Red Sox in April

[Mike D.]

Well, I said at the beginning of the month, that considering all the travel the Sox had to do, and the good teams they were playing, if they finished April over .500 I'd be happy. They ended up finishing the month at 17-12, a half game up in the division on a surprising Tampa Bay squad.

When you figure in the travel, but the things we couldn't predict...the injuries and the flu that ravaged the club for more than a week, you couldn't have asked for a better April.

What are you guys thoughts?

[Boston Boxer]

i agree. and all this without Papi hitting. I would like if the pitching was a little better. we have a bunch of starters that cant throw it over the plate with any consistency and our bull pen seems to throw it over the plate too much. All in all, pretty good start

[runningshoes]

Like anyone else here, I would have liked to see Papi break out, but overall I'm satisfied with the first month.

[Mike D.]

i agree. and all this without Papi hitting. I would like if the pitching was a little better. we have a bunch of starters that cant throw it over the plate with any consistency and our bull pen seems to throw it over the plate too much. All in all, pretty good start

I think that kind of stuff is cyclical. For the last week, the pitching has been spot on, and the hitters haven't done much (granted, against some very good pitching).

[sharrock]

All things considered, the Sox survived the first month pretty well.

All my concerns are still there (one too few bullpen arms, age and injury of so many bats, Dice-K and Lester throwing too many balls)... but there have been some pleasant surprises too (Jed Lowrie, Lugo getting hot at stretches when the team was cold, Ellsbury's comfort and effectiveness).

I also feel comfortable with Cash as the new Dougie. I don;t expect his hitting to continue but he looks like the new Wakefield comfort-blanket.

[Mike D.]

All my concerns are still there (one too few bullpen arms, age and injury of so many bats, Dice-K and Lester throwing too many balls)... but there have been some pleasant surprises too (Jed Lowrie, Lugo getting hot at stretches when the team was cold, Ellsbury's comfort and effectiveness).

One thing that has been nice is the depth the team has had. When Lowell went down, Youk played 3rd and Casey was inserted at first. When Casey got hurt, Youk went back to first and Lowrie came up to play 3b with Cora hurting. I think both Moss and Lowrie showing they're capable of playing in the big leagues right now has been huge, and having a guy like Casey on the bench is great, too.

As far as bullpen arms, I agree another would be good. I'm interested to see if that person can come internally. Maybe Hansen or Hull from AAA, and they still have Corey and Snyder there, as well. Also, a guy like Masterson or Bowden coming up at some point from AA to pitch out of the pen seems reasonable.

[efin98]

Cash could have been a huge flop and turned out to be pretty decent if not better than Mirabelli for them.

Lowell went down and Casey and Lowrie picked up the load great.

The two rookies have done their jobs as well as you could have hoped.

Papi's injury and struggles have made others pick up their game at the plate and hasn't sent them into a spiral as we would have expected.

That's a huge month for them considering all that they had against them. They came out on top in a surprisingly strong division this year. Anything above .500 is reason to celebrate.

[sharrock]

One thing that has been nice is the depth the team has had. When Lowell went down, Youk played 3rd and Casey was inserted at first. When Casey got hurt, Youk went back to first and Lowrie came up to play 3b with Cora hurting. I think both Moss and Lowrie showing they're capable of playing in the big leagues right now has been huge, and having a guy like Casey on the bench is great, too.

As far as bullpen arms, I agree another would be good. I'm interested to see if that person can come internally. Maybe Hansen or Hull from AAA, and they still have Corey and Snyder there, as well. Also, a guy like Masterson or Bowden coming up at some point from AA to pitch out of the pen seems reasonable.

You're right about the depth. Another benefit of having a good farm system.

Perhaps one of the minor league guys can come up and give the Sox 30 or 40 innings of good relief. I probably have more optimism about that than some of the spare parts finding their stuff again. I still hope Timlin can find a groove and provide some crucial ground balls later in the season.