Red Sox Blog
After this weekend's sweep of the Yankees, I came away with a good feeling towards the young Sox season, but I'm not quite sold on the long run yet.
The Sox put up three aces (Shilling, Beckett, and Dice-K) against Andy Petite and two rookies, one of whom had just come up from single-A ball, and all three games were still close, high scoring affairs.
The Yankees lineup has no weak points, literally every bat is an all-star, and I hate to be pessimistic, but when the Bronx Bombers get back Chien Ming-Wang, Carl Povano, and Mike Mussina, who can all carry deeper into the game than the current roster, the Sox aren't going to be able to take advantage of the fragile Yankee bullpen like they did all season. It was obvious by Sunday night that the bullpen was the difference in the series, with the Yankees going through a dozen relievers, and the Sox getting strong showings from Okajima, Timlin, and Papelbon, who was just untouchable in the 9th.
It was a hell of a series, but Manny Ramirez needs to figure out his timing, and soon, and while Julio Lugo adds a base stealing presence to the lead-off spot, the Sox need to get more consistent production from the 8 and 9 slots in the lineup. Alex Cora/Wily Mo-Pena/Dustin Pedroia/Coco Crisp came alive this weekend, but they need to keep that momentum going on a regular basis.
The Sox avenged last year's disastrous five game sweep at Fenway in August, but the season still has a long way to go, and a rematch with a fortified Yankee pitching staff next month will show where the two clubs stand heading into the All-Star break.
The Sox put up three aces (Shilling, Beckett, and Dice-K) against Andy Petite and two rookies, one of whom had just come up from single-A ball, and all three games were still close, high scoring affairs.
The Yankees lineup has no weak points, literally every bat is an all-star, and I hate to be pessimistic, but when the Bronx Bombers get back Chien Ming-Wang, Carl Povano, and Mike Mussina, who can all carry deeper into the game than the current roster, the Sox aren't going to be able to take advantage of the fragile Yankee bullpen like they did all season. It was obvious by Sunday night that the bullpen was the difference in the series, with the Yankees going through a dozen relievers, and the Sox getting strong showings from Okajima, Timlin, and Papelbon, who was just untouchable in the 9th.
It was a hell of a series, but Manny Ramirez needs to figure out his timing, and soon, and while Julio Lugo adds a base stealing presence to the lead-off spot, the Sox need to get more consistent production from the 8 and 9 slots in the lineup. Alex Cora/Wily Mo-Pena/Dustin Pedroia/Coco Crisp came alive this weekend, but they need to keep that momentum going on a regular basis.
The Sox avenged last year's disastrous five game sweep at Fenway in August, but the season still has a long way to go, and a rematch with a fortified Yankee pitching staff next month will show where the two clubs stand heading into the All-Star break.
posted by Patrick at Tuesday, April 24, 2007
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