Month of April for Sox

The Boston Red Sox are off to another slow start in April. Remember last year when the team went to Washington and played great against the Nationals and we all though they were going to win the series again. Well we all know what happened and the season went nowhere. Now the Red Sox are off to a 7-8, with no flashes of glory. We are coming up on the third week in the season and the Red Sox currently sit tied for 3rd in the AL East.

1st: Baltimore Orioles: 10-4

2nd: Toronto Blue Jays: 8-9  3.5 GB

3rd: Tampa Bay Rays: 7-8    3.5 GB

3rd: Boston Red Sox: 7-8     3.5 GB

5th: New York Yankees: 5-9  5.0 GB

Now early in April I don’t buy into how much the standings are shaking out, but look at the play on the field. The newly signed David Price has so far unperformed. For $30 M/year I damn hope the guy can give an ERA below the half century mark, and not in the lows 7.00s. Granted the guy still has 2 wins in 4 starts. He has looked alright so far but the ERA is troubling and you have not seen dominance that can look you down in a playoff series. The only way you pay a guy over 200,000 over 7 years is if he either A hits 40-50 homers a year and brings in over 125 RBI’s or B, what the Sox saw in Price, a guy that can give you 20+ wins, and in the playoffs is a guy you give the ball and have no worries at all that he will get the W. Right now we have not seen that out of Price.

In the field I have liked most decisions made. The decision for Shaw over Sandoval I thought was a very smart move and Shaw now leads the team in batting average at .340. For Hanley to be at first also gives the lineup a big advantage to keep his bat, but allows the defense to not be heavily affected. Vazquez behind the plate I have been saying all along that he is the better option. He is significantly better behind the dish with one of the best pop times in the league. The team still has a chance to turn the month around into a winning month with an upcoming road trip starting in Houston today. Followed by going to Atlanta for a two game home and home with the Braves, and finally finishing out at Fenway with the Bronx Bombers coming to town. Houston has looked decent but the Sox will luck out and not have to face the reigned AL Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel. Meanwhile neither the Braves or Yanks have looked good so far so they should be able to steal a few games and win those series in order to finish the month on a strong note and above .500.