Boston Red Sox: 20-20, 3rd in the AL East, 3.0 GB from Tampa Bay Rays
Upon completion of a weekend sweep in the Bronx, the Boston Red Sox have finally crawled back to .500 after a dismal April. It’s never easy to start the season on the road, much less against the defending American League champion Texas Rangers. The Sox lost their first 6 games in a row. Returning home seemed to be the answer, as they took two of three from the New York Yankees. Yet that was quickly soured by dropping the next three games, two to Tampa Bay in a rain-shortened series, and the first of a four game set with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Sitting at 2-10, the Red Sox bounced back, taking the final three games against Toronto. After splitting a two game set with the Oakland A’s, they headed down the Pacific Coast to Los Angeles. This was the shot in the arm Boston needed, as they swept a four game series against the Angels, their perennial punching bag. That paved the way for the 18-10 record they’ve put up since the horrific start.
Carl Crawford’s slow start has been a sour point, but as with any baseball team, the main concern vis-à-vis securing a playoff spot is the pitching staff. Boston’s starting rotation over the last couple seasons has been somewhat of a mixed bag, and I mean that in a good way. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Clay Buchholz are all starters who should be aces, and in different seasons have pitched as such. Daisuke Matsuzaka has never been able to replicate the numbers he put up in 2007, when he was 18-3 with 2.90 ERA. Yet he still seems capable and shows flashes of his old self now and again.
But it’s clear that Beckett is the ace of the staff. Most people think the ace is just the best starter on the staff. That is generally true, but more importantly, it means the one guy you have the most confidence in, in one game, to take the hill and give the team a great chance to win. So far, Lester has been getting more run support and is currently 5-1. But Beckett has been the man for Boston. He’s already shut down the Yankees twice and seems to relish that role. He only has three wins right now, but has allowed just 10 runs in 51+ innings.
Crawford has yet to find himself in Boston. This is a recurring theme. It takes a certain character and mental frame of mind to handle the pressures of playing in cities like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. In these towns, both the media and fans are highly demanding, and want great results – every night. John Lackey is off to another terrible season (2-5, 8.01 ERA, 35 runs allowed in 39+ IP). He seems eager and willing to accept the role of the MLB’s most overpaid player. Sure the Sox are paying him, but after a slow start, how many times can manager Terry Francona run him out there before enough is enough?
Adrian Gonzalez, on the other hand, is on a mission to prove to New England, and the rest of the baseball world who didn’t know him as a San Diego Padre, that he is one of the top sluggers in the game. He leads the Red Sox in almost every offensive category, and leads the AL with 34 RBI. Struggling with the long ball early, he has belted 6 home runs in his last 7 games. As advertised, he’s also playing great at first base. Jacoby Ellsbury, who missed most of last season to injury, has had a hot bat to start the year as well. Kevin Youkilis, also lost to injury in 2010 for a large chunk, started slow but has picked up the pace. He was pivotal in this weekend’s sweep of the Yankees, coming through in the clutch.
The pitching is coming around. The “protect the lead” combination of Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon is looking better after some early struggles. If Crawford and Dustin Pedroia start playing at their usual pace, the Red Sox should finish May playing well, and be primed for a hot June.
Colorado Rockies, 20-18, 2nd in the NL West, 1.5 GB from San Francisco Giants
Starting the season well has been tricky for Jim Tracy’s Colorado Rockies. They started slow in 2009 and only secured the National League Wild Card by putting together great runs in August and September. Last season’s start proved to be an insurmountable hole, even though a good finish had them at least mathematically in it until mid-September.
Staff ace Ubaldo Jimenez has struggled greatly to start the season and spent time on the DL in early April. Jimenez had a breakout season in 2010, going 11-1 with a 0.93 ERA in his first 12 starts. In that stretch, he also threw the first no-hitter in Rockies history. He ended up with fabulous numbers for the season (19-8, 2.88 ERA, 214 K), but was noticeably less effective in the second half. Those struggles have worsened to start 2011 and one wonders whether he threw too many innings in the first half last year. This is a common theme, especially with younger pitchers, and this will remain a concern going forward for Colorado.
