It’s a shame Buchholz couldn’t stay in for the entire game.  He threw 101 pitches after seven innings of work.  Did I mention that those seven innings were shutout innings? He gave up three walks, two hits, and no runs.  And let’s not forget about his eight strikeouts, of course.

His first strikeout came in the first; it was called and ended with a curveball.  No strikeouts in the second, but it’s worth mentioning that it was a one-two-three inning that required three groundouts on ten pitches to finish.  Buchholz gave up a single in the third, but his three outs all came via the K: one swinging on a fastball, one looking on a fastball, and one swinging on a curveball.  He got another swinging strikeout on a curveball in the next frame.  And he completed a textbook, three-pitch strikeout to end the fifth; it was another one-two-three inning, and it ended on a ninety-five mile-per-hour fastball.  The sixth was yet another one-two-three inning ending with a called strike on a fastball clocked at ninety-six.  Buchholz ended his start in the spirit in which he pitched it: with a three-pitch strikeout, called on a fast fastball.

It was most definitely Buchholz’s best start to date.  Keep in mind, of course, that that doesn’t say much.  Usually that means that what you’re describing wasn’t actually that good.  In this case, it means that the general body of work to which you’re comparing what you’re describing wasn’t actually that bad.  I still can’t get over the fact that his ERA is 1.01.

It took the efforts of both Wilson and Mortensen to pitch the eighth.  Wilson gave up a single and an RBI triple in addition to a walk and two strikeouts; Mortensen secured the last out of the frame.

In the end, we provided a substantial cushion for the entire pitching staff.  The difference between yesterday’s game and Monday’s game was the pitching performance.  And a few extra runs for good measure.

The Jays’ staff was as horrendous as ours was glorious.  Other than Ellsbury’s single, nothing happened in the first.  The second began with two flyouts, but then Middlebrooks got hit and the Jays paid.  Drew took a fastball for a ball and then got one he liked and laid into it, smacking it out to right for a two-run shot.

Gomes walked in the third, but nothing else happened.  Then the fourth rolled around, and it was awesome.  Napoli and Nava smacked back-to-back jacks.  They both unleashed on the third pitches of their at-bats; Napoli got a changeup and Nava got a cutter, and the two were almost the same speed.  Napoli hit his ball out to center, and Nava hit his out  to left.  It’s always a pleasure to do that double-take and then realize that you’re actually seeing two home runs, not simply replays of one hit earlier.  We went down in order in the fifth.  We had the bases loaded in the sixth with one out, but Drew ground into a double play to end the rally before it got started.  Either way, at that point we could have just stopped playing, and we would have been fine.

But we didn’t.  With two out in the seventh, Gomes walked, Pedroia singled, and Gomes scored on a wild pitch.  Papi walked intentionally, and Napoli worked the count 3-0.  He got a fastball and crushed it to left center.  One swing.  Three runs.  If a game could be won by degrees, then the game was really, really won at that point.

We had two runners in scoring position in the eighth but did nothing with the opportunity.  Not so in the ninth.  Pedroia grounded out to lead it off, and then Carp got in on the long ball action.  During that at-bat, he received nothing but sinkers.  Four straight.  He took the first two for balls, the third for a strike, and he homered on the fourth.  Then Napoli doubled and scored on a single by Nava.

All told, we racked up eleven hits.  Two of them were doubles, and four were home runs, two of which were Napoli’s.  Papi’s double extended his hitting streak to twenty-two games, a career high.  So more than half of our hits were for extra bases.  We went two for eight with runners in scoring position and left six on base.  But I really don’t think that there’s anything to complain about.  It was just a good, old-fashioned slugfest.  We won, 10-1.  It felt good.  And it felt right.

In other news, the B’s beat the Leafs, 4-1.

CP Photo

Stephen Drew, Daniel Nava and Mike Carp also homered for the Red Sox, who lead the major leagues with a 19-8 record. Buchholz (6-0) allowed just two singles over seven shutout innings, lowering his earned-run average to 1.01.

The right-hander walked three and had eight strikeouts, throwing 66 of his 101 pitches for strikes. Buchholz leads the major leagues with six victories on the season.

Napoli put the game away with his second home run of the game. He hit a three-run shot in Boston’s four-run seventh inning and the rout was on at Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays, last in the American League East at 10-18, scored their lone run in the eighth when Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., tripled to score Maicer Izturis.

Boston got to Toronto starter Mark Buehrle (1-2) in the second inning. Will Middlebrooks reached after being hit by a pitch and Stephen Drew followed with his first homer of the season.

Drew pulled a 1-0 fastball into the second deck just inside the right-field foul pole.

Buchholz, meanwhile, breezed through the first few innings. Munenori Kawasaki had the first Toronto hit with a one-out single in the third but was left stranded when Lawrie and Colby Rasmus struck out.

The Red Sox used the long ball again in the fourth inning.

Napoli crushed a no-doubt blast to deep centre field for his fifth homer of the season. Daniel Nava followed with a solo shot of his own, also his fifth homer on the year, to make it a four-run game.

The Red Sox loaded the bases in the sixth but Buehrle got out of the jam with a double play.

The veteran left-hander was pulled with two outs in the seventh after issuing a walk to Jonny Gomes. Buehrle gave up five earned runs, seven hits, three walks and had one strikeout.

Reliever Esmil Rogers came on and gave up a single to Dustin Pedroia to put runners on the corners. Rogers then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Gomes to score Boston’s fifth run.

Pedroia advanced to second and Ortiz was intentionally walked. Napoli then swatted a monster blast into the third deck in left-centre field to make it 8-0.

The Blue Jays threatened in the bottom half of the frame. Adam Lind drew a one-out walk and moved to third when Melky Cabrera singled to right field.

Cabrera tried to stretch it into a double but Nava threw a strike to second base to get him by a few feet. J.P. Arencibia struck out to end the threat.

Izturis singled off reliever Alex Wilson in the eighth inning for Toronto’s third hit of the game. Wilson was pulled after walking Jose Bautista.

Clayton Mortensen came on in relief and got Edwin Encarnacion to ground out.

Carp hit a solo shot off reliever Justin Germano in the ninth inning. Napoli added a ground-rule double and scored on a Nava single.

Boston outhit Toronto 15-4. The game took two hours 52 minutes to play and announced attendance was 21,094.

The Boston Red Sox just finished one of the best months in team history, going 18-8 for the best record in the League, and surprising many nay-sayers (this one included) with a pitching staff that has topped many categories – and expectations.  After nine runs allowed Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Sox stood at fifth in the AL with a 3.58 ERA and led the league in strikeouts, compiling an amazing 255 in just 231 innings!  They also held batters to a league-low .224 batting average.  As anyone can attest to, pitching wins championships and if 2013 continues the way it has been, the Sox will be in the hunt come September.

 Then there’s the offense which has been tougher to figure out.  Boston is currently third in runs scored, all the while seeing Dustin Pedroia put up just six extra base hits (all doubles).  Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been frustrating to watch, Shane Victorino has seen even less extra base tallies than Pedey, Jackie Bradley was demoted after failing to show the promise he garnered in spring, and Stephen Drew and Will Middlebrooks have slumped badly.  And did I mention they are THIRD in runs scored?  David Ortiz came off the DL a man on a mission (.500, 3 HR, 15 RBI) and Mike Napoli has provided run production that has been keeping pace with the Miguel Cabrera’s and Prince Fielder’s of the world.  

It’s certainly been an unbelievable transformation to watch, which brings us to the caution part of this tale.  The last time Boston started this good was in 2002 as they set the league on fire to a 40-17 start.  It didn’t take long for the bottom to fall out, however, and even at a respectable 93-69 conclusion, still finished 10 1/2 games behind the Yankees (And six out of the wild-card spot).  So why the worry on this 2013 team?  Why am I trying to rain on the parade here anyways?  Well, 2002 had plenty that this team just does not.  Grady Little’s Sox had a still-in-his-prime Pedro Martinez (20-4 2.26 ERA 0.923 WHIP) and a dominant Derek Lowe (anyone else remember that 21-8, 2.58 0.974 line he put up?).  The lineup, pre-Ortiz, was also very good with Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez powering the middle, as well as a nice trade-deadline pick-up in Cliff Floyd.

While the Lester/Buchholz duo has been lights out thus far, there’s every reason to just remain grounded when considering the recent track record for both in inconsistencies and injuries.  Can Lester regain his 2006-2011 form?  Can Clay finally pitch himself over the 200 inning mark and sustain his dominance in a pennant race?  And what of the rotation behind them?  Felix Doubront has been shaky, and John Lackey is still a major question mark.  

The Red Sox need to face tougher opponents to really gather real intelligence about who they really are.  Of the 18 wins, 12 have come against teams with a losing record, while they are 6-6 in games against teams over .500.  A big test will come Friday as they begin a three-game set against the Texas Rangers, then later in the month on the road vs. Tampa – who are starting to look much different from the team they swept two weeks ago.

There’s every reason to stay hopeful of what this team can do.  They are very much a reincarnation of the Dirt-Dogs that once roamed the Fenway grounds. The question is whether or not that fight and grit can be enough to beat some of the more talent-laden clubs.  If so, this could be one of the greatest redemption stories Red Sox Nation has ever witnessed.  Perhaps fans of this generation will sip a few beers long into the night with their Grandfather and debate: Which was the best season?  The 1967 Impossible Dream, or the 2013 awakening of a long, long nightmare?

Jay Coorey – MLB Contributor - Title Town Sports

Catcher:
1) Carlos Santana
2) Mike Napoli
3) J.P. Arencibia

Carlos Santana is where he should be on this list, and I don’t expect him to be dethroned from this position at any point during the season. Based on how well Napoli has played at Fenway so far, I could see him remaining in the top 3 as well. Sadly for J.P., I expect that he will be uprooted from this list eventually, not necessarily because he can’t sustain his numbers across the entire season, but more so because of the strength of other catchers. Whether it be Matt Wieters, Joe Mauer, or even A.J. Pierzynski, I suspect that one of them will outperform Arencibia when the fantasy dust settles.

