The Red Sox weird 2009 season continues - and the team keeps winning in new ways with new players contributing. I feel the "stand-out" trait of the team so far is its bullpen, which has been awesome - with Ramon Ramirez, Hideki Okajima, and Manny Delcarmen - among those excelling so consistently. So, that characteristic alone is strange. Since when have the Sox been "led by their bullpen"? Their old sluggers - Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz - have been replaced by Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Jason Bay. Ortiz has been "absent" due to his unprecedented slump. What a transformation from the middle of the 2008 season until now.
It's amazing this team is leading the tough AL East with a hitting line-up, which, on paper, looks so "average" 0r "unimpressive" compared to other teams. So, what I keep thinking is: Can you imagine if either Ortiz starts to hit again - OR, they're forced to trade for a very good hitter to essentially "replace" Ortiz, and that hitting injection strengthens their lineup substantially?
It seems, to me, this team can get only better. If they can do well with their current limitations, then won't they improve with more hitting and the expected contributions from other pitchers like Clay Buchholz and John Smolyz and others.
In fact, although it sounds funny, they'll soon have too many good pitchers to use! How will Buchholz or Smoltz ever get a chance to pitch? It's a nice problem to have, huh?
I hope a rumor I read proves true -- that they trade Brad Penny. I think they will do that. They clearly need a bit more hitting - I think a few players are hitting a little over their heads now - such as Bay, Lowell or Ellsbury. I'm not predicting those three will become awful, but, rather, that they're all hitting very well at the moment, and, are likely to have ups and downs.
Last points: My ongoing monitoring of Papelbon and Ortiz. While I didn't see Papelbon's appearance Monday when he gave up the 2-run home run to Mauer, I did see the one before that, when he gave up the game-winning home-run to Santos, the Mets player. Despite the mistake he threw to Santos - a pitch left right over the middle of the plate - I thought Papelbon looked very sharp that Saturday night. I am less worried about him now. He's got the zip back in his fastball. It at least seems he's growing more comfortable in his new motion -- but, maybe, he's still not getting the same "late life" in his fastball in every appearance.
Ortiz is another story. As the weeks go by, I've grown more convinced of my theory that perhaps the most accurate way to understand his struggles is that he has never recovered from his wrist injury, which bothered him last year. It seems Ortiz' wrist is not the same - and, it's as if Ortize thinks his wrist has the same strength and speed as it used to, but, it doesn't.
Why haven't the Sox had Ortiz' wrist examined by doctors again? Why not get more MRIs or other tests done? Is there any kind of surgery that Ortiz could have done to help his wrist?
I'm tired of hearing no attempt to explain any origin of Ortiz' problems. It seems, sadly, that his home run was more of a fluke - as he, again appears to be swinging a slow bat.
Ortiz either starts to hit in June - with or without a trip to the disabled list to give him time to work his hitting - or it seems he'll be taken out of the lineup or remove himself from the lineup before the second half of the season begins. It just seems Ortiz' current struggles won't and can't go on for the whole season.
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