Nonetheless, Jhoulys Chacin and Jorge De La Rosa have picked up the slack in his wake. Chacin broke out last season, pitching effectively all year and ending with an unfair 9-11 record and 3.28 ERA in 21 starts. De La Rosa won 16 games in 2009, but was up and down with injuries last season, and made only 20 starts. So far he leads the staff with a 5-1 record and 3.70 ERA. Jason Hammel and Esmil Rogers round out the rotation and each have 3 wins already.
The Rockies bullpen, led by closer Huston Street (12 for 13 in save situations) and set-up man Rafael Betancourt have also been effective. Timely pitching has been the Rockies bar to having a good kick offs to the year. Having found it earlier than normal, Colorado got off to a hot start going 17-8 in April. But they have hit a rough patch lately and are 3-10 to start the month of May.
Not having your ace pitching the way he should is definitely a factor here. But the answers can be found in the offense, as the Rox have lost a number of close games, several to division rival and defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants. All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitski (.253 BA, 10 HR, 24 RBI) has his power bat working but isn’t generating the kind of tear we all know is coming. When he is on, it is truly scary, and makes me recall this line from Led Zeppelin: cryin’ won’t help ya, prayin’ wont do you no good.
In addition, All-Star Carlos Gonzalez is not off to the start Rockies fans wanted to see either. It is unclear just how streaky Gonzalez will be. He showed last year, over two stretches, that when he is on, he’s just about as good as anybody. But Cargo still lacks discipline at the plate and scouts for opposing teams have definitely picked up on this. He’s prone to taking wild hacks at high fastballs and letting a bad at-bat early in a game affect him for the night. This shows in his numbers, as he’s hitting just .234 with 4 homers and 20 RBI. Not the start you’d expect from the defending NL batting champion.
But Rockies fans can handle some early struggles from Tulowitski and Gonzalez because those two are so talented and so prone to going on a 15 to 20 game tear. What’s been a pleasant surprise is the reemergence of veteran first baseman Todd Helton, who leads the team with a .325 batting average. He’s also found his power stroke again and already has 6 home runs (he hit 8 all of last year). Jonathan Herrera and Seth Smith have also been swinging a nice bat, reducing the impact of the Gonzalez/Tulowitski struggles.
It remains to be seen if letting Miguel Olivo go was the right move. This was definitely a questionable move in the eyes of Rockies fans. Chris Iannetta has always proven frustrating when at the plate, even if capable of handling the pitching staff behind it. Olivo swung a great bat for the Rox last year, played with passion, and handled the staff – particularly the Spanish speaking pitchers – very well. In my opinion, Iannetta has some large shoes to fill, and so far is doing about what I expected (.225 BA, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 30 K in 89 AB).
If Colorado’s big hitters get going like they can, some of those close losses will start to go their way. The NL West is stacked with pitching but Tulo and Cargo are the type of guys that win a game with one or two at-bats, even if the likes of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, or Clayton Kershaw are on the mound. And if Jimenez can get going, you can start feeling comfortable about penciling in a W every fifth game. Having had a great April, it will not hurt so much if they struggle until summer starts. But the best should be ahead, in the dog days, the time of year Tracy’s boys like to win.
It remains to be seen if letting Miguel Olivo go was the right move. This was definitely a questionable move in the eyes of Rockies fans. Chris Iannetta has always proven frustrating when at the plate, even if capable of handling the pitching staff behind it. Olivo swung a great bat for the Rox last year, played with passion, and handled the staff – particularly the Spanish speaking pitchers – very well. In my opinion, Iannetta has some large shoes to fill, and so far is doing about what I expected (.225 BA, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 30 K in 89 AB).
If Colorado’s big hitters get going like they can, some of those close losses will start to go their way. The NL West is stacked with pitching but Tulo and Cargo are the type of guys that win a game with one or two at-bats, even if the likes of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, or Clayton Kershaw are on the mound. And if Jimenez can get going, you can start feeling comfortable about penciling in a W every fifth game. Having had a great April, it will not hurt so much if they struggle until summer starts. But the best should be ahead, in the dog days, the time of year Tracy’s boys like to win.
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