Your top "forgot he was a Red Sox"

m0ckduck

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C- Mirabelli
1B - Buckner
2B - Merloni
3B - Shaw
SS - Iglesias
RF - Brunansky
CF - Burks
LF - Carbo
DH - Scott
Nice work.

One almost has to put Hanley Ramirez there for honorable mention, although he had only one stint with the big league team.

Edit: Eck also, on the pitching staff
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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The Indians were a tough team. That said, the Sox clinched with a week or so remaining and set up the rotation for Clemens to pitch just poorly enough to exhaust the bullpen in an extra-innings loss.
Clemens pitched well, Sox had a lead until Aguilera blew it. Then, Tony Peña homered off Zane Smith.
 

jmcc5400

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Nice work.

One almost has to put Hanley Ramirez there for honorable mention, although he had only one stint with the big league team.

Edit: Eck also, on the pitching staff
I know Boomer won some gold gloves, but I just feel like Buckner earned the right to be at 1B. Too soon?
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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Nice work.

One almost has to put Hanley Ramirez there for honorable mention, although he had only one stint with the big league team.

Edit: Eck also, on the pitching staff
Hanley had two stints- he played one game with the Sox before being traded to Florida.
 

lexrageorge

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Clemens pitched well, Sox had a lead until Aguilera blew it. Then, Tony Peña homered off Zane Smith.
IIRC, Aguilera slipped on the mound throwing his first pitch, and it took a long time before the training staff cleared him to continue to face Albert Belle, who promptly took him deep and tied the game.

Sox were trailing 3-2 when Clemens threw his last pitch, but tied it up by the time Cormier came into the game.
 

m0ckduck

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IIRC, Aguilera slipped on the mound throwing his first pitch, and it took a long time before the training staff cleared him to continue to face Albert Belle, who promptly took him deep and tied the game.
That was the very essence of pre-2004 Red Sox right there. Aguilera slipping on the mound specifically, but also that entire game more broadly (Zane Smith allowing a walkoff to Tony Peña who swung through a red light on 3-0, etc). The most EXTREME bad luck, that we’d become entirely inured to in the moment.
 

TFisNEXT

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IIRC, Aguilera slipped on the mound throwing his first pitch, and it took a long time before the training staff cleared him to continue to face Albert Belle, who promptly took him deep and tied the game.

Sox were trailing 3-2 when Clemens threw his last pitch, but tied it up by the time Cormier came into the game.
I believe Luis Alicea homered in that game too to tie it in the 8th after hitting like 3 home runs all season.

Then Tim Naerhing hit what most of us thought was the game winning HR in top 11th before Aguilera blew it.
 

TFisNEXT

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Clemens pitched well, Sox had a lead until Aguilera blew it. Then, Tony Peña homered off Zane Smith.
Yeah I remember a lot of Red Sox fans were skeptical of Clemens after his 1988 and 1990 playoff performances but he actually pitched a very good game against that lineup.

I do remember a lot of adult Red Sox fans swearing at the tv when Kennedy put in Zane Smith instead letting Mike Maddux keep pitching as he only pitched to a batter or two in the 12th. I wasn't aware at the time but that move looks so ridiculous in retrospect given the difference between Zane Smith and Mike Maddux. Smith was probably the worst pitcher on the roster that postseason.
 

TFisNEXT

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With you all the way. It was the pre-determined decision to use Gordon for 6 outs that was the poor one.
I remember Jimy saying they would need to use Schoerek anyway to win the series whether it was game 4 or game 5 and he preferred to have Pedro start in Cleveland in the more hostile environment.

I am also with Team Jimy (and Ras) with that decision. Just sucks they didn’t use Derek Lowe for the 8th and sucks the offense couldn’t give them more than a 1-0 lead.
 

tims4wins

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I remember Jimy saying they would need to use Schoerek anyway to win the series whether it was game 4 or game 5 and he preferred to have Pedro start in Cleveland in the more hostile environment.

I am also with Team Jimy (and Ras) with that decision. Just sucks they didn’t use Derek Lowe for the 8th and sucks the offense couldn’t give them more than a 1-0 lead.
As I mentioned upthread, the Wendell send of Valentin was such an unforced error. There was only 1 out. It would have been 1st and 3rd for O'Leary. Troy had plenty of flaws but he was a decent offensive player. He did strike out that at bat, but who knows if it turns out differently if he had a chance to drive in a run with a productive out.
 

