Sorry, no introduction today. Just reformatted my computer, and I’m busy trying to figure out how to drill a hole in Josh’s skull and pour in Schilling’s knowledge instead of having to sit through his “feel” and “touch” that have led to what, 30 homeruns so far?
BOSTON RED SOX MONTH TO MONTH: JULY
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 | APR/MAY/JUN |
JULY
|
NOTES
|
 Abe Alvarez |
APR AAA 3-0/29.0/2.17/0.90 MAY AAA 2-1/16.1/3.86/1.59 MAY ML 0-0/3.0/12.00/2.33 JUN 2-1/27.3/?/1.72 |
?/27.3/?/1.98 |
I was right. In June, I wrote that Abe may not be a viable part of Boston anymore. The Red Sox are expected to announce later today that Abe has been shipped to Baltimore in exchange for Javy Lopez. If he’s not … well, then he’s still a part of the organization, but not a viable part. |
 Josh Beckett |
APR 3-1/32.0/4.50/1.25 MAY 4-1/36.2/4.42/1.12 JUN 3-1/28.1/5.08/1.16 |
3-2/37.1/.5.06/1.42 | Ouch. His ERA by month … I don’t know, I just don’t know. Beckett’s a great guy, and I completely understand his need to adjust to the AL and trust his curveball. His value is in the next few years. Still, it’d be nice to see him turn it around in August and September. That won’t happen in the beginning of August, with a miserable performance against Cleveland. |
 Alex Cora |
APR 20 AB .200/.333/.300 MAY 24 AB .333/.407/333 JUN .325/.413/.400 |
.282/.364/.359 | Cora’s been a solid player for us, and could see more time next year if we bring Dustin Pedroia up in place for the departed Alex Gonzalez/Mark Loretta/both. Hopefully we retain Alex Gonzalez, but supplanting Loretta with Pedroia is not a bad idea at all. |
 Bryan Corey |
APR AA ?/10.7/?/1.13 |
0-1/8.2/3.12/1.85 | Jury’s still out on Corey, as we’ve only seen him once. I’d love to know just what exactly was behind the motivation for this move. Does Theo think Corey can really help, or is this just filler until players come back? If it’s the latter, why give up AA Luis Mendoza, why not just call up someone? |
 Coco Crisp |
APR .333/385/458 MAY .278/.316/.444 JUN .278/.328/.380 |
.243/.297/.359 | 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 |
0-0/15.1/3.52/1.24 |
An injury had Delcarmen taking a slight step back near the end of July, but he’s still becoming one of the arms we can count on, and is one of many promising young Boston arms to pan out lately. We’ve had pretty good luck with Papelbon, Lester, Delcarmen, and Hansen. |
 Lenny DiNardo |
APR 0-1/18.1/7.36/1.96 MAY 1-1/7.0/6.43/2.29 JUN DL |
DL | Still on the DL. Still nothing to report. |
 Keith Foulke |
APR 2-1/17.0/3.71/0.76 MAY 0-0/12.0/5.25/1.42 JUN 0-0/3.0/18.00/3.00 |
DL | The DL for Foulke, although his return is inching closer and closer. May even be back before September. A healthy Foulke down the stretch would be amazing, but let’s not count on it. |
 Kason Gabbard |
APR AA ?/18.7/?/1.50 MAY AA ?/30.0/?/0.97 JUN AA ?/25.0/?/0.76 JUN AAA ?/5.7/?/2.12 |
AAA ?/28.0/?/1.29 ML |
A decent outing against the Mariners, Gabbard looked more developed and ready than David Pauley. He may be the first option again when we need a starter. Gabbard and Pauley are far from great things, but are great value in trades and in filling in as a spot-starter. |
 Alex Gonzalez |
APR .186/.275/243 MAY .270/.317/.378 JUN .352/.361/.535 |
.325/.364/.538 | Gonzalez keeps the hitting alive, and has truly shown a remarkable turnaround. Now, it’s time for Theo to decide … is it the winning? Is it the fans? Is it a flash in the pan? Is it Papa Jack? If it’s anything but the flash in the pan, the fluke … resign him. |
 Craig Hansen |
APR AA 1-0/11.0/0.82/0.73 |
0-0/15.0/4.20/1.33 | Hansen’s had second-inning woes, but he’s been great in the first inning. If he can be successfully stretched out as a two-inning reliever, the trio of Papelbon, Delcarmen, and Hansen should rank among the best in the majors over the next five years. |
 Willie Harris |
APR AAA .161/.277/.250 APR ML.067/.263/.067 MAY .263/.318/.316 JUN .111/.111/.222 |
ML .000/.000/.000 AAA |
Harris should return in September as a pinch-running specialist, but as his AAA statistics indicate, any value he ever had with the bat is long gone. |
 Jason Johnson |
