2008 BOSTON RED SOX
THE RAYS and A ONE WAY TICKET TO "MANNY-WOOD" ...
 

The Red Sox were the defending World Champions, but this defense felt different. In 2005, there was a hangover of good will but also so major cosmetic changes to the team. The deep pitching staff that won 2004 was not the same.  The 2008 team were bringing back the pitching staff intact. In fact with a full year from Jon Lester, they looked stronger. Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell were all back. They were going to get a full season from Jacoby Ellsbury. And J. D. Drew could only improve. There were no major changes from the 2007 team that just won the World Series. The only free agent signed was Sean Casey, and the only omission from the pitching staff was Curt Schilling, who was on the payroll but unable to play. And of course there was Manny Ramirez and his contract. Everyone knew that Manny needed to be treated with kid gloves, but maybe playing for a contract was what the team needed from him.

This was a season with a most unusual beginning. The earliest season opener in history had New England-based Sox fans watching the first pitch of the season at 6:10 on the morning of March 25th. The team was in the Tokyo Dome playing the Oakland A’s. Rookie Brandon Moss sent the game into extra inning where Manny Ramirez won it with a walk-off base hit.

They then came back to the United States to resume their exhibition schedule, playing an exhibition game with the Dodgers, celebrating their 50th anniversary, at the Los Angeles Coliseum, in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a baseball game -  115,300.

Kevin Youkilis set a new major-league record when the Sox played Oakland again, but this time in Oakland. He played his 194th consecutive errorless game at first base. The last time Youkilis had made an error at first was on July 4, 2006.

Then the Sox then went to Toronto and played in the Blue Jays' home opener on April 4th, and was the seventh time in 10 games that the team had lined up on the basepaths for pre-game introductions. They were swept in Toronto and questions about the bullpen were raised.

With all this travel, the Red Sox still had to wait until April 8th for their own home opener, so they could line up once more and raise the 2007 pennant. Out came Bill Russell, Bobby Orr and Chief Johnny Bucyk carrying the Stanley Cup, Danny Ainge hauling the Larry O'Brien Trophy, Tedy Bruschi holding one of the Lombardi Trophies, and Curtis Lescanic sharing the 2004 World Series trophy with Dave McCarty. According to Red Sox research, it was the first time the four trophies were in one location simultaneously. Bill Buckner was absolved of his part in "The Curse of the Bambino" and threw out the first pitch.

As he’d done in Tokyo, Daisuke Matsuzaka won the Fenway Park opener and would go on to have his best season in the majors. He would go 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA, a big step up from his first season.

Mike Lowell became an early DL casualty when he hurt his thumb, going into the stands, pursuing a foul pop against the Tigers.  Alex Cora soon joined him with a strained elbow.  David Ortiz, coming back from off-season surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, and with shortened preparation time, slumped early, going 3 for 39 (.077) after two weeks. 

It was learned that a mason born in the Bronx, according to the New York Post buried a David Ortiz jersey in the concrete foundation of the visitors' clubhouse of New Yankees Stadium.  It was excavated and put up for auction.

While Ortiz slumped, Manny came though.  On April 12th and again on April 14th, Manny supplied walk-off hits to bring the Sox from behind to win the ballgames.  On April 17th, he knocked out two home runs at Yankee Stadium. On April 18th, against the Rangers, Ortiz finally broke out.  He had entered the game batting a paltry .111 and on this night went 2 for 4 with a grandslam homer.  The next night, April 19th, he and Manny Ramirez took apart the Rangers again.

Leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury was starting to heat up with his bat and with his legs. On April 22nd he knocked out two home runs, and was 17 for 17 in stolen bases to start his major league career.  Along with Dustin Pedroia, who was leading the league in batting (.364), they engineered the Sox 10th comeback win of the season, and 11th win in 12 games, opening up a three game lead in the A.L. East.

But the pitching was still iffy.  With a flu bug going through the club house, rookies David Pauley and Justin Masterson both had a chance to start games in April. The Sox then lost five in a row, including a sweep by the Rays, and slipped out of first place. Mike Lowell came back, just as his replacement Sean Casey went down, but Mike Timlin became a concern, with a bad back, taking another loss (2-2) with a 13.50 ERA in nine appearances.

