| Brian Spang. 22nd July, 2005 - 7:49 pm
 Don?t worry, this is not one of those Dan Shaughnessy ?panic? columns ? I don?t think my hair could take the stress. This is an attempt to gain some perspective on the Boston Red Sox at this point in the season without any comparisons to last year?s team.
Currently a first place ball club, the Red Sox now face the team with the best record in baseball, the Chicago White Sox. Some of the keys to this series include keeping Scott Podsednik off the bases, getting to Chicago?s bullpen early, and taking advantage of any opportunities to score. The Sox will need to bring a playoff-like intensity to this series if they are going to make a statement that they are still the team to beat.
With the trading deadline approaching quickly, this series may very well determine what the Red Sox do to improve the team. Pitching seems to be the focus of most of the trade rumors, with names like J.C. Romero, Billy Wagner, and A.J. Burnett being thrown around. Basically, the rotation is not dominant without Schilling as the ace, and the bullpen is downright frightening with Timlin as the only reliable arm. More firepower is needed from the pitching staff, and Theo will probably look outside the organization to reload.
The offense is doing exactly what was expected of it at the beginning of the season. Even with Bellhorn, Millar, and Renteria not performing as well as some had hoped, the team is still first in the Major Leagues in hits, doubles, batting average, OBP, and OPS (as well as a close second in runs scored). Because the offense is so potent, certain position players could see themselves as part of a trade to bring upper echelon pitching to Boston. Bill Mueller, Tony Graffanino, and Kevin Youkilis give the Sox a lot of flexibility at the hot corner, and teams like Minnesota have been rumored to be interested in Mueller.
If the Sox keep winning at their current pace, they would end up with a record of 90-71. That win total will probably not be good enough to earn the wild card spot, so in order for this team to secure its third straight playoff berth some sort of spark is needed. Having won only 4 of the last 10 games (2 of which were against Tampa Bay), the frustrations of an obsessed fan base are starting to be heard.
Management makes personnel decisions based on tangible player production and other qualities that add value. As his numbers dictate, David Ortiz is the epitome of player production, while Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield lead the ?value added? category. The underachievers from last year (Embree, Bellhorn, and Foulke) have been taken off the active roster, and the lone malcontent from this year?s squad, Jay Payton, has already been dealt to Oakland for bullpen help in Chad Bradford.
All that is left to speculate on now is whether management sees another problem with this team, and more importantly, an available solution. A quick look at the mediocre team pitching stats shows that there certainly is a problem. It?s now up to Theo to find a viable solution. |
