Jamie Pote's Boston Red Sox fan blog

Make no mistake about it, last night’s come from behind win was awesome. Games like that, home runs like that and game winning hits like that don’t come around too often – certainly not in do-or-die American League Championship Games.

That being said, we can’t get carried away with the Red Sox. They still need to win two more games – both on the road, and both against a team that continues to slug away with home runs after home runs. Boston still has to face a very good pitcher in James Shields, and then should they win Game Six, they will then face flamethrower Matt Garza, who sat the Sox batters down as if they had never held a bat before.

So now comes the big question? Will Manager Terry Francona have enough guts to make the proper move of starting Jon Lester tomorrow night? That’s a move he should and has to make. We can’t get ahead of ourselves – you can’t get to Game Seven, unless you win Game Six. Jon Lester has been the team’s true ace all season long. He’s been the most consistent pitcher all season long. Josh Beckett isn’t the same pitcher he was last year. He’s not 100 percent healthy, so why take the risk? I think Lester’s poor outing in Game Three was more due to the fact of having extra rest, instead of having his normal four days off. He’s back to that schedule, so Terry please give him the damn ball!

Continue reading "Game Six decision"

Just a few observations or notes from Monday's dreadful Sox loss.

1). Jacoby Ellsbury no longer hits the ball on the ground or to the opposite field. The Red Sox offense will continue to struggle as long as he tries to pull everything. He needs to set the table, and he’s only going to get on base by going the other way.

2). Losing 9-1 in the last inning, how come Sean Casey wasn’t inserted as a pinch-hitter? He’s on the roster to pinch-hit, I assume for either Jason Varitek or Kevin Cash late in games, so why not give him a shot in a meaningless situation, so he’s not so rusty in a meaningful situation?

3). Jason Varitek may be one of the best defensive catchers I’ve ever seen (I always was a Tony Pena fan though). The Sox should resign him for the next two years. His offense is terrible, but did anyone ever talk about Mark Belanger’s or Dave Concepcion’s offense? You need to have one player in the line-up everyday in a prime position, who can play defense and ‘Tek certainly can catch.

Continue reading "Observations/Notes from Game 3 loss"

Before the Red Sox and Rays went into extra innings the other night, I was thinking how I’ve been so critical of manager Terry Francona over the years. Since day one, I never thought he was a great manager. He inherited a team that was one out away from going to the World Series, which added Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke to the pitching staff. Anyone with half of a baseball brain could have managed that team to a title.

Since that 2004 season, slowly but surely I started to give him credit. I have always thought that he does a fantastic job keeping the team together, handling all 25 personalities, and keeping things sane, especially in the very over the top Boston atmosphere.

Francona then seemed to win me over last year when he led the team to its second World Series title, something no one has been able to do in over 100 years. In order to capture that second title last year, the Sox desperately needed its younger players to be big contributors and they were. Jonathan Papelbon and Kevin Youkilis really emerged as front-line everyday players, and then the play of Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Manny Delcarmen, most especially late in the season, provided the depth the Red Sox needed to win three post-season series. As much as Theo Epstein and his staff deserve the credit for bringing in all of these young stars, Francona certainly deserves so much of the credit for bringing these guys along, because after all, they have all become fantastic players in a short amount of time.

Continue reading "Francona's blunder"

The year 1986 was a lot of fun. I was 12 years old back then, and was a sixth grader at the Wildwood School. That was the time in your life when all you did was play stickball, and cut out new pictures of Christie Brinkley to hang up in your locker. Back in Elementary School, I was by far the biggest Red Sox fan anyone knew. I even remember the time when my fourth grade teacher, Miss Souza, took my best friend Chris and I to two Sox games that year. The first game was against the Orioles in June, and the second one was when Bill Buckner caught the pop up at first base, allowing Boston to celebrate the American League East Pennant with the win over the Blue Jays.That win pushed the Sox into the post-season, and back then, 22 years ago this month, that was the first time in my lifetime (I wa

Continue reading "Much like 1986"

For most of last year when he pitched, and even in 2006, Jon Lester struggled with his command, his control and never seemed to get out of the fourth or fifth inning. He was the typical young starter coming up from Triple A, and the typical fifth starter. But what we witnessed Wednesday night, is more than a transformation of a young guy getting more experience and getting more confident every time out. He's turned into one of the best left-handed starters in baseball. How many times did Lester wipe his glove against his face, look down on the rubber, reel back and fire a fastball right past a number of very talented Angels' hitters? Lester was nearly untouchable. He has been over the course of this season. It's strange to think that last December and January so many of us Red Sox fans wer

Continue reading "Lester's performance"