The last games in April were all about the pitchers, because the bats went silent (.153 BA). Clay Buchholz struck out a career-high 13, taking a one-hitter into the eighth on April 26th, only to lose to the Rays 2-1.  Jon Lester pitched seven shutout innings of one-hit ball as the Sox came back home on April 29th and got what they needed. After going 23 straight innings and scoring just one run, they got a big run with a dramatic ninth inning walk-off win over the Blue Jays, from the bat of Kevin Youkilis, to win 1-0, highlighting a dramatic pitching duel between Lester and Roy Halladay. And finally on April 30th, it was Dice-K who was pitching a two-hitter, with another dramatic walk-off last inning win, 2-1, courtesy of Jason Varitek.  The Sox finished the month with a slim 1/2 game lead.

May started with the Red Sox bats coming to life with three blowouts against Tampa.  Jon Lester was getting more productive, beating the Rays on May 4th, having allowed just five hits over has last 14 innings with a 0.64 ERA. The team batted .368 during the sweep of the Rays.

The Sox continued winning in Detroit, taking three of four.  The one loss came on a fumble by Julio Lugo, ranked at the bottom of all defensive categories for big-league shortstops. He had the most errors (9), the lowest fielding percentage (.919), was last in assists per nine innings (2.36), and last in range factor (3.49).

Matsuzaka upped his record to 4-0, but in the process had given up 22 hits and 27 walks, while David Ortiz batted .423 (11 for 26) in his last six games, with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs, and Kevin Youkilis bombed four home runs in the series. The Sox opened up their lead to 3 1/2 games.

The Sox went into Minnesota and Jonathan Papelbon blew his second consecutive save on May 9th. Manny Delcarmen (6.75 ERA) and Mike Timlin (11.05 ERA) struggled, and so far this season, Hideki Okajima inherited 14 runners on base when he had entered to pitch, and 11 had scored. That's 78.6 percent, the worst rate in the majors. 

The Sox wound up the trip in Baltimore and left for home, having lost four in a row. Errors by shortstop Julio Lugo figured prominently and Clay Buchholz was lit up twice and then went on the DL with a torn fingernail. The Sox came back to Boston in second place, one game behind the Rays.

The Sox came home to sweep a doubleheader against the Brewers on May 17th, with Dice-K upping his record to 7-0 with a 2.15 ERA. On May 19th, Jon Lester threw a no hitter against the Kansas City Royals, a record fourth no-no caught by Jason Varitek.  Justin Masterson followed on the next day with a pitching gem of his own. Dice-K completed the sweep of the Royals with his eighth win, staying undefeated (8-0).  It was a game where the Sox had two grandslam homers (Mike Lowell and J. D. Drew), a feat much rarer than a no-hitter.  The seven-game sweep of the Brewers and Royals ran the Sox' home record to 21-5, best in the majors and best for the Sox since the '78 team started 22-4.

Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka picked up the slack for Josh Beckett, whose numbers and effectiveness dipped. Bartolo Colon was called in and helped also. 

The Sox went out to the west coast at the end of May and were silenced by good pitching in Oakland and were swept.  They then went up to Seattle and lost 2 of 3, losing first place to the Rays. Tim Wakefield threw his 30th career complete game, losing the finale, 1-0. It was the Sox eighth loss in their last nine road games, with a team batting average of .169  And as the month ended, Matsuzaka (8-0) moved on the DL with a rotator cuff strain.

The team came back east and in Baltimore on May 31st, Manny Ramirez hit home run #500, joining Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx, the only other Red Sox to reach that plateau. 

The Sox returned from the three-city, 10-game trip with a 4-6 record, ready to face the Tampa Bay Rays, who lead the AL East by 1 1/2 games. They came home without David Ortiz, who went on the 15-day disabled list with a tear in a tendon sheath in his left wrist.

Tampa Bay was a nice story, but nobody thought they could last the whole season against the World Champs. Tampa Bay had been in first place or tied for first 22 days this season, a full week longer than the Rays' combined total for their first 10 seasons. Ten straight seasons of more than 90 losses, including three years of 100 or more, is a daunting counterweight to the proposition that the Rays now rate as serious contenders in the American League East simply because they've played well for two months.

The Sox and Rays brawled in Fenway and clashed on and off the field.  On June 5th, the second pitch to Coco Crisp from Rays starter James Shields struck the batter's upper right thigh. For a second, Crisp hesitated. He dropped his bat. Then he dropped his helmet and rushed the mound. Crisp's head snapped back, Matrix-style, as Shields swung and missed with a right. Crisp landed a punch. The benches then cleared. The brawl was the latest Sox-Rays conflagration triggered by beanballs, acrimony that dated back several years.

Then there was an intramural squabble. Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez got into it in the dugout. There was shouting, and Ramirez was trying to get at Youkilis while being restrained by trainer Paul Lessard and bench coach Brad Mills.

