However, as it usually happens in Boston, the biggest storyline of the week may be the most disappointing. Daniel Bard's start on Sunday was a train wreck, and it leaves the Red Sox with plenty of questions.
We've got a lot to get to this week, so let's jump right into the 6-4-3, starting with Bard's Sunday meltdown.
Six Red Sox Thoughts
BB Bard
To say the Bard as a starter experiment has hit a bump in the road would be an understatement. Bard turned in one of the worst performances you'll ever see on Sunday in Toronto. That's not hyperbole, either, as Bard became the first Sox pitcher to walk five or more (he walked six) batters in two innings or less of work. The worst part, too, was that Bard wasn’t even close all day (see the chart below for proof of that). That’s been the problem all year, and Bard has now walked more men that he’s been able to strike out, a far cry from the types of strikeout-to-walk numbers he put up as a reliever. In fact, Bard's strikeout-to-walk ratio is now 0.86. Last season, it was 3.08. I don't think his time as a starter has necessarily come to an end just yet, but we’re getting to a point that the Sox have to seriously look at the possibility of doing something with Bard. Do you move him back to the bullpen? Or, do you maybe send him down for a few weeks? They may have to do something, and they may have to do it soon with Daisuke Matsuzaka and Aaron Cook nearing returns.
Graphic via Brooks Baseball
Give Bobby some credit
It’s time to start giving Bobby Valentine at least a little bit of credit. The players are still the ones who have gotten this team back into the race, but Valentine has certainly been pushing the right buttons. One thing that stood out to me was how he left Jon Lester in to face one more batter in the seventh inning on Wednesday. It paid off, too, as Lester struck out Quintin Berry before Valentine made the move to bring in Matt Albers from the pen. With the pitching starting to come around now, it’s allowed Valentine to juggle the pitching some. He’s also done a nice job of putting together some patchwork lineups with the team having to do deal with a variety of injuries. Again, the players have to perform, but Valentine is due at least some credit to put them in a position where they can succeed.
Red-hot Nava
There aren't many better stories in baseball right now than the Daniel Nava tale. The journeyman outfielder may always be best known for hitting a grand slam in his first major league at-bat in 2010, but in his second stint with the big club, Nava has shown that he does fit in. He has been especially important with all of the outfield injuries that have hit the Red Sox, as he's helped hold down the fort until the likes of Cody Ross, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford are healthy. He's hitting over .300, while showing some pop with a pair of home runs. He’s also driving in runs, picking up 18 RBIs, three of which came in a clutch bases-clearing double against the best pitcher in the world, Justin Verlander, last week. Nava's on-base percentage (.454) may be his most impressive contribution, and while it's unrealistic to think that he could do this for an entire season, there's no denying how valuable he has been.
Sox, Jays get testy
The Red Sox and Blue Jays had a little bit of bad blood on Sunday afternoon, and it all started with Bard's inability to not hit the Jays with baseballs. After both Yunel Escobar and Edwin Encarnacion were hit with pitches in the first two innings, respectively, the Sox had to know someone was going to get hit. Bard wasn't trying to hit any Jays either — it was the last thing he wanted to do — but it comes down to having your teammates' backs. So, of course, someone was going to get hit, and it just so happened to be Kevin Youkilis. He was none too pleased to be hit, but the root of his displeasure was the fact that the Jays went up and in. It's a valid point, too. If you don't have the command to hit a guy in the hip, you shouldn't be throwing at him (looking at you, Drew Hutchison). Regardless, we'll have to keep an eye on this moving forward.
Youk on the move?
It's beginning to look like it's just a matter of time before the Red Sox deal Youkilis. You have to take all of the "sourced" stories that come out with a grain of salt, especially as we near the trade deadline, with teams more often than not planting information to drive up the value of players. But the simple fact remains that Will Middlebrooks isn't really showing signs of slowing down, and he's not going anywhere. Adrian Gonzalez shouldn't be in the outfield for the long term, so that leaves Youkilis as the odd-man out. Reports aside, you have to think that there would be plenty of interest in him among contenders looking for a DH or a corner infielder.
