As the end of the semester nears, students are busily finishing up the mountains of work this time of year brings.?This leaves professors scurrying to correct these assignments, giving us the grades we have worked to hard achieve.?This unenviable task of assigning a letter ranking to a body of work put forward by people who have worked very hard has been assigned to me this week.?Much like the professors here at the University, I may be put in the awkward position of dealing out a little “tough love” to these “students” who have worked so hard.?As the semester ends, the season is just beginning, so here are the grades for the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox for April, the first month of the baseball season.
Starting Pitching- The bottom of the rotation, Tim Wakefield and Bronson Arroyo, have been anchoring the staff thus far, combining to go 4-0 with an ERA of 2.86 in eight starts. The guys that were supposed to be answers this year, are so far only producing more questions. Ace Curt Schilling started the year on the disabled list and is currently suffering from a bone bruise on his surgically repaired ankle after only three ineffective starts (1-2, 7.13 ERA). David Wells is also on the DL and is expected to miss up to a month after suffering an ankle injury while attempting to field a ground ball.?Matt Clement has been inconsistent ranging from brilliant, pitching eight shutout innings against Baltimore on April 21,?to horrible, allowing 12 hits and seven earned runs against the same team only five days later.?Wade Miller has yet to play for the major league club, but rehabilitation starts have been promising at the minor league level, and he should be in the rotation soon. In the meantime, journeyman John Halama will fill in as a spot starter until one of these injured pitchers can take the ball every fifth day.
Overall grade: C-
Starting Eight- Despite a slow start, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz have continued to put up monstrous power numbers combining for 14 home runs and 41 RBI in the team’s first 21 games.?Ramirez was named American League Player of the Week for the week ending April 24. Johnny Damon and Trot Nixon have been consistently getting on base at the top of the order, creating opportunities for these sluggers to knock in runs. Jason Varitek has continued to come up with big hits in late inning situations, and is on pace for a career year. Kevin Millar is in a bit of a power slump, going homerless for the month, and Bill Mueller has missed five games due to a seemingly endless flu bug. Edgar Renteria seems to be having a difficult time adjusting to the American League, but he is expected to turn it around in due time.?Mark Bellhorn continues to struggle, averaging over one strikeout per start and a team low .357 slugging percentage.
Overall Grade: B+
Non-Starters- Jay Payton and Ramon Vasquez have proven to be adequate backups for a contending club. Payton starts against left-handed pitchers in place of Nixon, and has shown some pop, with two homers including a grand slam when replacing Nixon after he was ejected for his part in a fight against Tampa Bay on April 24. Doug Mirabelli has not hit as well as last season, but his defense as Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher is beyond reproach. The bullpen has been the teams weakest link.?Alan Embree seems unable to retire left handed batters, which is important, because that is his primary purpose.?Mike Myers has filled in nicely in those situations, but how long will his arm hold up? Matt Mantei has yet to show command of his pitches and has walked too many batters to be effective (seven in 7.2 innings).?While Mike Timlin has been his typical effective self, closer Keith Foulke has been far from it.?Foulke has suffered three losses, blown a save and has an ERA of 7.20 for the month.?He will need to close the door on a few wins before fans can breathe a sigh of relief.?Otherwise, Foulke could be another closer in the tradition of Jeff Reardon, Heathcliff Slocumb or (gasp) Tim Wakefield, leaving Sox fans on the edge of their seats until the final out, regardless of the score.
Overall Grade: Bench B
Overall Grade: Bullpen D
Overall- Hopefully your professors are more forgiving of you than I am of this team. While we have all been basking in the glow of the championship rings, the team has played much like it did early last season. That underwhelming play lead to the untimely trade of Nomar Garciaparra, and a shake-up of the team’s defensive concept.?There is no question that GM Theo Epstein is willing to make trades in order to improve the roster. If the bullpen does not begin to pitch more effectively, and starting pitchers are not healthy in time for the stretch run, this may be necessary.?This team is still a work in progress and time will tell how the season plays out.?So far there are as many promising signs as there are negative ones.
Overall Grade: INCOMPLETE?