Status Update on Red Sox Offseason Shopping Cart

    The Winter Meetings are like a 4-5 day long Black Friday for MLB teams, minus the deep discounts and long lines.   Big-ticket free agents fly off the "shelves" and trades are made as teams stock up for the coming season.   So far, the Red Sox' cart contains Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino (as in the Flyin' Hawaiian).    Both have been signed through the 2015 season and they fill holes that needed to be filled.   They are solid pickups who can hold the fort down while the prospects continue developing.        Before the meetings started, the Sox had brought David (no relation to Cody) Ross as a backup catcher and Jonny Gomes to play left field.  

     Having filled most of their position player spots (they may still be looking for bench players or a shortstop), the task that remains is a doozy:  Find a starting pitcher or two that can stabilize a rotation full of gargantuan question marks, preferably one who isn't a gargantuan question mark himself.   Let's take a look at who they have and why their question mark is so large and unwieldy:  

      1. Jon Lester:   What the eff happened to Lester in 2012?   He looked like Jon Lester.  He sounded like Jon Lester.   He didn't however, pitch like Jon Lester--at least not the Jon Lester we were used to seeing since his breakout season in 2008.   He had no apparent injury, but his velocity was down and he just wasn't putting away the batters like he used to.   At 28, he was supposed to be in his prime.   Was 2012 a down year or is he having a puzzling early decline?   Can John Farrell help him find his form again, even if he is no longer the pitching coach?  

     2. Clay Buchholz:  2012 was A Tale of Two Clay Buchholzes.   One was completely lost on the mound, pitching batting practice to opposing lineups and posting an ERA over 8 in the early weeks of the season.   The other was dominant, looking like his 2010 self for the middle of the season.   In September, after the Bailout Trade, he looked to be regressing to his early season form.   Which Clay Buchholz will we see in 2013?   Can he stay healthy?

    3. Felix Doubront:  Doubront didn't do too badly for a rookie.   His season was essentially the opposite of Buchholz's.   He came out of the gate strong, hit a wall mid-season, and after being given a breather late in the season in the way of a skipped start, he finished strong.   His biggest bugaboo in his first full season in the majors was not being able to pitch deep into games due to getting into deep counts early and often.   He also struggled at times to keep the ball in the park.   Will these struggles continue and keep him in the back of the rotation or will he learn how to better pace himself now that he has a full season under his belt?

    4. John Lackey:   The last big free agent starting pitcher signed, Lackey has struggled mightily in a Red Sox uniform.   He was average or just a little below in 2010, but absolutely dreadful in 2011.   His 2011 was most likely due to an elbow badly in need of Tommy John surgery, which he had after the season.   He should be ready to go in 2013, a year and several months post-surgery.   The question is, how will he pitch in 2013?   Will he be the John Lackey who was the Angels' ace before heading east to Boston three years ago?  Will he be the 2010 John Lackey?   Or, heaven forbid, will he be the 2011 version of himself?   After all, Dice-K didn't improve much after his TJ surgery, did he?    It's more likely he'll be the 2010 version, which is #4 starter material on a team that hopes to contend in the AL East.  

     Ideally, the Red Sox would be looking for an ace who can take some of the pressure off of Lester and Buchholz, who can slide into the #2 and #3 slots, which are more in line with their ability than the #1 and #2 ever were.   Alas, the only pitcher who comes close to slotting in the #1 spot appears to be the pitching version of Carl Crawford and not a good fit for the ultra-intense Boston market.   That would be Big Free Agent Prize Zach Greinke.   Right below him would be Anibal Sanchez, who is seeking a 6+ year megadeal.   The Nats snapped up Dan Haren, who has a high upside despite an injury-filled down year in 2012.

  Below Haren, you have the likes of Brandon McCarthy, who is coming off a brain injury (from taking a line drive to the head last September), but has a high upside as long as he is free of any lingering physical or psychological effects of said injury, Kyle Lohse, who has only pitched in the NL, Ryan Dempster, who struggled in his only AL gig last year with the Rangers and will be in his age 36 season, and Edwin Jackson, who would probably pitch to a mid 4 ERA in the AL East.   R.A. Dickey's name has been bandied about as a trade candidate, but the Mets' asking price is exorbitantly high for a 38-year-old knuckleballer coming off a career season.    Gavin Floyd as a trade candidate projects to be a #4 or #5 guy in the AL East and the Red Sox have a glut of #4s and #5s already.   My guess is that the Red Sox land one (or two) of McCarthy, Lohse, Dempster or Jackson.   If McCarthy looks to be fully recovered from that scary brain injury, he's probably my favorite because of his AL experience and the fact that he's younger than Lohse and Dempster.  Jackson is also on the younger side, but he can be inconsistent and a little too close to what the Sox already have.  

 



     

Let's Play Red Sox GM, Shall We?

Now that the hideous 2012 season is over, Bobby V is gone, and a new manager in John Farrell is in place, I'm coming out of blog hiding to play GM, like the guys at Over The Monster  just finished doing.  First, while I was skeptical of the Farrell hire at first, especially given the dreaded word "compensation," it's only fair to give the guy a chance and see what he can do in a place that likely seems more comfortable and more like home to him than Toronto ever did.   In Farrell, the Red Sox have someone who will be on the same page as the front office and trusted enough to hire his own coaching staff.   He has brought Torey Lovullo and Brian Butterfield from his Toronto staff to be bench and third base coach, respectively.   First base, pitching, and hitting coaches haven't yet been chosen and Gary Tuck's status as bullpen coach is unknown.  

 All that said, it's time to look at the roster and see what can be done to make the team at least somewhat competitive next year without sacrificing the future.   The Humongous Trade of Epic Proportions (HTEP for short) that went down on August 25, where the desperate-for-a-playoff-berth Dodgers bailed the Red Sox out of bad contract purgatory by taking on the hefty money allotted to Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, and Josh Beckett, gave the team oodles of financial breathing room with which to rebuild the team.   In order to avoid repeating the mistakes that led to such a historic deal, the Red Sox need to spend their newfound windfall wisely.   Ben Cherington has his work cut out for him this offseason; he must decide what approach the Red Sox will take to rebuilding and how to balance the need to reload the team with quality homegrown talent and the need to regain lost trust and credibility with the fanbase by fielding a team that has a fighting chance at a playoff berth.  

 As to the homegrown talent, there's a lot of it just a year or two away from being major-league ready.  The 4 B's (Bogaerts, Bradley, Barnes, and Brentz) headline the group of promising prospects and all four could potentially fill some holes the Sox have going into this offseason.   Xander Bogaerts, provided he doesn't physically "outgrow" the position, could become the long-term shortstop the team has been missing since the Nomar trade in 2004.   Jackie Bradley, Jr is a center fielder who could make Ellsbury expendable when he hits free agency a year from now.  Matt Barnes could be a top of the rotation starter the Red Sox badly need to stabilize their rotation.   Bryce Brentz is an outfielder who can fill the left-field slot vacated by Crawford.   Unfortunately, Opening Day 2013 is a little too far ahead of schedule for these young guys to reach The Show.   Late season 2013 or sometime in 2014 is a better bet.   The holes need to be filled before then and this is where Cherington needs to make some decisions.  

 Let's start with the bane of the Red Sox' existence from September 2011 to the first days of October 2012:  Starting pitching.   Lester fell off a cliff from his previous years' production.  Buchholz had a rather odd season where he was horrendous the first month or so, then terrific for most of the summer, but turned mediocre in the fall.   Doubront showed flashes of brilliance with his strikeout stuff, but couldn't pitch economically enough to go deep into games.   Morales held his own as a starter, but the sample size is too small to project how he would do as a starter over an entire season.  Cook, Dice-K, and the various and sundry other fill-in starters were dreadful, for the most part.   Lackey missed the year with Tommy John surgery.  

  With Lester, Buchholz, Doubront, and Lackey each carrying big question marks going into the 2013 season, the rotation looks very unstable.   This is where former Red Sox prospect Anibal Sanchez comes in.   He may not have the upside of a Greinke or a Haren, but Greinke's history with anxiety disorders makes him a huge risk in the high-pressure, media-frenzied market of Boston baseball (think Carl Crawford) and Haren's bad back scares me (think Josh Beckett).   If the Red Sox are going anywhere next year, Lester and Buchholz will have to bounce back.   Sanchez slots in as a nice #3, with post-TJ Lackey and a sophomore Doubront bringing up the rear.   Lackey could surprise the Sox and pitch like a #2 or #3, or he could be as bad as post-TJ Dice-K.  

  Starting pitching is where the focus should be for the Red Sox this offseason, but they cannot afford to neglect the bullpen.   Most of the pieces for the 2013 are already in place, but the roles might need to be tweaked a bit.  Andrew Bailey struggled in his limited opportunities at closer late in the season.   Still, he deserves another shot.   If he can start the season healthy (and that's a big if, given his history) he has the potential to be at least an adequate closer.   If not, Junichi Tazawa, by virtue of his 2012 dominance, deserves a chance.   At the very least, Tazawa should be considered a candidate for setup.   Andrew Miller, Rich Hill, Clayton Mortensen, Franklin Morales and Mark Melancon are in the mix for middle relief, as well as Daniel Bard.  Oh, poor mismanaged Daniel Bard!   Can Farrell and Pitching Coach To Be Named Later fix him?   Is he a candidate for a "change of scenery" trade?   Padilla and Atchison are free agents getting on in baseball years.  Aceves, with his antics last year, coupled with mediocre to awful pitching has quite frankly worn out his welcome.

