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2008 June: Making do without Big Papi

By Evan Brunell | July 3rd, 2008

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A 16-11 swing has left the Sox in second place to start July, behind the surprising Tampa Bay Rays. Today comes the hated, the ~~vaunted~~ meek New York Yankees. Let’s kick butt and take names! Let’s take a glance back at the month that was… To the Fire Branders: who on this table do you think will not be on the July month to month, and why? Who will be on the August table? Why? Click “read more” to check out the Month to Month…

Boston Red Sox 2008
Month to Month: June
Batters Key: Average/On-Base Percentage/Slugging/Other Stat.
Pitchers Key: W-L or Saves/IP/ERA/WHIP.
April numbers do not include March
Only includes the significant players that played in the month. Notables listed at end of table.

PLAYER	2008 to date	JUNE	NOTES
David Aardsma	12.0/3.75/1.67 12.2/2.13/1.26	10.2/3.38/1.31	Aardsma has continued to throw up the stats and done a great job blowing the ball past hitters. Walks are still a concern.
Josh Beckett	26.1/4.10/0.95 40.2/4.43/1.18	2-1 34.0/2.38/1.18	Beckett is finally rounding into form to be the Cy Young contender we all thought he could be. He probably won’t get it, but he’s back to being an ace.
Sean Casey	.353/.431/.471 .364/.391/.409	.375/.394/.469	Gee, you don’t think the Mariners or Mets are kicking themselves right now? Delgado and Sexson are sinkholes. Meanwhile, Boston’s sitting pretty.
Kevin Cash	.323/.371/.419 .273/333/.318	.115/.233/.269	Cash finally hit his first homer of the year but otherwise hit like he always has in his career. Big surprise.
Alex Cora	1.0/1.0/1.0 .259/.310/.296	.190/.292/.333	He’s barely playing (55 AB to date) and that has to be a contributing factor to his streaky hitting.
Coco Crisp	.291/.310/.354 .209/.264/.388	.310/.359/.521	Crisp enjoyed a fine June and if he can keep it up in July, may force the White Sox or Cubs to make a deal on the Sox’s terms.
Manny Delcarmen	10.2/6.75/1.50 10.1/3.48/1.55	12.0/2.25/0/75	It’s about time the numbers started to represent who MDC really is. He’s slowly become a more utilized weapon, especially with Okajima’s downfall.
J.D. Drew	.269/.376/.410 .296/.390/.408	.337/.462/.848	Okay, whoa, where did that come from? His obscene hitting netted him the Player of the Month Award and has vaulted himself into MVP consideration.
Jacoby Ellsbury	.282/.402/.451 .281/.375/.396	.245/.265/.327	When a hitter starts experiencing pressure to hit, what does he do? Hack more. He needs to wait for his pitch, and he’s off to a good start in July.
Jon Lester	35.2/3.79/1.49 36.1/2.97/1.21	3-0 32.2/3.03/1.29	It’s been a quick ascension to the throne for Lester and his starts are now “buzz” worthy.
Javier Lopez	9.0/5.00/1.67 9.0/2.00/1.22	12.0/0.75/1.17	Lopez is having a fine year and seems to be maturing. His walks are down and he holds lefties to a .222 average, but has walked 10 lefties as opposed to 3 righties.
Mike Lowell	.138/.219/.172 .301/.341/.558	.351/.425/.608	Well, the rest in April seems to be suiting him just fine as he’s having a similar year to last year.
Julio Lugo	.267/.305/.300 .262/.390/.328	.260/.372/.377	Yes, he gets on base at a better clip than the hallowed Derek Jeter. I still tire of the DPs and FCs.
Daisuke Matsuzaka	30.2/2.35/1.04 28.1/2.54/1.55	1-1 6.0/10.50/2.33	A bit of a rude re-introduction, no?
Craig Hansen	1.2/5.40/1.20 10.2/6.75/1.59	12.1/2.92/1.46	I’m not exactly sold on Hansen just yet because he’s still walking people at a healthy clip, but he’s settled into a solid middleman.
Justin Masterson	6.0/1.50/1.00 6.1/1.42/0.95	3-2 35.2/4.54/1.35	Masterson has shown that he struggles a bit against lefties but still has to be pleased with his output so far. Tito is leery of his innings pitched, so he’s gonna get demoted soon.
Brandon Moss	.333/.333/.333 .286/.375/.714	.222/.310/.306	Moss has started getting extended playing time thanks to injuries and suspensions. It’s still yet early, but he still has an adjustment period to work through.
Hideki Okajima	9.1/0.96/1.07 14.2/0.61/0.82	9.1/9.64/2.57	Ay yi yi, what can be said? Hitters tee off his “batting practice” fastball and something is wrong. But what?
Jonathan Papelbon	12.0/1.50/0.58 13.0/2.08/1.08	8 SV 10.0/1.80/0.60	Paps has an even 2.00 ERA through June. He’s got an impressive 24 saves (pacing 48) and shows no sign of slowing down.
Dustin Pedroia	.306/.352/.423 .260/.295/.374	.356/.407/.545	Just goes to show you how streaky ballplayers are. D-Ped has quieted all whispers about him, wouldn’t you say?
Manny Ramirez	.344/.417/.594 .228/.328/.386	.286/.394/.536	A lot’s been going on lately with Manny. He’s in a slump and he uncharacteristically has gone after two people (Youkilis, McCormick) now.
Chris Smith	N/A	6.1/2.84/1.11	The 27-year old rookie is certainly impressing in the early going. He won’t stick all month, but he’s held his own. All but one out has been pitched at Fenway.
Jason Varitek	.273/.324/.485 .299/.407/.506	.122/.205/.176	I can’t muster up the strength to comment on what he did in June.
Tim Wakefield	31.0/4.06/1.48 36.0/5.25/1.31	2-1 35.0/2.31/1.00	Wake’s having yet another solid year. The ageless wonder — how much more does he have left?
Kevin Youkilis	.316/.391/.495 .300/.343/.600	.337/.415/.554	We get it, Youk. You’re good in the first half. Now show me the second.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 11:02 am and is filed under Tim Wakefield, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima, Jason Varitek, Brandon Moss, Justin Masterson, Chris Smith, David Aardsma, Sean Casey, Kevin Cash, J.D. Drew, Manny Delcarmen, Julio Lugo, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez, Mike Lowell, Craig Hansen, Coco Crisp, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Evan Brunell. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

