So, after finishing the Bruins season review, I figured it was time to weigh in on the Red Sox for the first time since, basically, the Rays brutally murdered our World Series hopes. The Sox stand atop the AL East closing in on the All-Star Break, and there is much to be pleased with (and worried about) heading into the second half.
First, the good. Josh Beckett, after an early season bout with Pat Rapp-itis, has settled into being the stopper we all know he is. This season he's 8-1 after a Red Sox loss, and he is looking more like his 2007 self than his 2008 self, which bodes well for the future. Rounding out a better-than-hoped rotation are Jon Lester and his one-bad-inning-can-cost-you 7-6 record, ageless Tim Wakefield, trade commodity-turned-dependable 5th starter Brad Penny, and some mediocre guy who looks a lot like John Smoltz. Dice-K's in there too, but we're not putting him in the "Good" section.
The lineup looks just about like what we figured it would, with some legit stars in Youkilis, Pedroia, and Jason Bay (Surprise! Who misses Manny now?). However, David Ortiz took a solid 2 months to remember that he's David Fucking Ortiz (either that or to find the HGH in his medicine cabinet), and Mike Lowell, though badass in his toughness, still has some lingering hip problems. Nick Green is a better-than-average solution at short, and JD Drew and Jason Varitek continue to show us flashes of brilliance along with stretches of dependable mediocrity. I never knew that Mark Kotsay's injury would be so important, but now that he's back the bench is versitile and deepish.
The Bullpen has been a revelation, though Papelbon is doing a nice job setting himself up for a nasty exit from Boston with heart-attack inducing 9th innings, as well as an inability to cease talking about his contract. Ramon Ramirez (aka, in the laziest nickname since Dice-K, "Ram-Ram") has been the kind of multiuse reliever the bullpen has been lacking since the rest of the league caught up to Okajima. Some chinks in the armor have been shown recently, but he's made everyone forget that Coco Crisp ever even existed. Justin Masterson reminds me of Derek Lowe and Dennis Eckersley in the best ways, Okaji is dependable if not invincible anymore, and Saito and Delcarmen are good, if unremarkable. It's been, what, 5 years since the Sox bullpen has been the strong link on the pitching staff? Not too shabby.
The Bad? In a word? Daisuke. Daisuke Matsuzaka has, with each passing season, become less and less impressive to me. I feel now that the over $100 the Sox paid for him (including posting fee) was horribly excessive. He is, at his absolute best, a 3rd starter in the majors. We were sold on a man who as stolen starts away from deserving players, given his price, including John Smoltz until recently, and, even now, Clay Buchholz. Were the Sox to cut or trade him, I would not miss him. He does not trust himself, he gets into jams on a regular basis, and at no time since his VERY FIRST START IN A RED SOX UNIFORM OVER TWO YEARS AGO has he been dominant. I'll go ahead and say it. Daisuke Matsuzaka is a bust. Other than that, I would have included Ortiz's slump and the black whole at shortstop, but honestly those problems have been doing a nice job of sorting themselves out. They need a bat, to be sure, but they have the resources to address their weakness come the trade deadline at the end of the month.
All in all, the Sox look like they're primed to be a force in September and October. The rejuvinated Yankees and their $1 trillion payroll are breathing down our necks, but I'm confident that we'll be seeing Red Sox playoff baseball again this year. They still need a bat to shore up the offense in case something happens to Lowell or Ortiz long-term (or Roy Halladay, if it's the only way to prevent him from going to the Yankees).
So, yeah. I'm going to the Sox game tomorrow, only my 4th of the year (they're 1-2, though one of those losses was a 5-inning rain shortened one. Dunno if that counts against my bad luck). Will have to check back in later on that.
So, yeah. More on the Sox to come, and, if I'm feeling bold, the Patriots and maybe even the Celtics as well. Then in October the Sox and Bruins will dominate me again, so we'll see. But honestly it's nice to be typing again.
-M
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