 With the pitching being taken care of, let's move to first base.   This one will not be easy to fill.   Whether or not Gonzalez was a good fit in Boston, it will be very hard to replace his production at first, both with the bat and glove.   Unlike at the other positions with holes that need to be filled, first base doesn't have an option waiting in AA or AAA.   Lars Anderson turned out to be overmatched at first and was traded to Cleveland.   The free agent options at first include Nick Swisher, Mike Napoli, Adam LaRoche (if his option isn't picked up by the Nationals), Carlos Lee, and old friend Kevin Youkilis.   LaRoche had an excellent season with the Nats last year and he's my top pick of this bunch. Many fans would love to see Youk back in a Red Sox uniform, but, sadly, I think his best days are behind him.   There's a small chance he could bounce back if he switched back to the less physically demanding first base and he would be an upgrade over the AAAA Mauro Gomez, but I'd like to see a higher than .230 average at an offense-heavy position.   A trade target is the Mets' Ike Davis and as long as he doesn't cost too dearly in prospects (Barnes and Bradley, in particular, are nearly untouchable in my opinion), he might be worth a shot.  From a marketing standpoint, if he does well in Boston, "I Like Ike" T-shirts would fly off the shelves.  

Second base being occupied by Pedey, the next hole to fill is at shortstop.   JD Drew's kid brother Stephen is a possibility, but just like big bro, he's been dealing with some injuries lately.   Then there's Jose Iglesias.   His glove could be a pitcher's best friend.   His bat, however, could be the opposing pitcher's best friend (credit to my dad on that one!).  If the lineup is stacked with elite and above-average bats who can take some of the pressure off the kid to produce, that's one thing.   If there are too many other lightweights in the lineup, as there were post-HTEP in September, then the  Sox cannot afford to carry a nearly nonexistent bat in Iglesias, no matter how good his glove.   In that case, it might be best to take a gamble on Stephen Drew. 

With Will Middlebrooks covering third base, let's move to catcher.   Is Salty the answer behind the plate?   What about Lavarnway?   Can either play at least average defense?   Salty has some pop in his bat, but he's an all-or-nothing hitter who whiffs like there's no tomorrow.   Lavarnway looked dreadful at the plate in September, but that might have been partly due to the fact that there weren't a whole lot of good bats around him to take the pressure off (as with Iglesias).  Lavarnway has a better chance of being a decent hitter than Iglesias does, but his defense, like Salty's, is suspect at the major-league level.     If it were my decision, I would keep Lavarnway, trade Salty, and find a defensively strong catcher (Jose Molina, anyone?) to be Lavarnway's backup.  

Now, onto the outfield.   There is a temptation to trade Ellsbury, who is likely to end up elsewhere when he becomes a free agent.   Ells is hard to predict, given his crazy-good season in 2011, bookended by two injury-marred seasons in 2010 and 2012.  If he doesn't run into anyone or have anyone sit on him, he could be an MVP contender, or something like that.   He's a high-risk trade for that very reason.   2010 and 2012 could severely limit what the Red Sox could get for him in a trade, as well as his choice of agent, who will make sure he enters the free-agent market when his contract expires.   If the Red Sox were to hold on to Ells and give him a qualifying offer upon his free-agency, they will receive compensation draft picks.   My verdict:  Unless they get blown away by an offer, keep Ells for 2013 and take the picks if he walks.   After all, Bradley may be ready to take his place in 2014.

For right field, I would sign Cody Ross to a 2 or 3 year deal.   Ross is not an elite player, but he is more than adequate with the bat and passable in the field.   The latter years of the deal could see Ross at DH.

Left field, the other gaping hole created by the HTEP, like first base, doesn't have any easy answers.   Nava was impressive for stretches last year, but his ceiling is AAAA and is more suitable for a bench role as a 4th or 5th outfielder.   Kalish is another candidate, but he lost most of 2011 due to injury and needs more time in AAA before he can be counted on as a starting outfielder.   Putting him on the bench would only hinder his development.   Matt Sullivan, one of the bloggers at Over The Monster, had an interesting suggestion that doesn't seem as bad as it might on first glance: Jason Bay.   Bay has been a disaster for the Mets and Sullivan suggested that the Red Sox offer to take Bay off their hands in a trade that also includes first baseman Ike Davis.   Bay, 34, is a risk, with his concussion history, but part of his problem in Queens is with the righty-killing Citi Field.   Fenway Park was a place where Bay thrived and the Green Monster is a righty power-hitter's best friend.   As a stopgap to Brentz or Bogaerts, he makes more sense than one might think.

Last but not least:  DH.   Big Papi is playing hardball again and wanting 2 years at some pretty high coin, despite missing most of the second half due to a very troubling achilles injury.   Due to that injury and the lingering effects it could have on his baserunning and hitting, its very risky to offer him a 2-year deal.   To be honest, his kvetching about his contract during the season last year rubbed me the wrong way and proved as yet another distraction (one of few non-Bobby V-related distractions).   1 year at $16 million with a team option for a second year is about as far as I would go.   If he wants more than that, call his bluff.  Let him test the open market and see what an aging, one-dimensional player with an achilles injury can get.   If he walks, having been made a qualifying offer, the Sox pick up draft picks and use the DH to rest position players.    

Well, that was an exercise in verbosity!    Here's what the team would look like in 2013 if I were in charge:

  Rotation:  Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Anibal Sanchez, Felix Doubront, John Lackey
  Bullpen:   Andrew Bailey (closer), Junichi Tazawa (setup), Mark Melancon, Andrew Miller, Franklin Morales (long relief, swing man), Clayton Mortensen, Rich Hill  (alternates include Daniel Bard & Alex Wilson)

  C:   Ryan Lavarnway
  1B:  Ike Davis (or Adam LaRoche)
  2B:  Dustin Pedroia
  SS:  Jose Iglesias (or Stephen Drew)
  3B:  Will Middlebrooks
  LF:  Jason Bay (or Ryan Kalish)
  CF:  Jacoby Ellsbury
  RF:  Cody Ross
  DH: David Ortiz (or rotating DH)
  Bench:  Jose Molina, Daniel Nava, Ivan DeJesus, Juan Carlos Linares (alternates include Mauro Gomez and Pedro Ciriaco)

   There you have it.   I'm not expecting a World Series contender out of the 2013 team or even a playoff berth, but a respectable (over .500) record is well within reach if the team can shake the injury curse of 2010-2012.   They will, in all likelihood be stronger contenders in 2014 and/or 2015 if the high-end prospects pan out.   It's not too hard, however, to improve on 2012 and I expect them to do just that, if only because Bobby V is no longer in charge.

Farewell to a blog...

     I'm shutting down the blog indefinitely, as I can't stomach the watered-down version of baseball the Red Sox have been playing since last September and if I find the games unwatchable, there's really nothing to blog about.    There's nothing positive to say--too much negativity gets nauseating to read and to write.    Maybe it makes me a fairweather Red Sox fan, but I'm also a baseball fan and I like to see the game played right.   If I have to look to another team to see that, then so be it.  

The Cody and Adrian Show

 In the absence of The Large Father, Cody Ross and Adrian Gonzalez combined to set off fireworks reminiscent of a certain national holiday that happened two weeks prior.   Ross knocked two three-run bombs and a double.   Gonzo had an RBI single in the first inning, a solo dinger following Ross's second foray above the monster, and later a 2-run single.  The two combined to drive in all 10 of the Red Sox runs last night, Ross with 6 RBI and Gonzo with 4.   Playing a heavy supporting role in the hit parade were two guys who have missed half the season but are looking pretty impressive batting first and second:  Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford.   The sample size is minuscule, but perhaps these are the positions Ells and Crawford should have been in all along.   They set the table for Ross and, combined with Ciriaco at the bottom of the order, create havoc on the base paths.    Games like last night's, when the hitting and pitching come together have been all too rare this season.   Felix Doubront, given a boatload of run support from the aforementioned hitters, overcame a shaky first inning to go 6 and give up only 1 run.    Was this game a rare treat or the start of a much-improved second half?

Red Sox Midseason Report Card

This is the kind of report card that would get you on TV restriction and some sessions with a tutor.    The Red Sox midseason grades aren't pretty, that's for sure.   Entering the All-Star break, the Beantown Boys are 43-43.   Sure, there are 76 games left to play, but without better health and a dramatic turnaround by glaringly underperforming supposed "stars", the second half might not look too much different from the first.

Let's start with the pitchers.    When the lowest ERA in the rotation is 4.41 (Doubront), it's no wonder the team's sitting at .500.

 Jon Lester:  D   Lester is supposed to be the ace of this rotation, but his performance to date has been underwhelming to say the least.   A disappointing and below-league-average 4.49 ERA and a 5-6 record from a guy who was not long ago on the cusp of becoming an elite pitcher is one of the biggest mysteries of the season.  Lester is only 28 and should be in his prime.   Why this big step back and why has he become Lackey-esque in his demeanor on the mound, glaring at umpires when he doesn't get a strike call?    He has the stuff to be great, but he has to get his head back in the game if the team is to make any noise in the second half.

  Josh Beckett:  C   Not dominant by any stretch, Beckett has been slightly better than Lester.  Given his age (32), some of his issues might be attributed to some age-related decline.   His velocity is down from when he was at his best and he has to learn how to become a finesse pitcher as opposed to a power pitcher.   He figured prominently in the "chicken and beer" scandal following the September implosion and that has landed him in hot water with many fans as well as the TMZ-esque Boston sports media.  He also needs to step up his game in the second half.

  Clay Buchholz:  C+  He was absolutely dreadful in April and early May, but he was beginning to put it together before landing on the DL (and in the ICU!) with esophagitis.   He's due to return to the rotation when they pick up the season in Tampa Bay this weekend.    Seeing how ill he was, it seems he would need more time to get his strength back.  Therefore, my expectations for him in his first few starts back are tempered.

  Felix Doubront:  B  Not a whole lot was expected out of the young Doubront coming into this season.   He made the rotation due to a very strong showing in Spring Training and he's been one of the bright spots in the rotation in the first half.   He has struggled lately as he's had to adjust to the league adjusting to him.   He's also close to exceeding, if he hasn't already, his innings count from last season in Pawtucket.    However, he rebounded a bit in his start on Saturday night against the Yankees, despite allowing 3 runs in the first inning.

