The '04 to '07 Comparision
| 11
|
I was thinking about random things the other day and somehow this idea popped into my head. There are several similarities between the 2004 Red Sox and the 2007 Red Sox. This could be the same with other teams, I don’t know. Also some of these may be a bit of a stretch. I just thought this would be kind of interesting. If we start on the positional side, both teams had a shortstop who was strong defensively and provided some speed: Orlando Cabrera and Julio Lugo. Yes, I know Cabrera did not have a ton of speed, but he had some. They both had an underrated third basemen in Bill Mueller and Mike Lowell. A speedy center fielder who often made great plays was present in Johnny Damon and now in Coco Crisp. Between Trot Nixon and J.D. Drew, both teams also had a right fielder who was having a down year and was playing below expectations. There are also a few similarities in the benches. Although it is not sure at this point, but it is strongly likely come playoff time that both teams have a major base stealing threat in Dave Roberts and Jacoby Ellsbury. Each team had a slick fielding middle infielder who struggled at the plate in Pokey Reese and Alex Cora. Although, Cora does not struggle nearly as much as Reese did. Now moving to the starting pitching. Both teams made a major acquisition to starting pitching in the prior off-season through the Schilling trade and Matsuzaka signing. Both teams had a big three of their own. The ’04 Sox had Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, and Derek Lowe. The ’07 Sox have Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Between Derek Lowe and Curt Schilling, each team also had a struggling starting pitcher in his contract year. A marginal fifth starter was also present on each team in Bronson Arroyo and Jon Lester. Finally a closer look will be taken at the bullpen. Besides both pens being solid, each team had a submarine left handed specialist between Mike Myers and Javier Lopez. This was coupled with three solid set up men. In 2004, []Alan Embree, Mike Timlin, and Scott Williamson verses Eric Gagne, Hideki Okajima, and Mike Timlin in 2007. At the back end of the pen each team had a lights out closer between Keith Foulke and Jonathan Papelbon. Both teams made a controversial trade deadline move, both concerning who was given up, Nomar in ’04 and Gabbard in ’07. Both teams also boasted a good offense, although ‘04’s was far greater. As of now both teams beat the Yankees in the season series, although that can still change for this year. I know some of these are a stretch, just wondering what people think.
