Boston Red Sox 2010 Season

We're about 2/5 of the way through the 2010 MLB season. To this point, the Red Sox have been disappointing to some of there fans, and it's not without due cause. They're currently a 3rd place team in their division and 5 games out of first place (MLB.com 6/10/10). This off-season GM Theo Epstein elected to focus more on the pitching and defensive aspects of the game, spending $80+ million on free-agent pitcher John Lackey and another $9 million on slick-fielding free-agent 3B Adrian Beltre, even though they had the ability to retain perennial all-star Jason Bay. Many fans were concerned about the possible lack of offense. One thing that can often get lost in the shuffle is how well a pitching and defensive focused team travels. Thus far into the season, they post a .586 win percentage on the road, 3rd most road wins, and 2nd in road winning percentage (ESPN.com 6/10/10). Since May 1, the team has been red hot, posting a 24-14 record.
There is reason for continued optimism due the the emergence of Clay Buchholz as a front-of-the-rotation caliber starter. Jon Lester has followed suit as well, and left his early season funk in the rear-view mirror. David Ortiz, after a month of April that is best forgotten, has returned to the Big Papi of old, hitting .312, as well as hitting double-digit home runs in the month of May. May was the first time he has hit for double-digit home runs, since he hit 10 in August of 2006, helping set his club record of 54. Kevin Youkilis has been the clean up hitter every team wants, leading the Red Sox in HR (12), RBI (40), Runs (51), and OPS (1.054) (ESPN.com 6/10/10). Given the fact that Dustin Pedroia is a career .300 hitter with a Silver Slugger award (2008), there is no way that he will remain at his current .248 average. I've heard that he's been playing through a knee injury (Ian Browne MLB.com 6/10/10). Even though he is a key cog in the Red Sox offense, when he's mired in an offensive slump, he still makes highlight-reel, game-saving, Gold Glove, defensive plays, often willing himself to make plays others would not. Look for him to get hot soon coming off his knee ailment!! With Jacoby Ellsbury out for the forseeable future (I've heard it's likely he won't be back until after the All-star break at the earliest), off-season free-agent signee Marco Scutaro has filled the void amicably, posting about a .280 average, 40 runs scored, and a .355 on-base percentage.
Given all the outfield injuries this season, newcomers Bill Hall, Jeremy Hermida, and Darnell McDonald have been sharing the time filling the voids by Ellsbury and veteran Mike Cameron's trips to the DL. Ace starting pitcher Josh Beckett has been inconsistent, and is in the midst of his own DL stint. Once he is back, watch out, because you'll then have Beckett, Lackey, Lester, Buchholz, and either 2009 All-star Tim Wakefield, or Daisuke Matsuzaka, a pitcher who was 3rd in Cy Young voting in 2008 with 18 wins. That's a pitching rotation that really has four aces (Beckett, Lackey, Lester, and Buchholz) with very little inclination to let up on opponents. When you couple that with the surprisingly potent offense (5th in Avg., 2nd in HR, 2nd in RBI, and 2nd in hits), and the steady hand of Manager Terry Francona (postseason appearances in six of his seven seasons managing the club) that's the makeup for a team primed to make a run in their division.
Let's see if my predictions hold true in the coming months. I'm sure there will be an update on the Red Sox in the near future, keep posted!!

The Bluff