  Franklin Morales:  B  Morales converted to a starter in June to fill a hole in the rotation when Beckett went on the DL for shoulder inflammation and pitched very well in his first three starts before getting roughed up against the Yankees last Saturday.   His work in the bullpen was solid, especially on the road.   Fenway has given him a bit of trouble, however.     He is scheduled to remain in the rotation for the time being, but he could return to the bullpen should the need arise or should his innings start to pile up.

Daisuke Matsuzaka: incomplete, but what we've seen so far is not encouraging.  

Aaron Cook:  incomplete, but he could play a more prominent role in the second half.   His 81-pitch 2-hit shutout of the Mariners on June 29 was impressive.

Daniel Bard:  D-  There's no sugarcoating how disastrous the Bard-as-starter experiment was.   After an outing where the Blue Jays fans were screaming to get him out of the game before one of his errant pitches seriously hurt one of their players, Bard was sent down to Pawtucket to work out whatever it was that made him completely unable to find the plate.   He has continued to struggle in AAA and he seems to have lost all of his confidence.   It's really sad to see, as he has so much talent and when he was a setup man, he could reach triple digits on a regular basis.   I hope he can find that velocity and control once again and be able to help the Red Sox in the same manner he has in the past--in the bullpen.

Alfredo Aceves:  B-  He has a high ERA (4.33) for a closer, but the number is skewed somewhat by his abysmal opening series against the Tigers and the bullpen meltdown against the Yankees on April 21.   He is 19 for 23 in save opportunities.   Think 2010 Papelbon.

Matt Albers:  B+  He has a propensity for giving up the long ball every now and then, but overall his performance has been very good, with a 2.38 first half ERA.

Scott Atchison:  A  Uncle Atch has quietly put together a solid first half, with a minuscule 1.79 ERA and has earned one of the few A's on this midseason report card.

Mark Melancon:  C+  Melancon struggled so badly in his first few outings in the Red Sox bullpen that he was promptly sent down to Pawtucket.   He dominated in AAA and earned his way back to Boston, where he looks much more like the Mark Melancon that the Sox traded Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland for.

Andrew Miller:  B+  Miller struggled mightily in the rotation last season, but he seems to have found his niche in the bullpen, sporting a 2.75 first half ERA.

Vicente Padilla:  B+  He's one scary dude and a certain Yankees first baseman thinks the guy's certifiable but he has been an asset to the Red Sox bullpen in the first half as the setup man for Alfredo Aceves.

Clayton Mortensen, Rich Hill,  Junichi Tazawa:  Incomplete

The Position Players:

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Catcher:  B   Salty's power has been fun to see, with 17 jacks so far, exceeding his total of 16 for all of last season.   However, he strikes out a whole lot and the defense leaves something to be desired.   He has improved his communication with the pitchers, however.

Kelly Shoppach, Catcher:  B  Shop's actually hitting for a decent average, given his at-bats are limited by his role as a backup.

Adrian Gonzalez, First Baseman:  C+   His average is starting to come back up, but the lack of power is still baffling.   When the Sox made the deal, then signed him to the hefty extension, it was on the premise that they were getting a heart-of-the-order power hitter.   After all, the guy hit 40 long balls playing half his games in the ginormous Petco Park.  For the first half of 2011, he was that guy, but ever since the Home Run Derby last year, coming off of shoulder surgery in the previous offseason, the home runs have been few and far between.   The Sox aren't paying all this money (and didn't send those highly-valued prospects to San Diego) for a singles and doubles hitter.    His defense at first base remains excellent and now that the infield logjam has been solved, he no longer has to roam the outfield.   To his credit, he changed positions without complaint.   However, that switch might have hurt his performance at the plate.

Dustin Pedroia, Second Baseman:  C+  It's admirable that Pedey wanted to gut it out and play through pain after his thumb injury in late May.  At the time of the injury, I thought for sure he would go on the DL and thought it would be best for him to rest it right then, but Pedey and the Red Sox decided he would play through it.  However, in doing so he may have done himself and the team more harm than good.  His game, especially at the plate, suffered dramatically.   It's likely the adjustments he made to compensate for his hurt thumb caused a second injury on that same thumb that could have him out at least a month.   Had he gone on the DL after the first injury, he might be healthy and productive instead of in a thumb cast.  

Mike Aviles, Shortstop:  B-  Aviles won the starting shortstop gig over the defensive whiz in AAA who goes by the name of Jose Iglesias and he started out swinging a hot bat and teaming up with Pedey to make turning double plays look as easy as 6-4-3.   His bat has cooled off since then and his low OBP knocked him out of the leadoff spot in favor of the more patient Daniel Nava.

Will Middlebrooks, Third Baseman:  B+  He came up while Youk was on the DL and swung such a blazing bat that Youk is now playing for those other Sox.   The defense and plate discipline could use a little work, but he's a rookie and that will come with more experience.   He already has 10 HR and 37 RBI and his return to health should be a boost to the offense.

Daniel Nava, Left Fielder:  A-  He has come down to earth lately, but in May and June, Nava was golden.   He was an on-base machine and a much-improved outfield glove.    He was called up in May when the DL claimed Cody Ross and Ryan Sweeney and proved to be a more than adequate replacement.   Once the injured starting outfielders start coming back, though, things might get interesting for the likes of him, Sweeney, and Podsednik.

Cody Ross, Outfielder:  A-  He can put the ball over the Green Monster with the best of 'em and his power has been very welcome on the Red Sox this season.

Ryan Sweeney, Outfielder: B-  Although he started out hot, hitting doubles like there was no tomorrow, injuries have been a problem for the guy the A's threw in with Bailey in the deal that sent Josh Reddick to Oakland.   He's already been on the DL twice in the first half and his bat has cooled down significantly.   His lack of power might make him expendable when Ellsbury and/or Crawford return.

Scott Podsednik, Che-Hsuan Lin, Jason Repko, Ryan Kalish:  Incomplete

David Ortiz, Designated Hitter:  A  Big Papi has lived up to his name so far this season and has carried this offense.   He has 22 HR and has 57 RBI and a .312 average.   I could do without the off-the-field dramatics about his contract status, but on the field, he's earned the all-too-rare on this first-half report card A.

Nick Punto, Utility Infielder:  C-  Punto is a liability at the plate when he doesn't get consistent at-bats.  When he gets several days worth of at-bats at a time, however, he shows signs of life.

Brent Lillibridge, Pedro Ciriaco:  Incomplete

Kevin Youkilis (First/Third Baseman, now plays for Chicago White Sox):  C  Youk never really seemed like himself this year, whether it be due to injuries and age catching up to him or alleged clashes with Bobby V.   A change of scenery has him looking rejuvenated, however.   He is thriving on the South Side.

Darnell McDonald, Outfielder, now plays for the New York Yankees:  C-   D-Mac fell victim the DFA when his low batting average made him expendable in the ever-turning outfield carousel.   The Yanks picked him up and he's now in pinstripes.

Bobby Valentine, Manager:  C+   This mark seems fair given the Red Sox' 43-43 record going into the ASB.  He has had a lot of crap to deal with, from front-office meddling to the incessant stream of injuries, to baggage from last year's collapse.   I honestly don't think Tito could have done any better given the circumstances.   However, it's hard to grade him any higher with the disappointing performance of the team so far.   The mis-step of calling Youk out publicly in the early weeks of the season may have undermined his relationship with the team.    Most of the poor performance is on the players themselves, but I was hoping Bobby V might have gotten a little more out of these guys, especially the pitchers, than he has so far.

The Red Sox as a team:  C-  Their stumbling and fumbling into the ASB has me wanting to grade them even lower, but they've had moments, particularly in May and June, when they've looked like legit contenders.   They've had an insane amount of injuries for the third year in a row and their top 3 pitchers have been outperformed by the likes of Felix Doubront, Aaron Cook, and Franklin Morales.   Their high-priced first baseman has spent the equivalent of a whole season (the second half of last season plus the first half of this one) searching for his power and their high-priced outfielder has yet to appear in a game and may need Tommy John surgery.    They've looked like little leaguers against the Yankees and Rangers and are 1-5 against the Oakland A's of all teams!   In order for them to have a prayer for even a wild card spot, the top of the rotation will need to get their act together, Ellsbury will have to return to 2011 form, Ortiz will have to keep up his first-half performance, Gonzalez will need to figure out how to hit home runs again, Salty and Aviles will have to improve their OBP, and the bullpen will have to continue to provide the quality innings it provided in the first half (April excluded).   Unless the Yankees do what the Red Sox did last September (and, as much as Red Sox Nation would love for that to happen, don't count on it), the division is out of reach.   They are only 2.5 games out of the wild card, but they'll have to fight off the Angels, Orioles, Indians, Rays, and possibly a few more teams to get there.  

 

On The Outside

Let's face the facts:  The 2012 Boston Red Sox are a mediocre, streaky team.   They don't adapt to adversity very well, as evidenced on the disastrous West Coast road trip they just finished, where they looked jet-lagged the whole way.   Their bats, evidently, didn't make the trip as they hit an abysmal .200 in the Pacific time zone.   Not the kind of stuff you want to stay up late for now, is it?   This trip came after they started to come into their own at home, going 7-2 against Miami, Atlanta, and Toronto.

Where has the offense gone?   Nava, who looked like a legitimate starting major leaguer from May to mid-June has come crashing down to earth and once again looks like the quad-A guy who was all but forgotten last year through this year's spring training.    Pitchers are adjusting to his new plate approach and he's getting rung up a lot more on called third strikes.    Pedey's thumb is bothering him once again.   Until today, Papi had long ball #400 in his head.   Gonzo may have the quietest hitting streak in Red Sox history.   Middlebrooks got antsy at the plate in RISP situations, then pulled a hammy trying to steal a base, forcing the likes of sub-Mendoza Punto into the lineup.    Salty has been moved in and out of the cleanup spot, but strikes out too much to be a good fit there, despite his impressive power numbers (16 HR so far this year, matching his total for all of last season).    Aviles has also cooled down big-time at the plate.   Kalish is rusty from his year lost to injury and belongs in AAA.   

