Maybe it?s the Orioles pitching. Maybe it?s simply a three-game fluke. Regardless, our offense is beginning to kick into high gear and display the potential we?ve been dying for, posting extremely impressive wins over Baltimore this weekend. The final scores? 6-3, 9-3 and 10-3, with Saturday and Sunday proving to be blowouts from the beginning. Tampa Bay?s pitching can give us headaches, sure. But facing Baltimore at home has healed any Red Sox pain as of late on the offensive end, with role players coming alive and showing glimpses of stardom and healing a problem that?s plagued them this April- scoring first. Some of those role players:
Kevin Youkilis- .330/.434/.482, 18 RBI, 19 runs
Youk needs to remain atop the Red Sox lineup, whether it be leadoff or in the 2-hole. Knowing Terry Francona, there?s no way Coco Crisp won?t be leading off when he returns in late May. Mark Loretta posted much better numbers with Crisp in the leadoff spot, but Youk should be placed here with Crisp returning. His excellent eye at the plate and keen sense of taking walks and reaching base cannot be ignored. That OBP and .330 batting average (compared to the .244 of Loretta) also would prove beneficial.
Most of all, I really enjoy watching Kevin Youkilis play. Knock on wood, but the guy has impressed me far and beyond my expectations thus far. He conducts himself very well- playing with that dirt dog mentality, never afraid of getting dirty, always doing what?s best for the team- that makes me so impressed. It is quite a relief to have a first baseman hitting .333 in early May than .233 with a .273 slugging percentage. His glove at first base has also been a pleasant surprise.
Mike Lowell- .339/.402/.550, 18 RBI, 17 runs
Do I honestly believe Lowell will keep up this rampant pace for the entire year? Of course not. An aging veteran like Lowell will go on future slumps, but in general, he can keep that average above .300. We all knew Lowell would provide exceptional defense, even better than Billy Mueller, and people even realized Mike brought with him a knack of hitting doubles. Fenway Park and the short fence in left would help. But this season Lowell has used all fields to put up doubles. He?s shown the ability to rip doubles down the third base line, as he did consecutively Friday night. He finds the gaps on occasion. Most importantly though, Lowell is driving pitches the opposite way for doubles. Throw bat speed out the window (which has not been an issue).
Can?t wait to hear this: Starting at third base for the American League representing the Boston Red Sox?#25…Mike Lowell?25…Lowell?.
Wily Mo Pena- .319/.359/.522, 13 RBI in 24 games
While Bronson Arroyo succeeds in Triple-A (also known as the National League or something like that), Wily Mo Pena has been the ultimate fill-in for Coco Crisp in centerfield. Showing dashes of comfort in centerfield after a bit of right field turmoil, the youthful Pena has removed that home run swing from the first three weeks and is beginning to use all fields. Once again, Pena is proving the genius of hitting coach Ron Jackson. If you don?t think Pena has a shot at hitting 45 home runs today, you?re crazy.
The Sox pounded out 34 hits in 3 games against Baltimore starters Rodrigo Lopez, Erik Bedard and Kris Benson, and of course, the Orioles bullpen. With this outburst, the stats are starting to come into form. Remember, this team is putting up great numbers without Coco Crisp and David Ortiz in one of the worst slumps of his career. Yeah, I?m probably getting wound up about hitting the Orioles, big deal. But those were their best three starters. The Sox carry momentum into New York where the ERA of Randy Johnson will continue to climb Tuesday night.
Call me confident.
Some tidbits from Peter Gammons blog on Sunday:
Sean McAdam reported this morning in the Providence Journal that the Red Sox have discussed using Craig Hansen as a starter if David Wells doesn’t come back from his knee problems because Jon Lester isn’t ready and they cannot find a suitable fifth starter on the market.
The story is right. It’s been discussed, as he stated. But that set off the day’s talk-radio theory that the Red Sox all along planned to make Hansen a starter once Jonathan Papelbon moved into the role of the closer because they were using Hansen in Double-A in three-inning stints instead of a closer role.
Which, of course is silly. “We want Craig to develop all his pitches,” said Theo Epstein when Hansen went to Portland. “He knows how to close. I’m not worried about that. But in the major leagues, you can’t get by throwing one pitch, as he found out last September against the Orioles. We want him learning to use his pitches, develop his sinker, his slider and his changeup, so that when he gets to the major leagues he can pitch.”
Theo is exactly right. Closing games with two or three pitches can work, but a starting pitcher needs four or five reliable pitches to be successful. Right now, Hansen is nowhere near that. By September, there?s no doubt the Sox are going to use Hansen in the bullpen. Don?t expect Rudy Seanez to be on the club all year, and even Manny Delcarmen could be sent down again. Right now, exploring the notion Hansen can make a start seems a bit farfetched. Hopefully, Jon Lester can get back on track sooner than later. I?d have no problem calling him up for an emergency start during the summer.
David Wells threw Thursday and now hopes to be back in the Boston rotation the last week of May. “I can finally get over my front side and throw curveballs that break down and changeups that do something,” says Wells. “Before I had the injections, I was very close to going home. I couldn’t get over my front side, and everything was up and hanging.” The four-inning, seven-run pounding he took from Toronto on April 12 was just Wells’ second loss in 18 decisions at Fenway Park in the 21st Century.
Lenny DiNardo has actually done a decent job holding the fort while Wells is recovering, but I?d really like to see Wells back in the rotation. People like to trash Boomer incessantly, or so it seems, when he makes a poor outing, but I really enjoy watching Wells pitch. He?s a veteran that still has ability, and can provide us with a quality fifth starter that pitches brilliantly in close games. While fans are trashing Boomer and calling for his release/retirement, I?m counting the days until he returns.
Yankee coaches feel Johnny Damon has changed the Yankees, and not as a leadoff hitter. They feel that the team had become too serious and sometimes tight the last three years, and Damon has come in — a little goofy, sincere, always fun-loving, accountable and media-friendly — and loosened everyone up and changed the team’s personality. For four years in Boston, Damon played hard, played hurt, was fan-friendly and ever-accountable, and when he came back to Fenway was showered not just with boos, but obscenities.
See you Tuesday.
