I don’t think I could ever attempt to explain the streaks this team has been through in 2011, but being that the worst of them came at the very beginning and the very end they sure leave a bad taste in every one’s mouth. Obviously this isn’t some silly idea like “laziness” or “lack of competitiveness”, but it’s more than just injuries. Who’s struggles have hurt the most this month and what small changes could have made the biggest difference?
The offense has been down this month ranking seventh in wOBA, but that’s not a big drop. Kevin Youkilis was the big dissapointment in his sample, but Dustin pedroia has again struggled at the same time as the team is in a big slump. Obviously baseball is too team oriented for one player to make all the difference, but Pedroia’s slumps have seemed to come in stride with the teams slumps.
The pitching would make you forget any offensive struggles though. In the month of september the Red Sox rank third from last in all of baseball in FIP and second from last in xFIP. The numbers come from both the starters and relievers so no blame to split there.
The issue seems to come from our sudden use of wild arms out of the minors. In the month of September the Red Sox pitching has walked 79 batters. That is the most in baseball with only two other teams having more than 70 (Mets and Braves). No matter what our offense does it can’t make up for a pitching staff giving up that many free passes.
With the Red Sox tossing Kyle Weiland and John Lackey in a double header today this probably isn’t going to look any better tomorrow morning. The offense is under a lot of pressure to produce in these last ten games as the pitching has fallen to injuries and slumps. If the Red Sox fail to make the playoffs they need to look squarely at the money spent at John lackey and lack of depth in the staff as well as lack of options in the bullpen.