Five Ways To Save Red Sox' Season
BOSTON (CBS) -- There are dire straits, and there's the Boston Red Sox on May 10, 2012.
Following a series that resulted in two losses in three games in Kansas City, which followed a series that resulted in three losses in three games against the Baltimore Orioles, which followed a series that resulted in two losses in three games against the Oakland A's, the Red Sox are reeling. They're 12-18, which is the worst record they've had through 30 games since 1996. Jose Canseco was a 31-year-old DH on that team, and the ace was a 33-year-old Roger Clemens, who went 10-13. The wins leader was a spry 29-year-old Tim Wakefield, and Heathcliff Slocumb finished the year with 31 saves.
All of that is to say, 1996 was a very long time ago.
There is hope to be found in that '96 squad, however. They turned that 10-20 start around, going 75-57 the rest of the way to finish 85-77. It was only good enough for third place, however, if the new wild playoff system had been in place back then, the Sox could have qualified for at least a one-game playoff in order to make it to the one-game wild-card playoff (The White Sox and Mariners also won 85, but the Mariners only played 161 games. This would have been a wild ending to the season if the new wild rules had been in place.)
So rather than sit here and point out the obvious (the pitching is flat-out awful, the hits aren't coming at the right times, the manager is prone to make a mistake two or three times a week), let's get to some solutions. Here are five ways the Red Sox can still save their season.
1. Let the kid play
Will Middlebrooks has been a rare highlight in a season full of gloom. The Red Sox are going to have to ride his hot bat as long as they can.
Some have seen Middlebrooks' hot start (.346 average, 1.217 OPS, 3 HRs, 9 RBIs in first six games) as a problem, considering veteran Kevin Youkilis will eventually return to the lineup once his stint on the disabled list is over. However, on a team that desperately needs life, energy and most of all, runs, Middlebrooks cannot be taken out of this lineup.
If that means putting him in the outfield temporarily, or asking Youkilis to man left field for a little while, or just plain telling Youkilis and his .219 average that he's going to have to sit, the Red Sox have to do it.
2. Bat Pedroia cleanup
Some things in baseball make sense, but most things don't. Dustin Pedroia's history as a cleanup hitter falls somewhere in between.
In 30 career starts (32 games overall) in the cleanup spot, Pedroia's hitting a ridiculous .397 with seven home runs, 29 RBIs, 10 doubles and two triples, which give him a 1.117 OPS. He's batted fourth just once so far this year, and he went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
The success makes sense, because no matter what you ask Pedroia to do on a baseball field, he'll get it done. Ask him to hit at the top of the lineup, and he'll grind out at-bats, see a lot of pitches and get his singles and walks. Ask him to bat cleanup, and he'll produce runs for your ball club. It's not rocket science.
Are Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz more prototypical cleanup hitters? Maybe. But the lineup changes just about every night, and it's seen the likes of Cody Ross in the cleanup spot four times this year. Why not stick with what works?
3. Buy Bobby a Red Bull
OK, look. We don't know if there is any real, tangible effect on a baseball team when the manager gets ejected. You can't measure emotional lifts, and plenty of teams have lost games after the manager's been booted, but at the same time, Bobby Valentine is going to have to show some fire during games.
At the beginning of the season, he seemed too afraid to even venture out of the dugout, instead opting to politely converse with umpires from the safety of his own dugout. He's since gotten a bit more audacious, making his way onto the field Wednesday night to spiritedly disagree with two calls. However, "spiritedly disagree" doesn't look as good as "completely lose his mind," and it only looked worse when he whined to reporters after the game about a call. He had an opportunity to get his point across on the field, but he opted not to.
Perhaps in Japan, the managers and players are more polite to the umpires, and Valentine should be afforded an adjustment period. But he's had more than a month, and a team that is prone to looking completely lifeless could use a little spirit from the manager every once in a while.
4. Be bold, Ben
Ben Cherington probably knew when he took the job that it's not easy being general manager of the Boston Red Sox, but he's likely being reminded of it every minute of every day. But if Ben wants to save his first season (and who knows, perhaps his job), he's going to have to get bold.
Like his predecessor, who took a serious risk in trading away franchise icon Nomar Garciaparra in 2004, Cherington faces some decisions, all with varying degrees of difficulty.
For one, he may have to tell an experienced starter like Clay Buchholz that he's going to need to pack his car and take a trip down 95 to Pawtucket so that he can relearn how to pitch. A 9.09 ERA is the worst such mark in Major League Baseball, and that's not going to cut it for a struggling team.
Ben will also have to deal with his first trading deadline as the head honcho. If the Sox have their heads above water by mid-July, Cherington will have to assess the team's biggest need and make a deal to get it done. That may mean not only moving an established veteran but also convincing another team to invest in what could be less-than-ideal goods. (Golf outings aside, couldn't you see a contending team needing one more starter reaching out to check on Josh Beckett's availability?)
It's impossible to predict how exactly things will shake out over the next two months, but you can bet on the fact that Ben Cherington will need to make some bold decisions if he wants this team to succeed.
5. Hope, pray, believe, keep the faith and all of that
Hey, there were no guarantees that all of these methods were going to be technical, were there?
Quite simply, the Red Sox, as they're currently constructed, could play their best baseball between now and October and still finish well out of the playoff picture. In order to turn this 12-18 record into a winning season, they're going to need some things to just go their way.
They're going to need Daisuke Matsuzaka to return to the majors and pitch with a newfound efficiency. They're going to need Jacoby Ellsbury's recovery from a shoulder injury to be completed ahead of schedule or at least on schedule, and they'll need him to be healthy enough to pick up where he left of last season. They're going to need Carl Crawford to recover from his elbow injury that currently has him unable to throw a baseball, and they're going to need him, amid all of his injury issues, to somehow regain his timing at the plate and be the .300 hitter he always was. Admittedly, you might have to do some tribal dances to have any hope for that one.
Hope that Mark Melancon figures out whatever troubled him in April, or that Clayton Mortensen remains a pleasant surprise. Pray that you never have to see Darnell McDonald on any mound anywhere ever again.
Remember, it's not all been bad for the Red Sox thus far, and it's a long season. There's enough evidence to believe the season's already over, but a slow and steady turnaround could begin as soon as this evening.
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