June was a pretty good month for the Red Sox, as we saw quite a few things happen:
-A 12-game winning streak
-Alex Gonzalez grabbing the record for most consecutive errorless games by a Red Sox shortstop
-An all-time record in most consecutive games without an error
-Jon Lester going 3-0 on the month
and many others. June was a pretty nice month for the Red Sox, and hopefully Kazmir’s two-hitter last night doesn’t spell a July swoon for us. One thing’s for sure – there was no June swoon.
BOSTON RED SOX MONTH TO MONTH: JUNE
Batters Key: Average/On-Base Percentage/Slugging. Pitchers Key: Won-Lost/IP/ERA/WHIP.
Batters Key: Average/On-Base Percentage/Slugging. Pitchers Key: Won-Lost/IP/ERA/WHIP.
| PLAYER | APRIL/MAY |
JUNE
|
NOTES
|
 Abe Alvarez |
APR AAA 3-0/29.0/2.17/0.90
MAY AAA 2-1/16.1/3.86/1.59 |
2-1/27.3/?/1.72 |
Abe has had a dissapointing season and will be out of options next year. Don’t be surprised to see him in a trade before Spring Training. With Jason Johnson, Kyle Snyder, Jon Lester, and David Pauley all getting the call ahead of Abe Alvarez, it may be time for Alvarez to try another organization. He still has a bright future as a lefty starter ahead of him, but many lefty starters develop late (Jamie Moyer, Mark Hendrickson) and with his lack of options, he may not be a viable part of Boston anymore. |
 Josh Beckett |
APR 3-1/32.0/4.50/1.25
MAY | |
3-1/28.1/5.08/1.16 | He looks like the AL is still troubling him a bit as shown by the high ERA. However, he’s settled down recently and has been sharp. Has he turned the corner? July should cement what Beckett’s going to do this season, but the fact that his WHIP was under 1.20 for a second straight month is encouraging. |
 Matt Clement |
APR 2-2/29.1/6.14/1.77
MAY 2-2/25.1/7.82/1.74 |
1-1/10.2/5.06/1.78 | Matt actually posted an ERA better than Beckett in June! Hard to imagine, and yet true. Perhaps this is protending good things to come – but then again, check out his WHIP , near the same as it was in April and May. Will this guy ever retain his first half of 2005? We’d all love that, but Clement’s looking like a bust so far. Here’s hoping he returns with a clear mind and clean bill of health. |
 Alex Cora |
APR 20 AB .200/.333/.300 MAY 24 AB .333/.407/333 |
40 AB .325/.413/.400 |
Taking playing time away from Alex Gonzalez (which I was not a fan of) he at least stepped up and contributed at the plate. I’m more than willing to give Gonzalez and Cora the platoon job at short next year with Loretta departing in favor of Pedroia, but right now with Loretta and Gonzalez making such important contributions, Francona has to keep Cora in the role he’s suited for – bench player. |
 Coco Crisp |
APR .333/385/458
MAY .278/.316/.444 |
.278/.328/.380 | Still not hitting to our great expectations, it’s not much of a surprise considering the hands, wrists, and fingers are so integral to success. Much like a pitcher needing a full year of pitching after surgery to return to his normal self, I think we haven’t seen the best of Crisp yet. It may come just at the right time, too! His youthfulness and his games missed may be pointing towards a huge second-half surge. |
 Manny Delcarmen |
APR AAA 0-0/10.0/0.00/0.80 MAY AAA 0-1/7.0/5.14/1.00 |
AAA ML |
Delcarmen is slowly being integrated into a more pivotal role in the bullpen, and has been responding as of late. Don’t take the kid gloves off just yet, though – check out the 1.55 WHIP, the likes of which Seanez has bettered for May and June. |
 Lenny DiNardo |
APR 0-1/18.1/7.36/1.96
MAY 1-1/7.0/6.43/2.29 |
DL | Where has Lenny DiNardo gone? Heal quickly, Lenny! Lenny may not be a great option as a starter, but what we’ve seen of him over the years shows that he could become a very good lefty middle-reliever. There are not many lefties who are not situational relievers – DiNardo giving us 50+ IP every year would be a great asset. At this point, it’s time to look ahead to 2007 for DiNardo. |
 Keith Foulke |
APR 2-1/17.0/3.71/0.76
MAY 0-0/12.0/5.25/1.42 |
0-0/3.0/18.00/3.00 | Foulke’s injuries are troubling him yet again. While he’s been taking on an important role in the bullpen, his injury left us to rely on people we’d rather not rely on just yet. If Foulke can fully heal, he’ll be a good addition to our bullpen down the road, much like Octavio Dotel will be for the Yankees, who just experienced another set-back. |
 Alex Gonzalez |
APR .186/.275/243
MAY .270/.317/.378 |