  The pitching, aside from Dice-K's Monday night meltdown, did a decent job on the trip--that is when they weren't facing ax-grinding former Sox outfielders in Oakland (Coco "Benched in '07 ALCS" Crisp, Brandon "Shipped to Pittsburgh in the Manny-Bay deal" Moss, and Josh "Trade Bait for the Closer Who Has Yet To Throw a Pitch This Season" Reddick).    Apart from some blown saves by Aceves and some defensive clownery by Salty, Aviles and Kalish, among others, it was mainly the offense that was to blame for the embarrassing 2-5 record.  

 It doesn't get any easier when they get back to Fenway, with the Yankees in town for 4 games, including a Saturday double-header.   Things could get really ugly in Beantown if they lose 3 of 4 or get swept.    Fair or not, Red Sox Nation still has September 2011 fresh in their minds.    (It's really not fair to the players and coaches who were not with the team last year and had nothing to do with it, but the core of the team remains the same).    After climbing to third place, the Red Sox are now in a tie for 4th with the Blue Jays and could soon be sitting alone in the cellar if the Yanks have their way with them this weekend.    

 The streakiness of this team will keep them hovering around the .500 mark and will, in all likelihood, keep them out of the playoffs for a third straight year.   These aren't the Red Sox of the previous decade.   They've gone retro and they're starting to look like your parents' and grandparents' Red Sox.   At least my hometown Nationals are having themselves one helluva season so far.   When was the last time (if ever) DC had a respectable baseball team?   

A Farewell to Youk

   The Kevin Youkilis era in Boston is officially over today, as Youk has changed his "Sox" and is headed for the South Side of the Windy City.   Youk has been an unforgettable character in his nearly eight years in Boston, from the viking beard to the bobble-body batting stance to the televised altercation with Manny in the dugout to the clutch hits and sparkling defense at first base.   With the emergence of Will Middlebrooks at third base, combined with injuries taking a toll on his offensive and defensive play, the time had come to part ways with the guy whose name inspired a cheer that sounded an awful lot like booing.  

   Youk made his Red Sox debut in 2004, filling in for an injured Bill Mueller.   His role in the 2004 Championship season was limited, but he made a good enough impression to be called up when needed in 2005.   In 2006, when the Sox got Mike Lowell (along with Josh Beckett, of course) in a trade with the Marlins, Youk made the move across the diamond to first base, where he was the starter through the 2010 season.   In his prime, Youk regularly hit over .300 and in 2008, he placed third in the AL MVP vote, while his teammate Pedey won the title.   He played a key role in the 2007 playoffs, where he hit 4 home runs, one in the ALDS against the Angels and three in the ALCS against the Indians.  In the World Series, his playing time was limited to the first two games due to Big Papi having to play first base at Coors Field to keep his bat in the lineup.   He continued playing at a very high level until his season-ending thumb injury in 2010.   Switching back to playing third base in 2011 due to the acquisition of Adrian Gonzalez, Youk's numbers suffered, hitting just .258 on the season.   Playing the more physically demanding third base took a toll on his body and he had to have surgery in the offseason to fix a sports hernia.  

    In his Red Sox career, Youk batted .286, with 133 HR, 563 RBI and an OBP of .388.   He was a 3-time All Star.    So far in 2012, he has hit .233 with 4 HR and 15 RBI.   The White Sox needed an offensive upgrade at third base and the Red Sox needed to have Middlebrooks starting at third every day without juggling infielders and placing Gonzo in right field.    Middlebrooks right now is hitting .326 and giving the Angels' Mike Trout a run for Rookie of the Year.   In exchange for Youk, the Red Sox got super-ute Brent Lillibridge and pitching prospect Zach Stewart from the White Sox.   Lillibridge takes Youk's spot on the 25-man roster and Stewart is headed to Pawtucket.   Lillibridge hits for a low average, but has some pop, plays good defense, and is versatile.

  Youk's last game as a Red Sox was a memorable one, as he went 2 for 4 with an infield single and an RBI triple that fell in no man's land between Michael Bourn and Jason Heyward.   After he reached third base on the triple, he was pinch-run for by Nick Punto and received another standing ovation (he received one before his first plate appearance of the game in the second inning) and was urged by his manager, teammates, and the crowd to come out for a curtain call.   At that time, supposedly the deal had been done and it was officially his last at-bat in a Red Sox uniform.   It was a touching and classy send-off for a guy who has done so much for his team from 2004 until today.  

   In other Red Sox news, healing thoughts go out to Clay Buchholz, who is in the hospital for gastrointestinal bleeding.   He was scratched from today's start, with Aaron Cook pitching in his stead, and placed on the 15-day DL.   Buch had been turning his season around recently and I hope he feels better and is released from the hospital very soon.  

Unsolved Mysteries: Red Sox Edition

Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries, a Major League baseball team struggles to win more games than it loses, mysteriously unable to rise over the .500 mark despite multiple attempts.   An high-priced all-star slugger whose power has vanished as his salary has exponentially increased.   A starting rotation with a paralyzing fear of the strike zone.   Is a supernatural force causing this team to lose an inordinate amount of players to injuries?   The 2012 Red Sox are full of mysteries that have their fan base scratching their heads.    

 What is it that keeps this team from surpassing the .500 mark this late in the season.   As of today, May 26, they stand in last place in their division with a 22-23 record, yet with one of the largest payrolls and the highest ticket prices in the game  That's a lot of money for mediocrity.   They have reached .500 four times so far this season and each time, they have lost the game that would have given them a winning record.   Are they doomed to finishing at best 81-81?    There is a lot of season left to go, but this team leaves us with more questions than answers. 

  What of the long-coveted Adrian Gonzalez, who cost the team in both prospects to obtain him in a trade from the San Diego Padres and money in signing him to an extension?    He had offseason shoulder surgery before the 2011 season.   The first half of 2011, he was hitting home runs, though not quite as many as projected, and was leading all of baseball in RBI.   However, he chose to participate in the Home Run Derby in July as part of the All-Star Game festivities and his power has been all but nonexistent since.   Was participating in an exhibition contest with no bearing on the team's standings and coming off of shoulder surgery the wisest thing to do?   Gonzalez will deny the impact of the Derby eight ways from Sunday, but something is behind the loss of power in a player who hit 40 homers while playing in the cavernous Petco Park for 81 games a year.   Gonzalez still brings Gold Glove-caliber defense at first base, but he was acquired to be a middle-of-the-order hitter and hitters who hit 3rd or 4th in the lineup are supposed to hit for power and are paid accordingly.   

  The starting rotation has been a bugaboo for the Red Sox for several years now.   Last season, the biggest problem was John Lackey, who was pitching with an elbow that needed Tommy John surgery and finished with an ERA over 6, the worst in the Majors.   So far this season, Clay Buchholz's numbers make Lackey's 2011 look good in comparison.  Prior to the season, I didn't think that was possible!    But Buchholz is not the only problem this rotation has.    It appears they've all been coached --or brainwashed--by Daisuke Matsuzaka to avoid the strike zone at all costs.   Giving up walks to hitters with sub-Mendoza line batting averages?   Why not let a .170 hitter try and put the ball in play.   There's an 83% chance he'll make an out.   If you grant him a base on balls, there's a 100% chance he'll reach base.   Even the best hitters make outs nearly 70% of the time.   The Red Sox starters need to challenge the hitters with their best stuff and let their teammates make the plays behind them.   Home runs are going to happen, but it's better to give one up with no one on base than with the bases filled with men who were given free passes.   

Finally, what is behind the Red Sox being inundated with far more than their fair share of injuries for the third year in a row?    Even an overhaul of the team medical staff failed to stem the tide of players filling up the DL.    The outfield has been particularly decimated.   Carl Crawford got injured trying to rehab from an injury.   Jacoby Ellsbury, in an eerie flashback to his lost 2010 season, got hurt in the first week of this season.  In another 2010 flashback, Cody Ross broke his navicular bone, a la Dustin Pedroia.   Then, Ryan Sweeney dives to make a spectacular catch and ends up with a concussion.   If that wasn't enough, Darnell McDonald strained his oblique and Ryan Kalish has been MIA with various injuries since, you guessed it, 2010!   Last year, it was the pitchers who couldn't stay healthy.  Lackey, Matsuzaka, Lester, and Buchholz all spent time on the DL.   For Matsuzaka and Buchholz, the injuries were season-ending.    Is the "dirty water" of Boston to blame?   Or is it some supernatural hoodoo voodoo force that makes Red Sox players drop like flies?   It's all so...mysterious.  

The Navicular Bone Strikes Again!

Remember that obscure bone in the foot that I never knew existed until 2010, when it mercilessly truncated the season of one Dustin Pedroia?   It's baaaack and this time the victim is Cody Ross.   Ross fractured his navicular bone fouling a ball off his foot over the weekend in Philly, just like Pedey did that fateful game in San Fran.   Whether it will end his season, which looked promising from the HR and RBI standpoint, remains to be seen, but he will miss significant time and join the growing list of Outfielders with Owwies.   Ross will hit the DL tomorrow when Youk rejoins the team.   Rumor has it that Youk's return doesn't necessarily mean Middlebrooks, or "Brooksie" as Bobby V calls him, gets Paw Soxed.   With Ross's power bat out of the lineup, the Sox can ill afford to lose Middlebrooks, who appears to be adjusting to the pitchers adjusting to him (3-for-4 tonight against the O's).  

  So, what will the Red Sox do with a surplus of infielders and a shortage of outfielders?   Will Gonzo see more right field than just during interleague games?   Will they try again with Youk in the outfield?   How about Middlebrooks?   Or will they try to trade Youk for outfield help.   Nava has been making the most of his playing time in left field, but he is not a long-term solution, as we saw in 2010.   

