2003 PLAYOFF ASPIRATIONS
In a sidenote on the August 21, 2003 Couch I guaranteed a Sox victory that night. I even noted that it did not have to be Pedro throwing- the Sox would win to suck us back in- no matter who was pitching. Pedro was ill, but they won 14-5 with Casey Fossum throwing. They have won three straight, and with 33 games left have tied the A's for the Wild Card and stand 5 games behind the Yankees. The A's may have lost Mark Mulder for the season, and the Sox have several games left with both Oakland and the Yankees. Things are looking up, but it is still too early to call. They sucked us back in, what did I tell you?!

Pedro Martinez

STARTING ROTATION
On Monday night at Fenway, Derek Lowe was forced to leave his start because of a blister on his throwing hand. On Thursday night Pedro missed a start because of a severe stomach and throat ailment. After both games the media ripped the players for not toughing it out. How can this be the case? Who can forget Pedro's 6 inning no hit masterpiece against the Indians in the 1999 playoffs? At the time it was said that he could barely lift his arm. To me that was the best money performance by a Sox player in my lifetime. Here we are a few years later questioning his commitment.

Lowe would never have willingly taken himself out of a game, especially when he is throwing a gem. He had skin cancer in the offseason and is still out there making starts in day games. There have never been reports of him complaining. The guy can't win. Admittedly his performance is down from last year. No one seems to remember he has a weaker defense on the right side of the infield, certainly a problem for a sinkerballer. Todd Walker has no range, and David Ortiz is worse than Mo Vaughn with the glove. When the two of them are behind Lowe, you can guarantee Trot will be fielding some groundballs in right that a better infield would have stopped. As for his demeanor, what gives? Much has been made of his attitude; he is too soft and takes things too personally. If he were a robot like Dan Duquette, what would everyone be saying? I think it is great to see players frustrated or otherwise emotional when it comes to their performance. It makes better cinema and shows they are not only in it for the money.

Lowe also seems to perform better after a season during which he has experienced some struggles. Remember he was a banished closer before winning 21 games last season. Before experiencing success in the bullpen he was also whacked around as a starter in his early days in Boston. Let me be the first to predict a great year for him next season- unfortunate for the Sox owners, because he is due to be a free agent after the 2003 season.

The rest of the rotation has performed admirably. Not many have talked about Tim Wakefield this season, but he has been solid. Putting him back as a starter was a great move, and another reason to be happy that Joe Kerrigan was run out of town. Grady Little is still a little quick with the hook for him sometimes, but Wake has shown his value to the team yet again. He has not missed any starts, and even pitched out of the bullpen between starts earlier in the season as the bullpen struggled. Also, unlike previous seasons, he seems to be taking blame better. He used to shrug off mistakes as the nature of the knuckleball. It was not uncommon to hear him say he had good stuff, even after getting lit up.

Before yesterday's start, in recent weeks John Burkett finally had been pitching like the 2001 Burkett signed from Atlanta. Ironically, he was the victim of low run support in some of his recent starts, costing him wins. In the past he has been the beneficiary of some cheap wins because the bats showed up during his starts. Jeff Suppan seems to be a younger version of Burkett, a control pitcher who basically throws the ball and lets the defense take care of the rest. Theo Epstein was certainly relieved to see Suppan come up with a good start after getting bombed his first three. He likely saved his spot in the rotation for a few more weeks with his performance Friday night against the Mariners. I was beginning to think that either Casey Fossum or Bronson Arroyo would replace him if he struggled again. It's a moot point now. If Suppan does revert back to those first three starts, it will be interesting to see if the Sox, who have an option for next season, decide to hold on to Suppan after the 2003 campaign.

BRANDON LYON
Some friends of mine met Red Sox Pitcher Brandon Lyon back in April (see the June 6, 2003 Couch.) Lyon offered them to call him for tickets at some time in the future, eventually declining because 'his family is in town and he is really busy.' When he was traded to Pittsburgh, we urged the same friends to call Brandon back- there was no need for his ticket offer in Pittsburgh, as there are plenty of seats always available. When he was returned to the Sox a week later in the Jeff Suppan trade, he was sent to Pawtucket to rehab his supposedly nonailing shoulder. Again we urged those same friends to call. Did he use the frequent flyer miles he amassed between Boston, Pittsburgh and Pawtucket for his 'family', and was he relieved to be headed to Pawtucket, where there is likely considerably more fan interest than there is for the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

DAVE WALLACE
Does anyone else get a little creeped out by Red Sox Pitching Coach Dave Wallace. First of all, he is a spindly little mustachioed man, probably no more than 125 lbs., who looks out of place in a uniform. Whenever he is shown interacting with players, he is touching them. On the bench he has an arm around them, when he goes to the mound he touches their chests or slaps their back. Does this bother anyone else? I would not be surprised if DLowe grabs the guy's arm and flips him over his back sometime soon.

WALLY THE GREEN MONSTER
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne's rendition of Take Me Out To The Ballgame was still better than Fenway's organ version. It's not so much the music, which fans are urged to sing along with, but Wally the Green Monster, one of the sports world's least creative/ most ridiculous mascots, doing jumping jacks on top of the Sox dugout that's embarrassing. The word 'green in his name is exactly what Dan Duquette was going for when he had his staff dream that thing up. Wally is more like the Incredible Hulk after a few bong hits and a visit from the Queer Eye guys than a monster. Some foreign fans seated behind me at a recent game guessed that he was a frog as he danced by.

