Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Red Sox - Inside Pitch

The raging illness, the injuries, the rigorous April schedule and the ongoing improvement of other teams around the American League have finally caught up with the reeling Red Sox.

Boston is ensnared in a five-game losing streak—the longest losing stretch for the Olde Towne Team since the 2006 season—and there are emerging concerns within both the team’s bullpen and offense.

“The losses have been tough just like every win is joyful, so we just need to go out there and try to go out and get one,” said Sox outfielder Coco Crisp, who had been one of the walking wounded on the road trip while playing through a nagging hamstring.

“Joyful” certainly isn’t the proper term used to describe a quick three-game road trip to Tampa that degenerated into an extended five-game losing streak, and saw both the flu-bug and a mix-and-match pitching staff compound key injuries to David Ortiz (bruise to his surgically repaired knee) and Sean Casey (right hip flexor).

The good news: Josh Beckett looked like his Cy Young-contending self while piling up a career-high 13 strikeouts on Sunday afternoon, World Series MVP Mike Lowell is expected to be activated off the 15-day disabled list, and the Sox starting staff appears fully back to good health.

The bad news: The Sox bullpen has paid the price for a starting staff that has been alternating between patchwork and barely passable in averaging only 5 2/3 innings per start this season.

The short work by the starters, who did get a pair of quality outings from Beckett and Clay Buchholz last weekend, has dropped a burdensome workload on relievers like Mike Timlin and Manny Delcarmen. Both hurlers simply haven’t responded thus far this season.

Add it all up and it’s easy to see why the losses have started piling up -– but the Sox are hopeful that they’ve managed the mess and the worst is now in the rearview mirror.

“We’re just trying to field a team and win a game,” said Sox manager Terry Francona. “We’re going to have to weather this and we’ll just continue to do the best we can.”

Notes, Quotes

• LHP Jon Lester leads the Red Sox with 19 walks this season and continues to struggle with control and consistency this season. Despite the Sox organizational mantra that directs pitchers to “pound the strike zone,” the starting staff is tied with the Detroit Tigers for the highest walks allowed total (76) in the American League. Boston’s entire pitching staff has underwhelmed thus far this season and is 12th in the AL with an unsightly 4.61 ERA.

• 3B Mike Lowell, on the mend from a sprained left thumb, came through his three-game rehab stint with Class AAA Pawtucket without complications, and is expected to be activated off the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday afternoon. OF Brandon Moss and RHP Bryan Corey are both considered likely candidates to be sent back down to the minors to make room for Lowell. 1B Kevin Youkilis played Gold Glove-caliber defense at third in Lowell’s absence and SS Jed Lowrie also proved capable of playing the hot corner. —DH David Ortiz is on his way to becoming the first player in major league history to amass 20 RBIs during the month of April while also finishing below the Mendoza Line. Ortiz has sat out the last two games due to a bruised right knee, and isn’t likely to get above the .200 mark before the month ends. The closest hitter—prior to Ortiz—to ever approach the inglorious mark was former Tigers C Mickey Tettleton, who knocked in a mere 19 runs while hitting .185 in 1993.

• RHP Clay Buchholz became the first Sox pitcher in more than 20 years to pitch two complete games within his first 10 big-league appearances when he nailed down a complete game last weekend. Buchholz, whose other complete game was a memorable no-hitter last September, became the first hurler to turn the two tricks since former RHP Jeff Sellers during the 1985 and 1986 seasons.

• OF J.D. Drew is amidst a 4-for-30 slump over his last 10 games that has seen his batting average drop from .362 all the way down to his current mark of .273. Drew has continued to show his characteristic patience during the recent tailspin and has drawn eight walks during the same 10-game time period. The ever-patient Drew is tied with DH David Ortiz and 1B Kevin Youkilis for the team lead with his 14 walks this season.

• RHP Josh Beckett and DH David Ortiz were both highly critical of Major League Baseball’s decision to have the Sox play a grueling 20 games in 20 days after returning from Japan this April. The Sox went 12-8 during the grinding 20-game stretch that ended in Tampa -– the longest stretch a team can play without a day off per MLB’s collective bargaining agreement—but lost the final five games of the 20-day endurance challenge.

By The Numbers: 1,701—Total number of consecutive errorless defensive chances by 1B Kevin Youkilis, which broke the record for all defensive positions in the major leagues.

Quote To Note: “I just try to go out there and play the best that I can whenever they put me out there. I wish it were softball, but it’s not so we’ll see what happens. Hopefully, we all continue to play well and give them a tough decision on who to put out there on any given day.”—OF Coco Crisp, on his mind-set while playing the part of a fourth outfielder on the Sox this season.

Roster Report

Medical Watch:

3B Mike Lowell (sore left thumb) went on the 15-day disabled list April 10. He began a rehab assignment with Class AAA Pawtucket on April 25, and is expected to be activated on April 29.

DH David Ortiz (bruised right knee) sat out April 26-27. He is day-to-day.

1B Sean Casey (strained right hip flexor) went on the 15-day disabled list April 26.

RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (flu) missed his April 23 start. His next start has been pushed back to April 30.

RHP Josh Beckett (stiff neck, flu) was scratched from his April 22 start. He returned to the rotation April 27.

INF Alex Cora (sore right elbow) went on the disabled list retroactive to April 10.

RHP Curt Schilling (right shoulder) began experiencing discomfort during the offseason, and he opened the season on the 60-day disabled list as he undergoes a muscle-strengthening program. Schilling is expected to be out until at least the All-Star break, and his legendary career might be over.

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