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.
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