Projo Sox Blog

It became official shortly after 10 p.m. last night when Jonathan Papelbon completed the process of blowing away the middle of the Indians' order, preserving a 5-4 victory that clinched a postseason berth for the Red Sox. As we said yesterday, it'll most likely be as the wild card instead of division champion -- more on that in a moment -- but that's a discussion for another time. For now, the main point is simple: They're in.

Paul Kenyon has the story of the game and Kevin McNamara has the story of the celebration. Gretchen Ertl gives you both in pictures. Joe McDonald, however, delves deeper into the process; he looks at Terry Francona, and tells us how important he's been to this unprecedented (for this franchise, anyway) run of success. He does it for the cameras, too, with his first entry into Projo Videos.

We'll be looking at potential playoff matchups in the days ahead -- truth be told, it looks like yet another Red Sox-Angels ALDS showdown, the third in five years -- and analyzing the postseason landscape. This, however, is celebration time. And, for all the reasons McDonald mentioned yesterday, it's something to celebrate . . . even if our own Jim Donaldson doesn't think so.

AND FURTHERMORE: McDonald noted in an early morning blog posting that they did it without Manny Ramirez.

THE LONG FAREWELL? One of the unmentioned elements of last night's celebration was Jason Varitek's tour around Fenway, in which he almost seemed to be saying goodbye to the fans. Since his contract is up at the end of year, that might very well have been what he was doing.

FAMILIAR SIGHT: The Indians were also in the opposing dugout for the Sox' last on-field celebration at Fenway Park -- after Game Seven of the 2007 ALCS - and the Cleveland Plain-Dealer's Paul Hoynes says it's "a pattern [they] should try to break one of these seasons."

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: Baseball Analysts' Patrick Sullivan lays out some numbers in response to Bob Ryan's assertion that "The Red Sox have never been great this year. That just wasn't possible"

IF IT'S TUESDAY . . . it must be a "good" day in J.D. Drew's endless comeback. (projo.com) We shall see what Wednesday brings.

READY TO RETURN: As for Mike Lowell, he says he plans "to play in a couple of games toward the end of the weekend" and will do "[everything] in my power" to play in the postseason. (Boston Herald)

STAND BY YOUR MAN: Kenyon reports that's what the Red Sox will do with the struggling Jed Lowrie.

WHO KNEW? David Pinto of Baseball Musings saw Heidi Watney's in-game interview with Johnny Bench and says he never realized Bench was so entertaining.

My question: Why was he wearing a BU hat?

CALLING HIS NUMBER: The other big news yesterday was that the Sox will retire Johnny Pesky's No. 6 in ceremonies prior to Friday night's game. Kevin McNamara reports Pesky was "flabbergasted" by the honor, which goes against some of the Sox' stated guidelines -- must be in the Hall of Fame, must have played 10 years with the Sox, must have finished his career with Boston -- the team has for retiring numbers. But, as Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald says, it's the right move to make, and the right person to make it with. Also happy were Andrew Johnson of FanHouse, Denton of Surviving Grady and . . . well, everybody.

Including me. Congratulations, Johnny. I'm not one for the indiscriminate retiring of numbers, but your contributions to Red Sox baseball over the years -- on and off the field -- make you perhaps more worthy than anyone of this honor.

And now can we please put No. 21 back in circulation?

WHO'DA THOUGHT? Chad Finn notes that Kelly Shoppach, and not Coco Crisp or Andy Marte, has proved to be the crown jewel in the Red Sox-Indians swap of January 2006.

NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES DO I SEE: Steven Goldman, writing in the New York Sun, makes a Red Sox-Yankee comparison moving into the future that looks much better for the Sox than it does for the Yanks.

I CAN TASTE IT: "It's right there for the taking," says Evan Longoria, whose Rays are one win -- and one Red Sox loss -- away from taking the A.L. East championship. They took two giant steps forward with a doubleheader sweep of the Orioles last night (Tampa Tribune), and Longoria was one of the heroes: He sparked a comeback from a 5-1, eighth-inning deficit with a home run that helped accelerate a game-winning, six-run rally in the nightcap. That lowers their magic number to two, and now they're in a position where every night could conceivably be clinch night. That's a night most people probably believed they'd never see in their lifetimes, but Cliff Floyd's take on the whole thing -- "Nothing amazes me no more" (St. Petersburg Times) -- is becoming the nation's take, as well.

I SAW IT: I take that back: Johnny Damon saw it coming. (St. Petersburg Times) Congrats to Johnny, and my apologies for my snarky comments on his little prophecy.

WE'RE (FINALLY) BELIEVERS: Well, whaddya know? The Rays have sold out their first two playoff games. (Tampa Tribune)

OH, SHADDUP: The blog Rays Index takes issue with those -- like me -- who've been ragging on the Tampa Bay fans for their tepid support of the team this year. I don't know, though; it doesn't seem to me that "We draw better than the Orioles" is a legitimate defense.

AND FURTHERMORE . . . Rays Index also defends the Jason Bartlett-for-team-MVP vote.

OH, YEAH? Joe Posnanski lays out an unemotional, straightforward case against Bartlett, and a damning one it is.

THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY IS MY FRIEND: David Chalk may adore his "beloved Devil Rays," but when it comes to hatred of the Yankees he's one of us. (Bugs and Cranks)

'IT MAKES YOU SICK TO YOUR STOMACH': That's how Alex Rodriguez feels after the Yankees were eliminated from postseason play for the first time since 1993 when the Red Sox score flashed two outs before the end of their 3-1 victory in Toronto. (New York Daily News) There was one bright spot for the Yanks last night: Mike Mussina won his 19th game and still has a shot for the first 20-victory season of his career. But since every Yankee silver lining has a dark cloud these days, you won't be surprised to know that Mussina took a line drive off his pitching elbow and isn't sure he'll be able to make his last start on Sunday. (New York Post)

I KNEW IT ALL ALONG: George King of the New York Post predicted in March the Yanks wouldn't make it, as he reminded one and all.

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? Wade Boggs is baffled by the Yanks' exclusion of any mention of Joe Torre and Roger Clemens in Sunday night's stadium-closing ceremonies. (New York Daily News)

DIFFERING OPINIONS: Now that the tears have dried after Sunday night's weepfest over the closing of Yankee Stadium, we're hearing from more and more people who think it's terrible the Yanks are moving out of a perfectly adequate facility simply to make more money. Ex-Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton calls it "disgraceful" -- "to me, it's like tearing down St. Patrick's Cathedral and building a new one across the street because you are going to get a nicer rectory out of it" (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle) -- and Jon Friedman of Market Watch blames the sports media for focusing on the nostalgia angle and ignoring the fact that the Yankees don't need a new stadium.

HISTORY LESSON: Hank Steinbrenner went on a rant about divisional play in his most recent column for The Sporting News, saying "it isn't fair" that teams with lower victory totals make the playoffs simply because they play in a different division. But Peter Abraham on the LoHud Yankees Blog notes that the Yankees have benefited from that setup in the past -- most recently in 2000, when they won the World Series despite winning fewer games than eight other teams in baseball. In fact, during their 1990s run of success the only years in which the Yankees had the best record in the American League during a season in which they won the World Series were 1998 and '99. Had the three-division/wild-card setup not existed then, and the old two-division structure been in place, the Yankees wouldn't have made the playoffs in 1995, would have finished second to Cleveland in 1996, wouldn't have made the playoffs in 1997, would have won the East in 1998 and '99, and would have finished second to Cleveland in 2000. Which sort of make Hank's complaints ring a little hollow.

PRO AND CON: The Yankee say they want to know by next week whether or not Brian Cashman intends to return as general manager (SI.com) Pinto examines the pro- and anti-Brian Cashman arguments currently being made at Dugout Central.

A.L. RACES: It's down to 1 1/2 in the Central as the Twins routed the White Sox in the opener of their three-game series. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) Here's the Chicago take on the night's proceedings from the Chicago Sun-Times. Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan gives us the national perspective . . . The Angels blew a 6-2 lead and lost to the Mariners, 9-6 (Riverside Press-Enterprise), lowering their lead over the Rays in the race for the A.L.'s best record to two games.

N.L. RACES: This is why they got him, and he came through. Johan Santana pitched the Mets over the Cubs (New York Daily News), enabling them to maintain their one-game lead over Milwaukee in the wild card and cutting the Phillies' East lead to 1 1/2 . . . The Phils' lead shrank a bit because they lost to the Braves, 3-2 (Philadelphia Daily News) . . . The Brewers kept pace with the Mets with a walkoff win over the Pirates (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . The Dodgers' magic number in the West is down to three as they beat the Padres (Los Angeles Times) while the Diamondbacks were losing to the Cardinals. (Arizona Republic)

THESE ARE DESPERATE TIMES, AND YOU KNOW WHAT THEY CALL FOR: The Brewers, trying to stay afloat in the playoff race, will pitch CC Sabathia on three days' rest tonight for the second straight time. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) It also puts him in position to do it again on Sunday if the team is still alive in the postseason chase.

NO LEG TO STAND ON: There's apparently talk circulating that Dodger owner Frank McCourt may attempt to sue Andruw Jones for . . . well, it's hard to know exactly what for, except that he's played terribly this year. (Not that anyone should have been surprised by that, Frank, in light of his 2007 performance, but never mind.) That's right up Craig Calcaterra's alley, and he doesn't see how McCourt would have much of a case. (ShysterBall)

PLENTY OF COMPANY: Jim Leyland gave a frank assessment of his 2008 performance -- "I stink" -- but added, "I ain't the Lone Ranger" on this year's Tigers team. (Detroit Free Press)

HERE AND THERE: ESPN's Buster Olney reports the Mets are about to give Omar Minaya a four-year contract extension . . . Because of the World Baseball Classic, spring training will start about a week earlier next year (AP via Google) . . . Wally Joyner has resigned as Padres' hitting coach (San Diego Union-Tribune) . . . Paul LoDuca says he's healthy again and ready to win a job somewhere next year (South Florida Sun-Sentinel) . . . Ron Washington will return as Rangers manager in 2009 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) . . . Lou Piniella says managing takes a toll on him and he's not sure how much longer he wants to stay on the job. (Chicago Tribune)

OLD FRIENDS: A knee injury may sideline Brandon Moss for four to six months. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Journal file photo

AND FINALLY . . . Our congratulations to PawSox president Mike Tamburro -- shown above with team Ben Mondor -- who yesterday became the first person to be named I.L. Executive of the Year five times. (projo.com)

-- ART MARTONE