At first Wally was shunned. Do you remember the 1997 kid's opening day, during which Wally was first introduced to a packed Fenway? It was a cold, cloudy afternoon in early April, and as he stood on the mound after a long pregame show to throw the first pitch, a fan yelled 'THROW THE DAMN BALL!!!' The jeer was clearly audible on television, and elicited giggling from then third baseman Tim Naerhing, as he admitted in the paper the next day, also noting that he felt 'bad for the thing.' Here is an excerpt from the April 14, 1997 Standard Times, written by Sean McAdam: The Red Sox unveiled their first official mascot, Wally the Green Monster, yesterday. Wally, who bears a striking resemblance to the Cookie Monster on Sesame Street, was greeted cooly by the 30,300 on hand, then booed unmercifully when he tried to lead a singalong of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," during the seventh inning stretch. "I was on deck and I heard that and cracked up laughing," said Naehring.

Wally The BeanBag Buddy

If not for Sox television broadcaster Jerry Remy's hilarious running gag, this whole mascot business likely never would have caught on with Sox fans. The gag, using a Fenway giveaway, Wally the BeanBag Buddy, features the made-up hijinks of Wally. The miniature Wally spends each game in a small beach chair in the window of the Sox broadcast booth. He has been arrested in Tampa, biked in the PanMass Challenge, and most recently has been infatuated with Jennifer Lopez, as both Sean McDonough and Jerry teased Ben Affleck while he visited the booth. Sometimes I wonder if Remy gets kickbacks for the bits, although I do enjoy them.

SEAN McDONOUGH
Speaking of Remy, or the 'RemDawg,' as he is now known, it's time to pair him back up full- time with McDonough. This year they are only together for approximately 35 games, with the remainder pairing Jerry with Don Orsillio. Orsillo is not terrible, but he certainly is no McDonough. Orsillo spends most of his time giggling at Remy's jokes, whereas it's usually Remy who is doing the laughing when paired with McDonough. Together they make slow portions of the game flow much better than when Orsillo is involved. Their 'inane banter' is far more interesting than most of the actual play by play provided on the NESN broadcasts. Remy is very good, but McDonough deserves some credit for his surge in popularity. If not for McDonough's initial call to fans for 'REMY' signs as the best way to get on television a few years ago, Remy may not have become the local celebrity he is today. I believe McDonough also came up with the RemDawg moniker. Now Remy has a website, http://www.jerryremy.com, sells RemDawg merchandise and does occasional national broadcasts. Remy carries the NESN broadcasts, while the McDonough- Remy combination has more of a professional feel.

McDonough has been a national commentator, formerly for CBS, currently for ESPN for more than a decade, covering sports ranging from college football to Olympic hockey. Orsillo was a NESN minor league announcer. McDonough brings a vast store of knowledge of not only sports, but entertainment as well, while Orsillo mainly plays along with Remy's jokes. Each of the announcers are markedly pro- Sox, sometimes bordering on cheerleaders. However, McDonough is more edgy, broaching topics that Orsillo is more inclined to take the Sox brass's view at face value. It's interesting to see an impartial Remy on national games- you can sometimes literally hear him choke back pro- Red Sox sentiment. In yesterday's game, broadcast nationally on Fox, you could hear a flash of a cheer by Remy before he called Kevin Millar's winning 10th inning hit.

McDonough supposedly only accepted the current arrangement in order to be closer to his then- ill father, the late Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough. He was reportedly offered a lucrative deal to join the Mets broadcast team before settling for the Sox limited game offer. Orsillo is surely a cheaper alternative, undoubtedly a major factor in the current arrangement. At the time, McDonough also had a radio show, which was to be the alternative to WEEI; the Boston market's major sports talk station and the Red Sox flagship station. The 'McDonough Group' promised to 'raise the bar' on sports talk, eliminating the chest pounding and negativity that is prevalent on the other station. The show did that to a certain extent, but sports radio is still at it's heart mainly sports criticism. With great guests and a lighter tone, it was entertaining, but the station failed to gain mass acceptance and the 'McDonough Group' became a casualty. One has to wonder if his appearance on a rival station contributed to the reduction in McDonough's workload. McDonough also had a car accident prior to last season that may or may not have been drunk driving, according to some sources. This incident, along with his price and his show on the competing radio station likely made him a less attractive alternative to Orsillio.

With the radio show out of the picture, and the absence of any personal incidents, let's hope that next season we see more of Sean McDonough. If not, it is hard to imagine a broadcaster of his talent accepting an arrangement similar to this season's.

Manny Ramirez during BP from the new Monster seats

MANNY RAMIREZ
Went on a Fenway tour the other day and finally got to see the new Monster seats. Wow! We were up there during batting practice, and seeing Manny interact with the other players, including some from the opposition, it is clear that everyone loves this guy. He was tagged out after stealing second base yesterday because he went to pick up his helmet without calling time. Thankfully it was not blown out of proportion, with only a passing comment or two being made. The last thing we need is another out of control circus like last year when he failed to run out that grounder in Tampa. He may be a child trapped in a man's body as some people say, but the guy is clutch, and puts up big numbers. I am sure every other team would rather the occasional mental lapse than to have to face Manny any day.

Ramirez has started wearing his Sox up high again, and recently shaved all of his hair off. I am sorry, but if I was not in a job where a conservative appearance was required, I would do the same thing. I'd have longer hair and a goatee one day, then be freshly shaven with a crew cut the next day. Oh wait...