Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,

The 2010 Red Sox are over and done,

Too quickly the season came to an end,

And summer departs with the setting sun.

Promises made of “pitching and defense”,

The “bridge year” and “run prevention”;

With 89 wins, it went up in smoke

Despite Theo’s best intentions.

Beckett, Ellsbury, Hermida and Pedey,

Martinez, Youk and Lowell were missed,

Cameron, Varitek, Buchholz and more

Nineteen in all on the disabled list.

Thumbs, toes, hands and ribs,

Mono, hamstrings, fingers and feet,

Non-displaced fractures and ligament tears,

Too much for the medical staff to treat.

Beltre, the one-man wrecking machine

Took out two of his own in left field.

The victims, Hermida and Ellsbury,

Will their ribs ever truly be healed?

Big Papi’s bad April the talk of the town,

The newspapers stated the facts.

By July he wore an All-Star crown.

 “Laser show”, Pedey said, “Relax!”

Our All-Star second baseman,

Pedey’s season crashed to an end.

His bat replaced by crutches,

From a fractured foot he will mend.

The ever-changing outfield,

A new line-up every day.

J.D. Drew was the steady one.

I still miss Jason Bay.

Where, oh where has your fastball gone?

Oh where, Josh Beckett, did it go?        

2,010 was the year of the pitcher,

But you were a big no-show.

John Lackey, dear John Lackey

Were you sent from the Angels to spy?

Remembering the ’09 playoffs,

Are you really the same guy?

Dice-K, all the time you spent

Working out at the A.P.I.;

With only a 9 and 6 record

Tell me why is your paycheck so high?

The bullpen stumbled and faltered.

The old Bullpen Band is now gone.

Papelbon tragically blew eight saves.

Wakefield played his knuckleball song.

BUT…

Great stories kept emerging,

Curses of the past be damned.

Darnell McDonald’s walk-off,

Daniel Nava’s first pitch grand slam.

The Fenway faithful stood as one.

How we cheered, oh yes, we did.

So happy for Nava’s mom and dad;

How proud they were of their kid.

The somersault dives of Ryan Kalish

Quickly earned him the name “Special K”.

Lars Anderson flashed leather at first base.

Felix Doubrant put on a display.

Josh Reddick stood in at the plate,

The young girls blow him kisses.

Will this winter bring news of his pending trade?

No way, not even for Adrian Gonzales.

Mike Lowell’s homerun just off the DL,

Ryan Kalish’s rookie grand slam,

Pedroia’s amazing three homerun night

The offense had plenty wham-bam.

Beltre’s bended knee moon shots,

With arms seemingly made of lead,

High up over the monster they flew,

But just don’t touch his head.

Playing every position but catcher and first,

Super utility man, Bill Hall,

For one surprising inning,

From the mound he threw the ball.

Our ‘07 World Series MVP,

Mike Lowell, a man of great class;

Knowing it was time to hang ‘em up

Before he ran out of gas.

The grit of Marco Scutaro,

The toughness of Mike Cam.

Some guys will play through anything,

Like Beltre with his bad ham.

The return at last of Jed Lowrie,

His health had been an issue.

When his bat silenced the critics,

I had to reach for a tissue.

Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz,

Putting so few men on the bases,

They discovered something special inside,

And for that they became our aces.

Daniel Bard, his power and poise,

His arm, like a bazooka gun.

Scott Atchison’s surprising knack

For getting the job done.

Victor Martinez learned from Tek

What it means to play for Boston.

Their hard work and determination

Will never be forgotten.

A few extra words for Dustin Pedroia,

We missed watching him make the dirt fly.

Not big enough to be called a vacuum

He’s more of a “Dustbuster” guy.

Nomar came back to Boston

Although only for one day.

Always a red sock at heart, he said

From our hearts he never did stray.

All those not here mentioned

Your contributions were not in vain.

Perhaps you were not here long enough,

Or I can’t find a rhyme for your name.

We of Red Sox Nation

Will always stand as one.

So proud of our home town team

Although they could not get it done.

But hold your heads up high, my boys,

Those red socks that you wear

Give us courage to shout from the monster seats

“Just wait until next year!”