Monthly Recap: A Mighty May

May Record: 20-8
Overall Record: 36-16

What can you say about this team? Durring the second month of this season the Sox didn’t lose 2 games in a row, bested the other top teams in the AL and did so with injuries to their best pitcher and hitter. They have a commanding lead (10.5 games as I write this) over the rest of the AL East and are 20 games over .500. Yeah… it’s deliriously happy time in Red Sox Nation, but let’s break down how we got to this stage of bliss.

Catcher: Ok you can stop worrying about Tek. He has been off the charts lately and looks like the 2003 version of himself. Lord knows how long he can keep the injury bug away and continue to show age defying talent, but I hope he can do it till November. Also, he has been continuing to learn Japanese and can now say the phrases: “Throw strikes or I will go Hiroshima on you” “Tell you’re wife to call me” and “Put some clothes on Oki.”

Corner Infield: Lowell has been on fire. He has the most doubles, RBI and homeruns on the Sox. He hits a TON and he seems to have shaken his bad glove problems of last month. All the stat books in world say he is due for a drop off in the second half, but let’s just enjoy this production while it lasts. Meanwhile, Youk sees Lowell’s “on fire” status and raises him a supernova. He is in the middle of a 22 game hit streak, has a plethora of clutch hits, plated a inside the park homerun and does all this while looking like a demented longshoreman. These two guys have A LOT to do with the 36 wins thus far.

Up the Middle: There certainly has been a change in roll when it comes to our middle infielders. Lugo although a demon on the base paths, has been in a bad slump at the plate. Combine that with his “sub par” defense and you could make the assumption that switching the SS every year might not be the best strategy. On the other hand, Pedroia is starting to overcome the fact that he’s 5 foot nothing and is 12 years old by hitting everything he sees. His “big ‘ol swing” has been really productive and at this rate he might get to extend his curfew to 12 if Francona says it’s ok.

Outfield: Yeesh. Welcome to the dregs of the batting order. Other than Manny (who is starting to get red hot just like we all knew he would… it’s barely worth mentioning) the outfield has only really been good at making outs. Coco is still a black freaking hole. He has one good week and then fell right back into his Coco for 4 mode again. If he wasn’t such a vacuum cleaner in the field, I would say he was the waste of a good uniform. Now pair this with J.D. Screw and his .230 average with NO power and you have the makings of a $100 million dollar disaster. But at least we only have to deal with it for 3 more years!

DH: Papi still has his average over .300 but his hasn’t gone deep since the beginning of the month. He did have the flu which caused some dehydration and hamstring injuries that may be attributing to his lack of power numbers. Would be nice to see him come around.

Bench: These guys have seen some more playing time and it has had mixed results. Cora has had his formally amazing average drop a lot and he is reminding us all why he’s a back up. Hinske is still making the argument that he could probably start on a lot of other teams and has the web gem of the month with a face planting catch in right field. Oh, and as I was writing this, Wily Mo struck out twice, dropped 4 fly balls and then homered into Boston harbor. You get the idea.

Still the only guy on the planet who can catch knuckleballs, Mirabelli has not really been hitting while serving as Wake’s backstop… but hey! He can catch knuckleballs.

Bullpen: While Timlin has been out with a nasty case of the “really olds” it has been up to Oki-doki-jima to get out of the 8th inning so we can get to Papelbon. It’s also Oki’s job to get out of the 7th inning sometimes. Also Oki has been closing with Papelbon isn’t available. Oh, and Oki now does most of the landscaping for Fenway. What I’m saying is that Oki’s awesome but a bit overused. But can you blame Francona? Look at Joel, Donnelly, Snyder, and J.C. Do you actually trust ANY of these guys? Sure they’ve been passable when you’re up by 4-5 runs… but anything closer than that and I would disconnect the bullpen phone.

Closer: Paps blew a save and gave up a few runs just to prove he’s mortal… but I think that might have been a trick to lull other teams into thinking they have a shot. Wait and see.

Starting Pitching: This is still the strongest point of the team. Beckett skipped 2 starts with a blister… excuse me… middle finger avulsion and he came back without missing a beat. Kason Gabbard looked good replacing him, while Hansack was forcibly removed from Fenway in restraints. Schilling had a few more rough outings before rebounding with his best game of the season against Cleveland, while Wakefield has come back down to earth as a respectable 3 or 4 starter. Dice-K has had the highest highs and the lowest lows. One start he looks un-hittable for 9 innings, the other he looks totally smackable for only 5 innings. Maybe it’s the number of pitches he throws, maybe it’s because he got sick, but Dice K needs to figure out what works for him and stick with this. Finally we get to our resident crazy person Julian Tavarez and his strict baby eating diet. This guy has been actually pretty good… and boy is it scary. I still feel he is one bad strike call away from killing everyone all the field. Glad he’s on our side.

Low Point: The 14-0 ass beating in the second half of the double header against Atlanta. When a team tags you for 14 runs, the least you can do get one back.

High Point: The Mothers Day Miracle! Anytime something so awesome happens in a game that they have to NAME THE GAME… you know it’s gotta be a high point. Down 5 runs to the Orioles, the Sox score 6 in the 9th to win it on an error by embedded Sox Kevin Millar. One sign of a great team is that they somehow win the games they are supposed to lose. The 2007 Red Sox look pretty great.