In 2013, the Boston Red Sox were the wire-to-wire winners of the American League East en route to winning their eighth World Series Championship in franchise history. In the aftermath of the bombings at last year’s Boston Marathon, the Red Sox used it as a rallying cry as they won 97 games in the regular season. The Red Sox simply caught lightning in a bottle and they were able to run with.
The Red Sox had a first year manager in John Farrell that pushed all the right buttons with his veteran club. The “idiot” culture that was around when the Red Sox won the World Series Title in 2004 returned last season with the likes of outfielders Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, and first baseman Mike Napoli. The Red Sox had four starting pitchers win at least 10 games while they found a diamond in the rough in their bullpen. After being left off of the Texas Rangers postseason roster in 2011, relief pitcher Koji Uehara washed up in Boston in 2013 and was expected to be a setup man out of the bullpen. But when injuries ended the season of relief pitchers Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Miller, Farrell turned to Uehara who got the job the job done with 21 saves and once the postseason began he was unhittable. But where has the magic gone for the Red Sox in 2014?The arm problems that hampered Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz down the stretch in 2013 have not gone away this season. This season Buchholz has a record of 2-4 with a 6.32 earned run average. In his nine starts this season Buchholz has only had one start in which he reached the seventh inning. In his last three starts Buchholz has combined to just throw 15 innings while giving up 13 earned runs (all Red Sox losses). Once the baseball season ends, Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester is set to become a free agent. Lester is 4-6 on the season with a 3.36 earned run average. In Thursday’s home loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Lester surrendered 7 runs in 6.1 innings as the Red Sox lost 7-2. Prior to the start of the season Lester walked away from negotiating a contract extension with the Red Sox and by the looks of things right now he should have taken their offer.
The Red Sox 2014 record of 20-27 currently has them in the basement of the American League East as they are six games behind the Blue Jays for first place. The Sox have lost their last eight games and they are a team that is searching for answers. In last night’s road loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, Red Sox pitching only surrendered one run, but the bats were limited to just five hits and they were shutout.
At Fenway Park last season the Red Sox were 53-28 which is a stark contrast to this season as they are a paltry 10-17 at home. The fun and excitement that was prevalent with this club has been replaced by a tense team that is desperate to get on track.
The Red Sox had the top offense in the AL last season which is something that they are missing this season. After Boston’s World Series triumph last season, Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington was faced with some tough decisions. The Red Sox had drafted outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury in 2005 and they had groomed him as their everyday center fielder. At the end of last season Ellsbury became a free agent and he was looking for a big payday. Cherington was open to re-signing Ellsbury, but he was blown out of the water when the New York Yankees stepped in and offered him $153 million for seven years. Ellsbury is 30-years of age and he also has a history of being on the disabled list which is why Cherington was not going to go crazy in re-signing him and thus he joined the Yankees. It makes sense in the long term for the Red Sox, but for the present they parted with a player in Ellsbury that left Boston with 241 steals which is third on the franchise’s all-time list. Along with his stolen base total, Ellsbury was a .295 hitter with a .350 on-base percentage during his seven years with the Red Sox.
Farrell has had several different lead-off hitters this season and he has even experimented with second baseman Dustin Pedroia in that role. Pedroia is the heart and soul of the Red Sox, but he is not a lead-off hitter. Pedroia is better suited to bat second or third in the lineup, but that is just how desperate that the Red Sox are to get things turned around in 2014.Last season the Red Sox team batting average of .277 was second in the American League and they had three players finish the season with a batting average above .300. This season the Red Sox team batting average of .243 is 13th in the AL while they currently do not have one everyday player with an average above .300. The closest Red Sox player to the .300 mark is designated hitter David Ortiz who has an average of .276. Ortiz has also been the most consistent hitter this season for the Red Sox this season with 11 homers and 25 runs batted in. But in his last five games Ortiz has been only able to manage to get one hit.
What the Red Sox have on their side for this season is time. The Red Sox still have 115 games left this season and with no team expected to run away with the AL East, Boston can get things going, but the time to start is now. The Red Sox are facing the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend and they already dropped the first game last night. Both teams came into this Major League Baseball season with playoffs aspirations, but they are both currently looking up in the standings to everyone else in the American League East. The Sox just need to get a few bounces go their way and things could get turned around for them. But before that fire starts, it needs a spark. Right now it is just a matter of where will that spark come from to ignite the Red Sox?
Source: Baseball-reference.com
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