Sunday, July 26, 2009

Slumping Sox

In the bottom of the 7th inning, it is now 6-1 Orioles. All the problems with the Red Sox are currently on display:

John Smoltz again missing on location and struggling. He put the Sox in an early hole and just like his outing at Texas last week, it snowballed. Entering the game, Smolz's ERA was 6.31. Today, he gave up 6 runs in 5 innings. Despite him being a certain Hall of Famer, the Red Sox will be faced with a decision over Smolz's fate if he continues to pitch like this in his next four starts.

J.D. Drew continues to be a non impact player. He is batting .136 with 4 RBI in the month of July. I've let go of my hopes of him being the 30 HR 100 RBI player he should be. What's the deal with Rocco Baldelli? Why isn't he playing more?

I love the Adam LaRoche acquisition. They gave up nothing for him and he can hit. Considering the lack of range Mike Lowell is showing at 3B, plus how slow Lowell is, LaRoche should see a lot of time at 1B with Youkilis at 3B. I know Youk is unhappy whenever he is out of the lineup, but the way he plays the game, he's going to need that rest so he will be ready for the postseason.

The Red Sox NEED Jed Lowrie to shake off the rust a little quicker and start hitting.

Dustin Pedroia, while having a decent season, is not even close to the player he was last year.

I'm not worried about Jason Bay. He'll come around.

It was nice to see Justin Masterson string together a few scoreless innings. He needs to gain his confidence back after a rough 6 weeks.

Mark Kotsay had 1 HR in 200 AB's in his time with the Red Sox. While a versatile defender, they needed him to be more of a run producer at the plate.

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