2012 Red Sox - A Season to Forget

I was perusing the card aisle in Target the other day for the first time in a very long time.  I didn't see a whole lot that interested me, and for a minute I thought I was going to leave empty-handed.  Then one particular item caught my eye:

A 2012 Topps Red Sox team set.  17 cards of my favorite team for just $4.99 was tempting, but for me the straw that broke the camel's back was the Fenway Park 100 Years logo that's in silver foil on each card.  Kind of a neat touch in my opinion.  So let's use these cards to look back on the "magical" 2012 season that the Red Sox enjoyed...

Things had to get better in 2012 after the unbelievable, atrocious collapse of 2011.  I was at Fenway Park on Opening Day, seated down the third base line, basking in the afternoon sun and the feeling of hope that baseball seems to provide each Spring.  Fans around me were talking about how the team was going to bounce back, and how Ellsbury was going to enjoy another "mawn-stah yeha".  Then, just a couple of innings later, Jacoby went down with an injury.  An ugly injury.  We had crashed back down to earth, to reality, and it was only day one of the season.  Ellsbury's final stat line in 2011...just 74 games played, a .271 batting average (a full 50 points lower than 2011!), 4 HR, 26 RBI and 18 stolen bases.  With just one year left on his current contract, and Boras representing him in free agency, 2013 could quite possibly be the last year for Jacoby in Boston...

Josh Beckett flat out stunk this year, and over the last couple of seasons he really tarnished his reputation in Boston.  The only bright spot here was that the Dodgers agreed to relieve the Red Sox of the rest of his contract.  He was 5-11 with a 5.23 ERA at the time of the "trade".  I still can't believe LA bailed Boston out like that.

The parade of winners continues, the other (and even more!) unbelievable aspect of the salary dump to the Dodgers.  Injury-prone Carl appeared in a whopping 31 total games for Boston before LA stepped in and took him off their hands.  Possibly the single worst contract the team has ever handed out, I can literally still remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard that the Dodgers had taken this guy.  Unreal.

Third straight card of a guy who didn't even manage to play out the full season with the team.  Now he's a stinkin' Yankee.  Go figure...

Make that four cards in a row of guys who were dealt.  This one really hurt.  Gonzalez was one of the best hitters the team has ever had, certainly during my lifetime as a fan.  Unfortunately it took a player like this for the Dodgers to eat those other contract mistakes, and the front office did what had to be done.  I loved Gonzalez as a player but I would have pulled the trigger on the deal as well.  At least I get another new card for my Gonzalez Red Sox collection courtesy of this box set!

Wow, this set is making me realize just how bad things are right now for Boston Red Sox baseball.  Bard forgot how to throw the ball in 2012.  No really, he totally mentally lost it and quite literally could not throw the ball over the plate.  He was finally designated to AAA after an appearance in early June where he went just 1.2 innings yet walked 6 batters and hit another 2 for a solid 5 runs allowed.  He didn't really find his control in AAA either, who knows what will become of him.

Supposedly the team's ace.  Went 9-14 giving up 25 HR and posting a career-worst 4.82 ERA.  First time as a full-time member of the starting staff that Jon failed to record 10 wins.  He was rumored to be headed to Kansas City in a trade for the top minor league prospect in all of baseball a while back, and I was hoping it would happen, but it didn't materialize and Tampa Bay ended up dealing for the player instead.  We'll see how Lester fares in 2013...

One of the lone bright spots in 2012, Pedroia did miss a bit of time due to injury but still managed 140+ games played.  He pretty much was what he's always been, a .290-.300 solid number two hitter who knocks out 15-20 HR and 65-80 RBI, while providing stellar defensive play.  Also, this is one fantastic card!

Injuries limited Ortiz to just over half of the team's games, but he continued to produce despite limited play.  You can't ask for much better over a 90-game stretch than a .318 batting average, .415 on-base percentage, 23 HR and 60 RBI.  I for one am happy that it appears he'll end his career in a Boston uniform.

The Sox dealt Josh Reddick for this guy (how does that look now?  Ouch!), yet he injured himself before the season even started and went on the DL.  He didn't play until the end of the season, and when he finally did play he made fans wish he was still on the DL.  If you need proof look no further than his 7.00+ ERA or 1.891 WHIP.

At times Clay looked great, at times below average.  Overall the result was an 11-8 record with a 4.56 ERA.  Figures to be a middle of the rotation guy in 2013, if he can stay healthy...

Aviles was at times much better than I expected he'd be, but my expectations were really low.  Apparently Bobby Valentine yelled at him and hurt his feelings in Spring Training.  Mike's with the Indians organization now.  I won't miss his .250 batting average.

Jarrod was a bright spot in 2012 I would say.  True, his batting average was atrocious (.222), but he clubbed a team-best 25 HR and drove in 59 runs as well.

Pitched 45 innings, took a couple of losses and finished with an ERA over 6...

I think we can all agree that the 2012 season is one for Red Sox fans to forget, not remember.  The real reason I wanted this set though was the three Fenway Park cards at the tail end of the checklist.  This first one shows the Park at the very beginning, circa 1912...

...another shot from 1967, the miracle season...

...and a modern-day shot of the Park.  Fenway Park is one of my favorite places on this Earth, and I'm happy to give it some good representation in my card collection.  As bad as the 2012 season was this was $4.99 well spent as far as I'm concerned.  Only one card would have made this set an even better representation of the atrocity that was 2012...Bobby Valentine!  I wish I could say that I truly think 2013 will be better, but I'm not sure that I do...

I now have 1,173 unique cards and counting in my Red Sox collection...