The return of Shane Victorino and Will Middlebrooks hve definitely helped the Red Sox inch toward the .500 mark. But for a squad coming off a World Series title, they still have a lot of questions.
It has been rightly pointed out that the Sox have had to undergo huge changes “up the middle”. Of the catcher- shortstop-second base-center field group, only Dustin Pedroia remains from last season. A number of question marks appear right away. Is AJ Pierczinski as good a defensive catcher as Jarrod Saltalamacchia? Is he as good a handler of pitchers? There is little doubt that Xander Bogearts is as promising a prospect the Sox have had in years, but can he cut it in the field at short? If he has to go to third, where does that leave Will Middlebrooks? Jackie Bradley Jr is definitely an exciting young player, but will his hitting allow him to be a regular center fielder?
In addition, the loss of Jacoby Ellsbury hurts in a number of ways. It not only robbed the team of one of the top base stealers in the game, but also left them without a real leadoff man. Several players were tried at the position before John Farrell settled on Pedroia, but his best spot is probably second or third. Another question is David Ortiz, who. even with 5 homers and 13 rbi’s, is unlikely to have a 2013-type season at age 38.
These question marks would not be as serious were it not for the inconsistency of the starting staff. No member of this group has been immune to bad outings. Though John Lackey has lowered his ERA to 4.22, Felix Doubront (going into Thursday’s start) and Clay Buchholz are both still in the 6-plus range. A telling stat is that of the five starters, only Jake Peavy has surrendered less hits than innings pitched. Every starter has been subject to early-inning implosions that put the Sox in an immediate hole.
Perhaps the biggest question is what should the Bosox do if men like Doubront and Buchholz continue to struggle? Will Farrell be willing to sit them down and bring up an Allen Webster or Brandon Workman?. Can the Sox contend in the AL East with one or two rookies in the rotation?
A lot of this uncertainty would disappear if the team begins to hit consistenly and move their team average out of the .240 area. Performances like Tuesday’s could go a long way.
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