Up until this point, these recaps have been dominated by Nike… I’m happy to bring some attention to the other brands, and the Sox are one of the most diverse teams in the league in terms of footwear branding.  The cleats below are the models that have been worn by Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Julio Lugo, Dustin Pedroia, and Jonathan Papelbon:

As always, larger versions of the above renderings can be seen in the PE Gallery… more info on all of these models (and a couple others) after the jump.

Manny Ramirez: He’s now wearing Dodger blue and Russell Martin’s cleats, but for the past year, Manny had one of the best (if not the best) 5-Tool PE’s in the league.  Red patent leather, a red Zoom cage, and a dominantly red midsole really set them off.  He started wearing the Fuse model at right just prior to the All-Star break, but they were obviously a short-lived PE.

Jason Varitek: ‘Tek started off the year in the 5-Tool PE’s pictured at left.  They looked great, but they’re extremely similar to a couple of the pairs that Orlando Hudson and Mark Teixeira have worn this season.  For the last few months, however, he turned back the clock and broke out the old Diamond Fury cleats he’s had since around 2005.  My guess is that the change was slump-induced… he’s having his worst offensive season ever, and maybe he’s hoping a pair of cleats from better times will change his luck.

Dustin Pedroia: This is the first of many Easton PE’s that you’ll be seeing in these recaps.  Pedroia has been wearing these Foundation player exclusives for a while now, and I’m really looking forward to what Easton hooks him up with in the future.  The only other pair he’s worn this year have been his white / red All-Star Game PE’s… you can see them here.

Jonathan Papelbon: The pics from above are from the 2007 World Series, but Papelbon has continued wearing these home and away Vero II PE’s throughout the first half of this season.  They both have an older Reebok outsole and a “Cinco Ocho” on the tongue (unfortunately I don’t have a close-up picture to prove this… and yes, that is a direct reference to Chad Johnson).  Papelbon has been wearing a black / red pair of what is likely the Vero III’s since the All-Star break… I’ll add those to the gallery when I have a pic to work from.

Julio Lugo: One of the benefits of playing in a large market is the ability for otherwise unworthy players to get a customized shoe.  Julio Lugo is a prime example… he’s had a couple decent years in his career, but he’s been awful for his entire stint in Boston.  Nonetheless, he wears this black / red / white Pro Limited G4 PE from Mizuno.

And now, here’s a couple Japanese cleats that I unfortunately haven’t been able to do renderings for…

Daisuke Matsuzaka: Dice-K has a new signature cleat this year and they have a couple of the same elements as his 2007 model.  The Fuse midsole, the strange lace cover (see bottom right above), and the name embroidery are all the same… but what’s really interesting about these cleats is the upper design — and more specifically, how it has changed throughout the season.  You can see how his cleats looked at the beginning of the year at above left, but the lateral swoosh has moved more towards the toe as the season has progressed (see the pictures at right).  The medial swoosh has changed as well… it’s small and white on the left, small and red at middle right, and large and red at top right.

Hideki Okajima: These are similar to what So Taguchi has worn for years… old-fashioned upper and a classic low-profile Japanese midsole.  If there’s any Japanese readers out there who know more about these, please get in touch.

That’s it for the Sox PE’s… the only one I left out is David Ortiz’ signature model, but I already covered those (and they can be purchased here).  Also, one more note… I originally intended to do one of these recaps per day in August, but with all of the renderings I’ve been doing, it’s taking a bit longer.  I’ll still be going in alphabetical order and trying to do one every few days… next up will be the Chicago Cubs.

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