The roller coaster of a season the Boston Red Sox are having this year seems all too familiar for its desperately faithful supporters. The team seesaws from whole group-effort wins to embarrassing losses where either the offense is abysmal, or the pitching staff just can’t hold a lead.
More often than not, those fans have been left angry and disappointed on the nights their team plays.
After starting off 2015 with a surprisingly poor 32-42 record however, Boston showed some of the promise that was expected in March over the last two or so weeks, winning 10 of the final 15 games (taking four of five series) entering the All-Star break. The team pulled within five games of a .500 record at that point, a mark the Red Sox haven’t reached since May 2, and trailed just 6 ½ games out of first in the AL East.
During that time, the offense exploded for 4.8 runs per game, which is almost an entire run more than the league average of 4.1. With everybody in the lineup (except Mike Napoli) finding a way to contribute (even with Dustin Pedroia on the disabled list), it seemed that the offense alone could carry the group to the top of the division, despite the pitching staff’s AL-worst 4.39 earned-run average.
Yet of course, following the tremendous turnaround before the All-Star break, Boston managed to drag itself back down to earth by getting shut out in two straight match ups with the Los Angeles Angels to start the second half of the season.
To make matters worse, Clay Buchholz, the man who started this whole run with his 2.04 ERA since the start of June, just landed himself on the 15-day disabled list right before the break, and is expected to miss at least a month with a forearm strain. Without him, the starting rotation is left with rookie Eduardo Rodriguez to lead the group, which is just asking for trouble as he is the only starting pitcher with a sub-4.00 ERA. Therefore, this team needs a productive lineup that will score at least three or four runs per game to make up for the poor pitching unit until Buchholz comes back, or else the Red Sox can kiss their season goodbye.
Luckily for the Red Sox Nation, the lineup is in a prime position to excel, despite the poor performance it put up over the first two games of the series with the Angels. So hang tight guys, the Red Sox aren’t out just quite yet.
First of all, Dustin Pedroia is back in the lineup after missing two and a half weeks’ worth of games. When he went down from injury, the second basemen ranked fifth in the AL by batting for a .306 average, and ranked fourth in hits with 86. Not to mention, his four-time Gold Glove Award winning fielding abilities are always nice to have in the middle of the infield.
This is key for the Red Sox, as they now not only have their second-best, if not best, batter for this year back in the lineup (Xander Bogaerts was a contender for the final roster spot in the All-Star game), but it also allows Boston’s lone All-Star selection, Brock Holt, to continue his utility role on the team. In this role, manager John Farrell is given the option to bench the offensively anemic Mike Napoli from first base (he’s hitting a career-low .191 at the plate with just 30 runs batted in on the year), and rotate in Holt and Ortiz at the position to minimize Napoli’s batting chances. Oh, and Holt can play just about anywhere on the field, adding depth to every position outside of pitcher and catcher.
Speaking of catchers, veteran Ryan Hanigan returned from injury on July 2, which allows prospect Blake Swihart to develop in the minors once he recovers from his ailments, as it was said right from the time he was called up that he wasn’t quite ready for the big leagues. The 34 year-old’s arrival from the disabled list serves as a huge impact for the Red Sox, as he also plays a vital role on both offense and defense. With youngsters Swihart and Sandy Leon calling pitches behind the dish, it seemed that pitchers could never get into a solid groove, outside of Buchholz of course. It’s much easier to follow the game plan of an eight-year veteran opposed to a rookie and a third-year man. Starter Rick Porcello can vouch for this the most, as he struggled with a 5.64 ERA through 10 starts in Hanigan’s absence. In his two starts since the veteran’s return, Porcello only allowed two earned runs in each contest, and also won his first game since May 16.
Offensively, Hanigan isn’t expected to be a major contributor, which is evident through his occupancy at the very bottom of the batting order. However, Hanigan is probably the best nine-hole batter in all of baseball in regards to doing all of the little things for the team. Among all batters who have at least 100 plate appearances on the year, Hanigan ranks first in pitches per plate appearance with a 4.39 average, seventh in walk-to-strikeout ratio with one walk for every strikeout, and fourth in on-base percentage out of all catchers with a .364 mark. What more can you ask out of the last batter?
Overall, the lineup is in a good position to succeed for the rest of the season, as its largest weaknesses are on pace to be corrected. All the team needs is solid pitching, and who knows what could happen at the trade deadline. For the sake of the Red Sox, hopefully they can grab a solid starter or two. If so, look out.
