| 14 September 2009
I spent the weekend in a tent on the beach and missed all the action here in Boston.
But now that I'm caught up, I wanted to leave a few comments before we kick off the Angels series.
1. Clay Buchholz looks great right now and it couldnlt come at a better time. The Rays are not the team they were last season... or even two weeks ago, but watching out three best starters slice through the Rays this weekend makes me feel pretty good about our chances in the postseason. Seven shut out innings to beat Matt Garza... impressive.
2. I think we should all thank Victor Martinez for turning this season around. Sure, the Sox were still very much in the hunt on July 31st, but adding V-Mart to this lineup has rejuvinated the offense and lengthend the lineup. Credit should also be paid to Theo for making the move, but Martinez is the guy providing key hits and RBIs. He's also riding a 15-game hitting streak at the moment!
3. Dustin Pedroia is a 5-tool player!? Okay... he's not a home run hitter, but a quick look at his stats for this season proves that Pedey can pretty much do it all. He surprised a few of us last year with his 17 ding dongs and 20 stolen bases, but he's on pace for similar numbers this season - hitting his 13th homer this weekend while sitting on 17 SBs and hovering around the .300 mark.
We need Pedroia's 100 runs and .300 average in that No. 2 spot. When you look at it that way, he might be the most important guy on this team... or at least in the lineup.
4. I think Josh Beckett has turned the corner. He pitched well in a rain-shortened game this weekend, but the important part was that he kept the ball in the park for two games in a row. He'll get Baltmore and Kansas City next and those two starts should help him get in to the groove for the playoffs. I'd like to see him against the Yankees, but things don't appear to be lining up that way and the division is all but lost at this point anyway.
Lastly, we're four games up on the Rangers, but this Angels series is still very important. We stink on the road, so we need all the home wins we can get.
More to come once I wake up...
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