TFisNEXT

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As I mentioned upthread, the Wendell send of Valentin was such an unforced error. There was only 1 out. It would have been 1st and 3rd for O'Leary. Troy had plenty of flaws but he was a decent offensive player. He did strike out that at bat, but who knows if it turns out differently if he had a chance to drive in a run with a productive out.
Yes.

Michael Kay’s “fallacy of the predetermined outcome” at play there. Different approach when a man is on 3rd with 1 out.

Troy did make Cleveland pay the next year though. (ALDS Game 5 in 1999 might still be my favorite non-2004 playoff game)

Discussing Derek Lowe and now remembering Game 5 in 1999 made me think just now….how clutch was Derek Lowe for the Red Sox in the playoffs? That 1999 game 5 is only 1 of 2 bad games I can ever remember him having in the playoffs for the Red Sox (I’ll give him a pass that game since nobody could stop anyone that game until Pedro pulled his super-human relief act). The other was he got lit up in game 2 of the 2003 ALCS on the road. I’ll admit I was pretty bummed since going back to Fenway up 2-0 with Pedro for game 3 sounded amazing. But all the other times I think of are just super clutch. The most memorable are obviously game 5 in 2003 against Oakland getting out of that epic jam and then the game 7 start in 2004 ALCS on 2 days rest. But he had other clutch moments too even when the Red Sox didn’t win the game. (Game 1 in 1999 after Pedro got injured I recall him pitching like 4 or 5 innings to keep the game close which was ridiculous for a closer and of course he pitched well in that 1998 series they lost)
 

tims4wins

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Yes.

Michael Kay’s “fallacy of the predetermined outcome” at play there. Different approach when a man is on 3rd with 1 out.

Troy did make Cleveland pay the next year though. (ALDS Game 5 in 1999 might still be my favorite non-2004 playoff game)

Discussing Derek Lowe and now remembering Game 5 in 1999 made me think just now….how clutch was Derek Lowe for the Red Sox in the playoffs? That 1999 game 5 is only 1 of 2 bad games I can ever remember him having in the playoffs for the Red Sox (I’ll give him a pass that game since nobody could stop anyone that game until Pedro pulled his super-human relief act). The other was he got lit up in game 2 of the 2003 ALCS on the road. I’ll admit I was pretty bummed since going back to Fenway up 2-0 with Pedro for game 3 sounded amazing. But all the other times I think of are just super clutch. The most memorable are obviously game 5 in 2003 against Oakland getting out of that epic jam and then the game 7 start in 2004 ALCS on 2 days rest. But he had other clutch moments too even when the Red Sox didn’t win the game. (Game 1 in 1999 after Pedro got injured I recall him pitching like 4 or 5 innings to keep the game close which was ridiculous for a closer and of course he pitched well in that 1998 series they lost)
I was looking at Lowe's playoff stats earlier today to dig this up myself. He had a 3.05 ERA in close to 70IP for the Sox, including as you say a LOT of memorable performances. I had forgotten that he started game 3 of the 2003 ALDS against the A's prior to closing out game 5 (and being the losing pitcher of game 1 in extras, which I had not forgotten about). I was even at game 3 and still forgot. Craziest game I've ever been to.
 

TFisNEXT

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I was looking at Lowe's playoff stats earlier today to dig this up myself. He had a 3.05 ERA in close to 70IP for the Sox, including as you say a LOT of memorable performances. I had forgotten that he started game 3 of the 2003 ALDS against the A's prior to closing out game 5 (and being the losing pitcher of game 1 in extras, which I had not forgotten about). I was even at game 3 and still forgot. Craziest game I've ever been to.
Game 3 is really underrated. We all remember the David Ortiz heroics in game 4 (how the hell did they win a John Burkett start?) and Derek Lowe in game 5 but the Red Sox were so close to just being swept in that game 3 matchup.

Trot Nixon to dead center field I think it was that walked that one off. I also remember the entire crowd in the first couple innings chanting “LILL-Y LILL-Y” when Oakland starter Ted Lilly was on the mound. That 2003 crowd was great.
 

tims4wins

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Game 3 is really underrated. We all remember the David Ortiz heroics in game 4 (how the hell did they win a John Burkett start?) and Derek Lowe in game 5 but the Red Sox were so close to just being swept in that game 3 matchup.