1B:
1) Chris Davis
2) Mark Reynolds
3) Prince Fielder

It’s safe to say that Prince was the only first basemen expected to occupy the top 3, with Davis and Reynolds being two of the bigger surprises so far this season. It’s not that they weren’t expected to mash the ball, as their power was never in question, but batting averages of .348 and .301? I would be stunned if either player finishes the season above .300, so some form of regression is very much expected. With the likes of Albert Pujols, Edwin Encarnacion and David Ortiz in the mix, I expect Davis and Reynolds to fall out of the top 3 by the All-Star Break.

2B:
1) Robinson Cano
2) Ian Kinsler
3) Dustin Pedroia

Nothing much to say here, as they are clearly the top three 2B in the AL. If anything, Kinsler and Pedroia may swap positions, but I don’t see any of them being surpassed as the season progresses.

3B:
1) Miguel Cabrera
2) Josh Donaldson
3) Manny Machado

Barring injury, there is no chance that Miggy will find himself anywhere but at the top of this list. Conversely, Donaldson and Machado are huge surprises up to this point. They were both considered sleepers going in to the season, but I simply don’t expect them to sustain this level of production over a full season. At least not yet. Not to mention, they’ll have to hold off guys like Evan Longoria and Adrian Beltre, and I doubt they have the tools to do so.

SS:
1) Jed Lowrie
2) Alcides Escobar
3) Ben Zobrist

Though I doubt anyone would have predicted this combination as the top 3, it’s entirely realistic to think that these three shortstops could stay where they are, or at worst swap positions with each other. I’m not surprised to see Escobar and Zobrist on the list, as I had them both in my top 5 SS list coming into the season. As for Lowrie, the key for him is to stay healthy, something he has yet to accomplish in his first five seasons. With Jose Reyes out for months, and guys like Elvis Andrus & Asdrubal Cabrera struggling, it’s entirely feasible that we’re already looking at our top 3 SS for 2013.

OF:
1) Coco Crisp
2) Nate McLouth
3) Adam Jones

Of all the offensive positions, this top 3 was by far the most unlikely. Adam Jones is a stud, so his presence here is by no means a surprise. Conversely, I had Crisp outside of my top 10 going into the season, and McLouth a ways further down the list. Given that Crisp is now sidelined until mid-May with a hamstring injury, he will almost certainly slide down the list, and I simply don’t believe that McLouth will come close to sustaining his ridiculous first month. With so many options at OF, including Mike Trout, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jose Bautista, it’s likely that we’ll have a much different top 3 come season’s end.

Needless to say, it’s impossible to draw any solid conclusions from the first month of the season. More than anything, it’s just interesting to see which players have started off hotter than a pistol. If you look at your own fantasy league, there’s a good chance that the standings will in part reflect these hot starts. Case in point, the leader of my league happens to own the top C, SS, OF and 2nd-best 3B on the above lists.

I’ll be reviewing American League pitching tomorrow, so stay tuned…

EB

Take that experts!  I feel pretty good considering I kept saying that I liked this team and it’s makeup in the off-season.  We got back to basics with scrappy, hard working guys and pitching.  John Farrell has revived Buchholz and Lester and it looks like Lackey has remembered how to pitch.

So it obviously begs the question, one month in, how good can this team be?  With Big Papi rolling so far and a team that seems to be enjoying itself again, I think they keep on keepin’ on.  The only thing that’ll slow this team down is injuries but that’s true for every team in the league.  The nice thing about this squad is that it has depth all over the place.  There are players in AAA that could step in now if needed and potentially fill a roll.  There’s money to spend if we want to upgrade at or before the trade deadline.

Most importantly though, they’ve gotten back to having fun.  Now, I know it’s fun while you are winning, but isn’t that the point I’m trying to make?  The Red Sox have been good for a long time.  Even last year they were a team that on paper was supposed to win, but they weren’t having fun.  I believe those two go hand in hand for this organization.  It’s a tough town to play in and our players should reflect the hard working, blue collar people of Boston.  Right now they seem to be just doing that.   Being more like players like Dustin Pedroia and less like last year’s team as a whole.  Letting leaders like Papi keep the clubhouse loose but backing it up with fire when he’s on the field.

So I think they’re going to keep winning and go to the playoffs.  I know it’s early but this team has the mental makeup to be successful.  Gone are the Beckett’s and Gonzalez’ and Crawford’s who for whatever reason couldn’t handle the spotlight (in Beckett’s case I think the relationship soured.)  Young guys who have grown up in the organization mixed with guys who give 100% has lead this team to the best record in the bigs and there’s no reason it can’t continue.

Plus it’s great to be ahead of Baltimore Orioles since I live here and have to listen to them talk about how they own the Sox and how they’re the team to beat.  Hey guys, check the standings.  One year of success doesn’t mean you own the AL East.  Get back to me when you win the World Series or you actually ahead of the Geriatric Yankees.

The Jays struck first.  Lester began with a groundout on three pitches, a sufficient start indeed.  But then he gave up a walk followed by an RBI double.  Neither team scored in the second, but Lester had a horrible third.  He gave up a single, hit a batter, and issued a walk.  Then Salty tried to lessen the load by picking one off, but it only served to allow a run to score, as the throw was erroneous.  It was an awful, awful play to witness.  Awful.  Two quick outs later, Lester gave up another RBI double.

He had a one-two-three fourth and a two-run-homer fifth; Lester gave up a single to lead it off, got an out, and threw a big mistake of a fastball.  And he had a one-two-three sixth.

All told, Lester lasted six innings.  He gave up six runs on six hits while walking two and striking out five.  So his strikeout count was low and his hit count was high.  He threw one hundred pitches, which is his usual count after at least one inning more.  Basically, he had trouble finding the strike zone.  That didn’t turn into a high walk count; it just turned into a handful of hits and runs and balls.  So it’s like I said.  Great game if you win or if you’re used to a lot worse.  Not-so-great game if you’re Jon Lester.

We were down by four by the fourth, when we finally scored.  And we scored in a big way.  Papi was first up.  He took a ninety-four mile-per-hour four-seam for a strike.  Then he got a ninety-five mile-per-hour four-seam and took the cover off it.  Or at least that’s what it looked like would happen when he unleashed his epic swing on it and buried it in center field.  Then Napoli struck out; you’d think it would have been him who continued the rally.  But it was Carp, who’s been quietly having quite the offensive stretch.  He took an eighty-four mile-per-hour splitter for a ball and then crushed an eighty-nine mile-per-hour slider for the second solo shot of the frame.  His ended up beyond the fence in right center field.

The fifth began with back-to-back singles by Drew and Ellsbury; one out later, Drew scored on a single by Pedroia.  Gomes got in on the power action in the sixth; with a 2-2 count, Gomes got a two-seam he liked and unleashed, sending the ball out to left center.  It was all Papi again in the seventh; after Drew struck out, Ellsbury singled, Nava reached on a force attempt, and Pedroia walked.  Papi then hit a bases-clearing double.  It wasn’t a home run, but the effect was remarkably similar.

At the time, this allowed us to pull ahead, and things were looking good.  But then Tazawa pitched the seventh and didn’t do so well himself.  The first two outs of the inning went well, but then he issued a walk followed by a home run of his own that, at the time, put the Jays back on top.  See, this is exactly what I’m talking about.  How often have I said that relievers should be wary of making mistakes when we’re winning because, at some point, it’s bound to happen when the game is on the line.  Last night, the game was on the line.  The odds of Lester and Tazawa both having mediocre performances during the same game were obviously pretty close to nonexistent, but during such a long season, at some point everything happens.  And it happened yesterday.

Twice.  Hanrahan came back.  But it wasn’t good.  He gave up a single, a successful sac bunt, and another single deflected by Pedroia, which allowed the runner to score.  Meanwhile, we’d been coming up empty since the seventh.  Seven runs should be more than enough to win any game, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the damage done by the pitchers.  We lost, 9-7.  So much for our five-game winning streak.

In other news, the Bruins lost to the Sens, 4-2.

Getty Images

Last Five Years:
2012:  69 – 93 (5th, AL East)
2011:  90 – 72 (3rd, Crashed AL East)
2010:  89 – 73 (3rd, AL East)
2009:  95 – 67 (2nd, AL East)
2008:  95 – 67 (2nd, AL East)

In general, the trend is working in the wrong direction, but if Bob McGrath were singing “Which One of These Things is Not Like the Other…”, we’d single out the Bobby Valentine era as the odd ball.  The Sox have averaged about 88 wins a season.  Without checking any of the rest of it, to guess that the Sox could bounce back to 75 – 80 wins wouldn’t have been an improbable prediction.

Runs Scored:  734 (5th in the AL)
Runs Allowed:  806 (13th in the AL – ouch)

Runs in Fenway Park: 842, tops in the AL
Runs on the road: 698, 9th in the AL

So, for 2012, Fenway – always a good hitter’s park, was even more so last season.

Season Recap:

Mixed previews….  Some people thought the Sox would remain competitive, having spent a lot of money to bring in veteran talent.  Many thought the hiring of Bobby Valentine might be an odd way to mix things up following the firing of Terry Francona.  I’ll say…

The team got off to a bland start, but a nice streak of six wins got the team back to .500 as the month of April ended.  Losing nine of ten, the Sox fell out of the race as Bobby Valentine was losing his clubhouse as fast as you can say “Kevin Youkilis wasn’t mentally ready to play.”  To the Sox credit, they battled back to 21 – 21 and a second hot streak got the Sox to 42 – 37 right as July began.

At that point, the Sox fell out of contention. They sputtered through August, first slowly, and then – starting on about 8/19 – they fell off the map.  The Sox would give up ten or more runs in a game every week or more – seven times in the last 38 games.  As August ended, the Sox traded away a bunch of people who were seen as under-producing (Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford) and turned it over to the next wave of Sox players.  The Astros played better in September.  The Sox won just 27 of their last 83 games; and went 10 – 31 in the last 41 games.

Transactions:

Some minor moves before the season – resigning Cody Ross and David Ortiz, and trading Marco Scutaro to Colorado for Clayton Mortensen.  I can’t prove it, but maybe the season went south when they signed pitcher Billy Buckner on 2/29.