The Sox swept the Rays and went on to complete the homestand, 7-2, with a 2 1/2 game lead over Tampa.  J. D. Drew and Ramirez were hot and combined to hit .444 (32 for 72), with 11 home runs and 28 RBIs.  Jon Lester (5-3) allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last nine starts (4-1, 2.34 ERA).

The Sox took 2 of 3 from the Reds in Cincinnati.  In the series, Jacoby Ellsbury broke the Sox team record for stolen bases by a rookie in 1908.  And with Ortiz out, J.D. Drew really picked it up, hitting his seventh home run in his last 11 games on June 18th in Philadelphia. By mid June, in taking the place of the injured Matsuzaka, rookie Justin Masterson made six starts for the Sox, including four straight turns in the rotation. He was 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA, striking out 28 batters in 36 innings. 

Just as the Sox came home and found out that Dice-K was coming off the DL, both Bartolo Colon and Mike Timlin went on it.  The Sox lost two to the Cardinals, and then on June 22nd, Kevin Youkilis knocked out two home runs, one a walk-off game winner in the 13th inning. That was followed two days later on June 24th, as Jason Varitek delivered a walk-off base hit against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But a June drew to a close the Sox found themselves in 2nd place by losing two of three in Houston.  Dustin Pedroia was the majors' hottest hitter, his average over the last 12 games was .528 (28 for 53).

Off the field, Manny Ramirez was becoming a clubhouse problem and trying the patience of everyone. He’d knocked traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the ground while in Houston, when McCormick said he was unsure he could get Ramirez a dozen free tickets to that night's game, a last-minute request. Other issues over the years had included trade requests, controversial absences from All-Star and regular-season games, sometimes lackluster play in left field, and the occasional lack of hustle on ground balls, but never had anything turned into a physical confrontation.

As July started, the Sox were swept in Tampa and split in New York.  Jason Varitek was in the midst of a slump, just 3 for 48 (.063) in his last 15 games. His average plummeted from .295 to .216 in 30 games.  But Kevin Youkilis  and Dustin Pedroia were voted as starters for the American League All Star team.

On July 2nd, Dustin Pedroia blew a chance to hit for the cycle at Tropicana Field. He hit a home run, a triple, and a double in that order, but in fifth time up, he hit a double to left-center field. He could have stopped at first base, and collected the single but instead “overran” the bag. He was trying to win, with the Red Sox were losing at the time.

The Sox came home after going 3-7 on the trip with 6 losses by just one run, to beat the Twins by one run, 1-0, in a pitching gem by Daisuke Matsuzaka on July 7th.  The Sox swept the Twins with a 18 run, 23 hit barrage on July 9th. They then knocked in 12 runs against Baltimore on July 12th.  At the All Star Break the Sox regained first place with Matsuzaka earning his 10th win (in spite of allowing too many walks ... as usual) on July 13th. 

The Sox spent 63 days in first place, at the All Star Break, but never opened more than a 3 1/2-game lead. Just before the break, they fell five games behind the Rays, but in the span of a week, they reclaimed the top spot, winning five of six while the Rays were losing seven in a row. Julio Lugo's lost season took its worst turn with a torn left quadriceps that put him on the DL.  His .945 fielding percentage was the lowest among major league shortstops.  Dustin Pedroia came into the break as the team's hottest hitter, batting a ridiculous .455 in his last 20 games (40 for 88), scoring 22 runs while knocking in 15 during that span.  Jacoby Ellsbury had a league-leading 35 stolen bases.

Sox outfielder J.D. Drew, who hit a tying two-run home run in the seventh, singled, stole a base, and walked in the winning rally, was named the Most Valuable Player in his first All-Star Game appearance.

On July 25th Manny Ramirez simply refused to play in an important against the Yankees, and for the first time in memory, Terry Francona made no effort to excuse his savant slugger. Francona had filled out a lineup card with Manny batting fourth, when Ramirez told bench coach, Brad Mills that his knee was sore and he could not play.  The Yankees beat the Sox, 1-0.  The next night he was back in the line-up and with no offense from the Sox left fielder, who went hitless in four trips, he left hearing a mixture of boos and cheers.  Ramirez had hit safely in his previous 11 games (19 for 39, .487).  The Yankees beat the Sox, 10-3. 

