Heading into the Break
It seems appropriate that I check in just before all of baseball heads off to the All-Star Break. I'm getting married this weeekend, and my fiancée and I have been settling our new place, so the site has really taken a back seat. I thought I should at least put up a post before I hit the actual wedding and honeymoon.
So at the halfway mark the Red Sox are exactly where I left them last, up a ridiculous amount on the rest of the American League East and firing (for the most part) on all cylinders. With any luck this success will continue into the second half, but I'll feel much better about it if a few things fall into place. Here they are:
1. Curt Schilling: He's been out for some time now with his shoulder soreness, and his return needs to be complete to get the full boost to the rotation. The good news is that his injury was nothing too serious, so a little rest seems to be the right prescription. The bad news is that he's no spring chicken, and it's impossible to predict just how he'll come back.
2. The Offense: That's right, everybody, the Red Sox no longer lead the world in batting. In fact, we're pretty much average in just about every category. The blame falls most squarely onto the shoulders of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the big boppers who are just not bopping. Ortiz gets a little break because of his quad and Manny because of his age, but in order for this lineup to strike fear into opposing pitchers they need to step it up. We all know about Julio Lugo and Coco Crisp sucking it up for the majority of the season, but I wouldn't blame them as much given the type of hitters they are.
3. Julian Tavarez. Invent your own commentary, though he's been passable, I suppose.
Otherwise things have been going well, and it's great to see farm products like Youkilis and Pedroia having such great success. Toss in visions of Jacoby Ellsbury in the outfield and the future seems to have a nice glow to it. Oh wait, one more thing.
Don't count out the Yankees. Ever. I'll see everybody after the honeymoon.
So at the halfway mark the Red Sox are exactly where I left them last, up a ridiculous amount on the rest of the American League East and firing (for the most part) on all cylinders. With any luck this success will continue into the second half, but I'll feel much better about it if a few things fall into place. Here they are:
1. Curt Schilling: He's been out for some time now with his shoulder soreness, and his return needs to be complete to get the full boost to the rotation. The good news is that his injury was nothing too serious, so a little rest seems to be the right prescription. The bad news is that he's no spring chicken, and it's impossible to predict just how he'll come back.
2. The Offense: That's right, everybody, the Red Sox no longer lead the world in batting. In fact, we're pretty much average in just about every category. The blame falls most squarely onto the shoulders of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the big boppers who are just not bopping. Ortiz gets a little break because of his quad and Manny because of his age, but in order for this lineup to strike fear into opposing pitchers they need to step it up. We all know about Julio Lugo and Coco Crisp sucking it up for the majority of the season, but I wouldn't blame them as much given the type of hitters they are.
3. Julian Tavarez. Invent your own commentary, though he's been passable, I suppose.
Otherwise things have been going well, and it's great to see farm products like Youkilis and Pedroia having such great success. Toss in visions of Jacoby Ellsbury in the outfield and the future seems to have a nice glow to it. Oh wait, one more thing.
Don't count out the Yankees. Ever. I'll see everybody after the honeymoon.
Labels: Commentary
Ryan Brodeur at 10:18 AM
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home