Red Sox Recap: 8 games in and not much to show for it

With yesterday's washout I have had some time to delve into the stats the Sox have compiled after the first week and 1/2 of the season, and I must say they are not too impressive.

If you remember after the home opener I marveled at how the team's runs per game average had climbed more than a run, from 3.1 to 4.7 after that 14-run barrage. Well guess what? Following King Felix' lock down of the Boston batters Wednesday that number dipped back down to 4.1 RPG, but more disturbing is the fact that in eight games the potent Boston lineup has already been shut out twice and held to 2 runs or less in half of their games. Plus the team batting average has submarined down to .231 (18th in MLB), thanks to Hernandez' 1-hit masterpiece.

Other stats Boston hitters should be embarrassed by:
-Runs: 33 (17th in ML)
-Total Bases: 92 (27th)
-HRs: 4 (23rd)
-Hits: 62 (26th)
-RBIs: 20 (20th)

Either way you slice it those numbers are not good for Nation members, especially considering the team has faced hurlers who are, let's just say, less than Cy Young quality, such as Gil $55 mil Meche, Robinson Don't call me Miguel Tejada and Kevin Run of the Millwood.

Granted it's extremely early and the team has played in weather more conducive to the gridiron gangs than the boys of summer, but hey, who hasn't? That hasn't stopped clubs like Cleveland (.275), the Stanks (.277) and even the Rays (.285), all of whom have played a number of games in arctic-like conditions, from tearing up opposing pitching.

There has been one good thing about the offense, and wouldn't ya know it's been that "fragile & expensive" investment, J.D. Drew. Coming over from the Dodgers in a heavily-scrutinized deal, Drew has been the team's most consistent and most productive hitter during this time of little offense. Vilified and crucified by jaded members of the Nation (yes, there are some out there) before he ever even pulled on Trot's old jersey, Drew has proven to be everything the Sox brass had hoped for and more after inking him to the controversial 5-year, $70 million contract in the off season.

Besides batting .393, which is good for 4th in the AL, he is also leading the team in hits (11), tRBIs (5), total bases (16), OBP (.419), SLG% (.571), and strikeouts (7, but we'll let him slide on that one.) He has made a couple of blunders, 1 in the field and 1 on the bases, but has also played excellent defense, been a stand-up player with teammates & the media, and broke up the no hitter on Wednesday.

Maybe that'll shut up the speak first, think later boo-birds for a while.

As far as the pitching goes there have been some ups and downs the first 8 games, with numbers ranging from decent (3.39 ERA, 13th in ML) to phenomenal (.219 BA allowed, 3rd lowest in ML.)

Of the 4 victories all have come from the starters (Beckett-2, Dice-K & Schill, 1 each) and it's no surprise that these guys have pitched well, save for Schill's opening day effort and Gascan's start in Texas. The major question regarding this staff was the bullpen, which so far has run the gamut from lights out (Papelbon, 5Ks, 0 hits or runs in 2.2 IP) to get out (Pineiro & Romero.) But Mike Timlin just returned from the DL on Tuesday and so far there have been no major meltdowns, perhaps because Craig Hanson is in Pawtucket and Tavarez is in the rotation. Stay tuned.

Defensively the Sox have been sound, although its fielding percentage (.975, 24th) and error total (7, 7th) belie that fact. But those numbers are skewed thanks to Mike Lowell's 3-error game in Texas. Other than that aberration there have been only 4 errors committed in 8 games, which projects to a pretty decent percentage over the course of a season.

So what do you get when you take a .500 record and middle-of-the-pack stats? A mediocre team, which after 8 games is exactly what the Red Sox are. Things don't figure to get much easier in the next couple of weeks as Boston will have to face the Angels' John Lackey (2-0, 0,75) & nasty youngsters Earvin Santana & Jered Weaver, then have a date with Roy Halladay next week before the first series with the Evil Empire on the 20th.

Let's hope the Boston hitters get their groove back by then, or this season of promise could turn into a replay of 2006 in a hurry.