Actually, the were proving an interest in Chicago.  The traded Michael Bowden to the Cubs for Marlon Byrd.  Ouch – he was released in June.  The signed Mark Prior to a minor league deal.  The picked up former ChiSox outfielder Scott Podsednik when outfielders were hard to find in May.  Kevin Youkilis was moved to the White Sox in June for Brent Lillibridge and Zach Stewart.  I don’t see that working out…  They even sold Justin Germano (to the Cubs) and released Bobby Jenks (former Sox closer) – and in a related moved, signed Andy LaRoche, whose dad was a pitcher for the Cubs…  Look – the Cubs stink, and while the White Sox were pretty good, cast offs aren’t going to help…

Here’s a move I don’t understand.  They traded away Podsednik to Arizona, then signed him when Arizona released Podsednik.

I mentioned the big sell off – the Sox traded Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Nick Punto, and CASH to the Dodgers for James Loney, Ivan DeJesus, Allen Webster, and two guys who arrived in October – Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands.

Starting Pitching:

Jon Lester had an off season, falling from ace to league average pitcher.  Clay Buchholz fell from surprise ace to league average.  Josh Beckett fell from famous pitcher who sometimes looks dominating to a shade below league average (and with a 5 – 11 record, looks worse than he really was).  Daisuke Matsuzaka went 1 – 7 with an ERA north of 8.00, Daniel Bard proved he was a reliever in 10 starts, Aaron Cook was given 18 starts to prove he was done (5.65 ERA).  Felix Doubront looked tolerable in 29 starts – I think he can build on that.

Going forward, the Red Sox could make immediate gains if Lester and Buchholz just got back half of what they lost in 2012 – that’s 30 saved runs.  Getting a fourth starter that could be CLOSE to league average to replace Dice-K and Cook could save 30 runs.  Replacing Josh Beckett with Ryan Dempster looks to be a wash – Dempster was awesome in Chicago, but rocked in Texas.  Boston just feels more like his kind of place – I think he can be at least league average in 30 starts, which is still better than 21 Josh Beckett starts and 10 bad Daniel Bard starts…  If Doubront doesn’t fall back and if John Lackey ever gets healthy, who knows.  I like the rotation to be 50 – 60 runs better than last year.

Bullpen:

Losing Andrew Bailey, who was brutal, and having to use Alfredo Aceves as a closer was bad.  I know Aceves got 25 saves, but the two combined to cost the Sox six unnecessary runs.  The rest of the pen was a nice patch work of guys like Junichi Tazawa, Andrew Miller, Rich Hill, Clayton Mortensen, Vincente Padilla, and Matt Albers.  Sure, they had a few sore thumbs (I’m looking at you, Mark Melancon and Zach Stewart), but every bullpen has one or two.

This year, the Sox signed Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan, have Andrew Bailey back, and added Koji Uehara to Tunizawa, Miller, and Mortensen.  This could be a bullpen that is ten runs better than last year.

Catching:

I’m thinking that the Sox missed their captain, the retired Jason Varitek.  Boston gave the job to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, with Kelly Shoppach (now gone) and Ryan Lavarnway as backups.  People could run on both Salty and Lavarnway (108 stolen, 21 caught), and as a unit, the team was below average in winning percentage, team ERA, and tended to be error prone.  The only category in which Boston catchers were above average was mobility (assists not tied to caught stealing), and that’s not saying a whole lot.

Shoppach was their best defensive catcher, had the best batting rates (5 runs per 27 outs, the only above average offensive player) – so he’s gone.  I know – Saltalamacchia hit 25 homers, but he batted .222 with a sub .300 OBP.  He hit like Jason Varitek did at the end, but with no defensive positives.  Salty is back, but the Sox did bring in David Ross from Atlanta, who is a fine catcher and should get at least 500 innings of work.

Infield:

Adrian Gonzalez was underperforming, maybe, but he was still hitting .300 with 37 doubles and 86 RBI with a month to go.  And, he was saving them 35 runs with his glove in five months – gold glove play.  James Loney can’t hope to replace that – so the Sox let him leave and signed Mike Napoli to play there.  Napoli is an underrated catcher – I’d let him do that from time to time and try to find a better hitter (Daniel Nava?) to play first.  Dustin Pedroia was productive but his range is falling quickly.  Never GREAT before, he cost the team more than 15 runs because he makes nearly nine fewer plays per 870 balls in play than the average second sacker.  Mike Aviles was a below average hitter – first time in a full season he did that – but ordinary at short.   The Sox will try Stephen Drew there in 2013 – and I think he’s going to be a weak fielder and I fear he may not be that great a hitter anymore.  He has the tools to be, but it’s been a while.  If he hits his 150 game norms, he’s not going to be appreciably better than Mike Aviles overall.  A few more runs on the board for both teams…  The one place Boston may improve is at third, where Will Middlebrooks will get full time duty.  Youkilis struggled last season, so if Middlebrooks can match his half season stats across a full season, that will help.  He is NOT in Youkilis’s league as a fielder, but Youk was fading there last year.

As a whole, this group will likely be 50 runs worse defensively, but break even offensively.

Outfield:

A team that had so many injuries, nine guys played in left, eleven guys played in center, and eleven more played in right.  With Crawford gone, the Sox may try Jackie Bradley (he already got sent back) in left, or Daniel Nava.  They need a full (and productive) season from centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury – who is, at best, a league average fielder but CAN be a crazy good hitter.  Cody Ross is gone; Shane Victorino, who is as productive a hitter and a slightly better fielder will play right.  If Nava can step forward and get on base, or at least be a solid platoon with Jonny Gomes, and Ellsbury can get healthy, there is a chance for 40 – 50 extra runs on the board with little change in defensive value.

DH/Bench:

David Ortiz should be around for 25 more games than the 90 games he played last year, but at his age, he might decline some.  Nava can play all over, Victorino can spell Ellsbury if needed, and Pedro Ciriaco will be the utility infielder.  Not a bad bunch.

On the Farm!

At Pawtucket, the only prospect from 2012 may have been catcher Ryan Lavernway, who hit .295 and played with the big club.  He’s at least a good backup.  The best pitcher was probably Justin Germano, but he is 29 and now a Cub.  He’s no prospect.

2010 first round pick Bryce Brentz hit .296 at Portland (AA), showing power, and might make the big club this year.  Jackie Bradley didn’t look overmatched in his 61 games there – he was a 2011 first rounder.  Stolmy Pimentel didn’t look as strong as he had previously.  The reliever with promise may be Aaron Kurcz, who fanned 72 in 50 innings, but is wild.  2008 first round pick Joshua Fields is getting there – better control and 59 Ks in his 44 innings.  Unfortunately, he’s an Astro right now…

Look out for 3B Michael Almanzar, who hit .300 with power at A+ Salem.  He and SS Xander Bogaerts, who is just 20, will follow in the shoes of Jackie Bradley one day.  1B Travis Shaw had Adrian Gonzalez numbers there – but I don’t think that’s what he will be when he gets to the majors…  Keith Couch is looking close to being a prospect after going 11 – 9 with good control in 145.2 innings.  The better prospect might be Matt Barnes, the 2011 top pick, who strikes people out and is building a solid minor league resume very quickly.

Forecast:

Well, when I add up the offensive gains and the defensive gains (pitching) and losses (infield gloves), I see the Sox making strides toward .500.  I see them scoring about 65 more runs, and maybe saving five to ten runs over last year.  That puts them around 800 runs scored and allowed – or 81 wins.  I’m not convinced the hot start is going to stay for the year, but it will be a better season for Sox fans than 2012.

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 Tuesday April.30/2013

The Red Sox dumped about $250 Million in player salaries during the 2012 campaign and have put it to good use. The remarkable thing is, not only did they dump all that salary on the Dodgers, but they also acquired some solid arms that are now honing their skills in Pawtucket. The Red Sox payroll looks much better than it did a year ago.

By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer and Red Sox Correspondent): Follow @ryandana1

As it stands now, the Red Sox payroll is at about $157 Million. Below I will show a list of player salaries which comprise most of the budget.

We must also remember that last summer’s blockbuster deal/salary dump on the Dodgers holds Boston responsible for $3.9 Million of the salaries in 2013 of players they traded away.

On top of that there is about $10 Million that must be figured in for benefits/incentive purposes. This list will be in descending order of salary (average annual salary to be more specific) among players on the Red Sox payroll.

David Ortiz:  This Is Our —— city – Mature dialogue so Parental Guidance is  a must.

Sometimes it was easier for Lackey not to look for both the Red Sox and fans for his 1st year in Boston.  Lackey is now in the 4th year of a 5 YR/$82.5 MIL contract he signed prior to the 2014 year.

1. John Lackey: (34) SP – $16.5 Million (Signed through 2014 – The Vesting Option in 2015 became a mere 500 K Salary when Lackey missed time for his elbow.  So now it essentially is a 6 YR/$83 MIL deal).  Still not a friendly team contract.

2. Ryan Dempster: (35) SP -  $13.25 Million (Signed a 2 YR/$26.5 MIL deal – with 2013 and 2014 both featuring the $13.25 MIL Salary.)

3. David Ortiz: (37) DH - $13 Million (Signed a 2 YR/$26 MIL deal prior to this season and will be a Free Agent after 2014). This will be just fine for the big man providing he stays healthy.

4. Shane Victorino: (32) OF – $13 Million (Signed a 3 YR/$39 MIL deal that pays him $13 MIL per year from 2013 – 2015.)

5. Stephen Drew: (30) SS – $9.5 Million (Signed a 1 Year Deal and is a Free Agent in 2014.)

6. Jacoby Ellsbury: (29) OF – $9 Million (Becomes A Free Agent for the 2014 Year.) The Red Sox will at least throw out a qualifying offer for one year to receive a compensatory pick if Ellsbury signs with another franchise next year.

7. Clay Buchholz: (28) SP - $7.5 Million (Signed through 2015 with two Team Options afterwards.  In 2014, he will receive $7.7 MIL, 2015 will be a $12 MIL Salary.  There is a Team Option in 2016 for $13 MIL or a 245 K Buyout.)  There is a $13.5 Team Option for 2017 (becomes $14 MIL if Buchholz finishes 1st or 2nd in AL Cy Young Voting during the contract – or now just this year).  There is a 500K Buyout for the 2017 Salary.

