Sox Season Slipping

I must say, after the All-Star Break, when Boston swept Toronto, I thought they could keep rolling. They couldn't. Since being .500 at the midseason point, they have solidly remained around .500 during the second half. And they just barely avoided a sweep from the Baltimore Orioles this week, only being saved by the wonderful Clay Buchholz, who has undoubtedly been Boston's second-half ace, if not the ace for the whole season. In a season where the previous 1-2 punch for the BoSox, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, have each put up ERA's around 5.20, Buchholz has shined as a light in the darkness. Yes, his ERA is a relatively high 4.19. But honestly, that's because his first three starts were truly awful. Since then, he has been amazing for Boston and a much-needed stopper. Since July 19th, Buchholz is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA. I mean, that is just amazing for a team that has played under .500 ball! Actually, that reminds me of Felix Hernandez, who Wednesday fired the 23rd perfect game in major league history for the last-place Mariners.

In fact, last night Buchholz became the 47th person to perform another pitching achievement: the perfect inning. Clay threw nine pitches and struck out the side in the sixth inning for his immaculate frame. This is yet another reason that I pick Buchholz as the bright light of the pitchers to shine in this -- so far-- dark year for Boston. As Bostonherald.com puts it, "Clay Buchholz is the Red Sox' only sure thing." There have been, granted, a couple other bright spots. For instance, thank goodness for Pedro Ciriaco, who has stole seven bases and batted .327 after being called up late this season. And Adrian Gonzalez has finally been doing his job, as after a slow start he has leaped out to bat .308 and tie for fifth in the AL with 82 runs driven in. Also, Carl Crawford has been hitting .288 with four steals since coming off the DL, and I am very happy that he is producing. Scott Podsednik has batted .384 in limited duty for Boston. And finally, Matt Albers, Scott Atchison, and Junichi Tazawa have all been solid out of the bullpen, each posting ERAs under 2.30.

But for all these bright spots, there are some pretty bad players. Though Jarrod Saltalamacchia has 20 home runs, he is batting just .229 this season as the regular catcher. Alfredo Aceves, though he has saved 24 games, has blown six saves and lost seven games. That's not what I want from my closer. In contrast, Jonathan Papelbon last year saved 31 games, blew three saves, and lost a single game. It's really too bad that the Sox failed to re-sign Pap, as he could have been a good closer for Boston. And it also is not just the individual players doing badly, it is the team as a whole not playing well. Those are really the worst stats for Boston, summed up here in this article. The worst and the best. But the team just needs to start playing flat-out better baseball if they want a chance at the playoffs. That said, I sincerely hope they do. Good luck Boston!