Monthly Recap: April

April Record: 16-8
Overall Record: 16-8
HOME: 7-3 ROAD: 9-5 DIV: 9-4 (thanks, Stanks!)
Division Standings: Up by 3.5 games on TOR, 5 on BAL, 5.5 on TB, 6.5 on NYY

Dice-K's Fenway debut was one of the many big moments in the month of April for Boston

TEAM STATS:
BATTING-
RUNS: 125 (5th in AL)
AVG: .262 (7th)
HRs: 27 (t4th)
2B: 40 (8th)
3B: 5 (2nd)
SLG%: .426 (3rd)
OBP%: .353 (1st)
BB: 111 (1st)
K: 142 (11th)
SB: 12 (9th)
E: 21 (2nd)

PITCHING-
IP: 211 (10th)
HITS: 183 (12th)
HRs: 18 (12th)
RUNS: 84 (14th)
ERs: 77 (14th)
BBs: 69 (12th)
Ks: 169 (5th)
SVs: 9 (12nd)
ERA: 3.28 (t2nd)

The first month of the 2007 baseball season is in the books, and what a month it was for Boston.

Besides owning the best record (percentage-wise) in baseball and a 3 1/2 game division lead, there were quite a few interesting things that happened with our beloved team in the opening month:

• Daisuke Matsuzaka made his MLB debut, as did fellow Japanese import Hideki Okijima, who may be outshining his countryman on the field right now


• Boston won 5-of-6 from the arch rival Stanks, and pushed them to the bottom of the AL East in the process


• J.D. Drew quieted the off-season boo birds who questioned his talent & durability by getting off to a blistering start before cooling off recently


• Jonathan Papelbon's decision to go back to the pen proved to be a godsend; the flamethrowing righty has allowed only 2 hits and no runs, going a perfect 9-9 in save opps.


• The offense got off to a slow start (April showers), but heated up late to average 5.2 runs/game while the pitching staff is giving up just 3.5/game


• Who knew that sure-handed Gold Glover Mike Lowell would lead the majors in errors with 8, raise your hands?


• Who didn't know that Big Papi would be leading the team in homers? Anyone, anyone, Bueller?

Yes it was some kind of month for the boys from Beantown, with everything going better than we could have hoped for (keep fingers & toes crossed.)

The lineup is looking like a formidable machine, because as soon as Manny heats up (which you know he will) and Cora takes Pedroia's spot (ditto) they could have one of the best top-to-bottom lineups in the game. Here's a link to what they've done so far, so I don't have to type all that shit out.

You've got a great mix of guys with speed (Lugo, Cora) and power (Manny, Papi, Lowell), who can hit for average (Drew, Youk) and can do the little things needed to win (Cora, Coco). Then you've got the Captain, who can always come through with a clutch hit, no matter what he's batting, and a solid bench with Hinske, Willy Mo, Mirabelli and (eventually) Pedroia.

The hitters may be holding their own but the pitching staff has been the big surprise thus far. Sure everyone knew that if the four horses lived up to their potential this could be a special starting rotation, but nobody expected Josh Beckett to be a ML-best 5-0, ageless knuckleballer Tim Wakefield to briefly lead the AL in ERA and the starters to have 14 of the team's 16 wins overall.

The fact that the rotation has been so good has allowed the bullpen to be that much better. Okijima, who was ostensibly brought to the team just to give Dice-K a familiar companion, has emerged to be one of the best setup men in the league, and that Jonathan Papelbon has recovered from his shoulder ailment to return to the untouchable Paps of last year. While the rest of the lot has been basically untested, with that kind of solid foundation you can afford a few cracks.

Put the starters and relievers together and what you've got is a top-notch staff, the kind that wins divisions and forces imposing matchups in October. Add a potent, versatile lineup and what you've got is a championship-caliber team.

So the first month is history and now they head into May facing a tough schedule (more games against NY, Toronto and B-More, plus dates with Atlanta, Minny and the 1st place Indians) and carrying a ginourmous bulls eye on their backs.

The Sox are sitting pretty in first place, back to being the hunted, while the Stanks languish in last, tripping all over themselves just to climb past the Rays.

And all seems right with the world.