7 Things to watch for in 2001
By Cormac Eklof
It has already begun. During the Red Sox ‘caravan’, touring Boston to promote ticket sales, Carl ‘the dinosaur’ Everett has been welcomed raucously at each stop. No, the fans haven’t forgotten the tirades, the head butting, the crazed rhetoric, but they have warmed visibly to the man who plays like his life depends on it. Watch for Carl to feed off this rekindled fan enthusiasm and hit 35+ bombs and drive in 120 runs, many of them in the form of Manuel Ramirez.
No, he’s not beefing up, and no, he’s not taking the ‘Big Mac’ approach and pouring dodgy substances into his body. There’s one simple ingredient to this tasty pie, a steady diet of fastballs. Since he suddenly decided he could bash major league pitching around any ballpark whenever he likes, Nomah’ has seen basically every pitch ever invented. Pitchers in vent new pitches on the spot, anything to try to throw him off. But that is a policy that’s going to die with Manny Ramirez sitting snugly behind him in the batting order. Nomar is going to see plenty of 1-0, 2-0, 2-1 and 3-1 fastballs, and you and I both know exactly where he’s going to send them. Lansdowne Street.
Pax didn’t qualify for ROY honors in 2000, but if he has a strong spring he has the stuff, the savvy and the composure to win 15 games in 2001, maybe even as high as 17. In his few innings last year he looked more like a 28 year old vet than a AAA hopeful. He throws hard, he has 3 outstanding pitches and wasn’t afraid of any match up. Thank the maker the Sox held on to him in the trading deluge that was the festive season.
How Williams kept the Sox in the hunt the last few years is anyone’s guess. The distractions, the injuries, the disasters. 2001 should be very, very simple and enjoyable for Jimy. He should be able to sit back, hit cruise control and watch as the Sox score 1,000 + runs and win (for the third year straight) the team ERA title.
Mr. Martinez lost 6 games last year. In those 6 losses he had 6 runs of run support. Total. With than kind of run support Roger Clemens would have gone 0-20 in 2000. With the new, improved Red Sox lineup behind him look for Pedro to win 20 games easily, maybe 23 games, and who knows, maybe even higher.
He’s a batters worst nightmare. It’s the ninth inning, your team is down 2-0 and you’ve been facing Pedro all day. Now this guy. His last pitch LOOKED exactly like a fastball, right until it got to the plate. Then, suddenly, it fell out of the sky, it dropped like a sack of potatoes. The nastiest sinker in baseball belongs to Derek Lowe. He was a work in progress in 2000, but with a tiny bit more composure and a tiny bit more experience, D-Lowe should close at least 45 and maybe 50 wins.
You can’t blame one for being optimistic!