Red Sox Rookies Getting It Done

2006-07-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

By the time the year is over, Sox historians may have to go back to 1975 to find a pair of rookies with as big an impact on a Red Sox squad as the two rooks on this year's edition. That 1975 season saw the Sox called up two kids to play in the outfield, center fielder Fred Lynn and left fielder Jim Rice, and those two led the Sox to the American League title and into one of the most memorable World Series ever, the epic seven game battle against the Big Red Machine.

With the Sox barely ahead of the Yankees at this point and a long way to go before the American League Championship series is to be played, it is still possible that the Sox season could go South later on. Any failure to get to the post season will likely end any comparisons to the Lynn and Rice connection, but if the Sox manage to handle the dog days of August and September in the same manner that they have handled the first sixty percent of the season then those comparisons will likely begin.

Instead of the outfield, this time the two kids are pitchers. Like Lynn and Rice, they throw from different sides, and like the two stars of 1975, Jon Lester and Jonathan Papelbon, though highly thought of by team management prior to the season, were not expected to have the impact that they have had on the Red Sox team in 2006.

Two days ago, rookie call up Jon Lester ran his record to 5-0 with a masterful one hit shut out of the hapless Kansas City Royals. In winning his first five decisions for the Sox, the 22-year old pitcher entered rarefied territory, becoming the first Sox rookie lefthander to ever accomplish that feat. That cannot be considered a small feat given that Boston has been home to some very talented lefthanders that include none other than Babe Ruth, along with Mel Parnell, Bill "the Spaceman" Lee, and Bruce Hurst.

It has not been all sun and glory for the kid however. Going into that one hitter, Lester had struggled to get his team deep into ball games and his walks and hits per innings pitched were amongst the worst on the team.

But in the two most important categories, mental toughness and pitching under pressure, the lefty has been extraordinary. He has battled through the base runners, accumulating the team's second best era, a paltry 2.38. He has also now given the team five innings or more in his last seven starts and has given up three runs in a game only once, his first major league start.

As good as Lester has been since he has been called up, the real story of course has been another Jonathan, reliever Jonathan Papelbon. The big righthander is still considered a rookie despite a late season call up a year ago.

In that September call up, the 25-year-old dazzled Sox fans with a sterling 2.65 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 34 innings. The only blemish was 17 walks in those 34 innings.

But in 2006, the kid has simply been lights out. Taking over the closer role, Papelbon has put up numbers that are simply unheard of in the realm of the designated hitter in the American League.

The hard throwing righthander has 0.54 ERA for the season and in 50 innings pitched thus far has given up just 36 baserunners, 27 hits and just nine walks. The youngster has also earned a major league leading 29 saves in 32 chances. The three blown saves represent the three times he has given up a run in a game this year. With forty-four appearances, 50 innings pitched, and only a total of 3 runs over the first 90 plus games of the season, it is easy to see why the term lights out fits this big righthander.

The Sox have also relied on their big three to move to the top of the AL East, the very same teammates that helped bring home the Sox World Series title in 2004. David Ortiz is having another monster year, driving in a run a game and providing his patented game winning hits. Manny Ramirez after a slow start has reached the 25 homer, 68 RBI plateau already, and is now hitting over .300. He will likely have his usual 40 homer 120 RBI season by years end.

And Curt Schilling has returned from his injury prone 2005 to become the team's number one starter. The veteran pitcher has given up just 153 baserunners in 141 innings, mainly due to his measly 17 walks on the season. Schilling has lowered his ERA to the mid threes and is now supporting an 12-3 won lost record.

But the big news for Boston is that a depleted and injured pitching staff, one that is short of starters and that had expected to fall back on veteran reliever Keith Foulke's return to form only to see him become a victim of the injury bug, has been held together by the two kids. Boston is in first place in mid-July only because of the sterling performances of the two youngsters.

It also appears that if Boston is to return to the postseason, it will have to do so by riding the performances of these two rookies through the months of August and September. No doubt, two more tough months await Boston.

But two more months of Lester and Papelbon performing at their recent level will no doubt have folks remembering that memorable 1975 season and World Series, and with it, the inevitable comparisons of these two players to the legendary Red Sox outfielders, Fred Lynn and Jim Rice.

Sports by Rachel

Red Sox Rookies Getting It Done