The Cockroaches Are Dead

Finally, the Boston Red Sox are done for 2010.
Earlier this year, I likened them to cockroaches because, like the crunchy bugs, the Red Sox, despite their injury problems, never faded away. They were like cockroaches because they were tough to kill off. My post was completely and sincerely complimentary.
If ever a team had an excuse to write off the season it would be the Bostons.
Let's see here. They had Little Dusty Big Stick miss most of the season with a broken foot suffered in late June. Pedroia did play 2 games after that but then returned to the DL with the foot injury.
Kevin Youkilis played in only 102 games before injuries put him on the shelf for the rest of the year.
Jacoby Ellsbury hurt his ribs in April and only played in 18 games.
Mike Lowell, Victor Martinez, Jason Varitek, Clay Buchholz, Mike Cameron, Hideki Okajima, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jeremy Hermida and Kevin Cash all spent time on the disabled list, some twice. When Cash went on the DL that meant that all three Red Sox catchers spent time on the injured list at some point this season.
While many teams would moan and complain about their misfortune of having so many injuries, Bosox Manager Terry Francona didn't use that as an excuse and the fact this team had a mathematical chance this late into September is amazing. Francona, if I had a vote, would be my AL Manager of the Year.
The biggest surprise though of the Red Sox season? With all the guys on the disabled list, J.D. Drew didn't appear on the DL all season. Really, it's one of the most incredible things to come out of this season and maybe one of the most unbelievable accomplishments in baseball history by Drew.
So while it was nice to hear the Bostons were finally eradicated, they will, next year, be a pain to deal with as always. They'll be back. Like cockroaches.