It was Jon Lester (9-3), who clearly had become the ace of the staff, saved the sweep by beating the Yankees on July 27th, by a 9 to 2 score.  Lester won his last six decisions (in nine starts), which gave him the second longest current streak in the major leagues, but Jacoby Ellsbury slowed down. In mid-June, he had 33 steals, had been caught just three times, and had an OBP of .373 in 218 at-bats. Since then, Ellsbury had stolen two bases, been caught four times, and had an OBP of .259.\

The Sox played lack-luster baseball and seemed distracted as the trade deadline loomed.  Manny was spotted in the Sox' dugout with a homemade sign that read, "I'm going to Green Bay for Brett Favre straight up."  They lost 8 of the 12 games played since the All Star break, and again were swept by the Angels, this time at Fenway.  The Sox found themselves three games behind the Rays and now only one ahead of the Yankees as July turned into August.

Frank McCourt, the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and former Boston real estate magnate always enjoyed Ramirez's quirky personality, and wanted to trade for him since spring training.  On July 31st, he was surprised to get a phone message from Larry Lucchino and when the two finished speaking, Manny Ramirez was on his way to Los Angeles.  To complete the deal, the Sox acquired Jason Bay from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen and two prospects from the Dodgers.  The Sox were so glad to get rid of him that they agreed to pay his entire salary. 

Manny packed and joyfully found new life in “Manny-wood”. The trade ended the off the field strife and Jason Bay stepped right in.  In his first game with the Sox, Jason Bay tripled and scored the winning run in the 12th inning against Oakland on August 1st.

The Sox went on to sweep Oakland with Jon Lester (10-3) and Dice-K Matsuzaka (12-2, 3.04 ERA) winning easily.  Lester was named A.L. pitcher of the month for July and was quickly becoming the most dominant left-handed pitcher in the major leagues.

The Sox went on the road and took the two of three games from the Royals and split with the White Sox, with two stellar pitching performances from Josh Beckett and the hot bat of Jacoby Ellsbury, who was also leading the A.L. in stolen bases.  On the other end, Clay Buccholz remained a work in progress, 0-6 with an 8.19 ERA in his last seven starts and losing the both of his games of the Sox road trip, in Kansas City and Chicago.  The Sox remained four games behind the Rays in the A.L. East. 

With Buccholz's problems and stiffness in Tim Wakefield's right shoulder, that sent him to the DL, the Sox purchased Paul Byrd from Cleveland, who had a 4-0 record and 1.24 ERA since the All-Star break.

The first game home against the Rangers on August 12th was on offensive explosion as the Sox won by the football-like score of 19-17.  The Sox scored ten runs in the first inning and the bullpen could not hold the lead.  It was a game where they lead, then trailed, then lead, then trailed and finally won.  David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis each had two home runs.  Youk's second homer was a game winner. The 36 runs tied an American League record.

After losing a couple of games to the Blue Jays, the Sox left for Baltimore.  Jason Bay (20-61, .328 with the Sox) had two homers in another Lester-dominated win, 6 to 3 on August 18th. Jonathan Papelbon's save gave him 105 for his career, moving him into sole possession of second place in Sox history, passing Dick Radatz.

The pitching continued to be highlighted with strong performances by Jon Lester and Matsuzaka.  Dice-K, with his nibbling at the corners and walking batters, remained the best in the game at getting into trouble and getting out of it.  With Lowell already on the DL with an oblique strain, Beckett experiencing tingling in his hand, J.D. Drew experienced back spasms and Sean Casey with nick stiffness, all went on the DL also.  At the end of August the Sox picked up Mark Kotsay from the Braves, as insurance for the injured J.D. Drew and Sean Casey.

On August 29th the Sox pounded the A.L. Central leading, White Sox, 8-0, a two-hitter, thrown by a dominant Dice-K (16-2).  Dustin Pedroia (.322 BA) stuffed the box score with a 4-for-4 effort, three runs (which gave him 104 for the year, breaking Bobby Doerr's team record for a second baseman), two steals, and a diving stab Web Gem.  On the next night, August 30th, it was Pedroia again, reaching base five times for the second night in a row. He went 4 for 4 with a walk (intentional, no less) and spearheaded a 15-hit barrage in an 8-2 debut win for rookie Michael Bowden. The Rays surprisingly, however continued to win also and the Sox remained 4 1/2 games behind them.

The Sox clobbered the last place Orioles as September began and gained some ground on the Rays.  After Pedroia and Big Papi batted down the O's on September 1st and September 2nd, it was more dramatic on September 3rd.  With Alex Cora breaking for third, Jacoby Ellsbury laid down the perfect bunt. The pitcher made an off-balance throw past third, Cora trotted home and the Sox swept with a 5-4 walk-off.  The Sox were now 3 games behind the Rays.

