Boston's Vocal Backup Catcher Has Reason to Shout
BOSTON - David Ross came bounding into the Red Sox clubhouse late Wednesday night, fresh off the field, his jersey untucked, shouting as loud as he could. He could have passed for a rookie, if only the gray-streaked beard had not given him away. He kept shouting as he went to his locker, giving high-fives and hugs along the way.
'That was fun, wasn't it?' Ross said later, surrounded by reporters. He added: 'We just won the first game of the World Series and I started. I'm jacked up, you know?'
And that description did not do his night justice. As a 36-year-old journeyman starting in his first World Series at catcher, Ross navigated Jon Lester through seven and two-thirds scoreless innings, hit a single, and scored a run, outdoing Yadier Molina, the backbone of the St. Louis Cardinals, who is considered the best catcher in baseball.
After Mary J. Blige had finished singing the national anthem and the flyover was done, Ross and Lester had looked at each other and laughed. They were amused by the moment, all of the people and hoopla; they were about to take center stage.
Ross had come over from Atlanta this season, as one of the several underrated off-season signings the Red Sox made. He is, in a sense, still underrated compared with Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes. He had been pegged as a valuable, veteran, defensive-minded catcher who could back up Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
And Ross did just that, until he suffered two concussions midseason and missed about two months. He returned in mid-August, worked to regain his form, and again spelled Saltalamacchia regularly. In the postseason now, he has caught Lester's last three starts, in which, including Game 1, he has a 1.40 earned run average.
John Farrell, the Red Sox manager, praised the pair's ability to read swings together and adjust how they are attacking hitters each time through the lineup.
'For whatever reason, right now, me and Rossy are clicking,' Lester said after they beat the Cardinals, 8-1. 'And we'll just keep riding it out until the end,' he added.
In particular, Lester noted how Ross knew to call his backdoor cutter. Lester had not thrown that pitch much lately. But Ross noticed it was working, and that the Cardinals were giving up on it, so he kept calling it, Lester said. It went that way all night.
Ross was giddy, trying to explain how fun it was calling for any pitch, in any spot, back and forth on the plate, up and down the order, because Lester was so locked in. He said it was easy catching Lester, an ace who knows what he wants to do, who throws every pitch with conviction. But, of course, even Lester at times needs help.
'My job for him is just to keep his emotions in check,' Ross said, adding: 'Being the guy with all the gray in the beard, I've been in certain situations, and I can see his body language when he's frustrated. So just slow him down a little bit, talk to him.'
That hardly seemed necessary, though, Wednesday night. Lester retired 9 of the first 10 batters he faced; then he and Ross worked around five hits and one walk; then Lester sat down eight Cardinals in a row before he was pulled with two outs in the eighth inning, having struck out 8 batters and thrown 112 pitches.
Then afterward, Ross went shouting through the clubhouse. Saltalamacchia was not surprised. Ross shouts most days, he said, whether he is starting or not, just to pump everyone else up. He fits in here. His beard is among the Red Sox' bushiest.
Just outside the swarm of media members around Ross, Saltalamacchia said he had learned a lot watching him work. Ross was a lot like Jason Varitek, he said, in that Ross does not get too excited, or too high, and he keeps focused one pitch at a time.
The difference between the two being: Ross is more vocal.
'He's an important part of this team - he's not your normal backup,' Saltalamacchia said, adding: 'He's got a reputation for calling great games - that's what he does, that's what he focuses on. People feed off that. Pitchers love that.'
For the past few days, Ross had completely immersed himself in scouting reports, doing his homework studying hitters, getting mentally prepared to contribute.
'Ask my wife,' he said, 'I've been a little crabby lately.'
But all the work made Wednesday night that much more enjoyable. It is unclear now when Ross's next opportunity might come. If Lester pitches again - meaning, if the Red Sox do not sweep the Cardinals - Farrell indicated Ross would catch him again.
Nevertheless, Ross will always have Game 1.
'That was pretty cool,' Ross said. 'That's on the top of my list right there - that game. I'd like to hit a home run, but other than that. ...'
He trailed off, and a reporter tried changing subjects: 'Back to Lester.'
'Let's talk about me a little more,' Ross said, smiling. He was only teasing, and no one could blame him. It was his night to gloat.
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