We knew they were going to hit. JD Martinez, Rafael Devers, Xander Boegarts looks like a legit middle of the order. Frenchy Cordero, Christian Vasquez, and Alex Verdugo seem like solid offensive contributors and maybe Dalbec too. It's a deep lineup. I'm not sure if we have an answer at second base yet and I think we need another top of the order hitter with Verdugo. But after 397 plate appearances the offense has produced a line of .277/.332/.479 with 15 HR and 5 SB. That represents the second best offense in the American League so far (to the Astros).
The pitching seemed a crapshoot, and if you're going into a season with the pitching looking like a crapshoot you figure it's more likely to end up a catastrophe than something good. But the starting pitching has been better than expected and the bullpen has been excellent. Boston relievers have a 2.85 FIP and are striking out 10.1 batters per 9 innings. That starts with Barnes at the top, who looks like more of a shut down closer this year, Garret Whitlock seems like a revelation, Houck looks like he's going to contribute somewhere, and then with Andrise, Ottovino, Sawamura and I believe in Darwinson Hernandez, it's a bullpen with depth and quality capable of eating innings and limiting the exposure of the back end of the rotation.
Can the rotation be good enough? We had lots of reasons to believe Eovaldi would be good this year and so far he has been. I have confidence in Edro's ability if he stays healthy. That's two. I don't think we want opposing batters to get a third look at any of our other starters. I think Pivetta and Richards in particular are the kinds of pitchers that could benefit from limited exposure and I suspect that's why Chaim brought them in. In 2019, Red Sox SPs threw 802 innings and Red Sox RPs threw 665 innings. I could easily see the 2021 Red Sox reversing those numbers.
If Sale comes back strong, if the bullpen stays as good as it has been, if we can find a solution at second base, if Edro stays healthy... maybe this team could actually win this division?
The pitching seemed a crapshoot, and if you're going into a season with the pitching looking like a crapshoot you figure it's more likely to end up a catastrophe than something good. But the starting pitching has been better than expected and the bullpen has been excellent. Boston relievers have a 2.85 FIP and are striking out 10.1 batters per 9 innings. That starts with Barnes at the top, who looks like more of a shut down closer this year, Garret Whitlock seems like a revelation, Houck looks like he's going to contribute somewhere, and then with Andrise, Ottovino, Sawamura and I believe in Darwinson Hernandez, it's a bullpen with depth and quality capable of eating innings and limiting the exposure of the back end of the rotation.
Can the rotation be good enough? We had lots of reasons to believe Eovaldi would be good this year and so far he has been. I have confidence in Edro's ability if he stays healthy. That's two. I don't think we want opposing batters to get a third look at any of our other starters. I think Pivetta and Richards in particular are the kinds of pitchers that could benefit from limited exposure and I suspect that's why Chaim brought them in. In 2019, Red Sox SPs threw 802 innings and Red Sox RPs threw 665 innings. I could easily see the 2021 Red Sox reversing those numbers.
If Sale comes back strong, if the bullpen stays as good as it has been, if we can find a solution at second base, if Edro stays healthy... maybe this team could actually win this division?