Trot Nixon to dead center field I think it was that walked that one off. I also remember the entire crowd in the first couple innings chanting “LILL-Y LILL-Y” when Oakland starter Ted Lilly was on the mound. That 2003 crowd was great.
It also featured Tejada getting thrown out at home after he thought he would be awarded the plate due to interference, as well as Eric Byrnes shoving Varitek before getting tagged out.

It is also my favorite game I've ever been to because I was there with my then 15 year old sister, who to that point just thought that me, my brother, and my dad were just loons who for some reason were obsessed with the Red Sox. When 35K strangers were all hugging after the Trot walkoff, she had tears in her eyes and said something along the lines of "I get it now"

Edit: it was also the night I fell in love with Mike Timlin. 9 up, 9 down, 27 pitches. Nails.
 

ookami7m

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Someone way upthread mentioned Rod Beck, which led to an ancillary discussion of his disastrous Game 4 in the 1999 ALCS. I was at that game. Sandwiched between the awful phantom tag on Offerman by Knoublauch and the blown call where Nomar beat the throw to first in the bottom of the ninth but was called out, prompting Jimmy’s nutty and SiaS saying Jimy should lose any votes for Manager of the Year was Rod Beck giving up a bomb of a grand slam to Ricky Ledee to put the game out of reach.

View: https://youtu.be/znZ7Zkh0a9A
I was in college in 1999 with a Yankee fan roomate and I will forever remember the phantom tag and the combination of outrage and bleak acceptance of the Yankee's continuing to be our nemesis. The closest revenge I got before graduation was watching Mussina's perfecto get broken up in the 9th with same MFY fan roomate. You'd have thought that it was as bad as the phantom tag or any of the other MFY bullshit throughout the late 90s/early 2000s that happened.
 

TFisNEXT

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It also featured Tejada getting thrown out at home after he thought he would be awarded the plate due to interference, as well as Eric Byrnes shoving Varitek before getting tagged out.

It is also my favorite game I've ever been to because I was there with my then 15 year old sister, who to that point just thought that me, my brother, and my dad were just loons who for some reason were obsessed with the Red Sox. When 35K strangers were all hugging after the Trot walkoff, she had tears in her eyes and said something along the lines of "I get it now"

Edit: it was also the night I fell in love with Mike Timlin. 9 up, 9 down, 27 pitches. Nails.
Timlin was utterly unhittable in the 2003 playoffs which made game 7 even more infuriating. Did he even allow any baserunner that postseason? Couldn’t have been more than 1 or 2.

But we’ve all been through that re-litigation too many times.

The 2003 team honestly made the 2004 experience that much better. 2003 was one of the most enjoyable to watch.
 

TFisNEXT

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I was in college in 1999 with a Yankee fan roomate and I will forever remember the phantom tag and the combination of outrage and bleak acceptance of the Yankee's continuing to be our nemesis. The closest revenge I got before graduation was watching Mussina's perfecto get broken up in the 9th with same MFY fan roomate. You'd have thought that it was as bad as the phantom tag or any of the other MFY bullshit throughout the late 90s/early 2000s that happened.
The 2001 Mussina near-perfecto was honestly the most elated I was as a Red Sox fan between 1999 and 2003. The funny part is now after 4 World Series titles and maybe becoming softer as I age, I would probably be rooting for Moose to get the perfect game. But not back then. I was so furious that an opposing pitcher (nevermind a MFY pitcher) would throw a perfect game in Fenway and when the count went to 0-2 on Carl Everett, I was so sure it would end in a strikeout. But then he hit that flare to left-center and the Fenway crowd seemed to feel the same way. The roar was deafening even from the TV.

Random side note from that game was that David Cone was pitching for the Red Sox and pitched an amazing game allowing only an unearned run (was it an E4?) in the top of the 9th. The game ended in a 1-0 MFY victory.
 

tims4wins

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Timlin was utterly unhittable in the 2003 playoffs which made game 7 even more infuriating. Did he even allow any baserunner that postseason? Couldn’t have been more than 1 or 2.

But we’ve all been through that re-litigation too many times.