  The Red Sox and O's have been in a bit of a bizarro situation, given their history in the past few years.   In 2009, the Red Sox won all but 2 of their games against the Baltimore birdies and were near the top of their division.   From the end of 2011 and into 2012, the tables have turned and now it's the O's on top and the Sox on the bottom.   Tonight, however, the Sox emerged victorious, beating the O's 8-6.   Oddly enough, as bad as Buchholz pitches (and he's made last year's Lackey look not half bad in comparison), the Sox seem to put on their hitting shoes whenever he's on the mound.   Clay couldn't claim the win tonight however.   Andrew Miller, who may have found his niche in the bullpen (knock on wood), grabbed the W instead, and on his birthday, to boot.   Now, the Sox and Yankees are tied, both with .500 records of 21-21.   The epic rivalry has taken a back seat so far this season.   The Phillies, Tigers, and Angels have also been struggling.   The only "usual suspects" in the league who are playing to expectations are the Rays and the Rangers.   This being May, a lot can change, even by the All-Star break, but so far around baseball it's been a season of "expect the unexpected".   

One Good Turn

As much as I've ripped the Red Sox when they've played like Charlie Brown's baseball team (you know, the one that loses games by such impossible scores as 200-0), I have to give credit where credit is due.   The beleaguered starting rotation, beginning last Friday with Clay Buchholz, has put together a string of outings which range from solid (Buchholz) to very strong (Doubront and Bard) to stellar (Lester and Beckett).    Not coincidentally, the Sox have won all 5 of those games:  3 (out of 4) against the Indians and 2 against the Mariners.   It makes the offense's job a lot easier when the starters can go deep into games and keep runs off the board.   Ergo, you get the productive at-bats and timely hitting that too often went missing when the offense was trying to play catch-up as the pitchers handed out runs like Halloween candy.   

 I'm far from the first person to say that winning baseball games starts with the pitching, particularly the starters, and I certainly won't be the last.  At the risk of stating the obvious, pitchers who work economically, attacking the strike zone and keeping the base runners to a minimum can pitch deeper into games and limit bullpen exposure.    In the meantime, the offense can relax and put together quality at-bats instead of swinging anxiously at first pitches and making easy outs.   It doesn't always work that way; a pitcher can be absolutely dealing, but the offense can't manage to push across a run.   Conversely, the bats can bail out a pitcher who can't seem to hold onto a lead.    However, it's hard to win many games with a glacial offense or a relentless game of catch-up.   Wins come more consistently when an offense like that of the Red Sox can do its job without having to worry about their lead perpetually evaporating.    

 All that said, it's heartening to see all 5 starters step up and put together a string of starts that make us think "maybe this rotation isn't so bad after all."   Are they hearing the footsteps of one Daisuke Matsuzaka?   Starting tomorrow, the Sox have a rather challenging roadie through St. Pete, Philly, and Baltimore (given the way the O's are playing so far this year and what they did to the Sox at Fenway, they're not going to be the cakewalk they used to be).    Philly is off to a rough start this season, but we can only pray the Sox don't have to face Cole Hamels.   This trip is an excellent opportunity for the rotation to continue the run of success they started on the home stand, to prove it wasn't a fluke.  Aren't we glad that rumors of their bizarre allergy to playing at Fenway were greatly exaggerated?     

 

Trying For Top 2013 Draft Pick?

      The ever-infuriating and increasingly hopeless 2012 Red Sox find new ways to lose each night.   Sure, they'll sprinkle in an 11-run rout and a couple of short winning streaks here and there, but those are aberrations.   The team is riddled with flaws, from the horrendous hurling of the Putrid Pitching Posse (which encompasses pretty much the whole staff), to the feast-or-famine, no-clutch offense, to the AAA-level outfield defense (except for Sweeney), to the never-ending parade of injuries, to the deer-in-the-headlights rookie GM, all the way up to the out-of-touch ownership group.   Who's in the mood for celebrating the 100th anniversary at Fenway when the team seems to be allergic to playing there?    Then again, the team is allergic to winning, period.   

       At this point, there is little to do to turn this miserable season around except to hope certain players start to perform to expectations based on their talent level and past performance.   Realistically, they've had more than a month to get their act together and show no signs of doing so in the near future.   If they ever do start earning their massive paychecks, it will likely be too late as they will have fallen too far behind.   

      Why will they have fallen so far behind?  There is a malaise about this team that has been building for several years and it comes straight from the top.   After winning 2 World Series in a 4-year span, ownership appears to have gotten complacent and maybe even bored.   They were content with those two titles and adding to the collection, to them, just wasn't necessary.   In the meantime, teams like the Rangers, the Rays, and the Tigers, and more recently, the Blue Jays and Orioles snuck up and passed the Red Sox.   Their arch-rival Yankees kept improving as well.   Think of a car plodding along at about 20 miles under the speed limit.   Of course the cars behind it are going to change lanes, speed up, and pass that slowpoke.   It should be no mystery which teams are the passing cars and which team is the snail clogging up traffic.  

        While the Red Sox were idling, collecting albatross contracts for players who ended up underperforming, getting injured, or both.  Is it the "Dirty Water"?    Is it the antiquated ballpark?   Does the sheer passion of the fans scare some players?   After all, passion can go both ways.   In a baseball-obsessed city like Boston, you're either a hero or a bum.   There's very little middle ground.   However, Philly and New York are no easy cities to play in either.   Is there something lurking in the Red Sox clubhouse at Fenway that induces baseball amnesia?    

       How much responsibility does Bobby V have in motivating his team to play their best ball?    I was all for his hiring and thought he could change the clubhouse culture, but maybe he's been out of the dugout too long, especially the major-league dugout.    He can't hit, pitch, or play defense for his players and has to play the hand he has been dealt, but some of his pitching and lineup decisions have been disappointing.   His hook might even be slower than Tito's (and that's saying a lot!).    Until last night, he would leave McDonald in to face righty relievers, leaving the much better-hitting and fielding Sweeney on the bench.   

       All the blame can't be placed on the manager, however.   Ben "overmatched rookie" Cherington put this team together, while limited in budget thanks to an ocean of sunk costs courtesy of Theo Epstein.    The players could use a seminar or two on teamwork and the pitchers need to stop with the constant nibbling and develop an out pitch.   I've long since lost count of the number of 0-2 counts that have gone full, then resulted in either walk or a hit.   If I'm a hitting coach on the opposing team, I'm telling my hitters to wait the Boston pitchers out.   Don't be afraid to get in an 0-2 hole because you have a good chance of working the count full, fouling off some pitches, and driving the starter's pitch count up early.  For those who are awaiting Dice-K's return, he's been on this team this whole time, taking all 5 turns in the rotation.    

        In all honesty, I don't see this team coming close to making the playoffs this year.   Call it rebuilding, a "bridge year" or whatever, but for one of the highest payrolls in the game, the 2012 Red Sox are the worst team that money can buy.  

Don't Laugh at Baseball Players in Ski Masks

 Masked men drove in some big runs last night in frigid Chicago.   Cody Ross and Darnell McDonald proved that you don't necessarily have to look like a baseball player to come up big at the plate.   Donning  black (or was it navy blue, in keeping with the Sox' Friday unis?) ski masks to stay warm, the two corner outfielders looked like they belonged on the slopes rather than in the batter's box, but maybe the extra outerwear kept their bats warm, as Ross drove in the tying run in the 6th and after Shoppach flung his bat into foul territory for the second of 3 times and whiffed with the bases loaded, D-Mac ripped a double to left that brought everybody home.   If that wasn't enough, he knocked his first dinger of the season in the 9th.   Ross also had another RBI, a single in the 7th.  

Not to be ignored with all the thunder from the lumber is the impressive pitching of Daniel Bard.   Bard went 7 innings for the first time this season and allowed only 2 earned runs (3 total).  He struck out 6 and walked only 1.  He now owns the lowest ERA of the 5 starters and is making his case to stick around in the rotation, at least until he reaches his innings limit.  

With Aaron Cook pitching so well in Pawtucket and providing depth the Sox can ill afford to lose with his opt-out date of May 1 (this coming Tuesday), the Sox have an interesting dilemma on their hands.  Let Cook walk and risk losing him to another team (perhaps the Yankees, with Pineda done for the season) or promote him and try to wedge him into the rotation.   With both Buchholz and Lester struggling, the staff could use another quality arm (if, indeed, Cook's stellar results in AAA translate to the big-league level).   It would be just about impossible, barring injury, to demote or DL Lester, but Buchholz is another story.   He's coming off a back injury and he hasn't put up a quality start all season, while Lester pitched well his first two starts.   Monday against the Oakland A's, a team against which he has struggled, he will have to bring his A game, or he may find himself out of the rotation for awhile.

SaltalaYOUKia

It feels good to write an upbeat blog after pretty much nothing but gloom 'n' doom to start the season.   The Sox have won 4 in a row on the road, including a sweep of the Twins and a rout of Phil "Mr. Perfecto" Humber and the White Sox, featuring some huge hits for two guys who started the season on a scuffling note.   Youk, who must be hearing the loud footsteps of one Will Middlebrooks knocked a grand salami in the 3rd inning and Salty, another guy hearing AAA footsteps (from Ryan Lavarnway) followed it up with a dinger of his own.   Salty went yard again 2 innings later, this time with Youk aboard.   Youk, for his part, had his first 3-hit game of the season and raised his batting average from .214 to .241.  Having those two heat up helps the Red Sox offset the loss of Ells and Crawford, the latter of whom is expected to miss a good part of the season with his ailing elbow and the former will be out until late May at the absolute earliest.

 Sure, the offense pounded out a 10-spot, but starter Felix Doubront didn't do too badly himself.   He went 6 and gave up 3 runs.   He had some trouble with command at times, but he limited the damage and had a couple of 1-2-3 innings to offset the innings where he had to throw more pitches.   Junichi Tazawa tossed the final 3 frames, allowing 2 hits, plunking a batter, and fanning 4, picking up the 3-inning save.   Tazawa's outing was promising and if he can pitch like that in some higher-leverage situations, he could prove to be a very valuable piece to this often-frightening bullpen.   Rich Hill could be back as soon as tomorrow and if he pitches like he did before he his elbow gave out last year, some of the least effective guys in the 'pen would become expendable.

 Tomorrow, Bard returns to the rotation to try to extend the Red Sox winning streak.   At 8-10, they're still at the bottom of the division, but they're only 3.5 games back from the O's and Rays who are tied for first.

