The Sox will make their seventh attempt to get over that magic number for the first time all season on Tuesday night at Fenway, but they'll have to get by Justin Verlander to do so.
If the Red Sox continue to play like they have in the last week or two, they will get there in no time, especially if Felix Doubront continues to pitch like he has.
The young southpaw is where we start this week's 6-4-3.
Six Red Sox Thoughts
Felix has been fantastic
OK, so with the way the season has started, this isn't exactly saying too much. However, Doubront has been the Sox' most consistent starter all year long. He continued that strong start with another good outing on Monday afternoon, pushing his record to 5-2 with a sub-4.00 ERA. The thing that I like most about Doubront is his ability to miss bats. He's averaging more than a strikeout per inning, and he has the best strikeouts per nine inning rate among Sox starters. And as far as No. 4 starters go, he's been among the best in all of baseball. A lot of things have gone wrong for the Sox this season, but the continued development of Doubront has been one of the brightest spots.
The positional juggle continues
The juggling of Adrian Gonzalez, Will Middlebrooks and Kevin Youkilis has been pretty fascinating, and it really doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon. Middlebrooks has been too good, you can't sit Gonzalez and Youkilis needs to play, especially if the Sox are entertaining the thought of trading him. Gonzalez was in right field five times in the last week, which certainly isn't ideal, especially playing right field at Fenway Park. It hasn't really burned the Sox yet, but they're going to need to resolve it soon, as I don't think the resolution is to put Gonzalez in right on a regular basis. He's just too slow, and he's one of the best first basemen in baseball. It just doesn't make sense.
Bobby V starting to push the right buttons
This is the Bobby Valentine we thought we'd be getting. There's no doubt that the Sox' early struggles kind of limited what he could do, but now that they're starting to turn it around — especially on the mound — Valentine is starting to open his bag of tricks some. He certainly has a way with the bullpen (again, it helps when they're pitching well, giving him more flexibility), and I loved how he handled the Kelly Shoppach situation last week. Apparently Shoppach demanded more playing time, something Valentine openly admitted during his postgame news conference. He put a positive spin on it, but make no mistake, the subtle mention of Shoppach certainly sent a message. Shoppach made Valentine look even more shrewd, too, when he hit a home run that day.
Rays-Red Sox continue to take rivalry to new heights
At the very least, the rivalry between the Red Sox and the Rays continues to be highly entertaining. The benches cleared on Friday night, which is always interesting, even if no punches are thrown. The real jabs, however, were tossed around in postgame media sessions, with Joe Maddon calling out the Sox on Friday night with Valentine returning the favor the next afternoon. Maddon said that the Rays won't forget the fact that Luke Scott was hit with a pitch on Friday night, so we'll keep our eyes on this, with the two teams set to meet another 11 times this season.
Time to get worried about Ace?
Alfredo Aceves has come a long way since the nightmare series that opened the season in Detroit, but he has struggled in his last two outings. He blew a save on Sunday afternoon, and that one really hurt. You get arguably Clay Buchholz's best outing of the season, Adrian Gonzalez comes up with a clutch three-run home run and then Aceves blows it in the ninth. The way he did it was crushing, too, by walking the leadoff batter before eventually giving up the game-winning home run to Sean Rodriguez. He then gave up a long home run on Monday afternoon to Jhonny Peralta. Is this something to worry about? Probably not, but it does at least put you a little on edge.
Sox have to pray Pedroia is OK
The Red Sox better be praying to any and all powers that Dustin Pedroia's thumb injury isn't something to be concerned about. It goes without saying that losing Pedroia for any extended period of time would be devastating. It's even more devastating when you realize that the short-term stopgap would be Nick Punto. It doesn't sound like there's too much concern on the Red Sox' front, but thumb injuries for hitters can be really debilitating (ask Kevin Youkilis), so it's something that will have to be monitored.
Four Observations Around Baseball
The Phillies could be in big, big trouble
The Phillies have not had a fun year, even through just two months. The injuries to Chase Utley and Ryan Howard have severely hampered their offense, but if they're going to be without Roy Halladay for the long term, their season will be all but over. He's dealing with a shoulder issue, something that's given him problems in the past. That's obviously a huge concern for a Philly team that is already struggling, but if there's anyone who can benefit from this, it's Roy Oswalt. The veteran right-hander is expected to make his decision this week, and the Phils could be an emerging darkhorse. He's familiar with Philly, and the need is there. It's definitely a match.
AL East continues to roll
Here's something that I found pretty interesting. The AL East is the only division in baseball in which the run differential for every team is positive. In fact, the last-place Red Sox have a better run differential (plus-17) than the first-place Orioles (plus-13). Conversely, the White Sox are the only team in the AL Central with a positive run differential. The East is still wide open, too, with just 4 1/2 games separating the O's and Sox.
The NL East is really, really good, too
We just talked about the struggles that the Phillies are having, but even so, they're still above .500. They play in the NL East, so they have to be above .500. Every team in that division — including the Braves who enter Tuesday on an eight-game losing streak — has a winning record. That pack is led by a Nationals team that refuses to go away, as they are now 10 games above .500, thanks to a pitching staff that has allowed the fewest amount of runs in all of baseball.
Trending both ways in the Windy City
The Theo Epstein era is off in an uninspiring start on the North Side of Chicago. That's obviously not Epstein's fault — he needs time to get his system and his players in there — but the Cubs have been awful this season. They're tied with the Twins for the fewest wins in all of baseball, thanks to a 12-game losing streak which they finally snapped Monday. Fans are understandably unhappy, and that has reached a point to where Epstein has publicly addressed the club's losing ways. Things on the South Side aren't making things much better for Cubs fans, with the White Sox and Paul Konerko's flirtation with .400 emerging as one of baseball's most interesting storylines, as they're riding a six-game winning streak and sit a half-game out of first in the Central.
Three Things to Watch This Week
Will this be the week Manny returns?
The Oakland A's play their 50th game on Tuesday night which means that Manny Ramirez would be eligible to return Wednesday. However, the A's have already said that won't be the case, and it's beginning to look like a weekend series in Kansas City may be where Ramirez makes his return. He's hitting .250 in nine rehab games, with exactly zero extra-base hits.
Warm up the radar gun
One of the best pitching matchups of the week, at least if you're big into radar gun readings, will come Tuesday night in Boston. We already mentioned that Verlander is going for the Tigers, and he'll be matched up with Daniel Bard. Both men throw baseballs very hard, so that will be must-watch ball if you're into that kind of thing.
The Big Dance begins this weekend
Be sure to check out the beginning of the NCAA tournament this weekend across the country. It's one of the most underrated sports events of the year, and it obviously offers a glimpse into the future for baseball fans with plenty of prospects lacing up the spikes all over the map. The 6-4-3's bracket has North Carolina finally breaking through at Omaha to take home the national title.
