the state of the sox
the main question is: can this team win a world series this year? anything else is irrelevant. that's what 2004 did for us in the nation: it freed us from yankee-phoia to focus on the big picture.
i say right now that they are not a series caliber team, though the cardinals proved last year that anything is possible.
that is subject to change should ortiz and ramirez continue to crush the ball as they have the last two weeks (and ortiz' shoulder not be a major issue) and should schilling come back strong. with schilling, beckett, and matsuzaka at the front of the rotation, no team in the majors would have three as good. but schilling is 40, and we don't know how much he has left. i have never been a big wakefield supporter, and view him as simply an innings eater for his time in boston. lester and gabbard both show promise but wouldn't care for either in a postseason start.
manny and big papi have hit for average but not power all season, and without a strong leadoff batter have had quite a few fewer opportunities to drive in runs than prior years. they may get decent numbers by the end of the the year, but nothing like we in the nation are used to.
jd drew has been without a doubt the biggest disappointment of the year for the ol' town team. signed to that massive contract in the offseason, he at this writing has 35 rbis. that is just unacceptable. drew has spent much of the year trying to pull the ball instead of using the wall. that's got to change.
pedroia and youkilis have performed right at expectations. don't let anyone fool you into thinking these guys are having monster seasons. they are doing their jobs, no more no less. crisp has been way below expectations in center, and it appears that his fine offensive seasons in cleveland were more an aberration than an indicator or what you can expect from him.
the bullpen is just about the best in baseball, much different than in prior years. so thank the baseball gods for that.
but there appears to be a spark missing from this years bunch. something that one can't quite put your finger on. i know baseball is a long drawn out season and that you can't expect football type intensity, but i just think that there is too much acceptance of the two months of mediocre play by the sox. they have to get a big mad.
here's hoping they find the right ingredients by the trade deadline or afterwards, and that we all have a second world's championship to toast in three months time.
i say right now that they are not a series caliber team, though the cardinals proved last year that anything is possible.
that is subject to change should ortiz and ramirez continue to crush the ball as they have the last two weeks (and ortiz' shoulder not be a major issue) and should schilling come back strong. with schilling, beckett, and matsuzaka at the front of the rotation, no team in the majors would have three as good. but schilling is 40, and we don't know how much he has left. i have never been a big wakefield supporter, and view him as simply an innings eater for his time in boston. lester and gabbard both show promise but wouldn't care for either in a postseason start.
manny and big papi have hit for average but not power all season, and without a strong leadoff batter have had quite a few fewer opportunities to drive in runs than prior years. they may get decent numbers by the end of the the year, but nothing like we in the nation are used to.
jd drew has been without a doubt the biggest disappointment of the year for the ol' town team. signed to that massive contract in the offseason, he at this writing has 35 rbis. that is just unacceptable. drew has spent much of the year trying to pull the ball instead of using the wall. that's got to change.
pedroia and youkilis have performed right at expectations. don't let anyone fool you into thinking these guys are having monster seasons. they are doing their jobs, no more no less. crisp has been way below expectations in center, and it appears that his fine offensive seasons in cleveland were more an aberration than an indicator or what you can expect from him.
the bullpen is just about the best in baseball, much different than in prior years. so thank the baseball gods for that.
but there appears to be a spark missing from this years bunch. something that one can't quite put your finger on. i know baseball is a long drawn out season and that you can't expect football type intensity, but i just think that there is too much acceptance of the two months of mediocre play by the sox. they have to get a big mad.
here's hoping they find the right ingredients by the trade deadline or afterwards, and that we all have a second world's championship to toast in three months time.
posted by joe sweeney at 5:42 PM
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