Happy Rainout!

Never have I been as happy for a rainout as I am today.    As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind an isolated monsoon over Fenway Park and whatever other non-roofed stadium they play on the road for the rest of the season.   I know that's not going to happen, but this season has been so brutal with little hope of a turnaround.   The pitching is horrific and the hitting has been all-or-nothing.   The Red Sox DL is the longest in the majors (yes, I checked!).   Everything that was wrong with the team last September, despite some personnel shuffling, is still wrong now.    Chicken and beer were just convenient symbols of the Red Sox' collective failure.   Winning 3 out of 4 from the Rays seems like a total fluke.   The Tigers, Jays, Rangers, and now the Yankees, have had their way with the Sox and overmatched them in every facet of the game.  

  It has come to the point that this team needs a total overhaul from the top down.   Like I said in my previous entry, the best thing that could happen to the Red Sox right now is for a passionate baseball person (someone in the same vein as Nolan Ryan, though he himself is obviously unavailable) to make the current ownership an offer they can't refuse.    Baseball needs to be the top priority if the Red Sox are going to pull out of the quicksand they've been mired in for the past several years.   No NASCAR, no soccer, no $400 commemorative bricks, no scalping-aided sellout streak, no more turning the Red Sox and Fenway Park into "The Greatest Show On Earth".    P.T. Barnum would be proud of the circus this team has become, but true baseball fans can smell the humbug from miles away.   As long as there's a sucker born every minute, the Ringling Brothers, a.k.a. Henry, Werner, and Lucchino will keep the circus going as the team sinks further and further down the standings.   Step right up!      

Putting Down Roots in the AL East Dungeon

It's bad.  It's very bad.   It's the-baseball-gods-have-a-Red-Sox-voodoo-doll bad.   It's a shame the team that commemorates the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park is just so unworthy of that honor, to put it mildly.   Yes, some bad luck (Ells getting hurt in the home opener) played a part, but most of it is on the team and those who assembled it.   Theo Epstein hamstrung the team with several albatross contracts, then jumped ship to the Cubs (look out, Chicago, he'll do the same to you!), leaving his befuddled, deer-in-the-headlights subordinate Ben Cherington to bumble his way through the offseason while the owners withheld the checkbook.   Why did they feel they have to shop at the flea market this off season?   Most likely because of Epstein's massive contract blunders, most of whom are on the DL right now, contributing nothing to the team.  

 The offense used to be a position of strength for this team.   Now it has become a weakness.   Sure, they can pour on in garbage time against mop-up relievers, but when they really need a run, they're nowhere to be found.   Without MVP runner-up Ellsbury and Crawford, they're forced to trot out D-Mac and Repko, both batting well below .100 out there.   I'd even take 2011 Crawford over those two, no matter how good they were in Spring Training.   Of course, I'd much prefer the Tampa Bay version of Crawford, but we have yet to see him in a Red Sox uni.   Then there's the catcher position.  Lavarnway may not be lighting it up in Pawtucket a la Middlebrooks, but he can't possibly be worse than Salty.    Perhaps he can frame pitches better than Salty (part of the reason Red Sox pitchers don't get the strike calls opposing pitchers do).    Salty is also in the "below .100" club.   If .200 is the Mendoza line, what is .100?    The Ray Charles line?  

  The Putrid Pitching Posse of September 2011 reigns supreme on the 2012 Red Sox.   If they don't lead the majors in home runs allowed, then it scares me to think there's actually a team who's done worse.   The in-game BP to the Rangers, Tigers, and Yankees is downright mortifying.   Being spanked by the Yanks on Fenway's 100th birthday is a disgrace!    Clay Buchholz looks like the starting rotation's version of Melancon.   Maybe HE needs to go down to AAA to straighten himself out alongside his teammate.    Does gopherballitis qualify as a reason to put a pitcher on the DL?    Is it poor coaching or just undisciplined pitchers?   Given that they've gone through 3 pitching coaches recently, I tend to think it's the latter.   I wonder how the Red Sox hitters would look if THEY got to face Buchholz or Tuesday night's version of Lester?   Seems like that's the only way the Sox can win is if they face their own pitchers!  

  What of Bobby V, who is taking a lot of heat, some deserved, some completely unfair, for the Red Sox continuing their losing ways?    While he needs to check his temptation to feed the media, he doesn't take the field, pitch, or stand in the batters box.    His comments to the media about Youk may have some merit to them, the timing of the remark was poor.   The Sox had just won their third game in a row for the first time since last August, but since he made that statement, the Sox have gone 0-4.    The controversy, involving a counterargument by Pedey that undermined the manager and implied that the "inmates run the asylum", has proven to be a distraction much like the Manny debacle 4 years ago.  

    Would this team be doing any better if Terry Francona were still managing?   Probably not.   Remember last April?   Last September?    Tito let the players walk all over him, much like opposing base runners run rampant on Red Sox pitchers and catchers.    Right now, I'm not sure who, if any manager, can turn this team around.   The organization itself is so dysfunctional.   Cherington never wanted V as Red Sox manager.   He preferred a Tito clone.   Lucchino is the guy supposedly behind the V hire, yet he doesn't appear to have his new manager's back in the Youk kerfuffle.   John Henry just seems out of touch with the serious baseball fans and would rather focus on selling $400 bricks and watching his soccer team overseas while sailing on his yacht with his trophy wife.    Ownership appears content with 2004 and 2007 and is in no rush to add another World Series trophy.   The glory days of the Red Sox are over and now it's back to the way they were in the 86 years between championships.   Until a complete overhaul, meaning ownership selling to someone who has a passion for baseball and who knows the sport inside and out (see what Nolan Ryan has done for the Rangers?), these are your father's and grandfather's Red Sox once again.    

Different Manager, Same Results

Maybe I was being overly optimistic about the team coming out of a much-improved Spring Training. On April 4th, they looked like a team who was better prepared to start the season, in contrast to last year's edition. What I didn't anticipate was that they'd only be one game better once the games started to count. For a team that supposedly wants to put September 2011 behind them, their play in the first 6 games of the season isn't helping to put that disaster in the rear view mirror.

Only a small handful of players, including Lester and Pedey, have come out of the gate playing like they should be. Youk's doing his best impression of former teammate Mike Lowell, circa 2010. Beckett and Buchholz gave up 7 runs apiece. Bard is still very much a work-in-progress. MVP runner-up Ells looks lost at the plate. The Salt Shop platoon is inept both at and behind the plate. The Mike Aviles and Cody Ross of ST are history. The left side of the infield has more holes than swiss cheese. The offense as a whole is feast or famine, with an emphasis on the famine. Is it any wonder they are 1-5 heading into their home opener? It beats 0-6, but not by much.

There are a few positives in the 6-game sample that give us some, albeit small, reason to hope better days are ahead. Aside from Lester taking the leadership role he talked about in ST and putting up two very strong starts (even though, thanks to the lack of run support, he has no Ws to show for it) and Pedey trying to carry the offense by himself, Felix Doubront's start was promising. If Doubront can get his pitch count down and go deeper into games, he can really make a case for remaining in the rotation when Dice-K returns. Adrian Gonzalez has not been too bad either, with a homer and 6 RBI to his name. Scott Atchison and Vicente Padilla each impressed in long relief. Aceves put his atrocious first 2 attempts behind him and nailed down his first save on Monday night in Toronto, retiring the side in order after his teammates came from behind in the top of the 9th.

One thing this team had in ST that they don't have now is hungry young players eager to make a good first impression. The Red Sox have always been conservative in bringing young talent up to the major league level, but in this case, I think some young blood could spark the team out of its early season lethargy. Ryan Lavarnway is the most ready to come up and, with Youk struggling and looking like he belongs on a local softball team, the Sox could use a right-handed power bat in their lineup. Salt Shop are bringing virtually nothing to the table offensively or defensively, so it's time to cut bait with one of them and make Lavarnway the starting catcher. Making him a backup would not give him enough at-bats to continue his development and he can't be much worse defensively than Salt Shop. If Youk doesn't de-zombify soon, Middlebrooks is waiting in the wings. Also, Iglesias may not be able to hit much at all, but his glove could really help the pitching staff. Could he be taught to bunt for a base hit?

The Sox face a tough opponent tomorrow in the Tampa Bay Rays, who have had their number since 2008. Josh "Gopher Ball" Beckett is on the mound tomorrow and if he serves 'em up like he did last Saturday in Detroit, the boo-birds won't let him hear the end of it. His role in the September collapse and his dodging of responsibility for that debacle already rubs a lot of fans the wrong way. Add in a "performance" like last Saturday and things could get ugly fast.

A 1-5 start doesn't mean the season's already over, but it understandably puts me and the rest of Sox Nation on edge. The team and organization have taken a huge credibility hit since last season and many sports pundits feel they are no longer relevant among the contending teams. Bobby V has his work cut out for him this year and I certainly don't envy being in his position.

Leaky Pen

As far as Opening Day losses go, this one wasn't quite so hard to take. Sure, it was disappointing, but my expectations going into this game were tempered by the presence of a certain Detroit Tiger wearing a 35 on the back of his jersey, fresh off a season where he won both the Cy Young and the MVP. Yes, the pitching machine known as Justin Verlander toed the rubber for the Tigers today and performed as anticipated, buzz-sawing through a strong Red Sox lineup as elite pitchers are known to do.

Jon Lester, for his part, nearly matched Verlander, keeping the Tigers in their cages and off the scoreboard for 6 2/3 innings. He allowed more hits and more base runners than Verlander, but double plays and excellent work from the stretch kept Miggy, Prince & company at bay until the 7th inning. With 2 outs, Jhonny Peralta doubled and Alex Avila, whom Lester thought he had struck out, lined a double of his own just out of the reach of Cody Ross in left field. Peralta scored the game's first run. Lester struck out Ramon Santiago to end the inning. He went 7 innings with 6 hits, 3 walks, and 1 run. That's good enough to win most games. Games where his teammates don't have to face the likes of Justin Verlander, that is.