APR (CLE) 2-1/31.2/3.41/1.39 MAY (CLE) 1-3/22.2/9.13/2.12 JUN 0-5/26.2/7.09/1.73 |
0-1/4.0/9.00/2.75 | Johnson notched a quality start in his first start in August. Hopefully he’s found himself a groove and can contribute as a member of the rotation here on out. |
 Gabe Kapler |
JUN AA .400/.455/.900 JUN AAA .200/.250/.267 JUN ML .353/.353/.588 |
.226/.314/.387 | Kappy’s been perfectly fine as a backup outfielder, and the crowd loves him. While the impact of a clubhouse leader is not easily quantified, we know that Kapler scores in the plus range here. |
 Jon Lester |
APR AAA 0-4/11.2/6.94/1.80 MAY AAA 3-0/31.0/1.45/1.23 JUN AAA 0-0/4.0/0.00/2.25 JUN ML 3-0/21.1/2.95/1.45 |
2-1/35.1/3.82/1.50 |
Lester’s WHIP still isn’t improving at all, although he turned an excellent performance against Kansas City. His performance in August should be watched closely. His WHIP is too dangerous to continue as a reliever, so it’s entirely possible Jon Lester may not be on the postseason roster. If his WHIP can start trending down, then it won’t feel like we’re playing with fire. |
 Javier Lopez |
APR AAA 1-0?/13.0/0.69/0.92 MAY AAA 1-1/14.7/0.61/1.16 JUN AAA 0-0/5.3/0.00/0.94 JUN ML 0-0/4.1/2.08/1.15 |
AAA ML |
Lopez looks to have talent, but he’s certainly not a dominating reliever. In the month of July, he gave up 3 earned runs, with 5 unearned! Lopez has to firm up his command and he’ll turn out to be another quality option out of the bullpen. |
 Mark Loretta |
APR .218/.282/.297 MAY .404/.442/.495 JUN .330/.355/.415 |
.250/.331/.288 | A recent hero for the Red Sox, Loretta didn’t contribute much in July. Such is life if you’re a tremendous single hitter – a slump can send you to one of the worthless people to step onto a field. Fortunately, Loretta’s better than this and should still contribute the rest of the way. |
 Mike Lowell |
APR .318/.371/.511 MAY .316/.374/.612 JUN .274/.333/.368 |
.255/.286/.490 | Not a great June in terms of contact or on-base percentage, but when he got ahold of a ball, he simply drove it far. Essentially the opposite of June. The month of August will be especially telling for us to determine who we truly have in Lowell. Don’t be surprised to see him moved in the offseason. |
 Doug Mirabelli |
APR .182/.308/.227 MAY .154/.241/.231 JUN .154/.154/.308 |
.250/.344/.500 | A couple days as a starter for August in Mirabelli ends wth the acquisition of Javy Lopez. Mirabelli was surprisingly effective in July, and it will be a good thing for us all if he stays this effective in August. |
 David Murphy |
APR AAA .253/.301/.425 MAY AAA .300/.337/.463 JUN AAA .313/.394/.565 |
.269/.360/.445 | Muprhy continues hitting well at the AAA level, and could be a possible callup in September. If Trot Nixon leaves as a free agent next year, it’s possible Muprhy could crack the bigleague roster. The sudden emergence of Murphy has deepened our minors, which now do not have Papelbon, Lester, Delcarmen, Hansen, etc. to claim as its own. |
 Trot Nixon |
APR .311/.419/.508 MAY .286/.404/.418 JUN .386/.465/.554 |
.187/.292/.227 | A horrific July ended with him being placed on the disabled list. Wily Mo Pena is doing everything he can to Wally Pipp Nixon out of a job. If Nixon can come back repeating every month but June, then all is good. If it’s July, the hook needs to be quick so Pena can get back in there. |
 David Ortiz |
APR .278/.391/.639 MAY .255/.333/.469 JUN .277/.410/.564 |
.339/.429/.798 | What shift? Papi worked his way around the shift to a monstrous July and will look to keep the tempo rolling in August. People are already claiming that Jeter will win the MVP over Ortiz, which is so wrong on so many levels, I’m not even going to try to understand it until the offseason. If Jeter beats out Ortiz this year, then one has to wonder just WHAT Ortiz has to do. You can bet that MVP trophy is driving him. |
 Jonathan Papelbon |
APR 0-0/14.1/0.00/0.79 MAY 0-1/12.2/0.71/0.55 JUN 2-0/13.1/0.68/0.90 |
0-0/12.2/0.71/0.63 |
Only five saves in each of June and July, Francona should try to find a way to work Papelbon into some more games, even if it includes saves that begin sometime in the eight and end in the ninth. Papelbon’s still as dominant as ever, but needs to rack up these saves if he wants to blow Francisco Liriano out of the water for the Rookie of the Year campaign. |
