| Douglas Benton. 29th July, 2006 - 11:00 pm
 After the 2004 World Series which saw that wretched so-called curse finally broken and the whole New England region go into a state of euphoria, 2005 was more of a hangover year that ended in a first round sweep by the Chicago White Sox. With that, general manager Theo Epstein went about remaking the attitude of the franchise and now in 2006, has the Red Sox on top of the American League East and poised to make a run at their second championship in three years.
With Boston, it always starts and stops with the two-headed monster of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, producing the best offensive combo in the game. Ortiz is by far the most clutch hitter in the game and he seems to have taken his hitting to the next level by leading the American League in home runs with 34 and RBI with 95. Ortiz also has made a seamless transition to unofficial face of the franchise after the departure of Pedro Martinez to the New York Mets.
Ramirez, on the other hand, has been a head case at times for Boston, but his skills and value are evident on the back of his baseball card. He is considered by some as one of the top five offensive players of this generation and he has continued that this season by placing in the top 10 in the American League in home runs, RBI, and batting average. While Ortiz is the unquestioned leader of the batting order, Ramirez is still the team?s most important player on the team because since Ortiz?s production is always there, it is up to Ramirez to keep up with his running mate and keep the fear in the middle of this order.
Through the rest of the line-up, the Red Sox have a nice balance of professional hitters who together create a line-up that doesn?t have a hole anywhere in the order. With guys like Mike Lowell, Mark Loretta, and Jason Varitek sprinkled in this order, they provide some protection for Ramirez and Ortiz, while taking good at-bats to tax opposing pitching.
With their own pitching, three names lead the charge in Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, and Jonathan Papelbon without much else beyond them. Schilling and Beckett have been excellent at the head of the rotation, combining for a 26-8 record thus far in 2006. At the end of the game, Papelbon might have become the best closer in the game over a few short months, but he isn?t the most feared of the closer?s and have no playoff experience at the end of games. Still, Terry Francona isn?t losing any sleep on this matter, since Papelbon has given up on three runs in 51 innings of work.
What Francona might be losing sleep over is a lack of pitching depth in the bullpen and injuries to the starting rotation. This might prompt them to trade for a starter at the deadline, with pitchers like Livan Hernandez or Jon Lieber reportedly there to have.
The Red Sox will need to fix the pitching to win another World Series, but with their ?Big 5? all healthy and producing, Boston will be a team to reckon with for the American League pennant. |
