The Boston Red Sox’s perch atop the American League East on April 23rd has taken everyone by surprise; except the Boston Red Sox. They’re playing with great confidence right now. Boston sports are playing a large role in helping the great city regain normalcy after the tragic events at the Boston Marathon and the days following. The Sox know that they are playing with the weight of an entire city on their back, now more than ever, and have embraced it. Being so early in the season, it’s rather tough to speculate whether or not they can sustain this success throughout the whole season, but we’ll take a look nonetheless.
The Good
Winning seven of their last ten, the Boston Red Sox have put together a 14-7 record so far in April. Much of their success is due to the 3.00 earned run average of the pitching staff, good for third in the majors. Boston ace Clay Buchholz has an American League leading four wins and 0.90 earned run average. On the defensive side of the ball, the Sox have only made four errors so far this season, which ties them for best in the category. Mike Napoli has provided a huge spark for the offense so far, driving in an AL leading 25 runs. The Boston squad is also doing very well with runners in scoring position, batting .289 which goes for sixth in the majors.
The Red Sox are also benefitting from their American League East opponents struggling thus far. The Toronto Blue Jays, who acquired pitchers R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle are an AL East worst 9-13, while the injury plagued New York Yankees continue to fight for position. Despite the injuries of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, and team captain Derek Jeter, the Yankees have managed to stay within two and a half games of first place thus far. Injuries or not, the Sox have taken advantage of the mishaps of the other teams in the division.
The Bad
There isn’t much to rag on the Red Sox about so far this season, but their late game hitting has been less than superb. From the seventh inning on, they’re batting .192 which ranks 28th in the majors. Also, they’re hurting from pitchers Joel Hanrahan and John Lackey being on the DL. Once they return, their pitching staff will continue to improve.
The Ugly
On April 23rd, the Red Sox fell to the Oakland Athletics 13-0 in a seven inning game shortened by rain. This marked a low point in their season, which ended an 820 game streak of consecutive sell-outs. By far, this marked a major league record and should not be overlooked.
Wrap Up
As you can see, there isn’t much going against the Boston Red Sox so far this season. Sustaining their success isn’t going to be the issue. If the Blue Jays and Yankees reverse their struggles, they will pose a significant threat to the Sox. If not, it seems that the Fenway Faithful will have much to cheer about this season. I think the Boston Red Sox can maintain their early success and compete for an American League East pennant.