That Light? Just Another Train

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So after a nice sweep of the Ms, all in dramatic fashion, the Sox hit the road with a chance to make some hay. The Rangers are beatable and while the Yanks are tough, taking two of three from them feels like a sweep of most other teams. Especially on the road - a 4-2 trip would look great, a 3-3 would even have its upside. As I said in my last post, maybe we were starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Nope - that light was just another train coming straight at us. Twice the Sox blow winnable game 1s and then watch a starter get bombed early in another game. The hole we've dug ourselves grows, worsened by the Twins and Tigers strong play.

I can find upside - I always can. But at this point it only frustrates me. If you told me Paulie would have his best start ever, that Andruw Jones would be everything we could have hoped and more, that Rios would be flashing speed and power and overall look respectable, I'd have figured our offense would be solid. If you told me that Danks would be a straight up nasty Ace, that Jenks, Thornton, and Putz would combine to blow only two games in 30 outings, I'd say we'd be in good shape.

But pretty much everything else has been bad. Buehrle, Floyd, and Peavy, all guys who've won 17+ games in their careers, have five quality starts in their 16 games. A quality start simply means giving up 3 runs or less in 6 IP. Not the tallest order, but actually a pretty good measure of whether or not your starters are getting the job done. 2/3 of the time, the Sox Big 3 are not.

And the offense?!? Pierre, Beckham, and Carlos were supposed to be a dynamic top third of the order, maybe as good as any in baseball. They're hitting .200 as a group. Alexei? How about you stay wherever it is you make your off-season home until mid-May, then join the team? This is especially infuriating because the guy brought in to take the pressure off early - Vizquel - is barely hitting .100. Yes, one hundred.

AJ and Kotsay - you guys are veteran lefties in a righty-heavy lineup that faces a righty-laden division. You were supposed to be money in the bank solid. Sure, no one was expecting greatness, but at least get up there and do the job here and there, make other pitchers respect you, as you have for years. Instead - you're both under .200!

So what now? I have no idea. I always wish Ozzie would play more aggressive, so I'll throw that out there. People love to whine that Ozzie can't be aggressive without base-runners, but I think that's definitely one of the times it's most needed. More guys bunting to get on, take advantage of those few base-runners to try to manufacture at least one run. When the bats aren't going, then look to the things that you can control.

But don't take that as a reason for the Sox offensive issues - it's not. The Sox run as much as any team and while I think they should bunt and hit-and-run more, that's the kind of stuff that gets you from OK to solid, or good to great. It doesn't get you from horrendous to respectable.

You can't sit guys to solve this issue - the bench players aren't any better. You don't have much for young bucks in the minors ready to make an impact - at least not enough of one to warrant rushing them up. Trades are tough, both cause it's early and because you're fairly maxed out in your payroll. I could see a deal happen to add talent, but only later in the year, if the Sox seem to be contenders. But to save this now - not happening. And firing Walker doesn't seem to be an option (or else he'd have been let go a few seasons back), nor do I think it will have much of an effect.


My only idea, and it's worked before - time to juggle that lineup, all-out. Not a few moves, a full-on make-ove. Pierre has already been demoted from the #1 slot. Ozzie made it clear this is temporary, as it should be, but it was a good first step. Change things up, hope for a spark, both for Pierre and the lineup. I'm not sure who should lead-off, but I'm thinking someone else that is struggling. Maybe Alexei. Maybe a change of role will do him some good too.

But don't stop there. Beckham has got to move out of that #2 slot. I'm pushing AJ up there. That's what Ozzie did in 2008 and it worked great. Yet for some unknown reason, he went away from after the season and has never returned (despite the offense struggling much of last year and again this season). Why? Beckham has been just OK in that position and the offense has never clicked since AJ left there. Plus, AJ's been brutal - maybe up at #2, in front of a pair of boppers, asked to hit behind guys and move runners over, AJ finds his confidence again.

#3 and #4 are easy - Jones and Paulie. #5 - Screw lefty-righty, I'm going with Rios. I like having a little speed in the heart of the order - with Rios and Jones in there, you aren't clogging the bases as often. And this way you've got three straight hitters who are feeling good these days.

#6 - Teahen has been mediocre as I figured, but at least he's getting on base and bats lefty. #7 and #8 - Quentin and Beckham. Two guys who need to get the pressure off, to just worry about themselves and nothing else. Finally, finish up with Juan #9, until he gets it back together (which I assure you, he will).


I make those moves tonight, to start the home stand, and I stick with them for a while. Let guys settle in, see how they react. Nothing else is working.

But I don't think Ozzie does it. He's changed some things, but not enough and too haphazardly. Like in 2008, he's got to shake this up in a big way, in a way that his players know is going to be for a while. Throw that lineup above out there for the next few weeks, see if you can't take advantage of the homestand to get going again, at least offensively. Then just hope that with some runs on the board, your pitchers aren't pressing as much and can get into a groove.

I mean, what have they got to lose?

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