So, this is what we've been waiting since last September to behold. This team has issues but everyone freaking out about a magnified 4 game losing streak needs to take a step back. The Red Sox are not THIS BAD. But we do need to fix some things:
The Lineup- First and foremost we need some continuity and stability in this lineup and it's weird to say that the Red Sox highest paid players shouldn't be in the Top 5 in the lineup. The lineup is obviously lefty heavy but when you face 75% righties throughout the year it will even itself out.
Here's how it should go:
Ellsbury-CF
Pedroia-2B
Gonzalez-1B
Youkilis-3B
Ortiz-DH
Crawford-LF
Lowrie-SS (More on this to come)
Drew/Cameron-RF (Depending on Pitching)
Saltalamacchia-C
Carl Crawford is not a 3-Hitter on a big market team, whether he is hitting or not. He is not the best hitter on this team. That title goes to one, Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez needs to bat 3rd and be in the Top 3 in at bats on this team, stop moving him. Crawford is ideally a 1, 2, or 6 hitter. But his OBP makes him a liability to hit leadoff, and he has gone on record saying he doesn't care for it. Ok, so that leaves 2nd or 6th. Dustin Pedroia has the 2nd spot locked for the duration of his tenure in Boston so that spot is out, which leaves us with 6th. You may ask why not 5th. Because traditionally the 5th spot is for a guy that primarily hits for power and not so much average, that pigeonholes Ortiz to a T, and with a career high of 19 HRs Crawford isn't going to cut it. The 6 hole is where he stays and may actually take enough pressure off of him because as meticulous as his work ethic is, he seems a little too awestruck with the attention he is getting in Boston.
This may actually be the biggest beef I have with Terry Francona since he started here. Anyone that knows me knows I am an avid Francona supporter. But, if Jed Lowrie isn't given this shortstop job by the beginning of May I may honestly not watch the team anymore. Watching Scutaro labor after balls and come up 2 inches shy on a dive every goddamn time is making me want to lay down naked in front of a lawnmower after taking a handful of Viagra. Lowrie's 2nd half OPS last year was not a fluke and it is right in line with his performance when he was healthy in the minors. He is not a world beater at short, but his range and arm strength is far superior to Scutaro's and should at least be able to hold the fort down until Iglesias is ready to take over the position.
Starting Pitching- In no way shape or form do I think the starting rotation is this bad. Especially with the creepy obsession I have with our lone SouthPaw on the staff. But that being said, we must pitch better. Lester needs to find a way to get rid of his annual April funk. He's too good to be inconsistent for a month every year. It not only costs his team but is costing him hardware that could have won him a couple Cy Young Awards. Lackey needs to stop leaving the ball in the middle of the plate and then wonder why he gets his tits lit every time he toes the slab. Clay Buchholz gave up 5 hits, 4 for home runs. He actually didn't pitch as poorly as his stat line would indicate, that being said he needs to stop elevating his fastball and keep that 2-seam handy to get out of jams like he did in 2010. Josh Beckett was good for 2 innings and mediocre at best for 3. His final 3 frames he pitched from behind in the count in literally 75% of the batters. It's hard to set hitters up when they are almost always in fastball counts. I was encouraged to see him incorporating his change up back in his repertoire. Daisuke Matsuzaka is and will continue to be a #5 starter on the Red Sox and any win he gives us I will consider a bonus, but he needs to work on his fastball more often than working off of his off speed because when he actually throws his fastball for strikes he's dangerous, (see the near no-no in Philly last year). The staff will turn around, it can't get much worse right?
BONEHEAD PLAYS- There has been a lot of uncharacteristic plays for Red Sox players.
Carl Crawford missing a cutoff man in Cleveland giving up a VERY valuable second base, which lead to giving up the lead is unacceptable. Baseball 101, hit your goddamn cutoff man, 20 mil, alright?
Terry Francona not calling Jarrod Saltalamacchia back in the 7th inning of Sunday night's game, when you have supposed Lefty Mashers on your bench in Mike Cameron and Jason Varitek was a major guffaw. I don't care that you're trying to get your starting catcher going, he was 0 for 9 going into that at bat, he hadn't had ANY good swings all weekend, and then he goes up and swings at the first pitch. Double Bonehead on Tito for letting him hit, and Salty for not at least working the count.
I'm not willing to call it a mulligan but outside of perhaps Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia, no one looked ready to play this weekend. I'm not one to usually remark about people's weight, but Kevin Youkilis needs to find a way to trim down the spare tire. He needs to be agile at 3rd base and he's looking more like Pablo Sandoval than Evan Longoria, not a good trait when you're on the wrong side of 30.
There have been some positives that I have seen in the first 4 games however.
- My pick of Adrian Gonzalez for MVP looks alright as long as the Sox can put together some wins throughout the season. He is a better hitter than advertised.
- Other than Bard's hiccup I like how this Bullpen looks, Albers is a weapon, and despite my concern for Papelbon he got in trouble and got out of it without giving up a run. It is not a good recipe for success to have Tim Wakefield throwing in 2 out of 3 games though, just sayin'.
- Jacoby Ellsbury looks phenomenal at the plate right now. I will still contest that he shied up on that ball in Centerfield on Saturday night because he saw JD Drew, and he definitely should have caught it, but at the plate he is locked in and it is good to see a table setter, actually setting the table.
- Pedroia's health was paramount for me at this season's inception, and he not only looks like the Pedroia of old but is on a mission to absolutely annihilate anyone that gets in his way. The heart and soul of the team is back, and I for one couldn't be happier for him.
In an ideal world we would be .500 right now but we aren't we are 4 games back of the Orioles for first place. It would be probably the biggest choke job of all time for a team with this much talent to not be in the thick of things come September and October. So I'm going to sit tight and wait through the first two months to seriously evaluate this team. But playing stupid baseball is not going to help this team, who has suddenly turned their lonely eyes to Daisuke Matsuzaka for an attempt at their first win of the season. Not the way we drew it up, my confidence in him is about the same as in our piss poor Commander in Chief, but he's out only hope for a win the first time through the rotation, and we need him.
Stay Tuned
Ryan
