Red Sox Stumble Out of Gate

     The Red Sox opened up their 2011 season with a loss at the defending AL Champion Texas Rangers. Red Sox nation, there is no need to panic. It's one loss. But here are some thoughts on game 1 for the Sox.

Having Adrian Gonzalez bat 5th looks to be a good move


     In each of Gonzalez's first two at bats he had runners in scoring position. What did he do. He drove them in each time with beautiful swings to right and center field. It seems like Terry Francona has found a perfect place for Gonzalez. I know it is only one game, but Gonzalez has the perfect combination of power and contact to bat 5th in a perfect RBI situation. In yesterday's game, Carl Crawford wasn't even on base for Gonzalez to hit. But the top 3 in the Sox's order, Ellsbury, Pedroia and Crawford all are fast and get on base. When on second base, these three guys are all scoring on a base hit. In the 4 spot, Kevin Youkillis is similar to Gonzalez because he drives in runs when given the opportunity. But Gonzo is the better hitter because he has more power and he can hit to all fields better than Youkillis can. So I really, really, really like Adrian Gonzalez batting 5th and it certainly payed off yesterday even in a losing effort, but I would love to see my new favorite Red Sox player bat 4th.


Jon Lester starts out slow again


     Lester got off to a slow start last season and he seems like he is one of those guys who always gets better as the season moves along. So I was not that surprised that Lester didn't pitch well. But he allowed three home runs and he did not strike out a batter. That is very unusual. Lester was leaving pitches out over the middle of the plate, especially on the home run he allowed to Ian Kinsler. But what was even more surprising was that he didn't strike out anybody. His fastball was getting by anyone and his breaking balls weren't fooling anyone. This worries me. Usually when a pitcher has an outing like this early, it seems like they end up on the DL in a few weeks. I certainly hope this isn't the case, but Lester will need to bounce back against Cleveland.






David Ortiz did not, I said did not get off to a slow start this season

    
     Wait, I know we're only one game into the season, but David Ortiz's April batting average isn't .125 without a home run. It was very encouraging to see Ortiz go deep in the eighth inning yesterday because hopefully this is a a sign that Ortiz will not actually start out slow. In the 6 spot in the lineup, if Ortiz hits for power, god this Red Sox lineup will be deep 1-6. I mean really deep.


     So we have good news with Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz but a not so encouraging performance by Jon Lester. Not to mention a miserable performance by Daniel Bard and a non-impact showing by Carl Crawford. But they're 161 games remaining, and as long as the Red Sox don't get swept, there is nothing at all to worry about.