No Manny, No Mike, No Ring

Even the most ardent Manny-Haters among you know it's true. The principal reason the Red Sox did not repeat as World Champions was painfully evident: not enough punch in the middle of the line-up. And, the main reason for that was the absence of the M&M boys from the ALCS equation—Manny and Mike (Lowell). Let's take a gander at some combined numbers of the "M&M" tandem in 2007. Between them in the '07 ALCS, they combined for a .367 average, 3 home runs and 18 RBIs. In the 2008 ALCS, our 4 and 5 tandem hit .296 with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs. Not chopped liver, but not the stuff of championships—despite the outstanding performance of Kevin Youkilis. Even if you throw in Jason Bay's ALCS numbers, they still don't total the production of just Manny and Lowell in 2007. Just a little more offense might have put us over the top in a tight, 7-game ALCS. We need to upgrade the middle of the 2009 Red Sox offense or get used to the "You Can Call Me Rays" being called AL Champs again.