pena who can't throw, catch, hit, run, jump, or breathe like a normal person) or be too content with what may seem like an insurmountable lead in the divisional standings. Now that the Boston Red Sox are starting to round themselves out and are really looking like a team that could cause some commotion in October, I've decided to compare this year's team to the 2004 World Series Champions. The only way to ultimately determine which team is better would be to break down the two teams and then stack them back up. The categories to do this are: starting rotation, bullpen, hitting, defense, and the rest of the competition.
Starting Rotation- 2004- Derek Lowe, Pedro, Schilling, Wakefield, and Bronson Arroyo.
2007- Josh Beckett, Schilling, Dice-K, Wakefield, and Julian Tavarez.
Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield are the two constants on both rotations but while Wakefield is currently banging out another consistently productive year, Curt Schilling has only won 6 games this season and is currently on the DL with a shoulder problem. He won 21 games in '04 and but it's not something to be too concerned about if your a Red Sox fan. If the Yankees were within a game or two of Boston, Schilling's return would be much more imminent, but since we're ahead by 9, Theo Epstein and Terry Francona are able to slow his return back and get him comfortable for the playoffs.
Josh Beckett will be at the top of the Cy Young candidate list by the end of the season. He's 13-4 with an ERA under 3.30 and is just starting to reach his potential as a dominant power pitcher in the American League. Not to mention he's only 25.
Daisuke Matsuzaka is one of the most impressive pitchers on the entire staff and not counting his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays, has pitched pretty good lately. Dice's game is often likened to Pedro Martinez being that both of them use a lot of off speed pitches while at the same time are able to rear back in the 7th inning and fire a 95 mph fastball.
The number 5 pitchers are a wash, although I personally prefer Tavarez and in the end Dice-K and Josh Beckett are much better than an aging Pedro Martinez and an inconsistent Derek Lowe. Throw in the return of Jon Lester and you've got arguably the best rotation in baseball.
Edge- 2007
Bullpen- What do David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, and Dave Roberts all have in common? Not one of them was more important to the Red Sox winning the World Series than closer Keith Foulke. He may not have the best stuff or the most intimidating wind up, but Foulke was brilliant in 2004 when the Red Sox needed him the most. With that being said, the three headed dragon consisting of Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, and Jonathan Papelbon is the surest plan for success since the 2007 New England Patriots. Today's addition of Eric Gagne only makes this bullpen deeper and more dangerous. If the Red Sox go into the 6th inning with any kind of lead the opposition might as well pack it in.
Edge- 2007
Hitting- This is a very tough category to breakdown without relying solely on statistics but I'll do my best. Both lineups revolve around David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez's power production although the two haven't been hitting as well as they can so far this season. Manny will turn things around but I'm not so sure about Big Papi. Barry Bonds told him that the moment he hit 50 home-runs in a season, managers weren't exactly jumping at the chance to throw too many strikes his way regardless of who was batting behind him. Add that to the fact that he's playing on a torn meniscus and is planning on having surgery once the seasons over and you might conclude that the days of David Ortiz hitting 40 home runs in a season are behind us.
Starting Rotation- 2004- Derek Lowe, Pedro, Schilling, Wakefield, and Bronson Arroyo.
2007- Josh Beckett, Schilling, Dice-K, Wakefield, and Julian Tavarez.
Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield are the two constants on both rotations but while Wakefield is currently banging out another consistently productive year, Curt Schilling has only won 6 games this season and is currently on the DL with a shoulder problem. He won 21 games in '04 and but it's not something to be too concerned about if your a Red Sox fan. If the Yankees were within a game or two of Boston, Schilling's return would be much more imminent, but since we're ahead by 9, Theo Epstein and Terry Francona are able to slow his return back and get him comfortable for the playoffs.
Josh Beckett will be at the top of the Cy Young candidate list by the end of the season. He's 13-4 with an ERA under 3.30 and is just starting to reach his potential as a dominant power pitcher in the American League. Not to mention he's only 25.
Daisuke Matsuzaka is one of the most impressive pitchers on the entire staff and not counting his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays, has pitched pretty good lately. Dice's game is often likened to Pedro Martinez being that both of them use a lot of off speed pitches while at the same time are able to rear back in the 7th inning and fire a 95 mph fastball.
The number 5 pitchers are a wash, although I personally prefer Tavarez and in the end Dice-K and Josh Beckett are much better than an aging Pedro Martinez and an inconsistent Derek Lowe. Throw in the return of Jon Lester and you've got arguably the best rotation in baseball.
