What’s Up With the Pitching?

No sooner had I posted about May’s turnaround than the Sox went into a swoon and lost four straight. And the pitching, which had been the main reason for the Sox recovery from April’s woes, suddenly became completely unreliable. Even though they ended up going 3-3 for the week, getting swept by the White Sox, but then sweeping the Athletics, the Sox surrendered forty-one runs in six games. According to my calculations, that works out to be around seven runs per game. And when you think about it, it’s remarkable that they played .500 ball while giving up that many runs. I won’t dwell on it though; let’s just hope everyone had a bad week.

But it wasn’t all bad news. Gonzalez continues on his torrid pace, with Carl Crawford right behind. After today’s three run homer, Crawford has 23 RBIs since the start of May, not to mention around a .320 average in that same time. That’s pretty good production for a guy that was supposed to be a table setter -- get on base for the other guys to knock in. Plus, he’s had as many timely hits as anyone on the team this year.

Papi too has been real productive at the plate, batting around .300, and hitting the long ball once again. Remember that pinch-hit game winner against the Tigers last weekend? And all this run production has come with Pedroia in a slump, and Youkilis underachieving. Now I know that everyone isn’t going to have a hot bat at the same time, but all I’m saying is that there is still lots of room for improvement in the lineup. They look pretty good right now from top to bottom.

Which brings us back to the pitching. Beckett had a decent outing yesterday, not overpowering, but solid. And Lackey looked OK today. He surrendered three runs over five and two-thirds innings, and while that might not sound so great in the abstract, it’s a hell of a lot better than he had been pitching earlier in the season. He needs to pitch decent. Like today. Give up a few runs, maybe go another inning or so, and give the bullpen a bit more rest, but keep the score down so that a couple hot bats can bring home a win for the Sox. It looks like Dice-K will be out for the season -- that’s really a shame because he had those two fabulous outings back to back -- but if Lackey is half-decent, he and Wake can fill out the rotation, assuming no further injuries.

Big series this week, with Boston down in New York again. Not to mention the fact that they then travel to Toronto and Tampa Bay. That adds up to a nine game road trip against AL East teams. I’m amazed with the terrible start, and the recent losing streak, they are only two games out right now. I’d like to see them play .500 ball on this road trip; is that too much to ask for? Go Sox.