The 2003 team honestly made the 2004 experience that much better. 2003 was one of the most enjoyable to watch.
The only reason even in retrospect that I wanted to win in 2003 vs 2004 was because I was with my dad the night of game 7 in 2003 and wanted so badly to celebrate with him. Instead I got to see him punch a hole in the wall. Then I was 1500 miles away a year later.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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The 2001 Mussina near-perfecto was honestly the most elated I was as a Red Sox fan between 1999 and 2003. The funny part is now after 4 World Series titles and maybe becoming softer as I age, I would probably be rooting for Moose to get the perfect game. But not back then. I was so furious that an opposing pitcher (nevermind a MFY pitcher) would throw a perfect game in Fenway and when the count went to 0-2 on Carl Everett, I was so sure it would end in a strikeout. But then he hit that flare to left-center and the Fenway crowd seemed to feel the same way. The roar was deafening even from the TV.

Random side note from that game was that David Cone was pitching for the Red Sox and pitched an amazing game allowing only an unearned run (was it an E4?) in the top of the 9th. The game ended in a 1-0 MFY victory.
I remember Dan Shaughnessy and Bob Ryan being apoplectic that Sox fans were happy that Carl Everett broke up Mussina’s perfect game. All winter long (it seemed) when they had nothing else to write, one of them would take Sox fans to task for that.

And I’m like, I don’t care who got the hit, I don’t want to see any team, much less the Yankees and Mike Mussina, throw a perfect game against my team at Fenway. C’mon that’s perfectly understandable. Their rationale, BTW, was Mussina was a nice guy and Everett was an asshole. And I’m pretty sure Gammons threw some cold water on the Mussina-is-a-really-nice-guy rep that winter.

Colonists can be wildly out of touch sometimes.
 

TFisNEXT

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I remember Dan Shaughnessy and Bob Ryan being apoplectic that Sox fans were happy that Carl Everett broke up Mussina’s perfect game. All winter long (it seemed) when they had nothing else to write, one of them would take Sox fans to task for that.

And I’m like, I don’t care who got the hit, I don’t want to see any team, much less the Yankees and Mike Mussina, throw a perfect game against my team at Fenway. C’mon that’s perfectly understandable. Their rationale, BTW, was Mussina was a nice guy and Everett was an asshole. And I’m pretty sure Gammons threw some cold water on the Mussina-is-a-really-nice-guy rep that winter.

Colonists can be wildly out of touch sometimes.
Yeah, anyone who has been a true die-hard rooting for the Red Sox (or really any baseball team) should understand that we root for the laundry first. I remember some of that fallout hitting national sports media too…it’s amazing that some pretty good sports commentators (not Shank obviously) couldn’t understand that.

It was also amplified many times over in that particular setting given where the Red Sox/MFY rivalry was at the time and coming off that horrific losing streak that took Boston out of the wildcard race. I don’t think even casual Red Sox fans were in any mood to root for a MFY perfect game. Any knowledgable or relatable sports pundit should be able to see it (like Gammo did).
 

E5 Yaz

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How about Mike Marshall? Brilliant move by Gorman to acquire someone whose power played to the deepest part of Fenway.
They went through a long stretch where those types were showing up at Fenway: Rob Deer, Billy Ashley, Kevin Mitchell, Ivan Calderon and, of course, the corpse of Jack Clark
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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They went through a long stretch where those types were showing up at Fenway: Rob Deer, Billy Ashley, Kevin Mitchell, Ivan Calderon and, of course, the corpse of Jack Clark
Lou Gorman seemed like he was a good 4-5 years behind the times for much of his tenure as GM. Every winter was filled with "big" free agent signings and trades for guys that would have been far better pick-ups five years earlier.
 

GB5

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Don’t forget Andre Hawk Dawson. Some bad signings back then. Danny Darwin..
 

ookami7m

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It was also amplified many times over in that particular setting given where the Red Sox/MFY rivalry was at the time and coming off that horrific losing streak that took Boston out of the wildcard race. I don’t think even casual Red Sox fans were in any mood to root for a MFY perfect game. Any knowledgable or relatable sports pundit should be able to see it (like Gammo did).
I remember some of the "should you root for the perfect game" stuff on sportscenter or Baseball tonight at the time. But this was so close to the high water mark for the rivalry that I think it was completely reasonable if not even expected for the Sox fans to cheer for a hit that would otherwise be completely unremarkable.

If the same game were to happen today, post 4 WS wins, less MFY dominance, etc - I think I would still be rooting for whoever the equivalent of Carl Everett would be vs the Mussina stand-in. Maybe not quite as joyously when the hit happens, but still with satisfaction of another poke at the MFY psyche.
 