Edge- 2007
Bullpen- What do David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, and Dave Roberts all have in common? Not one of them was more important to the Red Sox winning the World Series than closer Keith Foulke. He may not have the best stuff or the most intimidating wind up, but Foulke was brilliant in 2004 when the Red Sox needed him the most. With that being said, the three headed dragon consisting of Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, and Jonathan Papelbon is the surest plan for success since the 2007 New England Patriots. Today's addition of Eric Gagne only makes this bullpen deeper and more dangerous. If the Red Sox go into the 6th inning with any kind of lead the opposition might as well pack it in.
Edge- 2007
Hitting- This is a very tough category to breakdown without relying solely on statistics but I'll do my best. Both lineups revolve around David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez's power production although the two haven't been hitting as well as they can so far this season. Manny will turn things around but I'm not so sure about Big Papi. Barry Bonds told him that the moment he hit 50 home-runs in a season, managers weren't exactly jumping at the chance to throw too many strikes his way regardless of who was batting behind him. Add that to the fact that he's playing on a torn meniscus and is planning on having surgery once the seasons over and you might conclude that the days of David Ortiz hitting 40 home runs in a season are behind us.
The Red Sox of 2007 are in desperate need of another big bat. Mike Lowell, Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis have all been great so far but do those three combined with Manny and Papi have what it takes to take the crown? Only time holds the answer but no sane Red Sox fan would turn down another legitimate bat presence. Guys like Jermaine Dye, Ken Griffey Jr., or Mark Teixera would be great additions to the team but not at the expense of a Jon Lester or Clay Buckholz. Parting with Kason Gabbard looks like the most logical option.
The team of 2004 had a great lead off hitter, a better Jason Varitek, and a healthy David Ortiz.
Edge- 2004
Defense- Baseball writer Bill James once said that an error is "the only major statistic in sports which is a record of what an observer thinks should have been accomplished". Starting with the outfield: in left, Manny's been Manny since day 1 (as shown in this wildly entertaining clip). He has his fair share of critics but Manny only gets better every year playing in the Green Monster's shadow. He knows how to play the wall better than anybody in the game but never receives his due credit. His quick flick of the elbow throw to the infield looks like a second basemen turning a double play but the ball still gets there with pin point accuracy 9 times out of 10.
Out in center, Johnny Damon displayed fairly consistent defense while holding down center field but his arm was definitely suspect. Any fly ball to Damon with a man on second or third resulted in a sacrifice because absolutely no base runners are going to respect a player who throws like a T-Rex. Right now we have Coco Crisp roaming center. The way he chases what seem like certain base hits reminds me of a bullfrog settled on a lily pad snatching an unfortunate insect out of the sky. His arm isn't the greatest, but his superior athleticism compared to Johnny Damon puts him over the edge.
Out in right field we had one of the biggest Boston sports cult figures of all time with Trot Nixon. When I say cult figure, I mean that Nixon had such a great legion of loyal fans but with no other reasons other than his name was "Trot Nixon" (one of the greatest baseball names of all time) and the fact that every single night he hustled harder than Killa Cam.
It's 2007 now and the Red Sox are stuck with J.D. Drew. In the field, he's looked fine, but at the plate it's a whole different story. If the Red Sox needed a big hit with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Drew would be the absolute last player I'd want to see in the batters box. Statistically he's headed for one of the worst seasons in his career, but I still have an elephant's brain worth of hope that he'll start playing like a guy making 14 million dollars sometime in September.
Our infield this season has been great with Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, and Julio Lugo gobbling up ground balls, but Mike Lowell's had a forgetful season defensively. With his contract ending after this season, more than likely he won't be in a Red Sox uniform next season.
Edge- Wash
Opponents- Coming off their first round sweep of the Angels in 2004, the Boston Red Sox looked very, very solid. All they had to do was defeat the dreaded Yankees in what had looked like to most Sox fans as a "Groundhog's Day" American League Championship Series. Through some clutch hits, serious perseverance, and an important stolen base or two, Boston came back from a 3-0 deficit in the series to win in 7 games. What they achieved was nothing short of magical and could not have been scripted better. They then went onto sweep Tony La Russa's Cardinals in the World Series and complete one of the greatest two week spans of my life.
As good as we are this season, the competition around the league has also risen. The American League Central has officially overtaken the A.L. East in becoming the toughest division in baseball. The Angels out west are looking very tough to beat with one of the best bullpens in the league and a former Red Sox mercenary at short.
The Indians and Tigers are looking very tough right now with their starting pitching, strong bullpens, and timely hitting, but the Sox can definitely compete with the best.
Edge- 2007
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