No complaints here
A day game at lovely (if drenched) Fenway Park. A doubleheader (weather-permitting, anyway). A five-game Red Sox winning streak (whoops, make that six).
Nope, we’ve got none of usual grievances to air here. All — okay, most — is well with the Red Sox. Funny how long ago that 2-6 start seems now. Sure, it was a bumpy beginning, but this is the well-rounded, winning team we expected to see coming out of Fort Myers.
With all of the good vibes around the Red Sox at the moment, it seems only appropriate to get in the spirit and accentuate the positive. So here’s a look at a half-dozen players who have made a good impression in the season’s early days . . .
Justin Masterson: Here’s an intriguing question for you: What’s the ceiling for this talented and versatile 24-year-old righthander? Workhorse, 225-inning starter good for 16-20 wins per year? Old-fashioned rubber-armed relief ace who puts out all the fires before the closer arrives on the scene for his one inning of glory? Dependable No. 2 starter? Future closer? Hard-throwing, easier-living version of Derek Lowe? At this stage, I’m not sure, but I do know this: He is a tremendous weapon for Terry Francona in whichever role he chooses to use him, and I’m not going to be surprised by anything he accomplishes. I mean . . . 96 miles per hour, with a sick slider and that motion? What an asset to have. You could tell me he’s going to lead the Sox in wins this year and I’d probably nod and say, “I can see that.”
Kevin Youkilis: He finished third in the AL MVP race, won the Hank Aaron Award as the top offensive performer in his league, and yet he’s still something of an afterthought, at least outside of Youuuuuuuuukkk-lovin’ Boston. Part of it, I suppose, is logical — he nearly doubled his career high in home runs last season at age 29, and a slight regression toward his previous norm is possible. But given how he has started — .462, four homers, 12 RBIs as of the seventh inning today — perhaps an enjoyable encore is in the making. Anyway, at least David Ortiz has stopped griping about having no protection. It’s a start.
Mike Lowell: I can’t be the only one who still cringes whenever he has to lunge or dive or do anything that gives you flashbacks to him nobly/hopelessly trying to play through his hip injury last postseason while looking like an extra from the “Night of the Living Dead.” But while he’s running like he borrowed Doug Mirabelli’s legs, the rest as been remarkably encouraging. He’s been as steady as always at third base, and he came into today’s early game on an absolute tear at the plate, batting .421 with two homers and 11 RBIs in the past six games — then promptly clubbed a homer, double, and single while driving in three runs. He looks like the same ol’ dependable Mike Lowell, which is some of the best news we could have hoped for early in the season.
Jason Varitek: A .250 average, three home runs in 36 at-bats, and a .925 OPS? Redemption! While, as you might have suspected, I’m somewhat skeptical that Varitek can sustain his solid start through the summer, he has looked like a different hitter than he was last year, quicker and more comfortable from the left side, and the cause for optimism might just be legitimate. I’m not a daydream believer quite yet, but I’m getting there. Hey, if there’s going to be a catcher in history who actually improves his production at age 37, it might as well be him.
Ramon Ramirez: I like to think there aren’t too many mysterious names to me in the Who’s Who In Baseball annual, but I guess I should admit it: Before the Red Sox acquired Ramirez for Coco Crisp, I couldn’t have picked him out a lineup of obscure Kansas City Royals relievers. (“Are you sure you’re not Leo Nunez?”) His numbers certainly were intriguing upon a first glance — particularly that he held righthanded hitters to a .153 average last season — but for all the wonders of sabermetrics, I have this thing where I’m never really sure about a pitcher until, you know, I’ve actually seen him throw a baseball a few times. And now that I have? WHY DIDN’T YOU GUYS TELL ME ABOUT THIS GUY?!?! Sorry for the outburst there, but Ramirez has been everything his KC numbers suggested he might be and beyond — his WHIP is a ridiculous 0.48 — and he’s all business on the mound, an apparent mix of poise and confidence. So far, it’s been a blast getting to know a pretty darn good relief pitcher.
Tim Wakefield: The importance of his complete-game two-hitter at Oakland just can’t be underestimated. The bullpen was cooked. The Sox were 2-6. The talking heads were practicing their worried looks and polishing their 2-minute bits titled “What’s Wrong With the Red Sox?” The Sox required a win that day, at least as much as a ball club can in the first 10 games of the season. And what does Wakefield do? Nothing less than deliver one of the finest performances of his 14-plus seasons with the Red Sox — and I still think he would have completed the no-hitter had the Sox not had such an extended turn at at-bat in the eighth inning. Nonetheless, he was masterful at the perfect time, and considering they’re yet to lose since, it’s appropriate to acknowledge that yet again.
As for today’s Completely Random Baseball Card:
Happy half-century, Tito. Also, nice job getting the bunt down. Attaboy.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com