2007 April: Best in Baseball

Now that the month of April is officially over, it’s time to bring back a segment that I started last year but tailed off and didn’t do for August and September. I’ll be taking a month to month look at the Red Sox, and unlike last years, I’m going to keep it to just the 25-man roster at the end of each month to keep it from getting out of control with 50 people to track, like I did last year.
On the heels of a successful April, here’s where everyone currently on the 25-man roster stands to date. Everyone has been hitting and pitching quite well, and the only problem is our fielding. A year after being the best fielding team in the history of baseball, Boston has committed 21 errors, good for third worst in baseball. This is largely paced by Mike Lowell’s random transformation into A-Rod circa 2006. If you take away Lowell’s seven errors, we’re tied for 10th best, which is where I think we will end up at by the end of the year, so I wouldn’t be worried – yet.
Without further ado…

Boston Red Sox 2007 Month to Month: April
Batters Key: Average/On-Base Percentage/Slugging/Other Stat.
Pitchers Key: W-L or SV/IP/ERA/WHIP.
Only includes players currently on the 25-man roster.

PLAYER	LAST YEAR	APRIL	NOTES
Josh Beckett	16-11 204.2/5.01/1.29	5-0 32.2/2.48/1.04	He’s now in the company of Pedro Martinez and Babe Ruth for best April pitching performance. 59 percent of Fire Branders think he will compete for the Cy.
Alex Cora	.238/.312/.298	.360/.407/.800	Is he our Yankee killer this year? Who knows, but he’s making a case to start over Pedroia at second.
Coco Crisp	.264/.317/.385 22 SB	.235/.274/.338 3 SB	Where’s the Coco from Cleveland? His leash is getting tighter and tighter … Ellsbury keeps making that noise in AA.
Brendan Donnelly	6-0 64.0/3.94/1.34	0-0 6.0/0.00/0.67	Being used judiciously, Donnelly is excelling in a setup role for Boston and who doesn’t want him on our side in a fight?
J.D. Drew	.283/.393/.498	.278/.376/.392	A blistering start has turned into a stone-cold slump, but Drew has still been a remarkable pickup and I’m fast becoming a fan.
Eric Hinske	.271/.353/.487	.294/.409/.471	He’s not getting very many at bats, but he’s taking advantage when he does. A strong weapon off the bench.
Mike Lowell	.284/.339/.475	.314/.371/.547	His hot start is somewhat tempered by his confusing start at the field – no Gold Glove this year…
Julio Lugo	.278/.341/.421 24 SB	.256/.346/.344 8 SB	Lugo’s been a very good offensive weapon, scoring runs and stealing bases. No one is complaining… except for Sean O!
Daisuke Matsuzaka	N/A	3-2 33.0/4.36/1.21	Solid start to his big league career, he should only get better and better as he learns, true for any rookie. Now, about those fourth innings…
Doug Mirabelli	.191/.267/.328 6 HR	.353/.421/.706 2 HR	Doug Mirabelli is back, whacking homeruns and wiggling that bat with no batting gloves, and we can feel happy about our backup C situation now.
Hideki Okajima	N/A	1 SV 12.2/0.71/0.63	Now officially our setup man, is there anything Darkman ("hero in the dark") can’t do?
David Ortiz	.287/.413/.636 54 HR	.297/.402/.615 7 HR	Ortiz isn’t slowing up at all, as he’s projected for 47 HR. Wait ’till summer arrives.
Jonathan Papelbon	35 SV 68.1/0.92/0.78	8 SV 9.1/0.00/0.75	What else is there to say? Picking up right where he left off, we may be seeing a historic career right before our eyes.
Dustin Pedroia	.191/.258/.303 89 AB	.182/.308/.236 55 AB	Pedroia got off to a hot start, but he’s not cutting the mustard anymore. Is Cora about to become the starting 2B?
Wily Mo Pena	.301/.349/.489	.172/.273/.414	Obviously he needs to play fulltime to get going, just like last year. Should Coco be worried? Yes.
Joel Pineiro	8-13 165.2/6.36/1.65	0-0 9.2/2.79/1.66	He’s not lighting the world on fire, but I’m comfortable with him coming into the game. Isn’t that what matters?
Manny Ramirez	.321/.439/.619 35 HR	.202/.314/.315 3 HR	Zach’s been pining for it. Well, he got it. A homer, opposite field, no less. Is he about to get hot?
J.C. Romero	1-2 48.1/6.70/1.76	0-0 7.1/4.91/2.05	Pitch him only to lefties, Theo! I can tell you aren’t a LOOGY fan, but … pitch him only to lefties!
Curt Schilling	15-7 204.0/3.97/1.22	3-1 33.0/3.27/1.09	The Schilling of old is back! He will get another test with the solid A’s team coming up, then the Twins.
Kyle Snyder	4-5 60.1/6.56/1.77	1-0 6.1/2.84/1.26	Snyder has been pretty impressive out of the pen so far, and may be emerging as a viable middle reliever.
Julian Tavarez	5-4 98.2/4.47/1.56	1-2 19.0/7.58/1.58	We all know Tavvy’s just keeping the seat warm for Jon Lester (or Rocket Roger…) but he’s doing just fine so far.
Mike Timlin	6-6 64.0/4.36/1.47	1-0 7.2/5.87/1.43	I don’t like it when Timlin comes in anymore. He’s given so much to us, but we’re watching his career end.
Jason Varitek	.238/.325/.400	.239/.325/.358	He isn’t exactly assuaging concerns, but the summer will bring power… right? Right? He’s having a very similar year to last year… uh oh…
Tim Wakefield	7-11 140.0/4.63/1.33	2-3 31.1/2.59/1/28	Wakefield is doing extremely solid this year, and while he probably won’t end with a 2.59 ERA, has re-established himself as a solid starter.
Kevin Youkilis	.279/.381/.429	.291/.402/.407	Youkilis is being just like the Youkilis we expect, but he’s hitting for better contact in the early going.

24 Analysis: Eh. It was okay. I didn’t expect the Noah Daniels/Lisa Miller plot to play out like it did, but this definitely has promise for how the season would conclude. I’m not a fan of Jack Bauer acting like a softie, so him caressing Audrey Raines’ face with his scarred hand … not cutting it. By the way, Nadia Yassir hit it on the head: we need Bill Buchanan!