Monthly Recap: Doom and Gloom in June

June Record: 13-14
Overall Record: 49-30

When you look at this month (just under .500) to the two previous months (well over .600) it’s kinda like flying coach after you’ve been flying first class. There’s nothing WRONG with coach. Coach is fine, even if it is a little crowded and the food sucks and your seat smells like the inside of Manny’s dew rag, you are still going to get to your destination. But after you’ve flown first class… everything else looks like crap. Nothing compares to the luxury.

In the month of June the Red Sox have been flying coach. It’s just lucky for us that every other team in the AL East is flying air freight. How can we play under .500 ball for a month and still have a 10+ game lead? That doesn’t seem right does it? Every time I complain about the Sox poor play to the masses of Yankees fans here in Brooklyn I get evil glares and rabbit punches to the ribs. There really is no comparison. The Sox have been mediocre… everyone else has been horrible. Let me break it down for you.

Catcher: A common trait you will see throughout this listing is how poorly the hitting has been. Strangely, the Capitan has not been as guilty as everyone else that steps up to the plate. Tek has had a very good year when you think about what people were expecting from our quickly aging backstop. He is defiantly going to put up better numbers than he did last year and has already surpassed his halfway totals in runs, RBI and HR from 2006. Is he getting the clutch hits and driving in all the runs he can? No… but then again nobody is.

Corner Infield: Lowell and Youk are both going to the All-Star game. I’d say more on that topic but my mind cannot fully grasp how awesome that is. After two shaky fielding months for Lowell, Mr. Salt and Pepper has regained the leather abilities that we’ve come to know him for. As for Youk, he’s perfect at 1st and has gone from being underrated defensively to nationally recognized for his glove work. At the plate these guys have been the two most consistent as well. Due to a finger injury (that will dog him for the rest of the season) Lowell has begun to slip (still leads the team in RBI) and as I’ve stated before NOBODY is getting the needed clutch hits.

Up the Middle: Dustin Pedroia has turned the corner. This guy looks like the contact hitter that he was supposed to be. I am worse than a fish out of water with all the flopping I’ve done with this guy… but he’s been really great. Then there is that short stop guy. He sucks. Flat out terrible. Batting a head explodingly low .089 for the month of June, Lugo could be the worst every day hitter on any team in the AL. I miss O-cabs and Gonzo and even Rent-a-wreck more and more every day. I say we drop him off in the Vermont woods somewhere and cut the losses.

Outfield: This one is a bit up and down. Coco and Drew have actually picked it up this month. Coco went on a hot streak and then got hurt (figures), while Drew started batting leadoff and to my honest to God jaw dropping shock, started doing MUCH better. Chalk this up to one of Francona’s “this is so crazy it just might work” plans. On the other hand, Manny is still not the same guy that he used to be. His extra base hit totals are low, his RBI (like most Sox hitters) are low and his average still isn’t above .300. I have a feeling he eventually will get really hot again… but it needs to be sooner rather than later.

DH: This is where I really get concerned. Papi is hitting, he’s just not hitting for extra bases. His average is high, his OBP is good, but the long ball just hasn’t been showing up. This has dropped the runs, RBI and maybe even wins for the whole team this year. Papi needs to regain his swing especially against bullpens. The Sox need to get their comeback artist working overtime again so he can continue to make closers wish they hadn’t got out of bed and come to the ball park. That’s what I want when I see Big Papi step in the box.

Bench: What do Mirabelli, Hinske and Willy Mo have in common? An under .230 BA. Besides Cora (who is a marked upgrade from Lugo) the bench has been pretty poor. The new kid Ellsbury hasn’t had enough swings to make an impact yet, but I don’t think he’s going to be tearing the cover off the ball anytime soon. Getting a pinch hit from this crew is rarer than a virgin at the Playboy Mansion.

Bullpen: Another low point this month was the return of Timlin. He’s old, he’s done, it’s over. I love this guy, but it’s time to move on. Donnelly went down with an arm injury (bad), Joel is gone with an ankle sprain (kinda good) and MDC is back with the big club (pretty damn good). Oki has been fantastic as ever and is trying to get his ERA down to a quantum singularity while pitching in every single game and Kyle Snyder has been solid in long relief. Even when losing, the pen has been nowhere near the “Red Scare” we’d thought they’d be.

Closer: Papelbon got his second All-Star invite, and not for no reason. This guy is still nails and sandpaper covered in carpet tacks. You get that? 9th inning comes around and it’s gonna get rough for the other team.

Starting Pitching: It’s been as good as before with one exception. After a near no hitter, Schilling had been ineffective and the DL’ed with arm issues. This was pretty much as expected because of how old he is, but I just wish we got a few more games out of Curt before he went down. He should be back after the All-Star break. Beckett, Wakefeild, Dice-K and even Tavarez have all pitched amazingly well, but they haven’t got a lick of run support to give them the ‘W’ they deserve. Surprisingly, Schillings replacement was not Jon Lester but Kason Gabbard. Gabbo has had one good and one bad outing and it remains to be seen if he is going to stick around or be replaced by Lester when the coaches feel he’s at 100%.

Low Point: I’m not even sure. Getting beat by the Yanks in the beginning of the month wasn’t very fun, but I might just call the sweep we took at the hands of Seattle the worst stretch. The Sox can’t win in that park and it looks like they don’t even try.

High Point: This would have to be Schillings 1-0 complete game victory and one hitter. Curt was one out away when Shannon Stewart knocked a single past the infield to break up the no-no. Even without the bats the Sox have managed to win games with the fantastic pitching. It’s a good sign that even when a team is struggling they still manage to capitalize on their strengths and find ways to win. I just hope July has more of these “strengths” than June did.