The Optimism of Springtime

Here’s another thing Thorstein Veblen could not understand, let alone appreciate -- the sense of renewal and optimism that comes every spring. It’s not just that the earth comes back to life, or that the days become longer and warmer. It’s the start of baseball season, with another year’s hopes and dreams riding on the fortunes of the RedSox. And since 2004, those dreams seem more real, more believable, more possible than they ever did during that long lifetime of disappointment leading up to that fall.

Here’s a few things making all of us optimistic this springtime, even with snow still falling: Jonathan Papelbon. So far he’s made three appearances, two for saves, and last night to put out a fire in the eighth. (Sox didn’t need him for the ninth after scoring six more runs.) In those three appearances he hasn’t allowed a single hit. Six Ks and no walks. Last night he struck out Vlad on four pitches – all strikes.

And then for good measure, Mike Timlin came in for the ninth and tossed a perfect inning. He battled Shea Hillenbrand (Sox alum), who always plays us tough, and finally got him to strike out. The last two guys went down on weak fly balls. That may not seem like a big deal, but a healthy and effective Timlin would do so much for this bullpen. His first appearance had been a bit rusty, leaving everyone uncertain if he had healed up properly. But last night was a nice sign.

How about Tim Wakefield, with another strong start – this time going seven innings, giving up only one run on two hits? Wake always brings an element of uncertainty to the rotation. When the knuckler is jumping around, so long as Mirabelli can catch it, he’s very effective. But when it doesn’t dance, he gets hit hard. However, since no one expects Wake to be a stopper, every time he tosses a game like last night, it’s a big bonus for the rotation. Right now we look four deep, with Jon Lester on the mend. That’s an entirely different order of magnitude on the optimism scale, just hoping Lester is healthy. But if he is healthy, and if he can toss like he did early last year, before he got sick…. Would that be a rotation or what?

As for the batters, Papi is coming alive, winning one game outright already, and contributing big last night, with a couple timely doubles. Manny’s bat will heat up at some point, and he’ll get his 100 plus RBIs. But the real optimism comes from watching JD Drew, who’s the most consistent hitter in the lineup right now, or Julio Lugo, who got on base three times last night. That’s really big, because Papi and Manny are that much more devastating when guys get on base in front of them.

So yes, it’s only the first couple weeks of the season. And yes, it’s a long season. Guys get hurt; arms get tired, and even though we’re all enthusiastic here, the team is only a game above 500 at this point. But that’s not the point. The point is that anything is possible right now. That’s what makes spring so great.