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 What do you do when your ace is getting beat up and the back of your rotation is a mix of kids and rehab projects?
Hit the crap out of the ball... every game.
The Red Sox tatooed the White Sox for 12 runs last night, but they continue to need all the runs they can get with their starters struggling. The Sox have scored 65 runs in their last 7 games, good for a 9 RPG average... but they've also coughed up 48 runs to their opponents.
Josh Beckett has allowed 15 runs and 8 homers in his last two starts. Brad Penny's 0-3 record and 8.31 ERA August cost him his spot in the rotation. And for every solid outing Tazawa or Buchholz make, there seems to be an eventual dud on the horizon - like Clay's 4.2 IP, 7 ER performance last night.
But the Sox keep hitting... and therefore keep winning. We lost 2 of 3 to New York, but we're 5-2 in our last 7. JD Drew hit his 16th ding dong last night to give us some breathing room in a tight game and has quietly hit .315 with 4 homers and 10 RBI in 18 games this month... most recently from the 8th spot. Seeing this reminds me of the power-packed lineup we had in 2003 when we had 9 guys with 10+ homers and a Batting Title Champ in Bill Mueller hitting in the 8th spot.
This 2009 squad has 8 guys with 10+ homers on the year already and if they keep hitting like they have this past week, I don't see them losing too many games in September.
That said, it would help if the pitching staff stopped giving up 7 runs per game. Lester has really dialed it in since the break and Beckett should get back on track soon. If Wake can give us even 75% of what he had going in the first half we'll have a nice trio at the top of the roatation, but the bullpen has been beat up all year and a combo of Buchholz, Tazawa and maybe Penny again will continue to tax the relievers...
Bottom Line: In a week or so, we'll be able to rest the pitchers with some AAA call-ups, but until we can get 5 or 6 games up on the Rangers and Rays, I'll be hoping for more of the Juggernaut-like offense we've been seeing.
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