Vicente Padilla relieved Lester and promptly gave up a triple to Austin Jackson--a ball that Ryan Sweeney misplayed in right and ultimately led to the second Tigers run when Franklin Morales, in relief of Padilla, allowed Prince Fielder to hit a sac fly. The Red Sox, facing Valverde, who hadn't blown a save since 2010, put 2 on the board thanks to a double by Pedey, a single by Gonzo, a sac fly by Papi, and a redemptive triple by Sweeney. Blown save for Valverde!

Unfortunately, the Sox' rally to tie the game fell victim to a shaky back end of the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth. Melancon took the mound and after recording one out, Peralta and Avila strike again, both singling on hard-hit balls to right and left field respectively. Bobby V yanked Melancon and fetched Aceves in an effort to force extra innings. Aceves, in his debut as the newly-minted Red Sox closer in the absence of Andrew Bailey, couldn't get the job done, hitting the first batter he faced to load the bases with one out. Along came Austin Jackson who roped a single past a diving Nick Punto and the Tigers walk off with the win.

Being on the wrong side of a walk-off is not the best way to start the season, but some good things can be taken from this game, besides the fact that Verlander can't pitch again in this series. Jon Lester's start this Opening Day, unlike last year, was very strong. He stepped up and delivered, even if he didn't come away with a win. Also, the Sox offense showed some grit and came back to tie the game in the ninth Truth be told, they were probably just glad to see a pitcher other than Verlander on the mound.

After an off-day tomorrow, Beckett starts on Saturday against Doug Fister. Time to even up the series, boys!

Ready or Not Part II: The Pitchers

Last night, I posted my comments and predictions on the position players. Tonight it's the pitchers' turn. The pitchers are the wild cards for the Red Sox in 2012. You just never know what you're going to expect from them, especially at the back end of the rotation and in the bullpen. The pitching staff as it is constituted this year makes the Red Sox the underdogs in both the division and the league. Let's see what each pitcher on the current roster brings to the table:

#1 SP, Jon Lester: Lester is the one most likely to have a consistently good season, given his track record. After all, he was named the Opening Day starter for a reason. He's also the one most likely to pitch at least 200 innings, though he fell short last season. He has stated coming into this season that he wants to take more of a leadership role on the staff and now is as good of an opportunity as any. At 28, he is in his prime and has the potential to be in the running for a Cy Young. The key will be keeping the pitch count (and walks) down and going deep into games.

#2 SP, Josh Beckett: Beckett goes into this season with a thumb issue that bears watching. That said, he had a strong Spring Training and looks ready to start off the season on a good note. He took a lot of flak in the offseason for his part in the "chicken and beer" kerfluffle and for putting on weight as the season went on. Still he finished the season with an ERA under 3 (2.89 to be exact) and until he hurt his ankle in September, he was one of the best pitchers in the league. This would be a good year for him to break the "even year curse"--over the course of his career with the Red Sox, he has always pitched better in odd-numbered years than even numbered years. In order to contend, the Sox desperately need him to be a reasonable facsimile of the pitcher he was up until the final 2 weeks of last year.

#3 SP, Clay Buchholz: Last year, Buchholz' season was derailed by a broken back. He only pitched the first 2 1/2 months of the season before back pain sidelined him and he was later diagnosed (later being the operative word here) with a stress fracture. His ERA before the injury was a very respectable 3.48. If he can stay healthy and keep the ball down in the zone, it would go a long way toward solidifying the Red Sox rotation. If he struggles or gets hurt, the lack of pitching depth gets exposed in a heartbeat.

#4 SP, Felix Doubront: It's make-or-break time for Doubront, who is out of options and lost a year due to injury last season. He came to camp in much better shape this year and pitched impressively in ST. Can he keep up the quality pitching over the course of the season? That remains to be seen. However, what I saw this spring gives me reason for hope.

#5 SP, Daniel Bard: Bard is an experiment-in-progress this season. He's going from 8th inning setup man to starting pitcher, which is no small change from an innings standpoint. Going from pitching one inning to five plus changes a pitcher's approach to the game. He has to pace himself more and not throw every fastball at 100 mph. The results in ST were less than convincing that the rotation is where he belongs, but the Red Sox are committed to giving him the chance to start and hoping he can better command his stuff with each start. Command is going to be an issue for him and high pitch counts could mean early exits and more exposure of an already questionable bullpen. However, it's hard to imagine he'll be worse than Lackey last year.

CL, Alfredo Aceves: When Andrew Bailey went down with his bum thumb, Bobby V named Aceves the closer to start the year. Was this move to prevent the fiery pitcher from threatening mutiny after he lost out on a spot in the rotation? Perhaps, but there's a chance the versatile Aceves can thrive in this role, today's results notwithstanding. Someone needs to hold the fort down until Bailey comes back and Aceves appears better suited than Melancon to close in a market like Boston.

RP, Mark Melancon: Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland netted this former closer for the Houston Astros who is being tried in the setup role for the Red Sox. His results in ST were less than inspiring, however, and today he wasn't fooling the Tigers he faced. Let's hope for improvement sooner rather than later because there are few alternatives for this role.

RP, Franklin Morales: Morales is one of the two lefties in the Red Sox bullpen to start the season and of the two, he has by far the best chance of staying with the team. His ST innings were limited due to a health scare that has since been resolved. Of the remaining relievers, he is the only other one who could take over the setup role if Melancon can't get in a groove, but that would take him out of the situational lefty role.

RP, Matt Albers: Albers had an up and down season in 2011, with the "up" coming early on and the "down" blowing his ERA up to over 4. Until he can prove himself more consistent, he will likely be relegated to low-leverage situations.

RP, Scott Atchison: Atchison is an underrated long reliever/spot starter who posted a 3.62 ERA last season. He's not dominant by any stretch of the imagination, but he can give the Sox some quality innings when called upon.

RP, Vicente Padilla: Padilla can be hit or miss and features that slow eephus curveball that can really throw hitters off. He doesn't give me too much confidence in high-leverage situations, however.

RP, Michael Bowden: Like Doubront, this is make-or-break time for Bowden. His previous stints in the majors have been unsuccessful and he's out of minor-league options. He hasn't shown me he can be trusted when the game's on the line, however, and right now it looks like the bullpen has plenty of mop-up guys.

RP, Justin Thomas: Another candidate for mop-up duty, Thomas brings a career ERA over 6 and owes his roster spot to being left-handed and to Bobby V wanting to carry 13 pitchers. I predict he will be the first to go once Andrew Miller becomes available or V wants to add another bench player.

Coming Attractions: They're not on the 25-man roster now, but Aaron Cook, Rich Hill, and Daisuke Matsuzaka are on the horizon and have the potential to shore up the shaky pitching staff. Cook projects to be available the soonest, after getting a few more starts in Pawtucket under his belt. If either Doubront or Bard prove incapable of holding their spots in the rotation, Aaron Cook could be waiting in the wings. He has a May 1 opt-out date and he looked healthy and strong in ST.

Rich Hill could be back as early as May. He was dominant last year up until his elbow gave out and needed Tommy John. Dice-K could be back before the All-Star Break if all goes well. What he will bring in his return is unknown, given the enigma he has been so far in his Major League career. Bobby V's presence and his experience managing in Japan could ease his transition back into the rotation or it could have no effect at all. Predicting Dice-K can prove to be an exercise in futility.

Ready Or Not, Here Come the 2012 Red Sox

For better or for worse, the 2012 season begins for the Red Sox tomorrow afternoon at 1:05. What can we expect from it? On paper, they are, at best, candidates for that second wild card spot. That's a far cry from last year, when they were near-unanimous picks for the World Series, but we know how that ended. Here's the first part my breakdown of the 25-man roster as it stands for tomorrow's season opener:

Position Players

1B, Adrian Gonzalez: Gonzo's first season as a Red Sox was a successful one, if somewhat lopsided in favor of the first half. He hit .338 with a .410 OBP and .957 OPS. The home runs were down a bit (27) but he led the league in both average and RBI (117) for the better part of the season. Coming off of shoulder surgery, that was pretty impressive. Participating in the Home Run Derby with a shoulder that wasn't 100% didn't do him any favors, however, and his numbers tailed off at the end of the season. This season, I expect the average to be not quite as high, but an uptick on the power, seeing that his shoulder has completely healed. He'll provide the usual Gold Glove-quality defense at first base.

2B, Dustin Pedroia: Pedey is now sans foot screw and I expect a Pedeyesque season from him: .300-ish average, around 25 steals and 15-20 singers. Last season he hit .307/.387/.474 (.861 OPS), 21 HR, 91 RBI and stole 26 bases. His defense earned him a Gold Glove.

SS, Mike Aviles: Aviles was acquired at the trade deadline in exchange for Yamaico Navarro and won the starting shortstop job after an impressive Spring Training. There shouldn't be too much drop off from last year's SS, Marco Scutaro. In fact, Aviles may even be better, both in the field and at the plate. He's 5 years younger, so that helps too. While Iglesias is in Pawtucket trying to learn how to hit his way out of a wet paper bag, Aviles should do a fine job at short.

3B, Kevin Youkilis: Oh Youk, please tell me you're not the next Mike Lowell or JD Drew in the rapid baseball player aging department. Spring Training didn't provide any reassurances that the Youk of a couple of years ago is back and 3B is a very physically demanding position. Youk's 2011 numbers: .258/.373/.459 (.833 OPS) with 17 HR, 80 RBI, and 3 SB. I honestly don't know what to expect from Youk this year. I'm hoping he can improve on the .258 and hit at least .270. Oh, and if it's not too tall and order, stay healthy!

C, Jarrod Saltalamacchia: Salty's first full year at the major league level was last year and he hit .235/.288/.450 (.737 OPS) which was not too bad for a catcher. He hit 16 long balls and knocked in 56 runs. He did a decent job throwing out base runners. I anticipate his numbers this year will be similar to last year, maybe better if the majority of his plate appearances come against righties. With Kelly Shoppach's numbers against lefties, that could very well happen.

