It was a great start for the Sawx in my all-time franchise season as they finished the month atop the American League East. For the complete American League standings and league leaders, check here. Boston not only led the AL East, but had the best record overall with the Los Angeles Dodgers coming in second in this category having played one more game than the Red Sox.
To give a little more clarity to the graphic above on the team's monthly numbers, Boston leads the majors in strikeouts and is second in saves and earned run average. They rank tenth in batting average and runs, and they are fifth in homers.
Boston kicked off the season on a West Coast road trip and took 2 of 3 series. They took 3 of 4 games from Seattle and picked up two of three from Arizona. They split a 4 game set against Oakland and returned to Fenway 7-4. The Blue Jays ruined the homecoming sweeping a mini two-game series. This would be Boston's only series loss of the month. Baltimore came into town for a four-game set and they were taken out back of the woodshed as they were bludgeoned for 24 runs in their first three games - all losses. They took the getaway game to save some face as Boston then set off for the Bronx and Tampa Bay on their second road trip of the young season. They split a two-game mini-series with the Yankees and notched two wins in a three-game set in Florida. On the final homestand of the month, Boston entertained Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Oakland. The Detroit series was hotly contested as each of Boston's three wins were decided by one run. Each visiting club picked up only one win apiece. In series play, the Sawx went 7-1-2 and ended the month going 8-2 in the final ten games. They didn't discriminate in the win column when it came to home and road games as they were 10-5 at Fenway and 10-6 while traveling.
Carl Yastrzemski and Wade Boggs have been extremely consistent at the plate as the two combined accounted for 28 runs for the club. Yaz is 7th among the AL leaderboard in OBP and eighth in batting average. Boggs is tied for third in doubles with nine and sits in a three-way tie for total hits with 37. One of the players he is tied with is his teammate Nomar Garciaparra who has also off to a solid start. However, David Ortiz has clearly been the Sawx offensive player of the month as he's been the main cog in the Boston run-scoring machine. Big Papi leads the AL in homers and RBI and is second only to Mike Trout in slugging percentage. He is also tied for fifth in runs scored.
The corner outfield spots have been regularly manned by Ted Williams and Manny Ramirez with Manny pushing Dwight Evans to the bench in right. Dewey has seen time in center against lefties as both he and Fred Lynn have yet to claim a spot outright. After a cool start to the campaign, Jim Rice is beginning to heat up as can be attested by his slugging percentage as he looks to break out of his current platoon role against lefties. He has been mainly used as a DH when given the opportunity.
In the infield, the Red Sox aren't getting much offense from the second base position as Dustin Pedroia is off to an abysmal start. Bobby Doerr has been mediocre and with the team's early success, there will be no need to attempt to remedy this for now. Carlton Fisk has been relegated to a backup role after losing his starting job to Jason Varitek. Tek has been the predominate guy for the past ten games with Fisk squeezing in against lefties to see if he can get the bat going.
Not a surprise that the winningest pitcher in baseball history has led the Red Sox staff. Cy Young has been brilliant and has emerged as the stopper from the third wrung of the starting ladder. Young owes the third-lowest ERA in the Majors. Boston's top duo has yet to figure things out as Clemens and Martinez have been inconsistent. They are surrendering too many hits and have both been bitten by home runs. The fact that Boston has the best overall record speaks to the depth they possess, but in order for the club to have long term success, they will need these two to alter their course. Conversely, the bottom two starters Luis Tiant and Jon Lester, have settled down nicely after a couple of rough starts early in the month. Lester has been especially effective despite leading the staff in homers.
The bullpen corps has been extremely stingy, and they also have 6 wins to their credit. As mentioned, Boston leads the league in saves with Dick Radatz and Jonathan Papelbon being the top firemen diffusing opposing offenses. Papelbon's 6 saves put him among the league leaders and Radatz shares the lead in strikeouts with Koji Uehara and Smoky Joe Wood. Koji has been a victim of the long ball which has driven up his ERA, but he has been more effective in his last few outings. Deadballer Wood has thrived in a middle relief role.
Down on the Farm
As I mentioned in my initial post on this all-time franchise season, I selected the top 50 players for each team. Here is a quick look at the 25 Red Sox franchise stars that didn't make the cut for the big club, but are toiling down in Pawtucket hoping for a shot. Just like their parent club, Pawtucket currently sits in a first-place as well, tied with the Norfolk Tides in the International League North with a 16-10 record, and both teams also share the best overall record in the International League.
Mo Vaughn has been the equivalent of David Ortiz for the PawSox crushing 9 homers and driving in 25 runs. Mo could be a late-season call up if he continues to produce as a DH, but with Big Papi and Yaz playing so well, he seems to be blocked. Joe Cronin may eventually push Pedroia for his spot on the big club as he has hit 4 homers and drove in 16 runs. Another guy to watch is Reggie Smith. With Lynn and Evans scuffling in the outfield, Smith could see action in Boston as he is second on the team in homers with 6 and third on the team in RBI with 15. Mike Greenwell is also making a case for himself leading the team in hits with 36. A glaring number on the graphic above is the batting average of Mookie Betts. I wrestled with leaving him off the top 25 as he could have supplanted Lynn or Evans, but it looks like it was the right call for the time being.
Derek Lowe has been absolutely lights out! He owns a 4-0 record in 5 starts. Deadballer Ray Collins also has a spotless 3-0 record and was once a 20 game-winner for the Sawx in 1914. He won 84 games in only 7 seasons with Boston as he abruptly retired from the game when it seemed he was destined for the Hall of Fame. Collins is tied with Dutch Leonard for the team lead in strikeouts. Leonard, Tex Hughson, and Bruce Hurst make up the remainder of the starting rotation and are a combined 6-5.
The bullpen is led by Tom Burgmeier and Bob Stanley. Burgmeier has appeared in 10 games primarily as a lefty specialist and Stanley has collected 9 saves in 13 appearances.
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