The Boston Red Sox in 2008: What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been

From a 10-inning, before sun-up, season opener in Japan, to an ALCS Game Seven at Tropicana Field, the Red Sox season has been as much of a wild ride as that sounds. 

In MLB's attempt to expand their market, the 2007 World Series Champions started their season against the Oakland A's in Tokyo, Japan. The game was broadcast live, meaning, after I woke up in the middle of the night to watch the game, I was still able to go back to bed before waking up again to begin the daily grind. 

But the half-opened, bloodshot eyes and lack of sleep the next day were all worth it. A ninth-inning home run off the bat of Boston's Brandon Moss tied the game at four, which led to a two-run, RBI double from Manny Ramirez, and Papelbon almost blowing his first save attempt of the season in the bottom of the 10th.

Fast-forward 173 games. Brandon Moss is in Pittsburgh, Manny Ramirez is in Los Angeles, Jason Bay is now playing left field in Boston, Mike Lowell is having hip surgery, Kevin Youkilis is at third, Jed Lowrie is splitting time at shortstop with Alex Cora, Mark Kotsay is at first base, and Josh Beckett has a postseason ERA of 8.79.

Let's take this a little slower.

Manny being Manny. Cell-phone calls from the Green Monster during pitching changes, and high fiving fans in the middle of fielding a fly ball were common happenings with Boston's left fielder, Manny Ramirez.

But after a severe lack of effort, fake injuries and clubhouse bickering saw "Man Ram" go to "Mannywood" in a three-way trade with the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Pirates. Outfielder Brandon Moss and reliever Craig Hansen left Boston for Pittsburgh, while third baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris left Los Angeles for Pittsburgh. Ramirez left Boston for Los Angeles, and Jason Bay left Pittsburgh for Boston.

After J.D. Drew faced constant back problems, following his MVP All-Star Game performance, Boston acquired free agent Mark Kotsay from the Atlanta Braves as a backup plan.

Kotsay was to add depth to Boston's outfield talent, as they were unsure of what to expect from J.D. Drew heading into their end-of-the-season pennant race. Kotsay proved to be a very versatile player after Mike Lowell's hip injury forced him out of the lineup, causing Gold Glove winner Kevin Youkilis to move from his normal post at first base and set up camp at third.

Regular shortstop Julio Lugo tore his quad muscle in the middle of July, which ended his season. Boston brought up their young prospect Jed Lowrie to split time at the shortstop position with Alex Cora. Lowrie also showed his versatility by playing third base at times, allowing Youkilis to stay at first, while Cora covered the shortstop position.

Josh Beckett, Wheaties cover boy following the 2007 World Series, was plagued with injuries throughout the season. Starting with lower back pain that kept him from going to Japan for the season opener. Followed by tingling in his throwing elbow, and finally a strained oblique muscle. The result was a rusty performance in the postseason this year, giving up 14 runs, seven homers, 22 hits, and 14 strikeouts in 14.1 innings pitched over three games.

Perhaps one of the strangest occurrences of the season was the bullpen. Said to be the weakest spot of the team all season, they came around and proved to be the strongest part of the postseason. One of the biggest contributors to that change was Hideki Okajima. After struggling through most of the regular season, he returned to his 2007 form in the postseason. Going 10 innings, while only giving up four hits and two runs. 

Justin Masterson proved his weight in gold this season by working his way into the roll of Jonathan Papelbon's ace set-up guy. Masterson's lucky number was nine in the postseason this year. Nine appearances, nine-and-two-thirds innings, with nine strikeouts.

All of that while only giving up two earned runs and earning a 1.86 ERA. Not bad for a 23-year-old kid taking his first tour in the big leagues.

Papelbon, who was one of the most consistent relievers, maintained his career 0.00 postseason ERA. Papelbon has now gone 25 innings with zero runs in the postseason and struck out 22. Justin Masterson also became a clutch performer for the Sox's bullpen in the last half of the season.

But when all was said and done, the Red Sox were as close as one base hit shy of making it back to the Fall Classic. Down 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh, during Game Seven of the ALCS, Boston left runners on the corners. Then in the bottom of the eighth, after a solo shot homer by Willy Aybar that put the Rays up 3-1, J.D. Drew struck out and left the bases loaded.

It was a hard-fought battle and made for some exceptional October baseball. But as the Green Monster goes into hibernation for the winter, all Sox fans can do now is sit back and see what moves management makes in the offseason.