Does Bob Watson Hate the Red Sox?

Terry Francona and Theo Epstein were shocked at the recent 6 game suspension levied by MLB Disciplinarian Bob Watson. Especially since Watson basically overruled the umpires' decision on the field. Umpire Joe West neither ejected or warned Beckett after his errant pitch came in high and tight on the Angels' Bobby Abreau. In fact, West stated that he actually thought Beckett "handled himself well" during the altercation.

That said, behind closed doors I'm sure the Red Sox brass aren't all that surprised at Watson's decision. After all, this isn't the first time Bob Watson has used his power unfairly against the Sox organization.

Bob Watson's Timeline of Tyranny:

• June 1979: After a mid-season trade with Houston, Bob Watson plays 84 games with the Red Sox before signing with the New York Yankees in the off-season and claiming that Boston was not accepting of black players
• October 1995: Watson is named General Manager of the New York Yankees
• February 2002: Major League Baseball names him Vice President in Charge of Rules and Discipline
• May 2002: Watson penalizes both the Sox Trot Nixon and Frank Castillo of the Rays for fighting yet only consults with Rays' Manager Hal McRae (not the Red Sox) before handing down the fines and suspensions
• July 2002: Tampa Bay Ray's Pitcher Estaban Yan hits Sox Manny Ramirez with a pitch yet Yan is neither fined or suspended by Watson even though both benches were already warned earlier in the same game.
• October 2003: During game 3 of the ALCS, Sox Pedro Martinez hits Karim Garcia with a pitch inciting one of the game's most famous brawls. Then Yankees' Pitcher Roger Clemens threw one up and in on Manny Ramirez, the benches cleared and New York Coach Don Zimmer charger at Martinez angrily. Watson fines Pedro Martinez $50,000 for the incident, and Ramirez $25,000 but Don Zimmer receives only a $5,000 penalty.
• October 2003: Also, neither Yankee Outfielder Karim Garcia nor Yankee Pitcher Jeff Nelson are fined by Watson for what Boston Police called an "unprovoked attack" on a Red Sox employee in the Yankees' bullpen near the end of that same game. Both were later charged with assault, but the MLB Disciplinarian saw no reason to fine or suspend the players.
• July 2004: Yankees' Pitcher Tanyon Sturtze sucker punches Red Sox Outfielder Gabe Kapler. Kapler responds with clearly less force than Sturtze, but Watson gives them equal fines and suspendions even though Sturtze had started the altercation with Kapler. On top of that, Trot Nixon, who rushed to the aid of Kapler and pulled Sturtze off of him, is also suspended for 3 games and fined. Then, only after appeals to the ridiculous sentences did Watson relent on Nixon and Kapler's suspensions.
• April 2005: Red Sox Manager Terry Francona is suspended 3 games for his role in a beanball incident with the Tampa Bay rays, yet a month later Yankee's Manager Joe Torre receives only a one game ban after a similar incident between New York and Detroit
• August 2007: Watson sends one of his underlings into the Boston dugout during a game to make sure that Red Sox Manager Terry Francona is wearing his uniform correctly. Fancona is shocked because he is wearing the proper attire but he is also being distracted from during a very important game. Watson later passes the 'Francona Rule', banning managers from wearing pullovers instead of their team jersey.
• April 2008: Finally, in light of the recent 6 game suspension of Josh Beckett, it is interesting to note that Watson only suspended Yankee Pitchers Joba Chamberlain and Kyle Farnsworth 2 and 3 games respectively for throwing at Red Sox player's (Youkilis & Ramirez) heads!
  

Why I Dislike the Rays More than the Yankees

1. For some reason the Rays always play with a chip on their shoulder against the Red Sox even though the Yankees should be their main rival since Tampa is where the Yanks' Spring training home is located
2. They beat the Sox in the ALCS only to lose the World Series to a Phillies team with only 92 wins
3. They have stockpiled young talent because they have always drafted so high and are now able to attract complementary veterans like Pat Burrell and Gabe Kapler because Tampa is not the worst place to live
4. They have Carol Pena who was raised in Boston but couldn't hit with the Sox, and and now he may be the next David Ortiz with the Rays
5. At $43 mill, their payroll is the second lowest in MLB
6. With Joe Maddon as their manager, they play 'small ball' better than the Angels and are a tough match-up for the Sox
7. They don't even have a passionate fan base and average less than 10,000 fans a game
8. Before this offseason, their highest paid player only made $6 million per year!
9. Their window before having to pay and/or possibly lose their young talent unfortunately coincides with Sox' own window with David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek.
10. They just don't seem to know any better and fearlessly keep winning

Let The Games Begin -- Sox Open 2009 with 5-3 win over Rays!

Time To Tweak Sox?

Are the Red Sox suffering the same kind of World Series hangover that plagued them down the stretch of the 2005 season or is this the beginning of the end of a great run with these core players? The Sox have been inconsistent in many areas of the game this year and with 57 games left in the season, it doesn't look good for them to defend their Championship title.

The Sox have one of the worst road records for a contending team in the history of baseball and are 3-5 since the All-Star break. Unlike last season, their set-up and middle relief have been horrendous and both the defense and starting pitching unreliable at times this year. After strong starts, Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz seem to be approaching 'Sophomore slumps' and both Coco Crisp and Jason Varitek have been struggling at the plate all year. The bottom of their batting order is one of the worst in the league and even Manny Ramirez is showing his age lately.

In contrast, the Yankees are one of the hottest teams in baseball. Despite injuries to Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui, they are 8-0 since the All-Star break and recently have been bolstered by the additions of top hitting Outfielder Xavier Nady and left-handed relief specialist Damaso Marte. The Yankees were 9 games out of first place on July 4th and 6 games behind the Red Sox and now they are tied with the Sox in the loss column. Oh yeah, let's not forget that the Sox still have been chasing the Tampa Bay Rays in the standings for almost 2 months and it's the LA Angels that are the best team in the AL this year. Not only that but they've been swept by both the Rays and the Angels already this season.

With the Yankees moving into a new ballpark next year, there is no way Boston will be able to compete with New York in the future financially, so you can't blame Red Sox Management for wanting to see what the younger players can do. Plus, I'm sure Sox GM Theo Epstein is a bit gun-shy after the Eric Gagne for David Murphy et al trade fiasco last year. However, with a rabid fan base and by far the highest ticket prices in the game, the Red Sox also cannot afford to rebuild and aside from Dustin Pedroia and John Lester, it doesn't look like the kids are stepping up. This means that with aging stars and lackluster production, it could be time to make some big time moves and change the club to keep the momentum going into the future.