Midseason Report Card
The time has come, people! We’re halfway home, clinging to a three game lead in the American League east, and, if our beloved Red Sox have any chances of post-season glory, they best maintain that lead as it is now all but a certainty that the Wild Card team of 2006 will be coming from the hotly contested central division. But with the depleted Yankees still managing to somehow hang on to second place, despite most of their starting line-up being on the disabled list, and with the “for real” Toronto Blue Jays are hot on their heels in third,
So, as we sit here at the halfway point, it’s time for southcoast247.com’s annual mid-season report card!
Pitching Wins Ballgames…
…unless your bullpen features the likes of Rudy Seanez, Julian Tavarez, and the infuriatingly inconsistent Keith Foulke (currently on the disabled list). Even Mike Timlin, who has suffered from the occasional bout of “dead arm”, has shown that the past two seasons of overuse may have finally caught up to him. However, thanks to a combination of injury and necessity, the bullpen has gotten an earlier-than-expected injection of youth in the guise of Craig Hansen, and Manny Delcarmen, as well as young lefty Javier Lopez, who have all combined to push Seanez into a pure mop-up duty role (with Tavarez probably not far behind). Anchoring what is only now starting to look like an effective bullpen is Jonathan Papelbon, whose 26 saves in 29 chances has him in a three-way tie for the MLB lead, and his microscopic .057 ERA is best amongst closers. If Hansen and Delcarmen can provide a consistent bridge to Timlin/Papelbon, the Sox should be sitting pretty come October, but up to this point, save for Papelbon’s phenomenal rookie season, this pen hasn’t been so mighty.
As for starters, Curt Schilling (10-3) has been the iron horse of the staff (as is his nature), propping up uneven outings from Josh Beckett (11-4), who is en route to setting a record for home runs relinquished (26). Time Wakefield (7-8) has been a victim of low run support, a catcher who couldn’t handle the knuckleball (since remedied by the return of Doug Mirabelli), and has now revealed that he’s been pitching with a sore back for much of the season. Still, he’s pitched much better than his line shows, and tends to do better as the weather heats up. Meanwhile, Matt Clement (5-5) continues to do little to justify his hefty contract, and is currently rehabbing a “tired arm”. Stepping in to fill his shoes, rookie Jon Lester has been brilliant, posting a 4-0 record and a 2.89 ERA. If Lester can overcome his occasional control problems, this kid could be next year’s number three solution. Rounding out the starting rotation we have a virtual parade of scrubs and scrap heap finds that have been filling in for David Wells, whose return to Fenway seems less and less likely.
So, considering all of the injuries, the baffling inconsistency of the likes of Tavarez and Seanez, and the fact that Josh Beckett could very well give up more home runs this year than David Ortiz hits, things could be a hell of a lot worse. Grade: B
Defense, Defense, Defense!
Theo Epstein said that he was going to make an improvement over last year’s woefully inadequate defense, but who could have foreseen this? The Boston Red Sox now lead Major League Baseball with a nifty .990 fielding percentage, committing only 31 errors over 87 games, with an infield that is the baseball equivalent of a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Mike Lowell, Alex Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, Mark Loretta, and super-sub, Alex Cora have a combined 16 errors. For comparison’s sake, Edgar Renteria committed 30 errors all by his lonesome in 2005. Grade: A+
What Offensive Downgrade?
While tinkering with the team’s defensive structure, we had all been warned that there would be something of an offensive downgrade. With both Mike Lowell and Alex Gonzalez coming off of extremely poor offensive seasons, Mark Loretta an unproven commodity in the American League, and Coco Crisp basically being a wash stats-wise when compared to the departed Johnny Damon, this Red Sox team looked like the only way it would win games would be to pitch well, and give up less runs than they scored.
Apparently, though, no one told that to the players.
Lowell, once considered a “throw-in” in the Beckett deal, has been nothing short of superb, hitting .304, with a whopping 31 doubles, while Gonzalez has been on fire since his early season struggles, hitting a crisp .279 from the 9 hole. Loretta has proven to be the prototypical number two hitter, with a burly .303 average and a .353 OBP, helping accidental lead-off hitter, Kevin Youkilis, set the table with his .292 average (and he’s been slumping!), and gaudy .403 OBP!
Oh, and while we’re talking average, let us not forget Trot Nixon, who is hitting a smooth .310. Is it time to talk extension with him now, Theo?
As for power, how about David Ortiz’s league-leading 31 home runs, Manny Ramirez’s 24 (to match his uniform number, of course). Mike Lowell has chipped in with 12 dingers of his own, and Youks is nipping at his heels with 10. The Sox are seventh in all of baseball with 115 long ones. Another potential basher in Wily Mo Pena will be returning to the team after an extended trip to the DL, and will spell Nixon versus lefties from the 5 hole.
Of course, not everyone’s having a banner year. Jason Varitek is hitting a paltry .236, while Coco Crisp (.269) isn’t making anyone forget about Damon just yet. Doug Mirabelli has only recently come out of his offensive coma, hitting just around the Mendoza line (.176).
The Red Sox are third in baseball, with 490 runs scored, and are sixth in slugging, with .455. It’s a downgrade from the slammin’ Sox of 2004, but this kind of offense combined with the best defense in the game is something special indeed. Grade: B+
There’s not much point in grading Terry Francona, here, as I think everyone can agree that, with all of the injuries that have plagued this club, he’s done one hell of a job keeping this team in first place (albeit by a much slimmer margin than one would hope). If the Sox can keep themselves frosty in the field, and hot at the plate, the post-season will be theirs to lose! Overall Grade: B
The time has come, people! We’re halfway home, clinging to a three game lead in the American League east, and, if our beloved Red Sox have any chances of post-season glory, they best maintain that lead as it is now all but a certainty that the Wild Card team of 2006 will be coming from the hotly contested central division. But with the depleted Yankees still managing to somehow hang on to second place, despite most of their starting line-up being on the disabled list, and with the “for real” Toronto Blue Jays are hot on their heels in third,