 David Pauley |
APR AA ?/29.3/?/1.16 |
AAA ?/34.0/?/1.50 |
Nothing new to report on Pauley, who sports a cumulative ERA of 5.54. He’s certainly got a ways to go. |
 Dustin Pedroia |
APR AAA .255/.364/.383 MAY AAA .256/.343/.344 JUN AAA .341/.398/.484 |
AAA .363/460/.510 |
His July is easily the best he’s had all year, showing he’s over the wrist injury that plagued him. He seems to be solidifying himself with a 2007 bench job at minimum. He’s almost certain to be recalled in September. |
 Wily Mo Pena |
APR .277/.340/.553 MAY .354/.392/.431 JUN DL |
.429/.529/.929 | Pena came off the DL in July and made sure his July statistics were gaudy. With Nixon out for 2-3 weeks, Pena has the opportunity to step in and prove to the brass that they should let Nixon walk as a free agent, that a threesome of Ortiz, Ramirez, and Pena could be beyond devastating next year. |
 Manny Ramirez |
APR .276/.417/.448 MAY .333/.453/.714 JUN .309/.447/.642 |
.337/.407/.692 | Did anyone know that Manny’s having his best season since 2002, and his second best ever? It’s true. |
 Curt Schilling |
APR 4-1/40.2/2.88/0.96 MAY 4-1/32.2/5.23/1.22 JUN 2-0/41.0/2.85/1.10 |
3-2/38.0/4.74/1.21 | I see a pattern each month. Dominating, average, dominating, average. This should bode well for August, especially since we need all hands on deck during the month of August. |
 Rudy Seanez |
APR 0-0/9.1/8.68/1.93 MAY 0-0/11.0/1.64/1.36 JUN 2-0/10.2/5.06/1.41 |
0-1/10.1/0.87/1.35 | A nice, miniscule 0.87 ERA makes me happy. While his WHIP still isn’t incredibly low, Seanez has also had alternating months of effectiveness. Bury him in August, and ride him into the ground in September! Seanez quietly has a cumulative ERA of 3.83. |
 Kyle Snyder |
APR AAA ?/17.0/?/1.41 |
AAA ?/14.3/?/1.40 ML |
In each of Snyder’s starts with Boston, he’s been effective until the fifth inning. With his 4.1 IP gem against the Indians in the first game of the series, Francona has put him in the bullpen hoping he can continue to serve as an excellent longman. We shall see what the results are. |  Adam Stern |
APR AAA |
.294/.319./404 |
Starting to improve, Stern has still pretty much punched his ticket to AAA next year. His ability is undeniable, so he may still turn out to be an excellent backup outfielder, but it’ll be a while before we see him on any sort of regular basis. |
 Julian Tavarez |
APR 0-0/8.1/5.40/1.32 MAY 0-1/14.2/3.68/1.70 JUN 0-2/15.1/7.04/1.50 |
1-1/19.0/4.26/1.63 | A better July than a better June, but still not trusted. |
 Mike Timlin |
APR 2-0/9.1/1.93/1.71 MAY 1-0/10.0/0.90/0.80 JUN 0-0/7.2/2.35/1.17 |
2-1/11.1/5.56/1.41 | Showing his age in July, Timlin followed that up with a two-run shot August 2nd to continue his woes. |
 Jermaine Van Buren |
APR AAA 0-0/6.0/0.00/0.83 |
AAA ML |
On the Lou Merloni shuttle this year, Van Buren’s hardly had time to get his act together. It looks as if the Red Sox have lost faith in him as well. |
 Jason Varitek |
APR .250/.345/.375 MAY .230/.329/.419 JUN .263/326/.388 |
.231/.326/.462 | Varitek’s injury may be the best thing that happened to him, because now he can rest his nagging injuries and come off the DL fresh for the big September run. |
 Tim Wakefield |
APR 1-4/32.1/3.90/1.27 MAY 3-2/40.2/4.20/1.30 JUN 1-2/32.0/3.38/1.13 |
2-0/14.2/6.14/1.36 | 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 |
0-0/4.2/15.43/2.14 |
Now that Wells is back, it’s only a matter of him pitching effectively. The Wells of old could be a boon to our staff in August and September, he just has to pitch well. |
 Kevin Youkilis |
APR .299/.406/.414 MAY .333/.463/.545 JUN .309/.389/.505 |
.236/.331/.321 | A subpar month, he picked up the pace near the end and is carrying his hot streak into August. He still remains the catalyst for the Red Sox. |
REMOVED:
Matt Clement – not expected to return
ADDED:
Bryan Corey – acquired in trade
Kason Gabbard – made one start
Kyle Snyder – a savior in relief?
(There may be small discrepancies in statistics for minor leaguers, but nothing major.)