8. Joel Hanrahan: (31) CL – $7.04 Million (Free Agent in 2014.)

9. Dustin Pedroia: (29) 2B – $6.80 Million (Is Signed though the 2014 year (2014 Salary is $10 MIL) and has a Team Option for 2015 ($11.0 MIL) or a 500K Buyout.  The Team Option and Buyout would be relinquished if Pedroia is traded because he was the 2008 AL MVP

10. Jon Lester: (29) SP – $6 Million (Has a Team Option for 2014 – at $13 MIL or a 250 K Buyout).  Lester can opt out of the Team Option if he finishes 1st or 2nd in AL CY Voting this year.

11. Jonny Gomes: (32) OF/DH – $5 Million (Gomes is also signed for 2014 at $5MIL – before becoming a Free Agent in 2015.)

12. Mike Napoli: (31) 1B/DH/C $5 Million (Napoli is a Free Agent in 2014 and will command a hefty payraise if he continues his hot start.)

13. Jarrod Saltalamacchia: (27) C – $4.5 Million (Is a Free Agent in 2014.)

14. Koji Uehara:  (38) RP – $4.25 Million (Uehara has one more year left of Arbitration before hitting Free Agency in 2015.)

15. Andrew Bailey: (28) RP – $4.1 Million  (Bailey has one more year left of Arbitration before hitting Free Agency in 2015.)

16. David Ross: (36) C – $3.1 Million (Ross has the same $3.1 MIL Salary for 2014 before becoming a Free Agent in 2015.)

17. Alfredo Aceves: (30) SP/RP -2.65 Million (Aceves is Arbitration Eligible in 2014 and a Free Agent in 2015.)

18. Craig Breslow: (32) RP – $2.3 Million (Breslow’s current contract has him making $3.8 MIL in 2014 – and the club has a Team Option of $4 MIL for 2015..or a Buyout of 100K.)

19. Jose Iglesias: (23) SS – $2.1 Million (Iglesias is Pre – Arbitration Eligible.  He is Arbitration Eligible in 2016 and a Free Agent in 2019.)

20. Franklin Morales: (27) RP – $1.48 Million (Morales is Arbitration Eligible in 2014 and a Free Agent in 2015.)

21. Andrew Miller: (27) RP – $1.48 Million (Miller is Arbitration Eligible in 2014 and a Free Agent in 2015.)

22. Junichi Tazawa: (26) RP – $815K (Arbitration Eligible in 2014 and a Free Agent in 2017.)

23. Felix Doubront: (25) SP – $519K (Arbitration Eligible in 2015 and a Free Agent in 2018,)

24. Mike Carp: (26) 1B/OF – $509K (Arbitration Eligible in 2014 and a Free Agent in 2017.)

25. Daniel Nava: (27) OF – $506K (Arbitration Eligible in 2015 and a Free Agent in 2018.)

26. Clayton Mortensen: (28) RP – $505K (Arbitration Eligible in 2015 and a Free Agent in 2018.)

27. Pedro Ciriaco:  (27) INF – $503K  (Arbitration Eligible in 2015 and a Free Agent in 2018.)

28. Ryan Kalish: (25) OF – $498K (Arbitration Eligible in 2015 and a Free Agent in 2018.)

29. Will Middlebrooks: (24) 3B – $498K (Arbitration Eligible in 2015 and a Free Agent in 2018.)

30. Jackie Bradley Jr.: (23) LF – $490K  (Arbitration Eligible in 2014 and a Free Agent in 2017.)

So now you can easily see where the Red Sox $157 Million is committed for 2013. What does this all mean though?

The Luxury Tax Threshold is $178 Million in 2013, which leaves the Red Sox with about $21 Million in available payroll.

This leaves them in a very good position come the trade deadline to add what they need without much worry of Salary implications (for this season at least). There won’t be many scenarios where they will be able to get players that will cost $21 Million or more for the last 2 months of the season.

After nearly a month of play, the Red Sox have the best record in baseball (trust me I don’t get tired of reminding people of this). Payroll flexibility could be a great asset to them and their expected playoff push.

As far as what they might do with this money they have to spend for the rest of this season, I have no idea. They don’t seem to have any glaring needs as of now…but we all know how that can change in a hurry.

Then there is also the thought that upper management isn’t really too eager to spend it. I think they truly do care about winning more than saving a couple million dollars, but the Red Sox could very well end the season having spent well short of the Luxury Tax Threshold.

I hate to look too far into the future when the present is so nice right now, but I think the Red Sox payroll is more exciting with future implications.

There is a lot of money coming off the books after this season (unfortunately Lackey’s absurd salary isn’t one of them) and the Luxury Tax Threshold is supposed to increase up to $189 Million for 2014.

Drew, Ellsbury, Hanrahan, Napoli, Salty, and Uehara are all Post Arbitration Eligible Free Agents at year’s end. So keep in mind the Sox may want to use some of their money to re-sign some of them, but the estimated payroll for 2014 is about $142 Million, $47 Million below the threshold right now.

Jacoby Ellsbury might never put up numbers like he did in 2011, but he will have plenty of suitors in free agency if he can just stay healthy all year.

This would open up a great opportunity to re-sign Ellsbury if the Red Sox would like to keep him in their long term plans. There is still a lot to think about on this topic as this season will have a great effect, for better or worse, on his market. Staying healthy is the key for him.

Assuming he is healthy and has a solid 2013 season, I believe Napoli is almost a must re-sign and not just because he has 27 RBI and counting in the 1^st month of the season. The Red Sox don’t have much for 1^st baseman in their system, and there likely won’t be much for 2014 free agent options at 1^st base either.

The Red Sox got Napoli as a steal this offseason. They originally had a 3 YR/39 Million Dollar deal worked out (the same figures Victorino and the Sox agreed to) but due to medical concerns with Napoli’s hip, they restructured the deal to 1 YR/ 5 Million Dollars.

I mentioned earlier that the Red Sox won’t be able to get out of John Lackey’s contract in 2014, however, in 2015 the Lackey era in Boston may very well be over. With the largest annual salary on the club, and a level of production that doesn’t even warrant a fraction of it (to this point) the Red Sox can buy out Lackey’s final year for just Half a Million Dollars.

Re-signing Salty is another big decision to make. They have David Ross under contract for 2014, and they still have Ryan Lavarnway in AAA. It doesn’t really make sense to have all 3, but Lavarnway really needs to show he can be a capable Major League Catcher if he wants a future with the Red Sox. His development will play a big role in whether Salty re-signs or not.

Ryan Lavarnway is off to a good start in AAA thus far in 2013 hitting .313/.433/.438 in 13 Games. Will his Minor League success translate to the Majors in the near future?

The Red Sox have a very good farm system that should be producing young, cost-controlled, Major Leaguers for some years as long as they don’t trade them away. This should keep the Red Sox future payrolls in check while allowing them to go out and fill any deficiencies in their system with whatever free agents they like.

These are the things that stand out to me about the Red Sox current payroll. There is a pleather of things that could be discussed, but so much is speculation. The one certain thing when looking at the Red Sox payroll in 2013 and beyond is…The Dodgers are lifesavers. Thank you Dodgers.

The end of 2012 and the start of 2013 has been a night and day difference in play for the Red Sox. GM Ben Cherington did a good job of constructing a winner with the money freed up last year. He also did this while keeping all the Red Sox draft picks. An impressive start to his GM career.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their partners***

A big thank-you goes out to our baseball writer Ryan Dana for preparing today’s featured article.  Ryan is junior studying physical education with a concentration in coaching at Bridgewater State University.

He has been playing baseball since he was 7 and coaching since he was 14. Ryan wants to be a college baseball coach once he graduates.  Ryan is, and always will be, a diehard Boston Red Sox fan. Secondary to baseball, he is a big health and fitness enthusiast. You can find Ryan on Twitter . Follow @ryandana1.

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He pitched six innings and gave up one run on five hits while walking two and striking out four.  He threw only eighty-one pitches, fifty-six of which were strikes.  The first inning was scary; after securing the first two outs, he gave up two consecutive walks and a single that scored the game’s first run.  But he obviously settled right down after that.  A single was his only blemish in the second, and his next three innings were one-two-three.  He gave another big scare in the sixth by giving up three consecutive singles with one out but managed to escape the jam unscathed.  Needless to say, I think that that was John’s cue to bring Mortensen, then Uehara, then Bailey for the next three frames, respectively.

While the Astros were busy getting frustrated by Lackey, we were busy getting busy at the plate.  Ellsbury grounded out to lead off the first but then Nava doubled and scored on a single by Papi.  We were silent in the second and third, but we started the fourth with two back-to-back singles, both of which turned into runs on a triple by Drew.  Nava reached on a fielding error to begin the fifth and scored on a double by Pedroia, who scored on a double by Carp two outs later.  We went down in order in the sixth, and then Nava and Papi were at it again; Nava singled to lead off the seventh and scored on a double by Papi.

All told, we walked twice and picked up eleven hits, five of which were for extra bases.  Nava, Papi, and Carp all had multi-hit games.  And though the Astros got seven hits by the time the game was over, they didn’t get the win.  That went to us with a final score of 6-1.  We are now eighteen and seven on the season, comparable to our incredible start in 2002.  Ladies and gentlemen, we are the proud owners of the best record in all of Major League Baseball.

Getty Images

A bit of a shakeup in the rankings this week; 2 teams out, 2 new teams in for the first time.

UPDATED 4/29/13:

Week 3:

#5 Pittsburgh Pirates (NL CENTRAL, 15-10–Previous Rank: NR)

A month into the season and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place of the NL Central Division. They began the week winning 3 of 4 against the Phillies in Philadelphia and continued on the road to St. Louis where they won the series taking 2 of 3.

New to the closer role, Jason Grilli (10 Saves, 0.82 ERA), has excelled thus far tied for the Major League lead in Saves, which has been key for the Pirates who have found themselves winning many close games. Starling Marte and Garrett Jones are hitting well over .300; Catcher Russel Martin hit two homeruns in Sundays 9-0 win; and Andrew McCutchen has as dangerous a combination of offense and speed as they come.

Skeptics continue to say how the Pirates can only put together half a season, will be interesting to see if they can continue consistent play in a very wide-open NL Central.

#4 Arizona Diamondbacks (NL WEST, 15-10–Previous Rank: NR) 

Consistent play finally pays off for Arizona who enters the DeMott’s Digest Supremacy Rankings for the first time. The Diamondbacks had a huge week (5 wins, 2 losses) winning series against NL West foes San Francisco and Colorado.

