There are some pretty good reasons why Red Sox fans should
not panic about the team's 4-5 start. In assessing the status of the AL East so far, Rory Barrs of Canada's
National Post newspaper
makes several interesting points about our Carmine Hose. First, Boston boasts the
third best batting average (.277) and the
second best on-base percentage (.349) in the American League. Of course, as we all know
, those numbers have been devalued by a lack of clutch hitting—except for
David Ortiz and
Mike Napoli [PRONOUNCED: Na-
POLE-Eee]. In addition, hitting into a near-record number of double plays doesn't help your win-loss record. And yet,
Grady Sizemore (.364/.440/.591) has been a near revelation and
Jackie Bradley Jr., is getting on base (.478) at a pace the organization has always expected. Also, how about
John Lackey and his 1.38 ERA? And, while
Jake Peavy and
Jon Lester have yet to get a win,
both have pitched very well. Finally,
Koji Uehara has been 2013-like. So, basically, many observers like Mr. Barrs think the Red Sox are just playing "possum" in the division and are poised to improve their somewhat deceptive record real soon.
