Boston Red Sox
Record: 89-73 (Third place in AL East, seven games behind Tampa Bay)
Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Adrian Beltre (.321)
Home Runs: David Ortiz (32)
RBIs: David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre (102)
On-base Percentage: David Ortiz (.370)
Pitching Leaders
Wins: Jon Lester (19)
Strikeouts: Jon Lester (225)
Innings Pitched: John Lackey (215)
ERA: Clay Buchholz (2.33). Bullpen- Daniel Bard (1.93)
WHIP: Jon Lester (1.20). Bullpen- Daniel Bard (1.00)
Saves: Jonathan Papelbon (37)
Highlight of the Year: A 51-37 first half, which left the team only three games behind Tampa Bay for the Wild Card.
Lowlight of the Year: A deflating 7-5 loss at home to the White Sox on September 5 that pushed the team to a season-high 10 games out of first place. What made the loss particularly painful was that the White Sox scored four of their seven runs in the ninth inning, and the loss completed a three-game sweep, effectively putting the team out of contention.
The Lowdown:
The scrappy Red Sox managed to somehow stay in contention for most of the summer, in spite of the plethora of injuries that ravaged this team. The team suffered from injuries to many of their key players, including Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie , Josh Beckett and Dustin Pedroia, which left the team at less than 100% strength the entire season. Somehow, someway though, they managed to contend for most of the summer, as they received great performances on the mound from Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, along with good performances at the plate from Adrian Beltre and David Ortiz, who recovered from a slow start. This was a rare down season for this team, as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006, and finished in third for only the second time since 1998.
Offense:
The Carmines’ offense remained strong in spite of the injuries, as they finished second in the majors in homers (211), second in runs (818), sixth in batting average (.268), third in on-base percentage (.339) and second in slugging (.451). The two biggest contributors in their lineup in 2010 were Adrian Beltre and David Ortiz, as both essentially led the team in nearly all of their major offensive categories. Beltre had a renaissance year, hitting 56 points higher than he did in ’09 (.321), along with hitting 28 home runs and driving in 102. David Ortiz recovered from a slow start that people may have to get accustomed to, as he finished strong with 32 home runs and 102 RBIs.
Another great performance came from the bat of catcher Victor Martinez, who hit a rock-solid .302 with 20 home runs and 79 RBIs before succumbing to injury. J.D. Drew also provided capable power numbers, hitting 22 home runs and driving in 68.
One shudders to think at the potential of this lineup if they were completely healthy throughout the season. Kevin Youkilis only played in 102 games, but he still managed to hit .307 with 19 home runs and 62 RBIs, along with getting on base at a clip of .411. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia only played in 75 games, but he still hit .288 with 12 home runs and 41 RBIs. Infielder Jed Lowrie received an ample amount of playing time this year, but even he couldn’t stave off the injury bug, playing in only 55 games while hitting .287. Fill-ins Bill Hall and Darnell McDonald provided a fair amount of offense as well, combining for 27 home runs and 80 RBIs in the games they played.
Even though they never were really able to field their best lineup, the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts with this team.
Final Grade: A+
Pitching:
Boston’s pitching staff was something of a feast-or-famine kind of staff, as they received good performances from Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and reliever Daniel Bard, but people like Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jonathan Papelbon underachieved greatly. Lester and Buchholz were nearly in Cy Young-form last year, as Lester finished 19-9 with a 3.25 ERA, while Buchholz finished 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA. Unfortunately, the rest of the staff was not nearly as great. Josh Beckett battled injuries and finished with a 5.78 ERA in 21 starts, while John Lackey finished with an uncharacteristically-high 4.40 ERA, in spite of his 14-11 record. Daisuke Matsuzaka is beginning to prove more and more that he is overpaid, as he finished with a pedestrian 9-6 record with a 4.69 ERA, which is not something you want to see from a pitcher who earned over $8 million last year.
The bullpen wasn’t much better either, as they would finish with an unspectacular 4.24 ERA, 23rd in MLB. Daniel Bard was very effective as a set-up man, recording 32 holds along with a 1.93 ERA and a WHIP of 1. Jonathan Papelbon, despite his 37 saves, was humbled quite a bit this year, as he finished with a league-high eight blown saves along with a 3.90 ERA. Nobody else in the bullpen would finish with an ERA under four.
If you want to find a real concrete reason why Boston missed the playoffs, this is it. They finished 22nd in ERA (4.19), 17th in WHIP (1.36) and 15th in home runs allowed (152). Their staff definitely has the capability of being better, and they simply did not show that in 2010.
Final Grade: C-
Wild Card: Terry Francona
While I have always thought Francona only looked good because of Boston’s deep pockets, I have to give him kudos for the fantastic job he did this year of keeping this team together, and keeping them focused on the pennant chase. The amount of injuries this team suffered would have decimated even the best of teams, but Francona seems to have instilled a “never say die” spirit in this team that has shown itself time and time again since 2004. While I don’t think he should have won manager of the year, I could easily make a better case for him winning it than Minnesota’s Ron Gardenhire.
Final Grade: A+
Overall:
This team will definitely be right back in the thick of things this year, if they stay healthy. However, their pitching staff needs to do a better job to ensure that the team won’t fall victim to the same problem twice.
Final Grade: B+
Check back soon for the report card on the San Diego Padres!
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