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Red Sox weekly report card
(Includes games from Aug. 22-27)
By Boston.com Staff, 8/28/2006
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Despite the beating the Red Sox took from the Yankees last weekend, fans still had hope that a solid week could turn things around and keep their team in the playoff hunt. The Yankees cooperated with a 2-4 record over the last six days, but the Red Sox ended the week right where they started -- 6½ games out of first in the AL East -- after going 2-4 themselves on the West Coast. A three-game sweep at the hands of Seattle (which is eight games under .500) is unacceptable for a team trying to make a playoff push. And while the Red Sox are justified in using the injury excuse, (Manny Ramirez, Alex Gonzalez, Wily Mo Pena, Doug Mirabelli, Jason Varitek, Trot Nixon, etc.), they will take some deserved flack for being shut down by Gil Meche, Jake Woods, and Cha Seung Baek over the weekend.
Grade: D
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Hitting:
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The Red Sox hit .184 as a team this week. That's just 41 hits in 223 at-bats for a team hitting .277 on the season. This week's biggest culprits were Eric Hinske (.063), Javy Lopez (.067), Coco Crisp (.167) and Kevin Youkilis (.133). It didn't help that Manny Ramirez, who was killing the ball against the Yankees, had only six at-bats due to injury. As a team, the Red Sox walked just 26 times this week while striking out 49 times.
Grade: F
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This probably won't provide much solace for Red Sox fans, but at least the defense didn't falter as much as the offense. The Red Sox committed five errors this week (although Kevin Youkilis looked lost in the outfield during Sunday's game but was not charged with an error). Javy Lopez is no Jason Varitek behind the plate, but we knew that already.
Grade: C-
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Curt Schilling (14-6, 3.95 ERA): After losing for the third time in the past four games, Schilling refused to point any fingers in the offense's direction, an aspect of the team that continues to sputter. Schilling allowed nine hits and five runs in six innings in a 6-0 loss to Seattle on Friday night, walking none and striking out seven, leaving him one short of 3,000 career strikeouts. The game matched the August-high five runs he allowed in Kansas City. His ERA is now throttling toward the 4.00 mark.
Josh Beckett (14-8, 5.21 ERA): Beckett was cruising against the Angels last Thursday, allowing just one run on four hits over six innings, before he had to leave the game with a cut on his middle finger. The Red Sox rushed to say it was not a blister, which Beckett has had problems with in the past. The good news for Boston is that Beckett will not miss his next scheduled start tomorrow in Oakland. The bad news is, at this point, the Red Sox have no idea which Beckett to expect on any given night.
Jon Lester (7-2, 4.76 ERA): Joining the walking wounded with a sore back, Lester was scratched from tonight's start. He won his last outing against the Angels, going six innings and allowing three runs, his second win in the past three starts. Whether the Sox see Lester pitch again this season remains to be seen, as the team awaits the results of tests being performed in Boston.
David Wells (2-3, 4.98): Wells has been Boston's most effective starter this month, even if he is winless in his last two starts, which have both been solid. Last Monday, Wells lost a 2-1 affair at the hands of the Yankees, and on Saturday got the no-decision in a 4-3 loss in which he allowed two runs over seven innings. Wells has a 2.65 ERA this month, and might be an attractive option for a contender with the waiver trading deadline coming up Thursday.
Kyle Snyder (3-3, 6.91): It says a lot about the state of the pitching staff when Snyder is forced to start twice in a week's span. Snyder was decent in last week's 4-3 loss to the Angels, allowing three runs over just five innings of work, but the long ball hurt him yesterday, as Raul Ibanez's grand slam was the exclamation point on a 6-3 win that finished Seattle's sweep. The Red Sox will keep trotting Snyder out as long as they are forced to, but hope to receive good news on Tim Wakefield soon.
Grade: C
(Record and ERA are through Sunday)
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Where have you gone, Mike Timlin? Usually as sturdy a bridge as one could ask for to get from the eighth to the ninth inning, Timlin has been completely unreliable as of late. On the bright side, Keith Foulke, Manny Delcarmen and Jonathan Papelbon all were not charged with a run this week, and Red Sox fans no longer have to worry about seeing Rudy Seanez trotting out of the bullpen (he was released).
Grade: C
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What can Terry Francona do? His bench yesterday consisted of Gabe Kapler. It's unfair to expect the manager to perform miracles when he doesn't have the horses. Is Francona feeling the pressure? Sure. But we can grant Francona the right to be frustrated. As for Theo ... we'll wait to see what he does over the next few days. He's got a lot of holes to fill on this roster, and not many tools to work with. Despite the injuries, we've got to give demerits to any team that sends Kyle Snyder to the hill to start two games in a week.
Grade: C-
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