Sox Season Finale

How fitting that John Lackey turns in one of his best starts of the season in a meaningless game?  In an 8-4 Red Sox win over the Yankees, Lackey's line consisted of two earned over 7 2/3 innings with 10 K's. Not a bad way to go out in the first season of what's looking like a Lackey-luster signing for the Sox.

In other shocking news, JD Drew hit a home run, which shouldn't be all that shocking seeing as how nothing was on the line. It's what he does. Post all-star break, Drew has hit an abysmal .232, including a .198 stretch in August when the Sox still had a puncher's chance to make things happen this year. With all of the injuries Boston suffered to key players such as Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, you'd like to think Drew, who makes more money than the two of them combined, would step up and play like he's worth the $14 million per year salary he embezzles makes from the Red Sox. Through 4 years, it's safe to say the Drew signing has not worked out. At all. He's been the epitome of average, to at times below average, and if the Red Sox could find a taker for his expiring contract, by all means, go ahead and do it.

At least the Sox were able to prevent the Yankees from winning the AL East, meaning they'll have to open post-season play in Minnesota as the AL Wild-Card. Although it should be noted that the Yankees have had Minnesota's number in the postseason of late, knocking them out in the ALDS in 2003, 2004, and most recently 2009.

Another sign of encouragement from today has to be Jed Lowrie's two home runs, continuing his very respectable 2010 campaign.  Once written off as a failed prospect, Lowrie, who's still just 26, finished up his season with 9 home runs, including 5 in September.  Overall for the year, Lowrie wound up with a .287 average and an .861 OPS, including a 1.026 OPS against right-handed pitching. Moving forward, Lowrie has proved that he at least deserves to have his name kept in the conversation when it comes to the Red Sox shortstop of the future.  Boston has been playing shortstop roulette since trading Nomar Garciaparra away in 2004, with a rather confounding list of replacements since then: Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria, Alex Gonzalez (twice), Julio Lugo, Alex Cora, Nick Green, and Marco Scutaro. No disrespect to Cabrera, of course, he of 2004 fame, but the Red Sox could really use a bona fide double play partner for Dustin Pedroia down the line here. Why not give Lowrie a shot to grab hold of the reigns in Spring Training?

Julio Lugo never lived up to expectations after signing a 4 year, $36 million deal prior to the 2007 season.

So at last, this frustrating campaign has come to a close, with the Red Sox posting an 89-73 record. As I said before the season, they could win anywhere between 85-110 games and I really wouldn't be surprised with either extreme. I wish I had been closer to the higher number, but that's what injuries can do to a good ball club. Somehow, they still managed to finish second in all of baseball in runs scored, with 818, trailing only the Yankees (859). Of course, they gave up 744 runs, seventh most in all of baseball, which is ironic because of all the "run-prevention" that Theo Epstein and Co. were preaching before the season.  I never drank the run prevention-Kool Aid, Theo, but I'm still sick. Big off-season coming up in Boston.