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.
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