Sox historically a step behind, but only a step

Mired on the Bruins beat as I was for the last half of the season, I could not help but start to think about some correlations between what I saw from the spoked B’s in January through March to what we have seen come out of the Fens in the first month-and-a-half of the Major League Baseball season.Two teams, beloved by the people, incredibly inconsistent and frustrating. Both came into their years with high expectations (run prevention and projection adding “another eight to nine wins” is simply not going to happen), both have trouble scoring at times and are dealing with low return on investment and injury.

The historic collapse of the Bruins notwithstanding, both teams are probably better than they have looked. Yes, the Flyers just ripped the heart out of the Hub, but the Black and Gold did deliver a second consecutive conference semifinals appearance to Causeway Street and that was not entirely a fluke.

So, I got to thinking about recent Sox history. I thought to myself: ‘haven’t we seen some frustrating starts in recent years only to come back and win 95 games?” Then I went to the numbers. Here are the May 15th runs scored, allowed and projected win-loss since 2004.

5/15 Online Seats Game Thread: Lester Gets the Go

The Boston Red Sox were helped out by the big bat of David Ortiz in the series opener in Detroit last night. Tonight, Jon Lester will take the mound to take the second game of the series.

I want egg on my face

On May 5th, I thought David Ortiz should be released. Even though he hit two home runs a few days prior in Baltimore, they were on average fastballs that measured 90 and 91 miles per hour. Ortiz or any quadruple-A slugger like Jack Cust should be putting those in the seats when he knows it is coming. I was not impressed and my patience was running thin. The hope of October baseball at Fenway was fading. Drastic times call for drastic measures - the release of a Red Sox icon.

Thankfully that did not happen. David Ortiz is still property of the Boston Red Sox. After last year's summer reemergence of Big Papi and witnessing his progress at the plate, the Red Sox stood by Ortiz.

5/14 Online Seats Game Thread: On the Road Again

The Boston Red Sox will begin a lengthy road trip tonight against the bounding Tigers, as Clay Buchholz looks to tame the struggling Max Scherzer.

The offense impresses even with fill ins

I still have trouble listening when people talk about how adding a bat would make a huge difference on this team. Perhaps they are referring to the failed attempt to keep Jason Bay or perhaps they would like a trade for an all star hitter like Adrian Gonzalez. Well besides all the troubles in dealing with a team leading the NL West right now. Beyond all that you have to ask how much difference would any of these players have made so far?

So far the offense has scored 178 runs before Wednesday's game. That total puts them in fourth only four runs behind the Yankees and seven behind the leading Rays. For a team apparently struggling to put up runs they sure have totaled an impressive amount missing quite a few games from their lead off hitter and center fielder.

5/12 Online Seats Game Thread: Beckett’s Back Acts Up, Wakefield Gets Start for Boston

In a surprise and somewhat troubling scratch, Josh Beckett will not start today's early game for the Boston Red Sox, as Boston tries to complete a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays. Instead, veteran workhorse Tim Wakefield, fresh from a recent bullpen stint, will get the nod in Beckett's place.

Numbers

For whatever reason, I've been having a large number of conversations about retired numbers lately. From students trying to get me on a tangent by asking who they all are to discussions about whether Pedro Martinez' return on Opening Day was a play to get 45 on the facade, the frequency of the topic has gotten me thinking about what the next number retired would be. So, instead of the usual recriminations or wishful thoughts on the 2010 campaign, I wanted to run down the top 5 candidates in order of what I think is their likelihood of retirement. I don't expect everyone to agree, but it should spark some interesting conversation.

The current list stands at 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, and 27 (along with Jackie Robinson's 42). Bobby Doerr, Joe Cronin, Johnny Pesky, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Jim Rice and Carlton Fisk -- as good a rundown of Red Sox greats as you can get. Hall of Famers all, aside from Pesky, who represents a special case. The restrictions on retirement have been eased by current ownership, and the rules are now a bit fuzzy; it used to be that a player had to begin and finish a Hall of Fame career with the Sox. That seems to no longer be the case, despite a few acrobatic moves to get Fisk there. So, with that in mind, here is my list of five, along with their numbers, chances and qualifications.

5/11 Online Seats Game Thread: Winning Red Sox Start Shaky Dice-K

The Boston Red Sox have finally pushed themselves to a winning record, and they will look to carry that momentum into tonight's game, as Daisuke Matsuzaka teeters on the edge of a double digit ERA.

5/10 Online Seats Game Thread: Blue Jays Bring Brighter Skies to Boston

After avoiding a New York Yankees sweep last night on ESPN, the Boston Red Sox will look to regain some ground in the AL East as the Toronto Blue Jays will send Brandon Morrow to the hill to face John Lackey.

5/9 Online Seats Game Thread: Lester Lessens the Blow for Boston

The New York Yankees have been more than effective against the Boston Red Sox this season, but Jon Lester will head to the hill this mother's day to try to retake some ground against A.J. Burnett and crew.