They do not have a power bat in the middle of the line up.  Think management should have just ponied up to start last season and gave Manny the 2 year extension, because I do.

Quote from: MBz on April 14, 2009, 01:32:37 PM

They do not have a power bat in the middle of the line up.  Think management should have just ponied up to start last season and gave Manny the 2 year extension, because I do.

See I don't know about that... I think they had to part ways with Manny (as much as I hated it). He was too much of a distraction and wasn't even trying.

Why not to worry
Permalink|Comments (6) Posted by Adam Kilgore, Globe Staff April 14, 2009 01:05 PM

April lies. One month – let alone one week, which is what has elapsed in the Red Sox’ season – is an inadequate measure of a team. If the Red Sox were playing an NFL season, they would be about halfway through the third quarter of the first game. Maybe 2-5, Boston's worst seven-game mark since 1996, is unsettling, but there’s a good chance it’s a mirage.

First, there is one indicator that favors a turnaround. The Red Sox have a .250 batting average on balls put in play. (This means that if you take away home runs, sacrifices, and strikeouts, the Red Sox are batting .250.) The .250 mark is worst in the American League and better than only the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. The league average is .300. That means the Red Sox have run into some good defense, gotten unlucky, or both in relation to the rest of the majors.

The Red Sox have been built for a marathon. By the time June comes and attrition forces other team to wedge guys who should be in Triple A into their starting rotations, the Red Sox will be bulwarked by a fresh John Smoltz. Name another rotation where Clay Buchholz could have the spring he did and not make the roster. That advantage won’t be revealed in the standings for another 40 games or so.

And anyway, seven games is such a ridiculously small sample size to base any kind of conclusion on. Look at the seven-game records for every World Series champion since the strike:

2008 Phillies: 3-4
2007 Red Sox: 4-3
2006 Cardinals: 4-3
2005 White Sox: 5-2
2004 Red Sox: 4-3
2003 Marlins: 2-5
2002 Angels: 3-4
2001 Diamondbacks: 3-4
2000 Yankees: 4-3
1999 Yankees: 6-1
1998 Yankees: 3-4
1997 Marlins: 6-1
1996 Yankees: 4-3
1995 Braves: 6-1

Five of the past 11 World Champions failed to start better than .500 after a week’s worth of games, and only three post-strike champs had a start worth getting excited over. Would it be better if the Sox were hitting and Jon Lester was cruising through starts and they were in first place? Yes, of course. Would it really matter to the final outcome of this year if those things were the case? Probably not that much.

I’m not trying to ignore the fact that the Red Sox have played below their expectation over the first week. And there most definitely comes a point when “It’s early” ceases to be a valid excuse. But Dustin Pedroia is not going to finish with a 52 OPS+, and Lester won’t have a 1.82 WHIP, and the Red Sox aren’t going to hit .180 with runners in scoring position, etc. You can go on and on. It's just too soon to worry.

Now, if Daisuke Matsuzaka can't get past the fifth inning tonight ...

(Just kidding.)

Im so uninterested in baseball right now, I do like the red sox, but not like I love the celtics, and quite frankly I think its funny considering how the red sox homers were gushing how this was going to be the best red sox pitching staff ever now theyre all already in panic mode and I couldnt care less.