Has anybody else heard the "OMG OMG, they're peaking too early" argument? One of the talking heads on MLBN today even said it's like if you hit .500 in spring training, you're bound to start out 0 for 12 when the real bell rings. Maybe it was just a you have to have a devil's advocate side in every discussion thing, as most are high on the Red Sox chances in the AL.
I think the best answer to that is to point out that multiple key players have actually been hitting below their season average level over the past few weeks. Remember, we had a string of consecutive games recently in which we scored 5 runs -- which is
below average for us. Here are some of the guys who've been slumping, or at least in a dip:
JBJ, .786 since Sept. 11
Pedroia, .512 since Sept. 13
Bogaerts, .640 since August 1
Mookie, .789 since August 29
Leon, .232 since Sept. 12
Shaw, .371 since Sept. 9
Hanley, .629 since Sept. 18
Young, .434 since Sept. 12
We're actually in a bit of a teamwide slump, yet we're winning anyway, largely thanks to the pitching*. About the only hitters who've been really hot the past couple of weeks are Ortiz, Holt, and Benintendi.
So there's plenty of room for guys to catch fire for the postseason. My eye is on Xander, JBJ, Shaw, and Young.
*2.72 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 4.42 K/BB, and .604 OPS allowed. That's the
whole staff for September. I knew it had been good, but I didn't realize it had been that good.