How ’bout that Drew?
No, not Nancy Drew.
J.D. Drew.
He’s hit safely in all six games that he’s played in (and shades of a psychic, I wrote this line prior to last night’s game — how’s that for confidence in Drew?) and already has two home runs on the season. To put that in perspective, he’s pacing for 64 homers. Yes, you read that right.
Is Drew a vital component of the 2008 squad? I say yes.
Despite an off-year last year due to concerns about his son and adjustments to a new league (talk to Edgar Renteria) he played solid right field and earned a ring. This year, with an expected decline in offense from Mike Lowell, Drew’s contributions become that much more magnified.
Starting the season batting sixth, he’s gotten off to a hot enough start that I think it can be sustained. To be sure, he won’t end up with 64 homers, but is 30 a possibilty? Sure, it is. He got it once before (2004, Atlanta, 31) and came close another (2001, Saint Louis, 27) but for the most part has averaged the late teens in homers. Another thing he’s averaged prior to 2006 and 2007 were high teens in doubles (even his full years not wrecked by injury).
That changed in 2006 and he had 34 doubles, while netting 30 this year and seeing his homer totals drop to 11. This guy has a career .501 slugging percentage, slugged .423 last year and we’re all ready to write him off after an anemic 2007? I don’t think so.
What would a return-to-form Drew symbolize for the Sox? For one, it would give them an high-impact No. 5 hitter that we had last year (if Drew lives up to his potential and Lowell regresses to the mean, flipping them in the lineup is inevitable) only left-handed, breaking up the lineup that much more.
If Lowell regresses to the mean and Drew returns to his former output, that means that we’ve maintained the production from 2007 out of our Nos. 5 and 6 hitters. This is a good thing, because we won the World Series last year. Add in Big Papi and a rebound from Manny, and this offense starts looking mighty good, even with the black hole that is Coco Crisp in center and the punchless Lugo at the bottom of the order. (For godsakes Lugo, I appreciate the batting average, but how about some extra bases?)
What do you think? Is this a return to form by Drew or is it just a mirage?
Reaction to last night’s game: Well, the Tigers were too good to continue losing. Lester K’d none and walked four. He did a good job limiting the hits (five) but he’s got to be more consistent about attacking the zone and not getting psyched out by the bats at the plate.
