2005 Boston Red Sox

No one knew what to expect of the 2005 Boston Red Sox. The team was coming off their first World Series victory in 86 years. Their stars had spent the offseason touring with the trophy, appearing on talk shows, and writing books. The team had reached the peak of the sports world in 2004 and no one knew where they'd go from their. Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, Doug Mientkiewicz, Orlando Cabrera, and Dave Roberts were replaced by Matt Clement, David Wells, Wade Miller, Edgar Renteria, and Jay Payton. The team had a new look and a happy fanbase.

The team opened the season against the New York Yankees. A Boston/New York series is always hyped and always looked forward to, but this one was likely the most hyped matchup in baseball history. After the two teams provided an epic battle in the '04 postseason, fans had several months worth of off-season to count down to the rematch. Boston lost 2 of the 3 games.

Curt Schilling began the season on the DL and never looked the same in his return. He was almost no help to the team. Keith Foulke wasn't the same man that he was a year ago. He spent a lot of time on the DL and wasn't effective when he was pitching. Without those two to anchor the staff, the team's pitching, especially the bullpen, was horrible. The Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Kansas City Royals were the only AL teams to allow more runs than the Red Sox. Their starters were good at times, but often inconsistant and couldn't be counted on. Matt Clement, an all-star, fell apart after the All-Star break. Wade Miller never got healthy. David Wells took the mound 30 times, but you never knew what you were going to get. Tim Wakefield, the inconsistant knuckler, was the team's best starter, finishing the year with a 4.15 ERA and 16 wins. 

The rotation was bad, but the bullpen was even worse. Mike Timlin was the only reliable arm who spent the year in Boston. Chad Bradford and Mike Myers provided an effective LOOGY/ROOGY duo, but they combined for 60 innings. Jonathan Papelbon was called up from Pawtucket and very likely saved the Sox with his solid performance in the month of September. But with Keith Foulke, Alan Embree, John Halama, Jeremi Gonzalez, and Matt Mantei consistantly getting inninges, the bullpen gave Sox fans many headaches throughout the year.

The team was saved by their offense. The line up could be counted on to explode at any time. Their run total was in the double digits 19 times on the year. The duo of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were one of the best offensive duos in the history of the game. Johnny Damon, Bill Mueller, and Jason Varitek helped fill in the holes. Guys like Mark Bellhorn, Kevin Millar, and Edgar Renteria were huge dissapointments and Trot Nixon spent more time on the DL, but the line up was still the best in the game.

September was an interesting month as the Red Sox chased the Yankees and, with the great play of the young Cleveland Indians it looked as if they might not even make the playoffs. They would finish the season the same way it started, with a series against the Yankees. This time they took 2 out of 3, capped with a 10-1 victory, to move into a tie atop the AL-East with the Yankees. The Indians were swept by the Chicago White Sox over their last 3 games and finished with 93 wins, 2 games behind the Yankees and Red Sox. For the third year in a row two teams from the AL East made the playoffs as the Yankees won the division (thanks to a 10-9 regular season record against the Red Sox) and Boston was the wild card.

The Red Sox celebration was a short one. They would face the White Sox in the ALDS and would be dominated. Matt Clement started game 1 against Jose Contreas and Clement allowed 8 runs in a game that Boston would eventually lose 14-2. The next two games were close, but Chicago still won both of them, sweeing Boston, and sending the defending champs home. The White Sox would go on the win the World Series.

Biggest Stories
 * Curt Schilling begins the year on the DL and struggles
 * Edgar Renteria earns the wrath of the fans with a .276 AVG and 30 errors
 * Keith Foulke goes down and the bullpen struggles
 * Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz combine for 92 HR and 292 RBI
 * Matt Clement gets hit in the head with a Carl Crawford line drive
 * Rookie, Jonathan Papelbon, comes through in a big way
 * Postseason hero, Mark Bellhorn, struggles, goes on the DL, gets replaced, and then gets released
 * Roberto Petagine is never given a chance
 * John Olerud finishes his career with Boston