Monthly Recap: April Powers

April Record: 16-8
Overall Record: 16-8

Well well well, here we are at the end of the first month and things are looking so bright I had to sucker punch Kei Igawa so I could have some shades to wear. The Sox have the best record in baseball, they are leading the AL East by 4 games and they look set up for the long haul.

So how did we get here? Who’s helping the effort and who needs help? What’s the body count for convicted murders Tavarez and Donnelly? Let me breakdown the happenings this month by position.

Catcher: Everyone started this season worrying about Tek. He’s another year older, coming off an injury and to be honest, he hasn’t looked too great since 2004. The captain responded by putting up the sub-par hitting numbers we’re used to and running the pitching staff like they’re his band of trained orangutans. Tek is the winder of the Sox watch, the conductor of the Sox train, the something important of the Sox other thing. Yeah he might not hit his normal .250 with 20 HR and maybe 70 RBI and he still can get a handle on a mistake pitch now and again… but I am more interested in how he helps the ERA of the pitching staff.

Corner Infield: Youk and Lowell are back in the same spots they were last year. Youk has been a plus defensive 1st baseman and is still the Greek (Jewish) God of walks. Lowell has been hitting a TON but for some freaking awful reason… he can’t seem to catch/throw the ball. He already has more errors than ALL of last year. I guess we can forgive him if he continues to hit, but that’s doubtful. Somebody check his gloves for needles or something.

Up the Middle: Two new bodies, two new approaches. Lugo is a speed freak and he has been the true leadoff hitter we’ve been missing since Damon left. He has been pretty mediocre defensively, but compared to Gonzo everyone looks bad. Pedroia on the other hand, well… he’s been trying my last nerve. He can’t hit for power, he isn’t contact hitting, he doesn’t have speed and his range in the field is questionable. As for positives… ummm he has been… uhhh…he is very short?

Outfield: Manny, Coco and Drew. The Clown, the Clod and the Cripple. I almost HAVE to disregard Manny’s awful play so far. He’s barely batting .200 and is lacking his Man-Ram power. I blame the weather. Once the mercury starts to dance above 80 for a solid week, Manny will start putting balls into the stands. Coco had an ICE cold start but he too is starting to thaw. I still hate seeing him in any type of RBI situation. J.D. seems to be going the other way. He started strong and is beginning to slump. In fact, he has been 0 for like a week. Francona also seems to be acutely aware that Drew is made from wet cardboard and tissue paper so he has been given some days off. I know that he needs rest to prevent future injury, but it might be preventing him from working up a groove.

DH: Papi just growled at me and told me to move on. Yeah, he’s still good.

Bench: Right now this is one of the Sox biggest strengths. Cora and Hinske have been tearing it up. Personally I think Pedroia could sit even more than he usually does so Cora can continue to rock. Hinske would probably start on a lot of teams. He is a double threat at the corners and the outfield and his bat has been very timely. And Wily Mo? Just don’t put anything over the plate. “Straight ball I it very much, curveball bats are afraid.”

As backup catcher, Mirabelli is the same fat designated knuckle ball catcher he always has been. He already has 2 homeruns and has been clogging up the base paths like ricotta clogs his arteries. God I love these guys.

Bullpen: The Red Scare has changed its meaning. They now strike fear into the hearts of other teams instead of the Sox Nation. Oki and Donnelly have been lights-out-goodnight. These guys are so money it’s criminal. Oki has been especially amazing with his weird lefty movement. The confusion he’s caused with hitters, it was like he was pitching in Japanese. Snyder, Joel and Timlin have been good to fair in non clutch situations (although Francona seems to be the last person in the world to hear that Timlin might be all done) and round this pen out nicely. The only guy not pulling his weight is J.C. Romero and even he hasn’t been awful. Unfortunately when Lester gets back I think he’s going to be sent packing to make room for Tavarez and his triumphant return to the pen (just in time).

Closer: Papelbon just stared at the ground, then slowly looked up right at me. I peed a little. He…is…a…GOD…

Starting Pitching: Besides are rocky first outing, Schilling has been top notch… which is interesting cause that’s the same notch he uses to fasten his belt. But the extra pounds haven’t slowed him down any. His ERA is slightly inflated from that hiccup in KC and from the hard slugging Yankees, but I think he will drop it soon. Beckett seems to have turned a corner from last year. As the first 5-0 starter this season, Josh seems to be using all of his pitches and is actually pitching rather than just throwing the ball as hard as he can. The consensus is that he has begun to listen to Tek more, or he’s gotten all my nasty letters. Wake is still Timmy Knuckles. He is still going to give up 3 or less runs every start and they are still going to not score him any runs. It’s getting old. Then there is the Asian Sensation. Dice K is good… but he’s not yet great. He ran into some run production problems, some wildness issues and had a run in with the dreaded “bad inning” syndrome. He still looks un-hittable at times, but he also looks like he is only giving 75%. I still don’t understand him.

The last piece of this puzzle is (for the time being) Tavarez. In this age of shallow pitching staffs, he’s probably better than most of the other #5 starters out there. Add that crazy factor (starting to rear its head again) and he is almost passable. That being said, Lester is a MUCH better option. Besides, I kinda like Tavarez in the pen. Check out his stats first time through the order… he’s pretty nasty.

Coaching: Haven’t heard much about Francona, Farrell and Magadan. Know why? CAUSE WE WINNERS BITCH! No hot seats when you have the best record in April. Besides, I think this crew is really meshing and working well with the varied talent. It’s much better than the alternative.

Low Point: Getting one hit by King Felix wasn’t fun, but the worst is how the Blue Jays handed the Sox a whooping. I hope the find a way around that sky colored menace.

High Point: Sweeping the Angels could be really important down the stretch. They are going to be one of he top teams in the AL. Aww… who am I kidding? We took 5 out of 6 from the Yankees baby! Combine that with a sexy back to back to back to back homerun display and I could just die happy right now.

This has been a fantastic month from almost every vantage point. Besides the lagging of some of the bats, the Boston Red Sox look like they’re in great shape and “Stay the Course” should be the mantra. That’s a damn good place to start. GO SOX