They took 2 of 3 from the Giants and 3 of 4 from the Rockies–this weeks stretch for the Diamondbacks included each game being decided by 3-runs or less. They also won 3 games in extra innings.

Paul Goldschmidt is a young player slowly making a name for himself in the league; he leads the dbacks in homeruns, rbi’s, and on-base percentage (5 HR, 18 RBI, .396 OBP). Their trio of young starting pitchers: Patrick Corbin (3-0, 1.91 ERA), Wade Miley (2-0, 2.37 ERA), and Trevor Cahill (3.00 ERA) must continue to throw well and keep their team in games. Diamondbacks also look for Ian Kennedy to contribute solid starts, as he led the NL with 21 wins in 2011.

#3 Atlanta Braves (NL EAST, 15-9–Previous Rank: 1) 

The Braves are now on a 4-game losing streak and have lost 6 of their last 8. After the torrid start to the year (started 13-2) the Braves have officially come back down to Earth.

Braves pitchers did not fare well against the powerful Detroit Tigers bats this weekend, getting swept decisively in the inter-league series. Tremendous starting pitching is what got the Braves off to such a hot start, they need to get back to that asap.

After 3 straight series on the road, the Braves return to Turner Field this week playing host to the Washington Nationals and New York Mets. It will be quite a test going against the Nationals Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Jordan Zimmerman. Will make or break whether they are in or out of the rankings next week.

#2 Texas Rangers (AL WEST, 16-9–Previous Rank: 2)

Remaining at the number 2 spot in the Supremacy Rankings  after a 4-3 week, the Rangers continued their consistent play with offense, defense, and pitching.

Although they ended the week with 2-losses to the Twins, perhaps a result of 13 straight days without a day off and traveling across the country, the Rangers still remain an elite experienced club.

Texas has an important home stand with the assortment of different colored socks, Chicago (WhiteSox) and Boston (Redsox) roll into town this week.

#1 Boston Red Sox (AL EAST, 18-7–Previous Rank: 3)

Boston dethroned Atlanta and leapfrogged Texas on route to taking the top spot of the DeMott’s Digest MLB Supremacy Rankings this week.

Clearly the biggest surprise of the season so far has been the Red Sox who hold Major League Baseball’s best record. Boston went 6-1 this week and are currently on a 5-game win streak. Although sweeping the Astros is not the most impressive feat, they did so decisively–the type of series they would lose last year.

As mentioned in last week’s rankings, Jon Lester (4-0, 2.27) and Clay Buchholz (5-0, 1.19 ERA) have been two of the best pitchers in the entire league, a combined 9-0 thus far.

David Ortiz was back in the swing of things this week and is batting a solid .516 with 2 homeruns and 11 RBI’s. Pedroia, Nava, Victorino, and Ellsbury continues to to be solid while Mike Napoli has been an RBI machine.

They take to the road all this week including a series with #2 in the DeMott’s Digest Supremacy Rankings Texas Rangers. Will have to stay hot to remain atop the rankings.

DID YOUR FAVORITE TEAM JUST MISS THIS WEEKS MLB SUPREMACY RANKINGS? 6. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 7. NEW YORK YANKEES 8. BALTIMORE ORIOLES

Remember to like the DeMott’s Digest facebook page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/DemottsDigest
You can view my bat-flip trickery video there if you have not yet seen it (more to come).

Hope everyone has a great week. Please and Thank You as always.

–Nick DeMott (Author, DeMott’s Digest)

And the beat goes on.  The Red Sox demoralized the Astros yet again on Sunday 6-1 and closed out the four game sweep of the American League’s new cellar dwellers.  John Lackey provided six solid innings in his return to the rotation after missing three starts with a strained right biceps, holding the Astros to just five hits and two walks while surrendering one run.

Filed under the “things no one saw coming in 2012″, Lackey was given a standing ovation by the Fenway faithful when he trekked to the mound for his home debut. Less than a month after a grisly looking injury had everyone thinking his surgically repaired elbow had failed (which would’ve effectively ended his career), Lackey shut down the opposition and improved the Sox starters record to 15-4.  The only real tests for Lackey in this one came in the first and sixth innings.

At the outset, it looked like it’d be a long afternoon at Fenway and for Lackey.  After retiring the first two batters of the game, Lackey got wild as he walked Jason Castro in a nine pitch at-bat, followed by another walk to old friend Carlos Peña before Ronny Cedeño sent a single up the middle to score Castro, and give the Astros first blood and a 1-0 lead. They wouldn’t take advantage of the situation, however as Fernando Martinez flew out to right to end the threat – and the Astros scoring for the afternoon.

The Sox would not wait around long to counter, scoring a run in the home frame off Houston starter Bud Norris, as David Ortiz continued his unbelievably hot streak, with a line drive into center that brought home Daniel Nava, who had doubled in front of a Dustin Pedroia walk.

Boston would take the lead for good in the fourth when Stephen “Don’t Call Me J.D.” Drew lined a two out, two run triple into the right field corner, bringing around Mike Carp and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and producing a 3-1 lead.  The inning began less than favorably, as Mike Napoli blooped a hit in between right fielder Rick Ankiel and first baseman Carlos Peña, but was thrown out when Ankiel reacted quickly to Napoli attempting to stretch the hitinto a double.  After Carp and Salty singled, Will Middlebrooks, who had shown signs of late of coming out of his slump, struck out with Carp on third.  Drew almost looked as though he would squander a chance for the Sox as Norris set him up 1-2.  Drew would get the better, however, delivering his fifth RBI in four games.

Marwin Gonzalez would play goat for Houston in the fifth, committing a fielding and throwing error on a groundball by Daniel Nava, allowing Nava to reach second to lead off the frame as the Gonzalez desperation throw sailed over Peña’s head and into the crowd.  Nava would come home on a Pedroia double on the next pitch, followed two batters later by a Carp double to drive in the fifth run of the day for the Sox.

While John Lackey was expected only to go five innings, he managed to keep his pitch count low and finish the sixth. Astros third baseman Matt Dominguez had led off the second with a single before Lackey went on to retire the next 13 batters of the game in succession.  Lackey would allow three straight singles in the sixth to load the bags with one out, but Houston couldn’t get back into the game, as Fernando Martinez struck out, and Dominguez grounded into a fielder’s choice, ending an outstanding comeback for Lackey.

The Sox would add a run in the seventh on an Ortiz Double, notching his second RBI of the game and scoring Nava for the third time.  Ortiz continues to punish opposing pitchers, hitting to the tune of .516 (16-31) since his return from the disabled list.  He drove in his 10th and 11th runs in just nine games back.

The Red Sox have an off day Monday before making their second trip north of the border to face the quickly fading Toronto Blue Jays (9-17, 9.5 GB).  The Sox too two of three in the first match-up, and they will look to wrap up an improbable April (club tying record 18 wins this month) in strong fashion with Jon Lester beginning the series looking for his fifth win of the year.

Jay Coorey –  MLB Contributor – TitleTown Sports

In Doubront’s case, that was a good thing.  And a correct observation.  He was almost impeccable for the rest of his start; his only other blemish occurred in the seventh.  He gave up a single made worse by a passed ball by Salty.  After securing a groundout, second base was stolen and, on another groundout, a run was scored.  Doubront gave up a single before being replaced by Tazawa, who got through the rest of the inning.  Bard came out for the eighth; he gave up two walks, and Wilson gave up a single that scored one.  Miller pitched the ninth.

No matter how well you’re pitching, it’s always nice to have run support.  Doubront gave up runs in the first but not consequently; similarly, the Astros didn’t give up runs in the first but, fortunately for us, not consequently.

By the time the second inning was out, the game was ours.  Carp grounded out to start it, and then Salty worked a walk.  Middlebrooks doubled, and Drew walked to load the bases.  Ellsbury’s subsequent single plated two.  Nava then grounded out, Pedroia walked to re-load the bases, and Papi’s subsequent double plated two.

The third inning was pretty quick for both teams; the Astros went down in order and, aside from Drew’s walk, so did we.  Nava led off the fourth and eventually scored on a sac fly by Papi.  And then there was the bottom of the seventh.  Houston may have thought that they made a dent when they got that third run off Doubront; in fact, they came close.  In reality, it wasn’t meant to be.  If we didn’t win the game in the second, we won it for sure in the seventh.

Houston made a pitching change, and after Gomes flied out, they probably thought it would go well.  It didn’t.  Salty doubled, Middlebrooks walked, Drew singled in Salty, Ellsbury struck out, Drew singled in Middlebrooks, and Pedroia singled in Drew.

We won, 8-4.  How’s that for a first-inning let-down.

In other news, the Bruins lost to the Caps, 3-2, in sudden death.

AP Photo

Photo: Keith Allison via Flickr

The next position in our Draft Rankings is Second Base.

In the spirit of encouraging healthy debate, we encourage you to share your opinion at the bottom by leaving a comment.

Here are your top 24 second baseman in our MOCK DRAFT for a 5-year dynasty team. Players were selected based on their projected value over a 5-year period using the Doubleplay baseball scoring system.

A.L. MVP: Chris Davis (1B, Baltimore Orioles)

Not exactly a big name to lead the balloting, but Davis leads the American League with 8 homers, and became the fourth player in history to being the season with four homers in his first four games. Yes, he’s a slugger, who leads the A.L. in slugging percentage, but he’s also fifth in league with a .354 average, and second in the majors with 24 RBI. Triple Crown winner in 2013? Doubtful.

N.L. MVP: Justin Upton (OF, Atlanta Braves)

The Braves started the season 13-2 and were undefeated in games in which they scored. So it goes without saying that they were undefeated in games in which Justin Upton homered. Their new acquisition has 11 home runs and 3 stolen bases in 22 games, putting him on pace for 85 homers and 26 steals this season. Obviously he won’t go on to shatter the single season home run record (probably) but for now, he’s the best offensive player on the best team in the National League.

A.L. CY Young: Yu Darvish (SP, Texas Rangers)

He was an out away from a perfect game in the first week of the season, and hasn’t really had a poor start for the first place Rangers thus far. Yes Tampa Bay’s Matt Moore is a perfect 4-0 and has a lower ERA, but Darvish has been more dominant, allowing no home runs while posting a 0.80 WHIP through five starts. Oh, and he also leads the majors with 49 strikeouts.