Scotty too hotty
Scott Atchison has been incredible this season for the Red Sox. That is a sentence no one ever expected to say, type or even contemplate thinking about. However, the man who looks more like the slow-pitch softball pitcher than a major league reliever has been arguably the Sox' best reliever this season. So here's to you, Scott Atchison and your 0.86 ERA and sub-1.00 WHIP.
Four Observations Around Baseball
Declawed Tigers
I didn't make any preseason predictions, but if I did, there would have been little doubt in my mind as to who I liked in the American League. It would have certainly been the Detroit Tigers, and if the first 50 games or so are any indication, that would have certainly been wrong. The Tigers have been baseball’s most disappointing team this season. They've stayed relatively healthy (aside from not having Victor Martinez), but they've just underperformed. They took their beatings this past week from the Red Sox and the Yankees, and Detroit opens this week having one just five of their last 10. They sit six games back in the Central to open the season, which is just one game better than the Kansas City Royals.
Magicless Dodgers
Not many, if any, saw the Dodgers doing much this season. Through the first two months of the season, though, the new-look club couldn't lose. They still have one of the best records in baseball, but they’ve cooled off as of late. The Dodgers will once again be without the services of superstar Matt Kemp. He was the early, early favorite for MVP after barreling up everything in the first few weeks of the season until a hamstring injury took him out for a few weeks. He returned this past week, only to reinjure that hamstring. He's going to need even more time to rehab this one, and that's obviously bad news for a team that enters Monday 3-7 in its last 10.
No longer a no-no in the no-hit column
Finally, the Mets have a no-hitter. Johan Santana delivered the first no-no in the Mets' 51-year history by blanking the Cardinals on Friday night (that is being disputed in St. Louis, however). It was a special moment, too, as Santana struck out World Series MVP David Freese to end the game. It really is incredible that over all of those years, the Mets never had a no-hitter. It’s also incredible that since 2001, the Red Sox have four. Four! But it is good to see Santana, who seems like a good enough dude be the one to break through. It’s also a reminder of what could have been had injuries not slowed Santana some over the years.
Sent from Heaven
What has gotten into the Angels? After a slow start to the season, the Halos have bounced back quite nicely. Just a week or two ago, it seemed like the Angels were destined for at best a second-place finish in the West. That was in part because of how they were playing and also because of how dominant the Rangers were. Baseball is a funny game, however, and here we stand in the first week of June with something that could evolve into a pretty good race. The Angels have won 10 of 12 to get back into things, thanks in large part to the turnaround of Albert Pujols. The slugger has finally awaken, hitting .326 with five home runs and 11 RBIs over that time. The Jered Weaver injury will hurt the Angels, no doubt, but at the very least we can say the Rangers probably won't run away with the West.
Three Things to Watch This Week
Boston Battles the Beltway
The Red Sox welcome two of the majors' most surprising teams to Fenway Park this week, as the Baltimore Orioles come in for a three-game set before the Washington Nationals drop in for a weekend series. The Baltimore series will be big for obvious reasons, with AL East positioning at stake. The weekend series, on the other hand, is a wildly intriguing one. Washington ace Stephen Strasburg will likely take the mound on Friday night and Bryce Harper will get his first look at Fenway. It should be a fun time.
It's a little drafty in here
The MLB draft opens Monday, and while the draft remains an afterthought for most, it’s starting to gain some notoriety in the last couple of years, thanks in large part to MLB Network. By most indications, this year’s draft class isn't particularly deep, but if I were the Astros, I would take Mark Appel out of Stanford. Check out Ben Carsley's mock draft for NESN.com right here.
Where are you Manny?
Is this the week that Manny Ramirez returns? We can only hope. The A's are taking it slow with Ramirez, who continues to try and find his swing down at Triple-A. He did, however, present us with the quote of the week when talking about the chance of him making his Oakland debut.
"It's not what I want, it's what God wants," Ramirez told the San Francisco Chronicle. "God doesn't want me to come to the team to be embarrassed. When the time is perfect, I'm going to be there, and I'll do what I do, and that's hit."
Amen, Manny.
