Red Sox Faltering At The Quarter-Pole
On the eve of the Preakness, it’s fitting to think of the American League East race as approaching the quarter-pole. The Red Sox have played 35 of 162 games (22% complete) and are barely over the .500 mark (18-17). Not good. By any measure.
This is a team that was sold to us as a pristine example of run prevention–pitching and defense producing exciting, close wins. Not. The Sox are 7-6 in one-run games and an abysmal 1-5 in extra-inning tilts. While they are 5th in the majors in runs scored (180), they are also 5th in runs allowed (187). But, to be truthful, as mediocre as these statistics are, offense has not really been the problem. Starting pitching and defense–the things that are supposed to be going on and off in lights–are what’s killing us. The Red Sox are 25th out of 30 in team ERA (4.90). They also have the 9th highest number of errors in baseball (22).
In the meantime, the Rays and Yankees are engaging in good old-fashioned “kick-the-butt-of-your-opponent” baseball. They are the class of the division and are running away and hiding from the rest of the pack. Sure, it’s only May 13th. But, my guess is that we will be saying, “It’s only June 13th” and “It’s only July 13th”, etc. throughout this “bridge year”.
FenwayNation: The MLB Blog 