.352/.361/.535 | Only one walk in June? Who cares? Gonzalez may be feeling the touch of Papa Jack, or the Green Monster (cumulative .615 OPS on road, .820 at home) but whatever it is, I hope it keeps up. This will make it that much easier to resign him for 2007 and let Loretta walk and Pedroia arrive at second. |
 Craig Hansen |
APR AA 1-0/11.0/0.82/0.73 MAY AAA 0-1/19.2/2.29/1.65 |
AAA
ML |
Hansen shuts down the competition in the minors, but he has yet to figure it out at the majors. Still a bright future ahead of him, but Delcarmen is clearly ahead of him on the learning curve so far, and he’s been relegated to junk time. He’s likely the odd man out once a pitcher returns from the DL. |
 Willie Harris |
APR .067/.263/.067
MAY .263/.318/.316 |
.111/.111/.222 | The vanishing man only had 9 AB during June and one would think the return of Wily Mo Pena will push him either to AAA or free agency. Nevertheless, he did a fine job while here, doing what his job description said he was. |
 Gabe Kapler |
N/A | AA .400/.455/.900 AAA ML |
A torrid return for Kappy, perhaps our clubhouse leader. He certainly won’t keep up this clip, but he’s esconsed himself as a part-time outfielder, and once Pena comes back, Francona’s going to have to give Pena time at first to keep both fresh. Getting rid of Kapler is not an option, as teammates and coaches rave about him. |
 Jason Johnson |
APR (CLE) 2-1/31.2/3.41/1.39
MAY (CLE) 1-3/22.2/9.13/2.12 |
0-5/26.2/7.09/1.73 | Not a great start to his Sox career, but there’s still plenty to be (tentatively) optimistic about in regards to JJ. Hopefully his July becomes what his April was, as his June was a disaster of epic proportions. |
 Jon Lester |
APR AAA 0-4/11.2/6.94/1.80 MAY |
AAA ML |
Jon Lester has somehow posted a 2.95 ERA in his career to date. His WHIP suggests that won’t keep up, but his 3-0 record has gone a long way towards stabilizing the rotation. Case in point: Before Jon Lester, it was a mess. Now, it is not a mess. Lester has pretty much proven himself capable of a starting job for the rest of the season, although he may be shafted by a return of Matt Clement and David Wells. |
 Javier Lopez |
APR AAA 1-0?/13.0/0.69/0.92 MAY AAA 1-1/14.7/0.61/1.16 |
AAA 0-0/5.3/0.00/0.94 ML |
Acquired due to being a favorite of Theo, he’s actually been pretty good in the short time we’ve seen him. His pitches have bite on them and he looks like a valid major leaguer. Perhaps a lefty specialist in this day and age is needed. However, Lopez seems to be more capable against righties than Myers is, which should help Francona breathe easy. |
 Mark Loretta |
APR .218/.282/.297
MAY .404/.442/.495 |
.330/.355/.415 | Loretta followed up his hot May with a pretty good June, and we know what we have now in Loretta: great bat control and an average, but his OBP and power are lacking. We may turn to Dustin Pedroia for next year simply because we can (and because others would pay a pretty penny for Loretta in free agency), but Loretta has done nothing to deserve departing. |
 Mike Lowell |
APR .318/.371/.511
MAY .316/.374/.612 |
.274/.333/.368 | A lack of power from Lowell in June makes me wonder if April and May were just an aberration. With Lowell’s contact still at good levels, I’m not too concerned, but I am going to be watching Lowell with a little more interest than normal. He only had three doubles in June, but matched that July 1st against the Marlins. |
 Doug Mirabelli |
APR .182/.308/.227
MAY .154/.241/.231 |
.154/.154/.308 | I still think we traded Mirabelli initially because we knew his offense was going to take a nosedive. While I wasn’t and am still not a fan of the trade that seems like it was made out of desperation, I’m glad to have Mirabelli back and catching Wakefield. Do that job, and I don’t mind if he can’t hit. |
 David Murphy |
APR AAA .253/.301/.425
MAY AAA |
AAA .313/.394/.565 |
Maybe all Murphy needed was a challenge to get him going. The former first-rounder is doing all he can to live up to his first-round billing, and may be an option as a backup outfielder in September. With Pena and Murphy doing well, it may make it easier to trade Trot Nixon or have Nixon depart. The glut of right fielders will be something to keep an eye on during the rest of the year and offseason. |
 Trot Nixon |
APR 61 AB .311/.419/.508
MAY 91 AB .286/.404/.418 |
