July saw the Red Sox go 15-12, which represents an upgrade over the awful June. The Red Sox seemed to be going nowhere in the beginning of the month, but a five-game winning streak from July 20-24 and a three-game winning streak from the 26th-28th really helped things. The end of July represented quite a trade: Kason Gabbard, who makes his final appearance this year (possibly forever) in this Month to Month, was sent away for reliever Eric Gagne, which makes Sox games a six-inning affair now. Now, about that inconsistent offense…
Boston Red Sox 2007
Month to Month: July
Batters Key: Average/On-Base Percentage/Slugging/Other Stat.
Pitchers Key: W-L or SV/IP/ERA/WHIP.
Only includes players currently on the 25-man roster as of the end of month.
|
PLAYER |
APR, MAY, JUN |
JUNE |
NOTES |
|
Josh Beckett |
5-0 |
2-3 |
Beckett suffered through a losing month, but he improved on his June. He’s quickly establishing himself as a go-to guy in the Sox rotation, and looks to have been worth the money (and player cost) so far. |
|
Alex Cora |
.360/.407/.800 |
.152/.200/.212 |
Cora is returning to his no-hit ways, but that’s less of a liability now that Pedroia and Lugo are finally playing up to their potential together. |
|
Coco Crisp |
.235/.274/.338 |
.323/.391/.505 |
A second straight good month from Crisp is exactly what we needed to see to ensure that he was for real. His amazing defense and now offense really is offering the Sox a shot in the arm. |
|
Manny Delcarmen |
N/A |
0-0 |
Delcarmen quickly established himself as a top reliever, and now that he’s lower on the totem pole due to Gagne, it will only make the pen that much better. |
|
J.D. Drew |
.278/.376/.392 |
.213/.318/.307 |
Drew’s July was a sad regression from his June. Is it due to the new pitching style of the AL and/or his son’s medical issues? Or is he just done? Time will tell. |
|
Kason Gabbard |
N/A |
3-0 32.2/3.03/0.83 |
Gabbard stepped in admirably … and got traded because of it. He will fit well in Texas, and mark my words, he is another Kenny Rogers in the making. |
|
Eric Hinske |
.294/.409/.471 |
.186/.286/.372 |
Hinske’s showing that he simply can’t hit for average, but the OBP and power are still showing up. He seems to be wildly inconsistent from month to month. That bodes well for August (and October)! |
|
Jon Lester |
N/A |
1-0 |
Jon Lester made a triumphant return from cancer and has pitched well enough (I like that 1.18 WHIP) to have enabled the Sox to ship Kason Gabbard out of town. |
|
Javier Lopez |
3.0/0.00/1.00 |
0-0 |
Lopez may be sent down (he has an option remaining) for Curt Schilling once activated, but as the sole situational lefty out of the bullpen, there’s no denying he’s done an admirable job. |
|
Mike Lowell |
.314/.371/.547 |
.330/.376/.470 |
Lowell recovered very nicely from a downgraded June and may be holding up through his second-half woes. August will tell all, but his season has been much appreciated. |
|
Julio Lugo |
.256/.346/.344 |
.313/.377/.448 |
Well, it’s about time! Finally this guy hits. Don’t count him out, but I’m not counting him in just yet. August will be important. That being said, bat him 9th, not first, Tito! |
|
Daisuke Matsuzaka |
3-2 |
3-3 |
Certainly no June, but better than his previous months. He’s starting to round into form and settling into a routine. I have no doubt the years ahead will be even bettter, but he’s come as advertised for his first year. |
|
Doug Mirabelli |
.353/.421/.706 |
.208/.345/.375 |
Wow, he actually had what could be termed a decent month. Still, this probably should be Mirabelli’s swan song in Boston. |
|
Hideki Okajima |
1 SV |
0 SV |
He’s lost all chances at future saves now that Eric Gagne has arrived, but it’s just silly how good Okaji has been for us and his Oki-Doki changeup. Keep it up! |
|
David Ortiz |
.297/.402/.615 |
.330/.427/.568 |
His two homeruns on July 31st provided the outburst of power, but this represents three straight months his power has gone up. He’s maintaining that high average, too. Nothing at all to complain about. |
|
Jonathan Papelbon |
8 SV |
4 SV |
Not even hitting eight innings is a travesty. There’s protecting his arm, then there’s not trusting him at all. He needs to pitch more to stay effective. |
|
Dustin Pedroia |
.182/.308/.236 |
.299/.358/.381 |
Dustin lost his power in July, but he kept it up with a high average (which should always be the case due to his propensity not to strike out) and good OBP. No complaints. |
|
Wily Mo Pena |
.172/.273/.414 |
.235/.297/.471 |
Wily Mo has the power, he doesn’t have much else. How much longer can we put up with this? |
|
Manny Ramirez |
.202/.314/.315 |
.340/.425/.660 |
Manny’s now officially on fire and has finally arrived. He is on pace for his normal 30-HR and 100-RBI. I just wish he wouldn’t settle for that and shoot for more. Take what you can get? |
|
Kyle Snyder |
1-0 |
1-1 |
Snyder is proving to be a fine arm out of the bullpen, but he’s not exactly to be relied on. I would choose to DFA Snyder in favor of Schilling once Schilling returns. |
|
Julian Tavarez |
1-2
|
1-3 |
Ew. Tavarez had quite a run, but it’s all over now, especially with his lackluster effort on 8/1 v. Baltimore. Put him in the pen, and let him excel, having shown the stats to destroy batters he sees for the first time during a game. |
|
|
7.2/5.87/1.43 |
0-0 |
I’m impressed. Very impressed. He went down with a sore shoulder for a few days, but look at those numbers. He’s returned to being the Timlin we all know. Who knew? |
|
Jason Varitek |
.239/.325/.358 |
.294/.398/.368 |
Varitek doesn’t have the power, but he still had a fine year. Unfortunately, I no longer trust him when he’s up at bat. A shame, but this is the Varitek we all know now. Maybe he’ll step it up later? |
|
Tim Wakefield |
2-3 |
4-1 |
Wakefield won four games with a 5.52 ERA thanks to the offense. Hopefully the ERA slides down. His birthday was yesterday … he is now 41! |
|
Kevin Youkilis |
.291/.402/.407 |
.219/.348/.356 |
The OBP is there. The power, the average… it’s not. He’s now taken to flipping a lid every time he ends an inning with an out. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself, Youk. Just hit! |
Mike Timlin
The results of the poll:
Should the Red Sox make a trade?
* Yes, but not an earth-shattering one; just round the team out.
65% of all votes
* No, we don’t need a trade. Best record in baseball!
21% of all votes
* Yes, and trade our best prospects if we have to! We need to win!
14% of all votes
Looks like Theo listened… new poll up!
By the way, here’s the reaction of Fenway as Eric Gagne strolled to the mound and blew a first-pitch strike past Kevin Millar in a Red Sox uniform! I took the video.