Red Sox Report - May

A Tale of Two Months

After spending the initial month of the season atop the American League East, the Red Sox crashed back to earth with a 14-14 record in May pushing them 6.5 games out of the top spot. This bout of parity coupled with the red-hot Yankees registering a blistering 22-7 mark leaves Boston looking up at their arch-rivals. Season rankings to date (shown above) offers a glimpse in contrast between both clubs - the potent offense of the Bronx Bombers and the stingy Red Sox pitching corps. 

In series play, Boston was 4-2-2 but the two series they tied were against the lowly White Sox and the middling Blue Jays. These are two teams they really should have taken advantage of and must do so moving forward if they hope to regain ground. Seattle, Cleveland, and Houston fell victim to Boston with the Astros dropping two series while the Orioles and the Rockies managed to pick up series victories. In stark contrast to the first month of play, Boston parlayed their .500 record for the month by going 6-6 at home and 8-8 on the road.

Offensively, the Red Sox are third in the majors in hits, fourth in doubles, and fifth in team batting average. The pitching staff ranks second in earned run average just as they did after March/April. They dropped to second in strikeouts after leading the majors in the last report.

Wade Boggs capped an incredible month batting .449 and his .353 clip is good for fourth-best in the American League. He also is tops in hits with 82 and is fourth in OBP. Manny Ramirez also had a terrific May with a sizzling .365 batting average which launched him into sixth place overall in the American League, and his .508 in slugging is ninth-best in the junior circuit. Carl Yastremski's consistency should be noted as well. After batting .337 last month, his current .333 batting average is the ninth-best mark, and he is eleventh in on-base percentage. Ted Williams had a very productive month driving in 18 runs and has only struck out 15 times in 204 at-bats.

Boston dropped from fifth in the majors in home runs to twenty-first, and a couple of power outages were noticeable in the Red Sox lineup. Jim Rice's .304 batting average in May was 100 points higher than last month, but he never cleared the fences once. Boston needs "Jim Ed" to flex if he wants more opportunities as a DH against lefties. On the subject of DHs, David Ortiz is tied for fifth with Alex Bregman in home runs, but he only launched one dinger in the month of May and managed only 4 RBI. Big Papi was a major factor in the club's fast start last month, and his lack of production is a glaring consequence of a decline in runs scored.

Jon Lester was the hard-luck member of the Sawx staff this month. Lester posted a minuscule 1.70 ERA but lacked run support leading to a 1-4 record. He leads the staff in free passes and sits fifth overall in the American League in ERA. Cy Young came back to earth with a 1-3 mark after his sizzling start, and his ERA swelled to 3.96 in May. Pedro Martinez still hasn't found his groove yet as he is getting battered around the yard. Conversely, Roger Clemens has shown signs of turning the corner this month going 2-1 with a 3.34 ERA.  Boston also sent Luis Tiant to the bullpen during the final series in May against the Yankees and gave his turn in the rotation to Smoky Joe Wood. Tim Wakefield is pushing for a promotion, and may indeed earn a start as well.

The Red Sox still boast a formidable one-two knockout punch at the back end of the bullpen. Jonathan Papelbon is among the league leaders in saves with his wipeout repertoire. Dick Radatz has emerged as a reliable setup man but has also been used to close games. Koji is still getting opportunities to get back on track as his 22 appearances and 25.2 innings lead the bullpen corps. 

Down on the Farm

As they did last month, the PawSox lead their division,  but the gap has narrowed. Mo Vaughn continues to make his case for a promotion, but due to the fact that he lacks position flexibility, he may not get the call. Rich Gedman is quietly putting together a solid year as he is second in RBI, and his left-handed bat may get a look as the backup if Fisk can't get his bat going. Joe Cronin or Johnny Pesky could eventually take Pedroia's spot on the big club as well.

Don't look for the Red Sox to make any changes to their starting staff by sending anyone down as they have options in the bullpen. Once that picture becomes clearer, the Red Sox may look to bolster their bullpen options with another lefty and Tom Burgmeier would be a nice fit. Derek Lowe continues to impress and he is a prototypical swingman who would offer flexibility to the pitching corps with the big club.