The Sox are just 4-6 in that stretch with the first 10 games of the run much easier than the second half. That part, of course, is not good. However, they’re welcoming the Mariners to town starting Monday for a two-game set on the heels of taking three of four from Cleveland.
Boston took the final three games of the series, the third time this season that they’ve won three games in a row. The only game they lost against the Tribe was the Josh Beckett debacle on Thursday night, which is where we begins this week’s 6-4-3.
Six Red Sox Thoughts
1. Beckett’s reality show
It’s one thing for Josh Beckett to be surly and irritable when he’s pitching well. When he can’t get out of the third inning, postgame performances like the one we saw Thursday night rub everyone the wrong way, and understandably so. It’s amazing how much of this can go away with success on the field. Pitching well on Tuesday can help start that process, but it wouldn’t hurt for Beckett to curb some of his outward stubbornness either. Regardless, as I pointed out late last week, it’s unlikely that Beckett is going anywhere, so you put your hopes on a turnaround from the right-hander.
2. The Kid continues to sizzle
All Will Middlebrooks does, apparently, is smoke extra-base hits. The young third baseman continues the quick start to his major league career, and he now has 13 hits in his first 10 games. Of those 13 hits, nine of them have gone for extra bases. It continues to make the scenario surrounding Kevin Youkilis‘ eventual return even more interesting. Also, not to be a wet blanket, but don’t be surprised if Middlebrooks comes back to earth if he does indeed stay with the big club. The second time through a league can often be difficult on a young hitter.
3. Bobby being Bobby?
It would be nice to see a little fire out of Bobby Valentine from time to time. It looked like there were a couple of perfect times for the skipper to get ejected this week, with the most obvious coming when Cody Ross dropped a fly ball in Kansas City after crashing into the wall. Later in that same game, Marlon Byrd should have been awarded first base, but wasn’t. At some point, you would think Valentine would blow a gasket to try and light a spark, but for the most part, he’s been curiously reserved in the early part of his tenure.
4. Yo, Adrian
Adrian Gonzalez has been the victim of some unfair criticism as of late. For whatever reason, some Sox fans tend to single him out when things are going poorly, hammering for a lack of clutch hitting. Then, when he does do something well at the plate, its impact is discounted because in didn’t happen in the eighth inning of a tight game. Gonzalez did scuffle at a bad time this season when the team was playing poorly, but he’s picked it up as of late. He’s hitting .378 (17-for-45) in his last 10 games, and that includes his 0-for-8 stinker last Sunday. It would be nice, however, to see some power come around, too.
5. Back end turning into the backbone
The back end of the rotation has been, well, a pretty serviceable back end of the rotation in the major leagues. Felix Doubront and Daniel Bard won’t be representing the Red Sox at the All-Star Game, but the young starters have been solid in the Nos. 4 and 5 spots in the rotation, which is all you can ask really. Both need to be more economical with their pitches to maybe get a little deeper into games, but the performances of Doubront and Bard would be even more impressive if the top of the rotation was pitching better.
6. Looking at the trends
If you take a look at the inning-by-inning accumulative scores for the season, you’ll see some interesting trends develop. The most noticeable would be the first-inning numbers. The Sox have been outscored 24-20 in the first inning this season, a deficit that was cut in half with Sunday’s four-run first off of Justin Masterson. Furthermore, the Sox have been outscored 24-11 in the fourth inning, which speaks to the issues with the starting pitching and not being able to work deep into the game. That might speak to the late-inning issues, as well. The bullpen gets taxed when starters don’t work deep, and thus, Boston has been outscored 56-39 in innings 7-9, including being shut out in the ninth. Then again, the Sox have outscored their opponents 57-28 combined for the second and fifth innings. That one is a little tougher to figure out.
Four Observations Around Baseball
1. Boston’s not alone
The Red Sox aren’t the only team that is struggling to live up to lofty expectations. The Angels were expected to be atop the AL West this season, but they are quickly seeing the AL West slip away. Halos ace Jered Weaver got shelled Sunday night, and the Angels now sit eight games back on May 14. Philadelphia is three games under .500 in the NL East, struggling to overcome some key injuries, as they’re six back now, with Atlanta, Washington and Miami all playing well. There were some out there who forecasted before the season that the Phils and Angels would meet in the World Series.
2. It’s Hamilton and the Rangers and then everyone else
Josh Hamilton. What else can you say really? The Texas slugger is in a historic zone, crushing everything he sees. Hamilton is hitting .489 (17-for-41) in May to go along with nine home runs and 19 RBIs. To put in perspective, his May is actually ahead of pace of Sammy Sosa‘s historic June of 1998 when he hit 20 home runs — and he’s done in it two fewer games played. Or, you could just look at this ESPN.com screengrab which tells the story pretty well, too.
Unsurprisingly, the Rangers are also playing incredibly well, as they run away with the AL West and look like the clear choice for the majors’ best team.
3. Here come the Fish
The Miami Marlins did everything they could this winter to prove they were big time. They moved into their new stadium. They changed their logo and jerseys. They hired Ozzie Guillen. They spent a ton of money on players like Heath Bell, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle. They flirted with Albert Pujols. And then the season started and things did not go well. Guillen’s controversial remarks about Fidel Castro made things a mess, and the team didn’t play well. That’s in the past now, though, as the Marlins have won eight of 10, punctuated by Giancarlo Stanton‘s walk-off grand slam on Sunday afternoon. They’re just 3 1/2 games back now and showing no signs of slowing down.
4. Joey V. lifts the Reds
The Cincinnati Red have been pedestrian at best this season, and the same could be said for their MVP first baseman Joey Votto. After signing a 12-year deal for $251 million this offseason, Votto has struggled through the first month of the season. Well, he went off on Sunday, belting three home runs, including a walk-off grand slam of his own. Votto hasn’t seen much to hit this season, so Sunday should serve as a reminder that if you throw him strikes, he’s going to hurt them. If the Reds can give him some better protection in the lineup, look out for Votto in the coming weeks.
Three Things to Watch This Week
1. Interleague fun for all!
Interleague play returns this weekend. Sigh. The gimmick continues, but only for a short weekend series. The Red Sox head to Philadelphia for three games with the Phillies, but the marquee matchup of the weekend will be the Orioles and Nationals throwing down in D.C. for a Mid-Atlantic showdown of surprise teams. Meanwhile, watch out for Justin Verlander on Friday night. He gets the Pirates.
2. Can the Sox get out of the cellar?
If Boston can have a big week and get a little help from the Blue Jays, they might be able to get out of the AL East cellar. This is now the latest into a calendar year that the Sox have been in fifth place since September of 1997.
3. Beware of the hair
Jeff Samardzija isn’t matched up with someone of equal hair awesomeness (thanks a lot, Philip Humber), but the former Notre Dame receiver has been real good as of late. The Cubs have won his last four starts, thanks in part to a tidy 1.05 ERA and 27 strikeouts during that run. He’s look to continue that on Friday night when the Cubs and White Sox battle for Chicago. The root of Samardzija’s success, though, is obviously the hair.
