YankeesRedSox.com

Don't look now but the Red Sox find themselves 1.5 games out of the wild card.  Having won 7 of their last 8, the Red Sox have snuck up in the standings.

First off, I think we can put to bed the notion that David Ortiz is done.  He got out of the gate poorly, again, but has turned things around to the tune of a .878 OPS with most of his damaging coming in May.  Ortiz is .359/.408/.781/1.190 in since May 1.  He might not keep that up, but he is probably more like the player we saw from June 1st on in 2009.  He'll never hit 50 HRs again (lob your steroid jokes here), but he is good for decent production.

Kevin Youkilis is the main offensive force for the Red Sox and Adrian Beltre, even though I cannot stand watching him hit, has been productive.  Beltre's at bats are just so opposite of what I've come to appreciate about Red Sox hitters.  No patience, no selectivity, but if he can maintain his .327 average, then his obp and slg will probably be just fine and I can more than cope.

The next reason, and probably the biggest reason, is pitching.  The staff has posted a 1.90 ERA over the same period with a WHIP of 1.03.  Since my 2nd to last post, a mere 8 days ago, the staff has cut its ERA by half a run.

Things have been going well especially with the return of Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron.

Speaking of Ellsbury, he might not be out of the woods injury-wise just yet.  He reported some soreness and was a scratch from last night's game.

Observations from Tuesday night:  Adrian Beltre has seemingly found his way with the glove making 2 great diving, ranging plays to his left.  Manny Delcarmen has found his fastball posting 95 mph heat in the 7th inning.  Daniel Bard has one of the easiest, effortless deliveries I've seen.  There is a buzz when he comes into the game what with his ability to light up the radar.

Last observation, it is amazing how quickly things can change.  I was really worried about this team just a week ago and while I can't say with any certainty they have figure things out, their play has improved enough to at least allow me to think they could make the playoffs.  There's a reason people say "it's a long season."

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:52 AM | Permalink

Josh Beckett was placed on the DL today with back issues.  I really hope that's the reason he has stunk so far in 2010 and that he can get himself health for his sake and the team's sake.

Taking his place is Joe Nelson who had a cup of coffee with Boston in 2004.  He can strike you out and he can also walk you.

Given Nelson's promotion, I have to assume Tim Wakefield will step into the rotation.

Speaking of Wakefield, as is normal with scuffling teams, there have been snippy moments in the past few days starting with Wakefield voicing his unhappiness with his role on the team. 

Daisuke Matsuzaka and Victor Martinez vaguely criticized one another after Monday's game.  It was clear they weren't on the same page all night long and the results back that up.

And Mike Lowell made comments suggesting he and the team would be better of if the Red Sox just released him.  Disappointing comments from Lowell and Wakefield as they are always referred to as a perfect gentlemen.  Obviously they want to play, who doesn't, but these are "me first" statements, not team first statements.

What will cure general grumpiness?  How 'bout a 10-game winning streak.

The positive to take out of things with this team is that they hopefully cannot pitch any worse than they have and hopefully their defense improves with the return of Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron.  If the staff can put it together and if the offense keeps going the way it's going, their might be life yet on this team.  Lots of "hopes" and "ifs" but what else do I have to work with?

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 04:50 PM | Permalink

Over the last decade, the New York Yankees, on a few occasions, started a season flat and fell out of contention early on.  But they always righted the ship and made a 2nd half surge and ended up in the thick of it.

I'm sure hoping the Red Sox can do the same thing.  They are bad right now and every possible thing that can go wrong, is going wrong.  They are 19-20 and look totally dysfunctional.  They do have moments of good play, but then things come crashing back down.  Last night's game was a perfect parallel to how their season has gone.

For a starting rotation that was mentioned in the same breath as other great rotations, the Red Sox starters have posted a 4.99 ERA with a 1.442 WHIP.  Sure their starting catcher has a .623 OPS (a catcher known for his bat, not his defense), but it isn't the Red Sox offense that is the problem.

What happened to improved run-prevention?  We were all worried about scoring runs but so far that worry was misdirected as the Red Sox have scored 203 runs which puts them in 3rd place in MLB, behind the Yankees  - 219 and the Phillies - 212.  The Red Sox have allowed 212 runs which puts them 4th worst in baseball.

The defense has been suspect as evidenced by the play of Jeremy Hermida and Darnell MacDonald last night.  Both players combined to turned 3 outs into 3 extra-base hits.  MacDonald was there in time but booted it while Hermida might have looked to make a good effort, which he did, but he took the worst routes to the baseball.  Had he taken the best routes, or even mediocre routes, those would have been outs.

No matter, the inability to shut down other teams offenses is the problem right now.  I suppose if the offense can keep things up and the pitchers can learn to pitch, this team might be capable of a surge, but it doesn't look good.  I'm left scratching my head.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tonight represents one of the most exciting sports nights Boston has seen in quite some time.  The Boston Celtics are playing game 3 of their playoff series, the Boston Bruins are playing game 4 of their playoff series and the Red Sox host the New York Yankees.

I don't have picture in picture technology so I am going to be forced into much channel changing.  My left thumb should be pretty well worn out by the time the night is over.

Because this isn't CelticsCavaliers.com nor is it BruinsFlyers.com, I'll stick with some YankeesRedSox.com commentary.

The Red Sox are a game over .500 and trail first-place Tampa by 6.5 games and second-place NY by 5 games.  The bad news is that that is really not how you want to start a season.  The good news is that there are 133 games left.

Red Sox starting pitching has turned a corner led by Jon Lester.  And the new additions, Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro have bit reasonably well too.  Beltre hasn't been the defensive whiz we expected however and it just seems wrong to have him in the line-up, what with his free swinging ways.

When Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron return, this team will be more complete offensively.  Darnell McDonald and Bill Hall has been a capable fill-ins, but they'd be better suited for the bench.

If Mike Cameron cannot find his swing here, then a platoon with Jeremy Hermida (split aren't so hot in 2010, but have been in his career) might be in order.

Victor Martinez has really gotten off to a lousy start in 2010, not great timing for a player whose value is in his bat and who is in his walk year.  If he cannot hit, he certainly can't fall back on his defense, so time to kick it in gear Victor.

Then we arrive at David Ortiz.  He has 4 more home runs than he did at this time last year, but has been otherwise terrible.  On my April 14th post, I suggested Terry Francona give him until May 1.  If no results, platoon him with Lowell.  And that seems to be exactly what he has done.  If by June 1, Ortiz doesn't have healthy splits against righties, well then it might be time to send him packing.

Like all Red Sox vs. Yankees match-ups, this one is important.  A sweep by the Red Sox means they are right back in the wild-card hunt, while a sweep by New York means things just got much harder.  I'll be watching tonight, but I'll be watching 2 other games too.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 04:36 PM | Permalink