The Sox rolled into Texas and got J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Sean Casey back from the DL.  They took 2 of 3 and closed to 1 1/2 games of first place.  Coco Crisp was hot. He had 21 hits in 45 at-bats, batting .467 and over his last five games was 12 for 19 (.632) while David Ortiz was hitting .326 in his last 24 games. The Sox next came home to face the Rays, 1 1/2 games behind.

On September 8th, Jon Lester (14-5, 2.66 ERA) threw a 3-0 shutout in the first game. The next day, Jonathan Papelbon blew a save in a game the Sox had come from behind in, a dramatic finish to game that the Rays won in the ninth inning, 5 to 4.  A 14th inning home run by the Rays' Carlos Pena in the third game, gave Tampa two wins in the three game showdown.

The Blue Jays followed the Rays to Fenway and the Sox took 3 of the 4 games they played.  In the process, Dustin Pedroia collected his 200th hit and 50th double of the season, while Jon Lester (15-5) picked up another win.

The Sox then faced the Rays in Tropicana field and bombed them with six home runs on September 15th.  The next night the Rays bounced back with a ninth inning walk-off.  On the final night, it was all Tampa Bay, as they blasted Tim Wakefield, 10-3.  So after the two series going head-to-head, the Sox came out losing four of the six games played and finishing 2 games behind.

The Sox took 2 of 3 from Toronto, came home and took 3 of 4 from Cleveland and the best they could do was clinch the "wild card", as the Rays clinched the A.L. East.  While the Yankees came to Fenway to finish out the season, there was no drama and nothing to play for.  The highlight of the series was the retirement of Johnny Pesky's #6.

The season ended, with the Sox 2 games behind the Rays, and they prepared to face the Los Angeles Angels in the Division Series.

Jason Bay homered in Game 1 of the ALDS at Anaheim, to help win the opener. J.D. Drew clubbed a 9th inning shot to win Game 2.

Game 3 came back to Fenway Park, and went into extra innings. The Angels hung on to win in a 12 inning thriller as Mike Napoli knocked in Erick Aybar with the winning run. In Game 4, Jon Lester pitched brilliantly, as Jed Lowrie lined the walk-off series clinching single. The defending Champs went back in the ALCS.

The Sox would once again clash with Tampa Bay, who also won their ALDS in four games against Chicago.  Dice-K Matsuzaka kept the Rays hitless for the first six innings and the Sox won a tense pitcher's duel in Game 1.

The Rays jumped on Mike Timlin to take Game 2 in 11 innings. The game turned into a bizarre hitters game. Josh Beckett pitched like he was still hurt from an oblique strain he had suffered at the end of the season, and no team seemed to be able to hold onto the lead. The Red Sox left runners in scoring position to end six innings and those runners would come back to haunt them.  The Sox and Rays hit seven homers combined and two were by Dustin Pedroia. The home runs broke the ALCS record for a game.

Back in Fenway for Game 3, the Rays' bats erupted as Jon Lester was pounded, and then Tim Wakefield was beat-up in Game 4. The Sox were down 3 games to 1 and in a major pitching and hitting slump.  Players like Jason Varitek and Jacoby Ellsbury had not produced with the bat.

When the Rays jumped out to a 7-0 lead in Game 5, the future looked inevitable.  Then David Ortiz launched a homer in the 7th inning and J.D. Drew also knocked out one in the 8th. The 7-0 lead was cut down to 7-6. With the Rays just four outs from the World Series, Coco Crisp fouled off pitch after pitch, with Mark Kotsay standing on second base, before driving him home and tying up the game with a base hit. Then in the 9th, a costly throwing error by Evan Longoria put Kevin Youkilis on second base, setting up a dramatic walk-off line drive base hit from J.D. Drew. The Red Sox had pulled off another unthinkable comeback.

The series returned to Tampa and Jason Varitek clubbed a homer giving Josh Beckett a 4-2 victory in Game 6 and set up another ALCS deciding final game.  When Dustin Pedroia homered in the first inning of Game 7, the Rays were down a run before they even came to bat and had to face Jon Lester. Then Evan Longoria hit a two out double to tie the game and Rocco Baldelli singled in the go ahead run in the 5th inning. It all finally then boiled down to Matt Garza and David Price holding down the Sox batters when they had to.  Garza struck out Varitek with runners on first and third in the 7th inning and Price struck out J.D. Drew with the bases loaded and a potential 8th inning Red Sox rally also resulted in a fizzle. There were no last inning heroics and the Red Sox defense of their World Series title was over.

The Rays would go on to play the Phillies and lose in 5 games.