What Should the Sox Really Do?

Ok, so we're a half-game out of first place. Not too bad. But look at who we are trailing, and with Earl in mind, and his post on predictions, we can look at how many times we have said the Yankees pitching is a mess...One thing to keep in mind is that we were far back in the standings, too, and we were able to catch Baltimore.

Well, there's no doubt about that. Last night they gave up 10 runs AND WON...Meanwhile, we gave up 3 AND LOST.

One has to think that in the course of a season that we'd be better off, but it doesn't seem to be playing out that way. Maybe the Sox will get hot and run off a string of wins, but I'd like to look at some trends, and then we can all yell at each other about them...

1. Manny being Manny. We were down 3 or 4 runs the other night when Manny hits the blast against Gordon. He drops the bat, stands there and admires it. Last night, he hits a pop-fly down the first base line and NEVER leaves the batter's box. Now, the guy is an offensive monster (he hits a lot, not the he's an offensive person), no doubt about that. But run it out...Too much leeway?

2. Starting pitching. Clement last year was great before the break. He then came apart at the seams. Now, I don't think Tek will let that happen, but the guy hasn't thrown strikes in 3 games. Wade Miller last night looked good. I did notice one thing. He is back to throwing across his body, which, of course, led to his arm falling off. His first two outings as a Red Sox, it looked like they had corrected that problem. I hope this isn't the case. Arroyo's achilles heel has been located. Load the lineup with lefties and wait for him to throw the breaking ball. Bronson should spend every off day throwing about 1,000 change-ups and nothing else. That's the pitch he has to get under his belt to overcome this problem. Who would have thought we'd be looking to Wells as the main guy? Wakefield has been Wakefield. Solid, dependable, and giving up some bombs. That's par for the course with him. That is why he is a number 4. We need another starter. Someone big. Take a shot with Jason Schmidt...

3. Bullpen. Finally, last night, Francona let's Embree pitch in the fitting situation. They needed the big out, and he got it. Then, HE DIDN"T BRING HIM OUT TO START THE NEXT INNING. (insert applause here). Then Bradford, Myers, Timlin, and Schilling...and no runs. The pen pitched very well against the Yankees, as well. If Schilling is going to stay in the pen, then we must look back to issue #2. Starting pitching. It also looks like Hansen is on board.

4. The Bench...Who do we have? Youk is back and that is good news. Mirabelli? Um, Stern? Yikes. That is terrible. Look for Kapler's return soon and the giving back of Stern to Atlanta (?).

I still think that we are in good shape and that we have just hit a rough spot. I think that another starter would be great, but who would the Sox move to the pen? I say Arroyo as a right-handed specialist. Of course, I am also now thinking that Arroyo will be dealt with Shoppach and someone else for a good starter...

I do think that we will still win this division. The Yankees are not going to be able to score 10 runs/game, and they still only have Gordon and Rivera and their bullpen. And I think that the O's pitching will not hold up through these next two months.

Let the discussion begin...