N.L. CY Young: Matt Harvey (SP, New York Mets)

Duh. Even though Harvey appeared to be human last Wednesday against the Dodgers, his teammates picked him up and he did not suffer his first loss of 2013. Again, pitchers who don’t allow base runners are likely to continue to give their team a good chance to win, so Harvey’s 0.69 WHIP should translate to at least 20 wins over the course of the season, and this is one result we can expect to hold.

A.L. Rookie of the Year: Nick Tepesch (SP, Texas Rangers)

Wow, talk about your thin categories. With Jackie Bradley Jr. completely flopping at the major league level with the Red Sox, and fellow rookie outfielder Aaron Hicks, joining him by hitting under .100 for the Twins, this race is wide open. Tepesch has done a nice job as the Rangers fifth starter, albeit against poor competition, but his 2-1 record, 2.53 ERA, and 14:3 K:BB ratio is good enough to earn him this honor through the first month of the season.

N.L. Rookie of the Year: Shelby Miller (SP, St.Louis Cardinals)

There are a number of enticing rookies in the National League this season. Didi Gregorious is coming on strong for the D’backs, but has only played 7 games this season, Matt Adams and Evan Gattis (a.k.a. El Oso Blanco) were destroying baseballs for the Cardinals and Braves respectively, before they each suffered setbacks in the past week. Therefore the award belongs to a young arm once again, as Miller is 3-1 with a 1.44 ERA for the first place Cardinals. No way to predict how this race will shake out, and it seems likely that once the bats catch up to the arms in warmer weather will be talking about Gregorious as the top rookie.

A.L. Pennant Winners: Your Boston Red Sox (16-7)

Although they’re tied for the A.L’s best record with Texas, the Red Sox complete turnaround is a better story. Clay Buccholz and Jon Lester have completely revived their sputtering careers under new manager John Farrell, while Mike Napoli has started to make Fenway Park look like a little league stadium in the past couple weeks. David Ortiz is back and hitting around .500, Napoli leads the majors with 27 RBI, and with Ellsbury, Victorino, and Pedroia getting on base in front of them, it appears as though the high-powered Sox offense has returned.

N.L. Pennant Winners: Your Atlanta Braves (15-7)

The Braves have cooled off a bit since their 13-2 start, but they still are one of the more complete teams in baseball. Their top four starters haven’t been locked in at the same time, but Mike Minor, Tim Hudson, Kris Medlen, and Paul Maholm have been dynamite during stretches this season, and if they’re able to pitch well in the postseason, the Braves also have the best closer in the game right now in Craig Kimbrel, to close out big games.

Only five months left for these players and teams to change things, but if history is any indication, things will be completely different by the time the real awards are handed out this fall.

Among the biggest surprises have been the mile high ”how-about-these-guys” Colorado Rockies and the “what do we get this year” Boston Red Sox.

Colorado is out of the gate quick (15-8) to start the season and manager Walt Weiss has jockeyed them to a two-horse lead at the 1/16th mile post.  The Rockies lead both the Diamondbacks and Giants by 2 games, the Dodgers by 3.5, and the Padres by 7.5.  During the month of April the only chink in the armor was a three game series loss to the Giants.  Since opening day the team has managed a 2-1 series win against the Brewers, a 3-0 sweep of the Padres, a 3-out-of-4 series take of the Mets, and a 2-1 series capture of the Diamondbacks.  That is consistent baseball and when you throw in a 4 to 6 game win streak along the way, series wins and otherwise .500 baseball the statistics begin the scream for post season play.

Offensively the Rockies have been led by Mike Cuddyer, Carlos Gonzales, and Troy Tulowitzki – each hitting .325 / .298 / and .297, respectively. Tulowitzki and Cuddyer have combined for 38 RBI’s in the month and Dexter Fowler has contributed to the run count with a team leading seven home runs.

The Rockies rotation is being led by Jhoulys Chacin who is sporting a 1.46 ERA with three wins, sixteen strikeouts, and a 0.89 WHIP percentage.  Jorge De La Rosa, Jon Garland. Juan Nicasio, and Jeff Francis are all of to solid starts in the early season and put the Rockies in an enviable position.

Like the Rockies, the Red Sox seemed to have discovered some new-found pitching rhythm.  Love them or hate them, the Sox front line of starters have directly contributed to a blazing 16-7 league leading start for the Beantown crew.  Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, the team’s 1-2 punch are now 9-0 combined against opponents.  Ryan Dempster has twice been the victim of offensive let-downs and started the season 0-2 although he turned in solid performances during each start.  He improved his record to 1-2 last night in a 7-2 swatting of the Astros and Fenway Park.  Dempster leads all Boston pitchers with 43 strike-outs and between the three starters the front of the rotation has fanned 110 batters.

Dustin Pedroia (the pain-in-the-ass lawn gnome as alaskabeast would say) continues to put the charge into a much improved offensive array.  Pedroia is hitting .318 followed by new addition Shane Victorino at .292.  Mike Napoli (the scourge of Fenway) is leading the MLB with 27 RBI’s so far and must be leaving the Red Sox front office with a warm fuzzy feeling.  Napoli victimized the Red Sox over so many seasons the management finally employed the “sign him rather than pitch to him philosophy.”  Objective baseball observers can admit that this team is playing with levels of enthusiasm and emotion not seen in a few years.  The clubhouse is occupied with the infectious personalities of Victorino, Middlebrooks, Gomes, and of course Big Papi Ortiz.

There is much baseball to come and ten thousand unexpected speed bumps along the way, but this fact is clear.  If the Rockies and the Red Sox can dodge the injury bullets, manage to prevent mid-season meltdowns, and continue to play the consistent baseball they have demonstrated during the first month, allot of baseball observers might just be surprised in late September.  Naturally, the underlying question is “if.”

We scored in each of the first five innings.  Ellsbury hit a deflected single to open the first and scored on a double by Pedroia.  With two out in the second, Ross went way deep.  Like, beyond the Monster deep.  Get-a-ninety-two-mile-per-hour-two-seam-and-crush-it deep.  Put-us-on-top-by-two deep.

Pedroia doubled off the Monster and scored on a double by Napoli in the third.  And then the fourth happened, and it was awesome.  Middlebrooks and Ross smacked back-to-back jacks.  Middlebrooks’s at-bat was a real battle.  He took his first three pitches for balls, took the fourth for a strike, and then fouled off the others until he got one he liked.  A lot.  It was a changeup, and it found its way beyond the Monster in no time.  And then Ross took two balls and gave a repeat performance.  It was epic.  You see something like that, and you do a complete double-take.  Actually, in this particular instance, you do two double-takes.  First you think you might be seeing a replay of Middlebrooks’s home run.  Then you realize it’s Ross at the bat, so you think you might be seeing a replay of Ross’s earlier home run.  And by the time he’s taking his own sweet time to round first, you realize that it’s the real deal and you just scored two runs on two swings.

Pedroia grounded out to start off the fifth.  And then Papi wanted in.  On a 2-2 count, he got a four-seam clocked at ninety-four that was basically a straight shot to the plate.  Big mistake.  Yet again, he let the ball find the deepest part of the park.  It was his second homer in as many days.  This one just barely got out, but out is out.  And even though we didn’t score in the sixth, it’s of course worth mentioning that Ellsbury stole his two hundredth base.  That total puts him in heady Sox company; he’s the third since Harry Hooper and Tris Speaker did it, and he’s leading the Majors with eleven so far.

And just in case we needed a little extra, we added some insurance in the eighth.  Middlebrooks, Ross, and Ciriaco hit back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases with nobody out.  Unfortunately, Ellsbury lined into a double play, but Ross did score on a single by Gomes.  Napoli has set two club records for this month, which by the way isn’t even over yet; his seventeen extra-base hits and twelve doubles are both monster stats for April.  Ross was officially the man of the hour with the two homers as well as the first four-hit performance of his career.

Dempster, who’s been an unfortunate stranger to run support until yesterday, held down the fort from the mound.  Two runs on four hits while walking three and, taking a page from Buchholz’s book, striking out ten over six innings.  He gave up a double to lead off the third, which turned into a run on a groundout.  He gave up another double to lead off the fifth, which turned into a run on a sac fly, which itself could have been trouble had it not been for Gomes’s phenomenal diving catch in the classic Ellsbury style.

Anyway, let’s talk about his K’s.  There were the two swinging strikes in the first, one ending with a four-seam and the other ending with a slider.  Then there were the two that began the second, both ending with sliders.  There were the two in the fourth, one swinging on a splitter and the other looking on a four-seam.  There was the one in the fifth, ending with a swing on a splitter.  And last but not least, there were the two in the sixth, one swinging on a slider and the other looking on a slider and requiring all of three pitches.

Mortensen came in for the seventh.  He hit a batter and gave up a single made worse when Napoli missed a catch.  He finally recorded the first out of the inning, but Tazawa came in after that.  He gave up a sac fly that allowed one of his inherited runners to score.  And then he gave up a single of his own before ending the inning.  Uehara pitched the eighth, and Wilson pitched the ninth.  The final score was 7-3.  All in all, I’d say it went well.

AP Photo

Buchholz was one out shy of pitching eight innings.  He gave up two runs on six hits while walking two and striking out a whopping ten batters.  He got his first one in the first on a cutter, the second in the second on a cutter, and three more in the third, all on four-seams.  He had another in the fourth on a curveball and one in the fifth on a cutter.  He had one in the sixth on a four-seam and two in the seventh, one on a four-seam and the other on a cutter.  A ridiculously high total of six of those ten strikeouts were looking, which shows that Houston just really had no idea what to do.

Buchholz gave up a double, a single, and a double play that scored one run in the second; all in all, a double play for a run is both an accepted and an acceptable trade.  In the third, he gave a double that turned into a triple thanks to a steal and finally a run thanks to a single.  Other than that, his start was phenomenal.  The sixth and seventh innings were particularly efficient.  Say hello to the first five-game winner in Major League Baseball.

Miller got the last out of the eighth, and Bard pitched the ninth.  So the Astros were held to just those two runs.  The list of our offensive accomplishments was thankfully much longer.

After Ellsbury led off the first with a groundout, Nava walked, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a single by Pedroia.  Pedroia stole second base and scored on a single by Papi, who moved to second thanks to a throwing error.  Napoli then struck out, and Carp hit a double that got deflected, scoring Papi.  And then Carp scored on a single by Salty.