Brohamer of the Gods

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How about Mike Marshall? Brilliant move by Gorman to acquire someone whose power played to the deepest part of Fenway.
Mike Marshall would be another one. I was in college out in Ohio 88-92, so some of those late season acquisitions might only have played a few times in July/August before I was out of the broadcast area. On the other hand I went to a bunch of Paw Sox games, so I saw most of the cup of coffee All Stars at McCoy.
 

Yelling At Clouds

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Thanks for sending me down the Wasdin rabbit hole!

19-16 with a 4.66 ERA with the Red Sox in 4 seasons feels significantly better than I remember.

Acquired from the A’s for Jose Canseco.

Traded then for the Rolando Arraujo pickup.

Also, this on BR made me giggle:

View attachment 65086
I remember him on the Red Sox but I would have never in a million years guessed he was still pitching in 2007.


Basically that entire 95 team, which I loved.

Luis Alicea
Matt Stairs
Chris Donnels
Terry Shumpert
Wes Chamberlain
Juan Bell
Chris James
Tuffy Rhodes
Zane Smith
Alejandro Pena
Derek Lilliquist
They finally found a place to play Willie McGee!

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2B - Merloni
3B - Shaw
SS - Iglesias
RF - Brunansky
CF - Burks
LF - Carbo
DH - Scott
Brian Daubach and Alex Gonzalez on the bench.
 

pedro1999mvp

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David Cone and Billy Wagner were the 2 that came to mind after I started thinking about this. Then I started reading this thread and saw someone post Javy Lopez the catcher. Well, since I couldn't remember him on the Sox until reading it at that moment, I guess I need to add him to Cone and Wagner.
 

ngruz25

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Here's my list of the Weirdest Red Sox to Earn a World Series Ring. I'm defining "Weirdest" by a guy with a decent/noteworthy career outside of their time with the Sox, that was on the briefly, and was not a major acquisition or contributor to the team (so no Dave Roberts/Eric Gagne):

2004: Pedro Astascio - Made six unmemorable appearances in September/October. Ellis Burks should get a mention here, but I felt his presence was a little more noteworthy.

2007: Joel Pineiro - Tried to resurrect once-promising career in the bullpen, didn't go well, was traded mid-season. JC Romero is also a consideration.

2013: Matt Thornton - mid-season pickup to bolster the bullpen. Pitched decent but didn't make the postseason roster. Honorable mention to longtime noodle bats infielder John McDonald for his six games at the end of the season.

2018: Brandon Phillips is the obvious answer. Someone's going to mention Ian Kinsler, but he was a postseason contributor.
 

tims4wins

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Here's my list of the Weirdest Red Sox to Earn a World Series Ring. I'm defining "Weirdest" by a guy with a decent/noteworthy career outside of their time with the Sox, that was on the briefly, and was not a major acquisition or contributor to the team (so no Dave Roberts/Eric Gagne):

2004: Pedro Astascio - Made six unmemorable appearances in September/October. Ellis Burks should get a mention here, but I felt his presence was a little more noteworthy.

2007: Joel Pineiro - Tried to resurrect once-promising career in the bullpen, didn't go well, was traded mid-season. JC Romero is also a consideration.

2013: Matt Thornton - mid-season pickup to bolster the bullpen. Pitched decent but didn't make the postseason roster. Honorable mention to longtime noodle bats infielder John McDonald for his six games at the end of the season.

2018: Brandon Phillips is the obvious answer. Someone's going to mention Ian Kinsler, but he was a postseason contributor.
Wow. Astascio, Pineiro, and Thornton... all three qualify for me as forgot he was a Red Sox!

Phillips on the other hand was unforgettable due to his epic home run in Atlanta.
 

TFisNEXT

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He’s not a no-namer but I had completely forgotten that Byung-Hyun Kim was still on the 2004 team before they actually sent him back down to AAA for most of the season. He got called back up in September but didn’t play in the post season. They traded him to the Rockies in the offseason after 2004.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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He’s not a no-namer but I had completely forgotten that Byung-Hyun Kim was still on the 2004 team before they actually sent him back down to AAA for most of the season. He got called back up in September but didn’t play in the post season. They traded him to the Rockies in the offseason after 2004.
He was their sixth starter that year, at least in terms of number of starts (3). He was originally slated for the rotation and started the year on the DL. Arroyo took his spot. They tried Kim in the rotation once he was healthy but, obviously, he didn't last.