.386/.465/.554 | What a year for Trot Nixon, what a year! Are we going to resign him? Trade him? Let him walk? With the year he’s having, how can we possibly not bring him back? If we do, however, what do we do with Wily Mo Pena? He’s too valuable to stick on the bench for three more years. Hard decisions may be coming, but while Nixon’s here, enjoy the year he’s having. |
 David Ortiz |
APR 10 HR .278/.391/.639
MAY 5 HR .255/.333/.469 |
.277/.410/.564 | Papi seems to be trying to adjust to the shift. He was hitting well in April, but the shift may have got to him in May. Ortiz has to learn to adjust and hit differently, and his stats in June seem to show that he’s adjusted to and gotten used to the Ortiz shift. Especially noticeable in June was an even more discerning eye. With Ortiz grounding into so many outs to the second baseman (which would have been a seeing eye single with a normal shift) – it looks as if he’s laying off these pitches because he knows they’ll be outs. |
 Jonathan Papelbon |
APR 10 SV 0-0/14.1/0.00/0.79
MAY 9 SV 0-1/12.2/0.71/0.55 |
2-0/13.1/0.68/0.90 5 SV |
Papelbon is still a lockdown closer, except now he doesn’t lead the league in saves and has blown two saves. That’s nitpicking, though, and hopefully Papelbon doesn’t slow down anytime soon. With the Sox’s offense waking up bigtime in June, the saves have dwindled down. With an AL West jaunt after the break, the Westeners will be introduced to Papelbon shortly. |
 David Pauley |
APR AA ?/29.3/?/1.16
MAY AA ?/26.0/?/1.15 |
ML 0-2/11.2/6.17/1.97 AAA |
Pauley did admirably well in the big-leagues, but has unsurprisingly struggled heading to Triple-A. It’s a lot for Pauley to go through, and I expect it’ll take a while for him to get his head straightend out – the AAA All-Star Break may be helpful in this regard. Pauley never looks to have any ace stuff, but he certainly looks to have a future as a big-league starter. I’d expect him to have a John Burkett/Steve Traschel career. |
 Dustin Pedroia |
APR AAA .255/.364/.383
MAY AAA .256/.343/.344 |
.341/.398/.484 | Pedroia’s been making up for lost time in June and seems to be well past that injury he suffered earlier. There are rumors circulating that the Red Sox are privately hopeful that Pedroia can play a Tony Graffanino role in August and September, which would certainly be a boost and also allow us to gauge whether or not he’s ready for a starting job next season. He still needs a couple more months of seasoning in AAA, but an injury at the major league level may rush his timetable up. |
 Wily Mo Pena |
APR .277/.340/.553 MAY .354/.392/.431 |
DL | Wily Mo Pena is due back shortly and should bump Willie Harris of a roster spot. His power will be a welcome addition to our bench, and should also start serving as a backup first baseman in an effort to get him some innings. A trade rumor to keep in mind, however, is that the Red Sox are interested in Colorado’s AAA 1B Ryan Shealy. If we do acquire Shealy, either Lowell, Youkilis, or Pena will have to go. I can’t think of a scenario where we use all four hitters. (Youkilis at short? Hmmm. I kid.) |
 Manny Ramirez |
APR 4 HR .276/.417/.448
MAY 9 HR .333/.453/.714 |
.309/.447/.642 | Manny’s hot again, and he’s doing exactly what he’s done all these years. Each year he seems to start off slower and slower, but he easily makes it up the rest of the year. The question is, is there ever going to be a year where we can’t pencil him in for .300 with 30 HR and 100 RBI? When his contract is up, if he will resign for about $10 million or so over three years, we should strongly consider it. The Big Contract is nearing its end – only two years after 2006 to go. |
 Curt Schilling |
APR 4-1/40.2/2.88/0.96
MAY 4-1/32.2/5.23/1.22 |
2-0/41.0/2.85/1.10 | Schilling shook off a subpar May and is back to defeating Father Time. Time will tell if he can hold up over a full season, but if he can, it will be tremendously important to us. He and Beckett are 10-game winners prior to the All-Star Break, putting them on pace for 20 wins each. |
 Rudy Seanez |
APR 0-0/9.1/8.68/1.93 MAY |
2-0/10.2/5.06/1.41 | Seanez’s WHIP was not too far off his May WHIP, but he saw his ERA go up. While he isn’t as good as his May shows, nor as bad as his April shows, his June showed a balancing out. I’m not going to say a 1.41 ERA is great, but keep in mind that he’s among the Sox leaders in ERA, which means he’s doing something right. We’ve seen less of him and Seanez lately, which is probably a good thing. Question is, what do we do with them the second half, or even next year? (Releasing them is not an option, not unless they both put up Rudy’s April for three straight months.) You know, every time I see Rudy, I see Sam. The two look like they could be related. (Right about now, Sam is contemplating jumping out a window.) Sorry, Sam. It’s true. |