And then we witnessed something truly great.  It can be described as nothing less than a sight for sore eyes.  The team has been playing extremely well, but there’s something that hadn’t happened in a while of which we really wanted a reminder.  In the third inning, we got it.  Papi stepped up to the plate.  He took a changeup for a ball.  And then he got an eighty-nine mile-per-hour fastball and just bashed it to one of the deepest parts of the park: center field.  It was his first home run of the season, and it was completed in classic Papi style from the moment the ball and bat made contact right to the end of the follow-through and all the way around the bases to home and back to the dugout.  It was a thing of beauty, and I look forward to seeing a lot more of it.

We didn’t score in the fourth, but we did again in the fifth.  Pedroia flied out, Papi singled en route to a three-for-four performance, Napoli struck out, Carp singled, Salty singled in one, and Middlebrooks doubled in another.  And that was it for the rest of the game.  The final score was 7-2.  This was the Astros’ first game at Fenway since 2003.  If I were them, I sure wouldn’t be in a rush to return.

In other news, the B’s silenced the Bolts, two-zip.

AP Photo

Lester gave up two walks and a single in the first.  He gave up another walk in the second.  He had a one-two-three third.  He gave up two singles and a home run in the fourth; that put us down by three.  He gave up another walk in the fifth.  He gave up a double, walk, and single while recording two strikeouts.  And then he was replaced by Tazawa, who recorded the final out of the sixth.

Objectively speaking, Lester’s start really wasn’t that bad.  He made one mistake, which resulted in the three-run home run.  Other than that, he was just very inefficient and didn’t have his usual control or command.  He had substantial trouble finding the strike zone, and his walks reduced his efficiency.  So that’s how stellar a pitcher he is.  There are pitchers out there whose best day doesn’t even come close to Lester’s start last night.

Tazawa secured the first two outs of the seventh and allowed a double followed by a single, which scored a run.  Miller then came in, finished the seventh.  Uehara came out for the eighth and gave up a solo shot before getting through the rest of the frame with flying colors.  Bailey had a fantastic ninth; three up, three down, all via the swinging strikeout.

The A’s scored in three innings: three runs in the fourth, one in the seventh, and one in the eighth.  We only scored in two innings, and we barely scored enough to compensate for the runs allowed by the relief corps.  But the fact is that we got through it, so we picked up the win.  Still, as long as the relief corps gives up runs late in the game, I will continue to make note of the fact that no good can come of it, win or no win.

Before and after the fourth and fifth, we had no scoring opportunities or rallies to speak of.  But those were some great innings.  It began modestly enough with a groundout by Pedroia.  Then Papi and Napoli hit back-to-back doubles that resulted in our first run.  Gomes walked but was out at second thanks to a force by Middlebrooks that still put runners at the corners.  In the end, it didn’t matter where anyone was standing; Drew hit a bases-clearing triple.  The frame ended with a strikeout by Ross.

Ellsbury led off the fifth with a single, stole second, and scored on a double by Victorino.  Pedroia singled, and runners were again at the corners; Victorino scored on a single by Papi.  After a pitching change, Napoli got hit to load the bases.  Nava came in to pinch-hit for Gomes and singled in Pedroia.  Then we went down in order.

Half of our ten hits were for extra bases.  Pedroia went two for five, Papi went two for four, and Nava was a perfect two for two.  Papi played an essential role in our rallies; it’s so good to have him back.  We also had two walks to our credit en route to a 6-5 win.

AP Photo

Photos from Spring Training

There are various teams in the majors that tend to absorb our players when we allow them to walk or when we trade them away.  Oakland has apparently become one of those teams.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Green Sox.

Bartolo Colon held us to zero runs.  Meanwhile, Aceves lasted less than four innings; he recorded the first run in the fourth and was taken out in favor of Steven Wright, but both should share in the blame. Aceves had a one-two-three first.  It was his first good inning.  He gave up a single and a walk in the second but didn’t give up any runs.  It was his last good inning.  Then he imploded.

Aceves issued a four-pitch walk to open the third.  He gave up a single to Coco Crisp and another walk to load the bases.  He then walked in the first run of the game; it would be the first of six that inning alone.  Yes, walking in a run was embarrassing but, in the grand scheme of how the game turned out, not nearly as embarrassing as how it would end.  Aceves finally recorded the inning’s first out but then gave up a single that scored two.  Then he balked, which put two runners in scoring position; a sac fly scored one, and a single by Josh Reddick scored the other and put him at second thanks to a throwing error by Aceves himself.  Then he balked again, which moved Reddick to third, and he scored on a throwing error.  The inning finally ended with a groundout.

Crisp grounded out to open the fourth, and then Aceves went right back to it.  He gave up a double and then a home run.  Then Jed Lowrie singled, and Wright came in, ending the inning on a double play.

Wright didn’t let any of his inherited runners score.  He just put his own runners on base and let them score.  He gave up a single to lead off the fifth, struck out Reddick, and issued two consecutive walks.  He then gave up a double to Crisp, which scored two, followed by a single, which scored two.  Then there was a passed ball, a fielder’s choice, and finally a flyout.

Wright issued two consecutive walks yet again to begin the sixth.  He gave up a double to Reddick that scored one and then send the A’s down in order.  Wright gave up two singles in the seventh but didn’t allow any runs.

And that’s as far as we got.  Rain prevented the playing of the game’s last two innings.  I at least would have wanted to see the contest through, but perhaps we’ll be able to draw on the extra rest to win a sorely needed contest at some point.  Baseball works in mysterious ways sometimes, but the outcome of this one, at least, was decisive.  We lost, thirteen-zip.  We had three hits and only one walk; we were 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position and left four on base.  Pedroia, Salty, and Gomes were the ones who singled; nobody hit anything for extra bases.  Ellsbury was the one who walked.  Aceves took the loss.

In other news, the Flyers beat the Bruins, 5-2.

Getty Images

“Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia turns a double play during the eighth inning of a game against the Kansas City Royals Sunday, April 21, 2013 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.”

“The bat of Boston Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes is shown in the dugout at Fenway Park Monday, April 22, 2013 engraved with the words ‘Boston Strong’ and the names of the four victims killed in the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon.”

“A ‘Boston Strong’ jersey is hung in the Boston Red Sox dugout at Fenway Park Sunday, April 21, 2013 in honor of the attacks on the 2013 Boston Marathon.”

It was nice to get back to a normal routine at the park yesterday, given all that’s happened. In fact, it was so normal that I didn’t come away with too many photos. 

Here are a few that I liked. 

Ryan Dempster gave a great start in the opener.  He gave up four runs on six hits while walking three and striking out eight over the course of seven innings.  I would have preferred he’d given up less runs, though, because we didn’t score enough to make up for that damage.

Dempster gave up a solo shot in the first, but we moved ahead in the bottom of the frame.  After Ellsbury popped out to lead it off, Nava, Pedroia, and Papi hit back-to-back-to-back singles that scored one and a groundout that brought home another.  Those were the only two runs we’d score that morning.  The Royals, meanwhile, were not done. Dempster gave up two consecutive singles in the fourth; a double brought in their third run, and another single two strikeouts later brought in the last run of the game.  Mortensen pitched the eighth, and Alex Wilson pitched the ninth.  The final score was 4-2.

Allen Webster got the nod to start the nightcap.  It was a decent start.  The important thing is that we put ourselves in a position to win.  He gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits while walking one and striking out five.  He gave up a double on his first pitch of the game, and then he gave up a single that resulted in a run thanks to Ciriaco’s throwing error.  Webster was great in the second, third, and fourth.  But then he gave up two solo shots in the fifth: strikeout, solo shot, strikeout, solo shot, groundout.  Tazawa came on for the seventh.

We were a run behind by the time the second inning rolled around, but we quickly took the lead.  Napoli worked a 2-1 count to lead off the second and then got an eighty-four mile-per-hour slider.  He crushed it.  Over the Monster in left.  Watching him hit home runs is a beautiful thing; it looks so natural, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.  It’s absolutely fantastic.  Salty worked a five-pitch walk after that and scored on a double by Carp.

We added another run in the third.  Ellsbury opened the inning with a double, moved to third on a groundout by Nava, and scored on a single by Pedroia.  The rest of the inning could have seen the rally go on, but it was a complete and total mess.  Pedroia got caught stealing second base, thrown out by who but George Kottaras.  Then Napoli doubled, and Salty singled.  And then the ball was deflected by the first baseman, and Napoli tried to score but was out at home, and that was the end of that.

In the bottom of the fifth, the game was tied at three, but we scored the winning run yet again.  Ellsbury lined out, but then Nava walked, Pedroia singled, and Napoli singled in Nava.  Napoli moved to second on a passed ball, but Salty struck out and Middlebrooks grounded out, killing any rally that would have arisen.

It was all going so well.  Neither team scored after the fifth, and the fifth had left us on top by one.  But Tazawa handed the ball to Uehara in the eighth, and unfortunately he brought the badness on a day when we hadn’t scored enough runs to absorb it.  He got the first two outs of the inning but then gave up a solo shot to tie it at four.  It stayed like that through the ninth, when Bailey pitched.  Then Miller came on for the tenth.  He induced a strikeout for the first out of the inning but then gave up a single and a walk.  He got another strikeout but gave up another single to load the bases.  And then he did the one thing that we love to see opposing pitchers do.  He allowed the winning run in extra innings in the worst and most embarrassing possible way.  He walked it in.  Four pitches.  It was a completely and therefore appropriately disappointing to the end of a sweepingly awful day.  Pun most definitely intended.

In other news, the Bruins shut out the Panthers, three-zip.

Getty Images

At the end of 2012 they were willing to exchange their recently-acquired starting Shortstop Mike Aviles with the Toronto Blue Jays for the coach; and so far this season, the gamble has been garnering stellar dividends.

Already, on April 21^st, the Red Sox have accomplished a few notable things. With their 4-3, come-from-behind victory on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals they extended their current winning streak to seven games – their longest since they took nine in a row in 2011. After taking a pair of series from Cleveland and Tampa Bay, Boston had won six consecutive in April, much like they did last year. The difference being that this year, it was to get to 11-4, whereas a year previous, it was an improvement on their 4-10 open to get to even.

