In April, J.D. Drew was making sure that Red Sox fans didn’t jump on him for a slow start. He was among the league leaders the entire month in batting average, and looked as if he would be a force all year long.
Then May came. Drew flailed around in the throes of a horrible, horrible slump. He, through May 28, has a batting line of .191/.345/.265. In his last two games (not including last night, in which Josh Beckett returned from the D.L. and he put up an ofer, but he’s still showing signs of snapping out of it) he has logged three hits in six at-bats, walking twice. He went two for four in the final game of the Texas series. The only other time he had a multi-hit game this month was on May 10th.
I hesitate to anoint him fully back after only just two games, but Drew has been hitting the ball hard lately and has maintained an excellent OBP. Even though his batting average is below the Mendoza line for the month of May, his OBP is still very good. That’s the hallmark of a good player: one who still can get on base even when his swing is in a funk.
He’s getting hot at just the right time: the Indians have proven themselves a very tough team to beat and the Yankees come to Fenway this weekend. Getting offense out of our number five slot will prove to be invaluable. In my mind, the number five slot is a watershed slot in baseball. In lineups, you start off with the most speed and ability to get on base. The second slot is supposed to be much of the same, but less speed and a bit more doubles power. The three and four are reserved for the home-run hitters who can also get on base at a good clip. The five slot can be a number of things. It can be a hitter who can hammer homeruns like no tomorrow but can’t get on base (Wily Mo Pena) or one with double power (Trot Nixon batted fifth for the Indians last night). The rest of the lineup is (supposed) to be significantly weaker, with the six, seven, eight and nine hitters not lighting the world on fire. Oftentimes, the five hitter is the last of the elite hitters for teams, except for very good offensive teams.
Even on a team with an elite offense, the five hitter represents the last player that a pitcher really has to bear down and focus on (not that they shouldn’t be focusing on the lesser hitters, but still). After getting through the top four, the pitcher only has one more batter to go before they can get somewhat of a breather. That’s why it’s so important to me that the five-hitter be a person that can be a glorified number two hitter, maybe even better. He instantly makes the lower hitters better by starting the lower half of the lineup off with a quality at bat.
Drew is the perfect five-hole hitter for the Red Sox. I view him as another Youkilis (the discrepancy in statistics be damned) except left-handed, balancing the lineup perfectly. With Drew showing signs of coming out of his slump, the Red Sox may have just added another weapon to their arsenal.
The results of the poll about the Yankees:
The Yankees took two of three. What’s your thought process now, looking forward to the looming Fenway affair with the Bronxers?
* Pfft, nothing. We’ve handled them all year. We’ll keep handling them.
33% of all votes
* It doesn’t feel good dropping two of three, but I’m still confident.
58% of all votes
* Ehh … I’m starting to really worry that this team could fall apart. Like last year.
5% of all votes
* Uh-oh…
4% of all votes
I waffled between voting between option two and three, and I have to admit: I voted for option three. I just couldn’t fathom us playing at this high level continuously with so many people underperforming, but Manny and Drew are starting to snap out of it, we swept Texas, and the Yankees took the momentum they had and smashed it to bits. I’m solidly in the option one camp now.
New poll!