9 Responses to “2008 June: Making do without Big Papi”

Daniel Rathman says:

July 3rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm

An unrelated note: according to RotoWorld, Timlin will be activated prior to tonight’s game. Chris Smith is expected to return to Pawtucket. My question here is: if Smith didn’t pitch yesterday, why is he the one going down? I thought the goal here was to get an extra rested reliever…we’re just trading one for another, and we can’t even be certain that we’re getting the better one of the two. This probably means that Masterson will indeed start against the Yankees on Saturday, even though Buchholz has pitched well in AAA.

In terms of the month-to-month, I think Brandon Moss will be traded before the end of the month, as part of a package either for bullpen help, or depth somewhere else. My guess (hope?) is that Buchholz will be on the August edition, and hopefully Colon as well.
Sean O says:

July 3rd, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Wait, we’re bringing back Timlin in time to face the Yankees?

Have we lost our minds?
Jc says:

July 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 pm

apparently we did, how are they going to start Masterson and his flat pitches against lefties against the Yankee lineup in that toilet is beyond me.
Jc says:

July 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm

and what is Hansen still doing up here, he has not shown anything, his command is as erratic as ever and i don’t know if that will ever change, he is not a major league reliever by any means.
Mostly Running. says:

July 3rd, 2008 at 2:01 pm

I really thought Clay was going to get the nod, but in some ways it makes sense to keep him out of the toilet for his comeback appearance. I hope Masterson doesn’t get roughed up for the sake of his pride, but it gives him a chance to go out on a high note.

Why Lowrie isn’t up is beyond me. With Crisp back, Moss should go back to Pawtucket with Hansen, Smith sticking around and good old Timlin coming back.

And I agree with Daniel regarding Moss. I like him quite a bit, but he’s going to get Murphyed in the next few weeks.
Mostly Running. says:

July 3rd, 2008 at 2:05 pm

Or is that Gabbarded? Should we deal Cora for a ptbn to give Lowrie a shot?
Daniel Rathman says:

July 3rd, 2008 at 2:33 pm

I don’t think we should trade Cora to get Lowrie up to the big leagues, unless that’s going to mean a heck of a lot more playing time than Cora’s gotten. Lowrie needs to be in the lineup everyday, and he’s better off at AAA unless we have an everyday opening in the majors.

That said, I wouldn’t be opposed to installing Lowrie as our everyday shortstop. But there’s no way that’s going to happen unless Lugo either gets stuck in Tunisia or punches Tito in a clubhouse brawl. Can we get working on making one of those happen, pronto?
gerry says:

July 4th, 2008 at 12:44 am

We are surely working up to some kind of trade, hopefully for a dynomite RP. I agree with Daniel that we don’t want Lowrie to replace Cora, and that Lowrie needs daily play to learn his craft. We need Cora to mentor Lowrie, and do well off the bench. Tonight, Julio cost us a DP, hit into another DP, and was the only Sox not to get a hit. I cheered when he actually lofted the ball to LF for a SF. He will never be happy in Boston. So, it’s Julio young Jed would replace.

I also agree that Brandon Moss is being showcased for that trade, but his progression with Murph through MiLB, I think, shows Moss will be a better hitter with similar glove. He is a solid trade chip we should part with reluctantly, but he deserves a full time job.

I can’t believe Masterson is going to pitch Sat. After these guys get beat up by Beckett, who probably will go for the jugular after what Lester did, they will be ready to explode on Saturday. Maybe it wise to shield Buchholz from this, but maybe Clay would be more prepared for this.
Mostly Running. says:

July 4th, 2008 at 1:52 am

F-Lugo is undealable. I would love to keep Cora around, but for roster space and the reality of F-Lugo’s contract, maybe we can call The Young Jedowain up and have him mentor the one whose name I will not mention again in this post. For me, if Cora is going away it’s to promote Lowrie to the primary starting role, occasionally spelling the Pedroia.

Cora deserves better than wilting on our bench. If he could offer some relief from the pen, keep him around. He can’t (to my knowledge) play the loogy and should be cut loose for some A ball prospect or goodwill with another GM. Hopefully he comes back to assume a coaching role in the future.