With the 2010 Major League Baseball season having passed the quarter pole (40 games) for teams this week, I figured it was time to look at the Red Sox season thus far. Over the off season we were told time and time again that the team was going to be built on pitching and defense and General Manager Theo Epstein and his baseball operations people set out to embrace this philosophy.
They did so by signing pitcher John Lackey away from the Los Angeles Angels, three-time Gold Glove winning outfielder Mike Cameron away from Milwaukee, two-time Gold Glove winning third baseman Adrian Beltre from Seattle and shortstop Marco Scuturo away from the Toronto Blue Jays. They also moved Jacoby Ellsbury to left field and made Victor Martinez the everyday catcher. On paper it all looks good but in reality it’s the pitching and the defense that has let this team down while the supposed questionable offense has kept this teams head above water for much of the season.
Offensively, in the American League, the team is tied for 5th in batting average at .270 with Minnesota; 4th in OBP; 2nd in slugging pct and 2nd in OPS. They are second in home runs to Toronto; 4th in RBI; 2nd in hits and 3rd in runs scored. Where they’re lacking is in stolen bases. Generally we don’t associate the Red Sox with swiped bags but since the arrival of Ellsbury in late 2007 it has become a weapon in manager Terry Francona’s arsenal. With Ellsbury on the DL since early April, the Sox as a team have only 12 steals in 18 chances. If Ellsbury and Cameron, who has also been on the DL since early April, were both in the lineup that number would be significantly higher thus making the Sox offense even more potent.
The pitching though is another story, at times it shines like last night with Jon Lester throwing the teams first complete game of 2010 or the night before with Clay Buchholz earning glowing praise from Twins broadcaster and should be Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven. Then it’s been shaky like Monday night’s start from Daisuke Matsuzaka in the Bronx; or Josh Beckett’s season or the up and down performances of Lackey.
They are 13 out of 14 teams in the AL in ERA with a 4.78, only Kansas City is worse. They’ve allowed the most earned runs (204) and runs (222); they’re 5th in walks (308), the staff WHIP is a whopping 1.40 good for 10th and they have the sixth highest batting average against in the league. In 19 save opportunities the bullpen has blown 7. The staff has given up the 5th most hits, the 4th most HRs and the 3rd most total bases. You want to talk stolen bases against? You might want to look at this with only one eye open it’s kinda scary. Opponents have stolen 48 bases and have only been thrown out or caught by pitchers 10 times for a caught stealing pct of 17%. Only New York’s pct is worse (15%)
In 42 games the defense has committed 27 errors (7th most in AL), 7 of them alone by Beltre. It’s not just the errors though that are killing them. I can’t recall in the last 7 or 8 years a Boston team who misplays and misreads and misjudges the ball so often. Granted part of the problem is you have pretty much an entire outfield with little or no Fenway Park experience but that only goes so far. And Beltre needs to start fielding his position better. The way he has played defensively needs to change.
This team is still searching for an identity. They’re like the family uncle with multiple personalities. For a few games they’re resilient, they’ll fall way behind only to comeback on you and win. There are days they’re lackadaisical, some days they will put in a good effort from beginning to end and other days they are just totally uninspired. I don’t know what needs to change to bring about a better effort as a team. Maybe there isn’t as good a chemistry amongst teammates as there was in the past. We’ve already seen what appears to be a breakdown in communication between Martinez and Matsuzaka. We’ve seen Mike Lowell, of all people; complain about his situation and how he doesn’t know what his role is.
As someone who has watched Francona manage sheltered, fragile egos at times over the last seven seasons, I find it hard to believe no one has told Lowell what to expect. We’ve seen David Ortiz flip out on the media, flip out when being pulled from a game for a pinch hitter only to rise from the junk pile to look like, well “Big Papi” again. We’ve seen Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek take more reserved roles, handle them professionally and excel in the them. We’ve seen J.D. Drew start to carry the team like he can when he gets hot. But something’s different, there’s a different vibe there and most of it appears to be negative.
I will say this, if the team doesn’t get righted and soon, it will be an ugly summer in the Hub. Sports radio phone lines will blister with activity, Bloggers will wear out keyboards, heads will be called for and change will be demanded. It’s been a long time since it’s been an ugly summer in Boston but this has the makings of one, especially with the two teams the Sox are chasing for the division and the wild card playing so well through the first quarter of the season. We know those teams won’t be able to keep that pace but it won’t do any good if when they start to fall off the Red Sox are doing the doggy paddle in the Charles River just trying to keep their heads above the water.