One of my favorite bits of trivia about that season was the Opening Day rotation (Pedro, Schilling, Lowe, Wake, Arroyo) made 157 of 162 starts. Such health and consistency from a rotation is a rare thing. Aside from Kim, the other starts were spot starts in double headers: Abe Alvarez in July and the aforementioned Pedro Astacio on the last weekend of the season.
 

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One of my favorite bits of trivia about that season was the Opening Day rotation (Pedro, Schilling, Lowe, Wake, Arroyo) made 157 of 162 starts. Such health and consistency from a rotation is a rare thing. Aside from Kim, the other starts were spot starts in double headers: Abe Alvarez in July and the aforementioned Pedro Astacio on the last weekend of the season.
That's the type of bar bet that could pay off for years.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Lou Gorman seemed like he was a good 4-5 years behind the times for much of his tenure as GM. Every winter was filled with "big" free agent signings and trades for guys that would have been far better pick-ups five years earlier.
I'm not sure if you ever read "Lords of the Realm" but any time Lou Gorman gets mentioned in that book, he gets hammered. GMs are always targeting him because he'll trade for anyone who was once pretty good and player agents are even worse. They always say that their client is really interested in the Sox, Gorman will splash the pot and the agent will use that to negotiate a deal with the player's original (or new) team. It was very rare that a really good free agent came to Boston (Kirby Puckett famously used the Sox in the early 90s). Reading it (and if you haven't read this book, you really should) made me feel bad for Gorman. He really wasn't a great GM, but he seemed like a nice enough guy who wanted to win for the Yawkey name. It was his naked pursuit of a World Series that got him this reputation.

David Cone and Billy Wagner were the 2 that came to mind after I started thinking about this. Then I started reading this thread and saw someone post Javy Lopez the catcher. Well, since I couldn't remember him on the Sox until reading it at that moment, I guess I need to add him to Cone and Wagner.
The one thing that I will never forgive TIto for is not letting Javy Lopez the pitcher throw to Javy Lopez the catcher. That's some bullshit right there.

Here's my list of the Weirdest Red Sox to Earn a World Series Ring. I'm defining "Weirdest" by a guy with a decent/noteworthy career outside of their time with the Sox, that was on the briefly, and was not a major acquisition or contributor to the team (so no Dave Roberts/Eric Gagne):

2004: Pedro Astascio - Made six unmemorable appearances in September/October. Ellis Burks should get a mention here, but I felt his presence was a little more noteworthy.

2007: Joel Pineiro - Tried to resurrect once-promising career in the bullpen, didn't go well, was traded mid-season. JC Romero is also a consideration.

2013: Matt Thornton - mid-season pickup to bolster the bullpen. Pitched decent but didn't make the postseason roster. Honorable mention to longtime noodle bats infielder John McDonald for his six games at the end of the season.

2018: Brandon Phillips is the obvious answer. Someone's going to mention Ian Kinsler, but he was a postseason contributor.
You can add

2004: Abe Alvarez, I think that he got in a game; maybe two.

2007: Royce Clayton, the long-time Giant was brought up at the end of the season and perhaps got a dozen innings*.

2013: Can't think of anyone off the top of my head. That was such a mismash of a team that if you told me that Buddy Biancalana somehow played for them, I'd probably believe you.

2018: I loved that Phillips played for this team and had his moment. As much as I loved the 04 team, I liked this one a speck more. I wish that Phillips hung around the team during the postseason like Clayton and Burks did.

* The thing that I really dislike about MLB killing the practice of expanding rosters to 40 after September 1 is that we're going to lose little things like this. For a guy like Clayton, he played 15+ seasons and I think that it's a nice capper to be on a World Series winning team, even if you don't get an at-bat or an inning in the field. It think it's a nice perk and humanizes these players. At the end of the day, it's difficult to connect with a superstar like David Ortiz or Dustin Pedroia or Josh Beckett. They're just so good at what they do, it's not even like they're the same species as mere mortals. But an aging Royce Clayton? You can see yourself as that dude, just hanging with the team in the best seat of the house. Pulling for you teammates, just happy to be there. It's a cool story and one that I bet he remembers.