 Adam Stern |
APR AAA MAY AAA |
.240/.260/.400 |
Stern’s going to have to start stepping up if he wants to prove he’s more than a fourth outfielder. A fourth outfielder is not a bad career to have, but he’s doing nothing to dispel that notion. If we somehow clear up the logjam of Pena and Nixon next year, Stern has an outside shot at being the 5th OF on the team. More than likely, he’s trade bait as his moniker as Canada’s Babe Ruth certainly drives his value up a bit. |
 Julian Tavarez |
APR 0-0/8.1/5.40/1.32
MAY 0-1/14.2/3.68/1.70 |
0-2/15.1/7.04/1.50 | Ew. Ew, ew, ew. I still haven’t gotten that implosion in Minnesota out of my head. That’s approximately when I completely gave up on Tavarez, and if I see him in anything less than mopup time nowadays, I cringe. His WHIP went down from May, but it’s still not at April levels. Once it reaches that, then we can talk about a role for Julian. Until then, keep him as the last man in the bullpen. His only saving grace right now is that he’s tight with Manny. A happy Manny is a happy Boston. |
 Mike Timlin |
APR 2-0/9.1/1.93/1.71 MAY 1-0/10.0/0.90/0.80 |
0-0/7.2/2.35/1.17 | Timlin’s still throwing up these blanks and is absolutely integral to us as a setup man. I see no reason why we can’t bring him back for another year, as he seems to be the unquestioned leader of the bullpen. Hopefully we avoid any more dead arm periods that plagued him before. Certainly, the offense of the Red Sox and his time off on the DL will leave him fresher for the dog days of baseball. |
 Jermaine Van Buren |
APR AAA 0-0/6.0/0.00/0.83 MAY AAA 1-0/9.1/1.93/1.07 |
AAA ML |
All this bouncing up and down between Boston and Pawtucket seems to be taking its toll as evidenced by his numbers in June. While I think Van Buren can eventually morph into a serviceable middle reliever, he needs some consistency for that to happen. We haven’t seen the last of Van Buren. He’ll certainly be up in September and I’m betting even before that, but I’m hopeful he’ll get an extended stay in Pawtucket to feel comfortable. |
 Jason Varitek |
APR .250/.345/.375
MAY .230/.329/.419 |
.263/326/.388 | You know, I’m not that concerned. We’ve seen Varitek when he gets hot, and when he gets cold. One could say he’s having a terrible season so far, but I’d disagree, I’d say he’s having an average season offensively. More important is what h’s doing behind the plate, and he’s still the same old Varitek. I’m hopeful that his slumping so far portends to a hot streak when someone else slumps, but if not, I’ll be okay with the cumulative .248/.333/.394 he’s putting up – although I won’t be thrilled. |
 Tim Wakefield |
APR 1-4/32.1/3.90/1.27
MAY |
1-2/32.0/3.38/1.13 | Wake’s still lacking that run support, but he’s doing everything he can to try to get a win. His numbers are good enough for a #2 starter, which is encouraging in light of Beckett’s ERA. While better served (and counted on) as a #4, Wakefield has been the one constant in the rotation throughout the season and has been one less problem to worry about. |
 David Wells |
APR AAA 0-1/5.0/?/12.60 ERA MAY AAA 1-0/5.0/?/1.00 |
DL |
Will David Wells ever return? Who knows, but if he returns, he needs to make sure that he’s bonafide healthy and ready to log some innings. Do not underestimate what Wells can give us (he came through for us in 2005) and if his season is not over yet, I will welcome him back for anything he can give us. But first, a clean bill of health, which may not come. |
 Kevin Youkilis |
APR .299/.406/.414
MAY .333/.463/.545 |
.309/.389/.505 | Youk didn’t have as much patience in June as he did the other months, but that’s neither here nor there. He’s settled in as the full time firstbaseman and in the leadoff spot. While I would still like Crisp in the leadoff spot, he’s the right choice right now. Perhaps next year he can settle in as the second batter, but he’s a great way to set the tone of the game by making the pitchers battle from the outset of the game. |
NOT INCLUDED:
Mike Holtz – released
Dustan Mohr – released
David Riske – traded
J.T. Snow – released
ADDED:
David Murphy – in AAA, making noise
(There may be small discrepancies in statistics for minor leaguers, but nothing major.)