| 20 October 2009
Red Sox Reality Check pulled an interesting tid-bit that had me wondering if the Sox ever had a shot at winning it all this year:
Overall the team went 95-67, but let's look inside the numbers. * They won 16 of 18 games against the Orioles, the worst team in MLB * They won 7 of 9 games from the next worse Indians * Therefore of their 28 games over .500, 19 came from just two teamsDustin Pedroia had a decent year overall, but he posted a combined OPS of .807 against the Yankees, Angels, Twins and Tigers. He also struggled on the road with a .736 OPS and a .903 OPS at Fenway. Pedey posted near identical home and road stats in 2008 and I suspect he will bounce back next season... but even in 2008 he hit 35 of his 54 doubles at Fenway and you have to wonder if he's not the same player when you take the Monster away... Jacoby Ellsbury also struggled against the better teams in the league, posting a .745 combined OPS, despite having a very solid season overall (.301, 94 R, 60 RBI, 8 HR, 70 SB). OPS has never been Ellsbury's thing, but his 2009 mark of .790 is up from .770 in 2008. Continued improvement here should help the Red Sox as a team and help Ellsbury become a annual lock for 50+ steals and 100+ runs. Bottom Line: The Sox need to step up when facing the leagues best. Getting better numbers from the top of the order should go a long way towards reaching that goal.
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