Though April is mile one of the marathon that is the baseball schedule, the Red Sox are exhibiting signs of promise. Even after dropping both ends of their Sunday double-header, the Sox are still tied for the third-best record in the Majors.

Those hopeful indicators can be attributed the revival of the pitching staff in Boston.

In years previous, the Boston mentality was that if the opposing team tagged Sox pitching for eight runs, the offense would just hope to score nine. When Red Sox ownership realized last year that their lineup would not have the same “pop” as years previous, they knew strategically adjustments were necessary.

That’s where Farrell entered stage right. If they couldn’t out-slug teams, they would turn to the mound for support. Farrell, known as the pitching guru that could revive careers and nurture young talent, excited the Sox fan-base for other reasons than his expertise with hurlers.

Boston’s favorite thing about Farrell was that his name wasn’t Bobby Valentine.

So far, the two who have benefitted most from Farrell’s presence are the same two who are most responsible for their winning streak – Clay Bucholz and Jon Lester.

The re-emergence of the duo has spearheaded Boston’s early push.

Certainly, their performance is a direct reversal from a year ago when Lester specifically had the worst year of his professional career.

“It’s hard for me to walk around this clubhouse and look guys in the eye right now. I’m not pitching well. I’m not doing my job.” That was Jon Lester after he gave up seven runs in four innings against the Rays last season.

In a stark juxtaposition, Lester this season has been nothing less than dominant. He is 3-0 in four starts with a 1.72 ERA and has a new-found control, averaging just over one free pass over nine innings – a career low. He is using the fastball more to set-up his devastating curve. He also is pitching the best with runners on in his career, leaving roughly 80 percent of men who reach…there on the bases paths, stranding them and preventing runs.

With pitchers reclaiming dominance after the steroids-era play and the hacking, homerun-or-nothing approach at the plate, strikeouts have become the main tool to a pitchers success.

Bucholz has obliged, striking out 8.7 batters per nine – a career high. He also has thrown more fastballs this year, 43.8% a year ago compared to 52.2% this season, and seen the value of mixing in cutters and curveballs. He has had to do so because of his fastballs falling velocity; Bucholz is beginning to pitch like a crafty veteran – at only 29 years old. His batting average against plummeted 80 points and is already 4-0 in his first four starts – good for a first-place tie for wins in the league. He also leads the Big Leagues with a 0.90 ERA. Staying healthy and his self-proclaimed ritual of washing his Johnny Damon-esque hair between have been large factors in his improvement.

The largest factors in both aces improvement? John Farrell. The manager’s guiding hand and adamant attitude on getting ahead in the count and finishing hitters off early.

Dustin Pedroia, the team’s second baseman and second longest tenured member, says, “It’s not that guys fear him, but I think they respect him so much that forces them to believe in what he wants us to do. It’s very helpful.”

The biggest contribution by the pitching pair has been their ability to eat innings. On Saturday, Bucholz went eight innings only giving up two runs, which allowed Farrell to rest his bullpen and use only his closer, Andrew Bailey, to capture the win. Deep starts by starters early in the season allows for conservation of the ‘pen for later in the season when their need increases and reduces injury risk and overuse.

A breakout by one of the Sox starters could have been attributed to diligent off-season workouts, but two?

There is no such thing as coincidence. There is such a thing as coaching.

UPDATED 4/22/13: 

WEEK 2: 

#5 San Francisco Giants (NL WEST, 12-7–Previous Rank: #2)

The Giants started the week by getting swept by the Brewers, but quickly put things back together sweeping the Padres at home over the weekend. Giant’s 4th and 5th starting pitchers, Barry Zito and Tim Lincecum, put together quality starts against the Padres neither giving up an earned run.

If ace of the pitching staff Matt Cain (0-2, 7.15 ERA) can get back to his old form, Giants will display one of the best pitching rotations in the bigs.

#4 Colorado Rockies (NL WEST, 13-5–Previous Rank: NR)

Colorado was the owner of an 8-game winning streak before losing to the Diamondbacks on Sunday, 4-5. The Rockies have shown that they can beat teams in a lot of  different ways and it starts with two of the most dangerous bats in the game, Troy Tulowitzki (.328 BA, 6 HR) and Carlos Gonzalez (.364 BA, 4 HR). They’ve also benefited from other hot bats to start the year from Michael Cuddyer and Dexter Fowler (7 HR).

Starting pitchers Jhouyls Chacin (3-0, 1.46 ERA) and Jorge De La Rosa (2-1, 2.82 ERA) have been getting the job done and are confident that their offense will give them run-support regularly. They must continue to deliver quality pitching performances.

Huge 3-game series with Atlanta starts Monday, April 22nd.

# 3 Boston Red Sox (AL EAST, 12-6–Previous Rank: NR)

The Red Sox put together an impressive 7-game winning streak in the midst of the Boston Marathon Bombing. I know I’ve spoken more than enough about how the entire city of Boston rallied together this past week, but seeing their beloved Red Sox play so well had to have been icing.  Red Sox were playing inspired baseball this week, something we could all feel good about.

Jon Lester (3-0, 1.73 ERA) and Clay Buchholz (4-0, 0.90 ERA) have been as good a 1-2 pitching combination as there is in all of baseball. If their bullpen can get by some early game struggles, they will be more successful in closing games out.

The focal point of their lineup (Ellsbury, Pedroia, Nava, Napoli) continues to be productive and puts pressure on defenses with their speed, scoring lots of runs at the top of the lineup. They could benefit tremendously from David Ortiz finally being back into the lineup, who finally played his first two games of the season this past weekend.

They dropped two close games to the Royals Sunday, but continue their home stand this week with the A’s and Astros coming into Fenway.

#2 Texas Rangers (AL WEST, 12-6–Previous Rank: #4)

The Rangers played just 5 games this past week, but won 4 of them including a weekend sweep of the Mariners. Yu Darvish (3-1, 2.03 ERA) has 38 strikeouts in 26.2 Innings Pitched; and Derek Holland (1-1, 1.64 ERA) has been solid on the bump as well.

Combined with the torrid offensive play from Lance Berkman and Ian Kinsler, the Rangers are clicking in every facet of the game.

Texas moved up two spots in the DeMott’s Digest Supremacy Rankings from last week and continue to show why they are the team to beat in the AL.

#1 Atlanta Braves (NL EAST, 13-5–Previous Rank: #1) 

Atlanta comes in at number 1 this week in the DeMott’s Digest MLB Supremacy Rankings for the second week in a row. However, it was close as they did not play well at all this week going 2-4. The Braves are on a 3-game losing skid, all three at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Their starting pitching showed first signs of vulnerability this past week and the offense was never able to get things rolling

They do deserve the number 1 spot still based on their 13-2 start to the year, but let’s be honest a very difficult pace to have kept going. Still a good team that just needs to get back on track this week if they expect to stay at the top of the rankings. As I previously mentioned, a huge series at Colorado starting Monday; plus a interleague series at Detroit to follow.

DID YOU FAVORITE TEAM JUST MISS THIS WEEKS MLB SUPREMACY RANKINGS? 6. CINCINNATI REDS, 7. PITTSBURGH PIRATES, 8. OAKLAND A’S

You can also like the DeMott’s Digest Facebook fan page to get updates: https://www.facebook.com/DemottsDigest

–Nick DeMott (Author, DeMott’s Digest)

What follows is the remaining projections for the Sox season.  Way late, I know.  But note that these are guys who were not in the Opening Day lineup.  So technically these aren’t all “bench” guys, but they are people who started out there, one way or the other.

Notes:

*Bogaerts–Looking at a “cup of coffee” in September.  May not get it because of 40-man roster space, but here’s hoping he does, whether it is successful or not.

*Carp–Thought he may play more, but has played sparingly so far.  Thought he would get some games in at 1B while Napoli DH’s and get some at-bats late as a defensive replacement.  Not so much.  But he still could.  Long season.  And Nava should cool off, as he always does.

*Ciriaco–Playing time really depends on Drew’s health.  Will see some time at 3B, but not much at 2B, unless Pedroia gets hurt.  Comes down to SS.  But any long-term injury will probably bring Iglesias back.  Most likely won’t have the success that he enjoyed when he blasted on the scene last year.

*Drew–Rough start for him so far in Boston.  But a horrendous signing regardless on whether he heats up or not.  Did we really need to spend 9.5 mil on him?  Couldn’t get him for 3.5?  I know it’s not my money, but there wasn’t a cheaper stopgap for this “bridge” year until Iglesias/Bogaerts came up for good?  I could have lived with Ciriaco/Holt until then.  He’ll get every chance in the world though.  And I expect him to get hurt again…runs in the family.

*Holt–May have been a little aggressive with the 34 games, but expect him to get some time during the year.  Probably mostly in September though.

*Kalish–Think I was way aggressive here on games and at-bats as well.  It wouldn’t surprise me if he missed the entire year.  Talent is supposedly there, but we may never see it.  Just hasn’t been able to stay on the field.

*Lavarnway–Salty may be in play at the trade deadline, so he could come up and catch with Ross after that.  Hope he finds that power again this year.  Realistically may be looking at 2014 for a real shot at the everyday catching job.

*Nava–Great story, no doubt.  Always seems to start out hot and this year is no exception.  Expect him to cool down.  Expect them to try to get Gomes more at-bats to “get him going” at some point too.  So his PT will probably wane a little bit.  But an easy guy to root for.

*Ortiz–Still think he can get the job done, but the question remains how long his heel will hold up.  I see him getting many days of rest to try to keep that thing healthy.  But I also see another DL stint in his future, sad to say.  I’m ok with the contract however.  ’Roids or no ‘roids, he did a lot more for this franchise than some of the stiffs that were paid much more money than him over the years.  This contract is kind of like a “parting gift”.  Who cares?  The Sox have the money.  But I still wouldn’t have given anything to Drew.

*Ross–Probably will get more AB’s than your normal backup.  Should be ok.  Counted on more for his defense, but should hit a few bombs and not be horrid at the plate.  What else can you ask for from your backup catcher?

*Sutton–Just have a gut feeling we will see this guy again.  Not a bad 25th guy if it comes down to it.  Though I’d rather go younger, especially if you have to open up a 40-man roster spot somehow.