Gresh & Zo: Shaughnessy Not Surprised By Sox Slow Start
BOSTON (CBS) - The Red Sox will take on the Chicago White Sox tonight in Chicago for their 14th game of the season. While the Red Sox have gotten off to a slow start (5-8), panic hasn't ensued for Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy, who predicted the squad would get off to a slow start.
Shaughnessy joined Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak on Tuesday to discuss the Red Sox, specifically the slow start by the team.
"This start is somewhat predictable," Shaughnessy said. "As I keep reminding everybody, they weren't that good last year. They weren't this dominant team that just steamrolled everybody. They were really good, they won 97, everything came together, they got super hot at the end."
Injuries to Dustin Pedroia, Koji Uehara and Shane Victorino are hurting the Red Sox right now, but Shaughnessy sees it as a test of depth, something the Red Sox don't have.
"You can't expect all these things to be perfect again," Shaughnessy said. "You're seeing a lot of it early, they don't have the kind of depth. … They'll be OK. But they don't have the depth. … They're not the same."
Shaughnessy sees lack of experience, timely hitting, a true leadoff hitter as reasons for the early struggles, but also some choice decisions on the field that have hurt them too, like giving Mike Carp the green light to steal against the Yankees in a critical situation.
"A lot of these things came out in New York," Shaughnessy said. "There were some dubious managerial strategies. They were running Carp in that Saturday game with tying runs on base and taking the bat out of [Xander] Bogaerts' hands. There were a lot of things didn't go well for them. But it's not like they're a hopeless cause."
With the Bruins getting ready to start their playoff run this Friday, Shaughnessy sees the Red Sox taking a back seat and for fans to re-evaluate the team in the middle of June.
"I think for a lot of people the Bruins are going to take over now for the next two months and basically it'll be let's see where they are when the Bruins get done with this thing in the middle of June," Shaughnessy said. "No matter how bad it gets, I think they'll still be competitive and maybe this is the worst we're seeing now."
Listen below for the full discussion:
Shaughnessy Not Surprised By Sox Slow Start
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