The Boston Red Sox are riding an eleven game winning streak, and I?m enjoying every second. Critics may point to the weak NL East as the reason for this spurt. When the Yanks and Sox, or even Toronto, are battling for the AL East crown in September, each of these individual wins will count greatly, regardless of the opponent. And I don?t think this streak is phony, I really believe this Red Sox team is coming together, as cheesy as that may sound.
The stellar offense is scoring runs at a rampant pace, jumping on NL Cy Young contender Pedro Martinez for a 3-inning exit. The starting pitching has been astoundingly reliable in the last two weeks. Tito is starting to get used to the bullpen structure and use them to our greatest benefit (I thought the way he used the pen in the Philly makeup game was picture-perfect).
Red Sox starting pitching, which seemed like an Achilles heel in late-May, is 8-0 with a 2.93 ERA during the streak. The defense continues to please the Fenway faithful with flawless glovework, tying the AL record last night with 15 consecutive errorless games. Kevin Youkilis (.923), Trot Nixon (.926), David Ortiz (.918) and Manny Ramirez (1.041) sport OPS numbers over .900. Mike Lowell is slugging .507. Loretta is batting .317 in the 2-hole, good for 19th in baseball. Alex Gonzalez is now hitting homeruns and flirting with .270. The Boston Red Sox are starting to look like one of the most complete teams in baseball.
Let?s throw out some more numbers to prove my point. The Red Sox rank second in baseball in runs scored. third in hits, fifth in doubles, seventh in total bases, third in RBI, second in batting average, first in on-base and fifth in slugging. Complete and consistent. What about pitching? The Sox are sixteenth in team ERA, tenth in strikeouts and tenth in batting average against. Not as impressive, but much of that is altered by Matt Clement earning his paycheck. Josh Beckett?s high ERA is sure to lower as the season continues. Which brings me to my next point?
DO NOT MAKE ANY TRADES. I cannot say this strongly enough. DO NOT trade Jon Lester for Dontrelle Willis. DO NOT trade Jacoby Ellsbury, Michael Bowden and Manny Delcarmen for Livan Hernandez. DO NOT trade Abe Alvarez for Mark Redman. The rotation of Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and David Wells is perfectly fine with me for the entire season. The bullpen is structured very well right now and should not be changed. And the lineup I absolutely love. Message to Theo: Please, please do not sacrifice our farm system when we can win THIS year with THIS current team. I can?t emphasize this strongly enough. The price will be too high and the Red Sox are good where they stand.
As for that streak?
The last time the Red Sox lost? That sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins from June 13-15, which seems more like an eternity ago. In that series, the Sox were outscored 16-9. In the last eleven games, the Red Sox have beaten up opponents by a count of 87-38. Basically, this team is running on all cylinders right now. They?ve extended their lead in the AL East to a 3.5 games over the Yankees- a lead that I?m beginning to feel comfortable with. While the Sox are destroying NL opponents, the Yankees are flirting with disaster, posting an unimpressive 8-7 record vs. the NL East. As much as this is minimized down by the Yankee injury total, the Red Sox passed the Bombers in runs scored last night, a fact we couldn?t fathom when Johnny Damon crossed the border and joined ?Murderer?s Row.?
Glavine vs. Schilling tonight. Keep this bus rolling.