LF, Cody Ross: Ross had a down year last year for the Giants after his heroics in the 2010 postseason, but he has shown a lot of promise (and opposite field power) in Spring Training and, in the absence of Carl Crawford, he will be the starting left fielder for at least the first month of the season. I'm thinking he'll hit around .260 with 20+ homers and around 60-70 RBI. He'll launch his share of taters over the Monster.

CF, Jacoby Ellsbury: 2011 was huge for Ells. He hit .321 with a team-leading 32 homers and knocked in 105 runs. The homer total was staggering, given that he had never hit in the double-digits in dingers before. Was the power surge a one-season fluke or is he, like Jose Bautista in Toronto, coming into his own as a power hitter. Another season with 25+ round-trippers would go a long way in favor of the latter, but it will also drive his price up in free agency. Ells is 28 and will be 29 in September--he is in his prime and I expect a small amount of regression, but still all-star numbers from the guy who came in second in the MVP voting.

RF, Ryan Sweeney: Sweeney came over in the deal for Andrew Bailey. He's known for hitting for a decent average, but with a conspicuous lack of power for someone with his build. He's an excellent defensive player. He'll probably hit in the .270s or .280s with maybe a home run or two. Once Crawford comes back, he'll be competing with Cody Ross for the right field job.

DH, David Ortiz: Big Papi's 2011 resembled the kind of seasons he had in his prime. He hit .309/.398/554 (.953 OPS) with 29 HR and 96 RBI. He tailed off a bit toward the end, especially in September, but his numbers were good enough to keep him in Boston for another year, albeit at a price way above market for a DH. He isn't getting any younger, so it's hard to predict what he'll do in 2012. It would be nice if he hits around .300 again and goes yard at least 25 times, especially considering his salary.

OF, Darnell McDonald: D-Mac burst onto the scene in 2010 when Ells collided with the freight train known as Adrian Beltre. That season he hit .270 while playing serviceable defense and became one of the feel-good stories of the season. Last season he had trouble adjusting to the reduced playing time and hit under the Mendoza line for most of the season. He came around in the second half and raised his average to .236. He impressed Bobby V in Spring Training and earned the 4th outfielder spot, but what will happen when Crawford comes back? Presuming (though it's dangerous to do so) that everyone else is healthy, will V carry 5 outfielders? D-Mac can make his case for sticking around by playing like he did in Spring Training.

IF, Nick Punto: Punto was signed in the off-season to be a defensively-minded utility infielder. He had a decent season with the bat last year, hitting .278, but he's a career .249 hitter. He can play all four infield positions and, if you're superstitious, maybe he'll lend some of his World Series mojo to his new team (he was a member of the 2011 World Champion Cardinals).

C, Kelly Shoppach: Shop is back in Boston, having started his career with the Red Sox in 2005. After four seasons in Cleveland and two in Tampa Bay, he was signed as a free agent this winter to back up Salty behind the plate. Overall, his bat isn't too impressive, but he can hit lefties and he's got some power. He's an excellent thrower-outer of base runners.

To Be Continued

Red Sox Injury Flavor-Of-The-Month: The Bum Thumb

Perhaps this team should be re-named The Glass Menagerie, with "Fragile, Handle With Care" stamped on their uniforms. It's not even Opening Day and the DL is already in mid-season form. The latest member of the Big Ouchie Club: Andrew Bailey, whose bum thumb is going under the knife and putting him out of commission for at least half the season. You know who else has thumb trouble? Josh Beckett, who is seeking a third opinion on that vexing digit. Yes, a third opinion. The Red Sox #2 starter had better not join Bailey on the operating table or things could get ugly in short order. The starting rotation is skin and bones even with Beckett. Without him, I shudder to think how both the rotation and bullpen will suffer.

Will the #4 and #5 Starters Please Stand Up?

Bard, Aceves, and Doubront. With a week to go until Opening Day on April 5, the final two spots in the rotation are still up for grabs. Well, at least one of them. Felix Doubront has pitched well enough in Spring Training to have earned a spot and being a lefty certainly helps. The other one is still being fought over by two relievers who have the stuff to start. The question is, which one can command his stuff over at least six innings and keep his team in the game?

Going by Spring Training results, the answer appears to be Alfredo Aceves (last Saturday's start against the Phillies notwithstanding). Bard seems to have more trouble in the command department, channelling Dice-K and Miller in his most recent starts. The AL East isn't getting any easier and teams need deep rotations to compete. It's a big gamble to send Bard out there to give up a handful of runs (and walks) every 5th day, putting pressure on both the offense and the rest of the starting rotation. If Aceves, as valuable as he is to the bullpen, can command his stuff, keep walks and runs to a minimum, and pitch deeper into games, he should get that last spot.

What of Aaron Cook, who, in his limited ST outings has shown he deserves a shot to start? Can he get a few starts under his belt in AAA to get stretched out, then take over the fifth spot? While the sample size is extremely tiny, he looks to be healthy and he has a May 1 opt-out date. If he can nail down a spot in the rotation, it can only help strengthen the bullpen, with both Bard and Aceves added to the mix.

Then there's Dice-K, who could be ready to return to the big club as early as June. Will having Bobby V, who speaks some Japanese, help him become more like the pitcher he was in Japan? If he can come back strong from TJ surgery, he could really give the rotation a boost. A fresh start with a new manager and pitching coach could be the best thing for him.

Whatever the back of the rotation ends up being, having depth is the key to avoiding another September meltdown.

Bobby V's Alright To Me

I know it's mid-Spring Training and sample sizes are on the level of a protozoa, but count me as a fan of Bobby Valentine's work so far. While his outspokenness may rub some people the wrong way, including those who wish Terry Francona were still at the helm, he has shaken up a team that had grown complacent over the years. I've heard his coaching methods criticized as micromanaging, but after the way the team performed at the beginning and end of last season, a little more supervision couldn't hurt. It's a complete 180 from Tito's hands-off management style and a necessary change in direction for the Red Sox.

Aggressive baserunning, bunting, squeeze plays, and the like have long been associated with the National League style of baseball, but now, more American League teams getting in on the act too. We've seen what teams like the Angels, Rays, and Rangers have done against the Red Sox on the base paths, especially when the recently-retired Tek was on the mound.

So far this Spring Training, the Red Sox have been doing a lot of running as well, stealing bases and going from first to third. They've run into some outs along the way, but they've also manufactured some runs and put pressure on the opposing team's defense. Take last night's 1-0 win over the Yankees for example. Pedro Ciriaco made it all the way around the bases on what was ruled a single. The ball got by the Yankees' right fielder and Ciriaco's blazing speed had the Yankees rushing throws, allowing the ball to get away and Ciriaco to cross the plate for the game's only run. Ciriaco, incidentally was the hero in Monday's game as well, blasting a 2-run shot above the extra-high Jet Blue Park Green Monster.

Bobby V has worked with the team extensively on fundamentals, both on the offensive and defensive side of the game. So far in Spring Training, his methods have been paying off, with the Red Sox near the top of the Grapefruit League with a 7-2 record. These games may not count toward the regular season, but it would be nice to keep up the good baseball in Spring Training and have it carry over once the games really do count.

What's Your Lineup?

Spring Training is underway and after dealing with my disappointment that the Red Sox did not get one more reliable starter for their rotation, I'm ready to welcome in the 2012 season and the beginning of the Bobby Valentine Era. I'm liking what I'm seeing and hearing from Bobby V so far in Spring Training. There's a lot more focus on nutrition, baseball fundamentals, and the new skipper's committed to keeping booze out of the clubhouse. This will be a big change from when Terry Francona ran the roost, but change was needed and has been for several years now (not just in reaction to last September).

As the players work out and get themselves ready to start playing baseball again and new faces appear on the 25-man roster, fans and media are abuzz about how Bobby V will fill out his lineup card on Opening Day. Let's be optimistic and say Carl Crawford is ready to play on April 5 in Detroit. Will this be the lineup we see?

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B

3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B

4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B

5. David Ortiz, DH

6. Carl Crawford, LF

7. Cody Ross, RF

8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C

9. Mike Aviles, SS

This lineup most resembles last year's, with a few new names replacing the likes of Scutaro/Lowrie and Drew/Reddick. Here's an intriguing alternative:

1. Carl Crawford, LF

2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B

3. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

4. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B

5. Kevin Youkilis, 3B

6. David Ortiz, DH

7. Cody Ross, RF

8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C

9. Mike Aviles, SS

For this lineup to work, however, Crawford will need to raise his OBP and Ellsbury will need to continue to hit for power like he did last season. Batting Ortiz 6th may seem a little too far down, but to put him 5th would make the lineup too left-handed in the middle. There's also some debate as to who should get the majority of the playing time in RF when both Ellsbury and Crawford are healthy. Cody Ross might have more power, but Ryan Sweeney has the edge defensively an in career batting average (Sweeney: .283, Ross: .261 acc to baseball reference.com) as well. At SS, Mike Aviles has the better bat, but Nick Punto is known for his glove. It will be interesting to see how Valentine allots their playing time.

If Crawford can get himself on base at a decent clip, batting him leadoff would make the best use of his speed. Batting the version of Ellsbury who hit 32 HR last season (assuming the 2012 Ellsbury bears a strong resemblance) in the 3-hole gives him possibly 2 men on base and can boost his RBI total.

How about if Crawford is not ready to go on Opening Day? I believe the right field nod would go to Ryan Sweeney and Cody Ross would man left:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B

3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B

4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B

5. David Ortiz, DH

6. Cody Ross, LF

7. Ryan Sweeney, RF

8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C

9. Mike Aviles, SS

So where does Kelly Shoppach fit in? While his bat looks pretty woeful (in that an NL pitcher could probably out-hit him) he's an excellent defensive catcher. He has competition from Ryan Lavarnway, whose bat shows a lot of promise, but the defense might need some fine-tuning in Pawtucket. If he shows marked improvement behind the dish in Spring Training and Shoppach continues to struggle with the bat, however, things could get interesting.