Red Sox Weaknesses: How they can be Beat

I wouldn't be a Red Sox fan if I didn't occasionally look at the glass as half empty.  But I think it's an interesting discussion, that's the real motivation.  Before we get to that though:

 

Congratulations Bruins!!!!!

 

I'll admit, when the Finals started, I felt bad for the Canucks. It was a shame, I thought, that a team that had never one a championship might end up on the short end of the stick. We certainly remember what that feels like - the hopeless empty feeling that the universe is aligned against you.  But the Canucks quickly changed my attitude on that.  From there cheap chippiness, the finger biting, the ridiculous cheap shot on Horton, the DENIALS about the cheap shot on Horton, the whining, the diving.  They were simply impossible to root for.  And I'll tell you something else: If the Canucks had fans like the Bruins, they would have won this series.  The Bruins fans were AWESOME, and made the new Garden Rock. Didn't see much of that in Vancouver, and of course, what happened afterward, well, just sad.   So good for the team, good for the fans, better luck next year Canucks.

 

But this is not a Bruins blog, so I digress....

Red Sox Weaknesses

The Red Sox are on a torrid pace.  How Hot are they?  They have, unbelievably, put 100 wins back in play. The Yanks are on their way out, with Colon out, Joba out, and Jeter's out (which could actually help them).  It will be interesting to see how far they fall.  So it's not like I'm worried about the division.  The Rays will finish second, but they just don't have the hitting to win the wild card (watching tonight I think I've seen four hitters at or below the Mendoza line.)  But the Sox do have some problems they're covering up.  Let's look at them.

JD Drew

Can you see JD Drew on the field?  Neither can anyone else.

I know everyone's heard about JD Drew's retirement at the end of the year.  But it looks like he's decided to retire early.  He has an OBP of .325 and a SLUGGING of .330.  How bad is he?  I actually root for him to strike out just so he doesn't hit into a double play.  I never, ever, thought the last two years of his contract would look like the bust that it's turned out to be.  I always respected Drew - even when his hitting wasn't where the average fan expected it to be - for playing right field at Fenway, and playing it well (Dad, don't write in, I already know you don't agree).  It was a huge reason they signed him, and made many seasons serviceable.  But you can't be banking $15 million this year for 40 RBI's.  Anyway you cut it, RF is a mess for the Sox.

Carl Crawford

Speaking of overpriced contracts, we have Carl here.  Yes, April is a distant memory, and his numbers have been better.   But not really Carl Crawford-esque. I can deal with the an .800 OPS if the steals were there, but they're not.  Something is still not right with Carl, and I hope we don't need the full Crawford down the stretch.

 

Catching and Short

Salty's numbers have been rising steadily, so it might be easy to assume the Sox are OK here.  But they're playing Jason a lot, and I know he's tough, but if he starts to fall off, and the pressure of being the everyday catcher falls to Salty, I worry that we'll be looking at some more weak numbers. Lowrie is definitely trending in a direction where he can't help the club (he re-injured the shoulder tonight, look for the DL tomorrow), and although I can't really call Marco a weakness of the club, their depth issues here are serious, Marco staying healthy for the rest of the season looks to be a long shot.

 

Lackey and Ortiz

Folks, no one loves Papi more than me.  I've never turned on him yet.  Wondered, yes, but not turned on him.  But here's a news flash that shouldn't surprise anyone: he will slump this year.  Now it's impossible not to notice that his numbers and his new commitment to hitting the opposite way are no co-incidence, so maybe I'm wrong about this.  But I think that it's very possible a small slump turns in a big one because he is doing more things this year than the last few, and that could make it easier to get all mixed up at the plate.  Speaking of mixed up, my favorite whipping boy can't get through this column without a mention.  Back from the DL, Lackey has 'survived' a couple of starts, but he's still a long way from a competitive fifth starter in the AL East.  I give him points for swallowing his pride, going on the DL and agreeing to a rehab start, where he clearly fixed some things that couldn't be fixed up with the club.  Here's hoping he's not at the end of that progression.

 

Add it all up, and the club doesn't really look like the juggernaut they've been out on the field.  It's really no stretch to say that the bottom third of the order could very quickly turn rather ordinary, and although their rotation is still deep and strong, it's not the Philli's either.  They still look like favorites to me, but that's why they play the games.....

 

 

Do Good Things Today!

 

 Matt Heisler