April's Slumber Brings May's Lumber

Everything that went wrong in April seemed to go right in May. The Red Sox went from the outhouse to the penthouse in one quick month. After they fell to 3-10 the Sox then ripped off the best record in all of baseball. You knew it was only a matter of time before this lineup started to produce. The starting pitching was also stellar last month. Combine the two together and April is long gone in the rear view mirror.

A+

Josh Beckett: Shaping up to be the American League starting pitcher for the All-Star game. Lead American League in ERA.

Adrian Gonzalez: Monster month. MVP performance offensively and defensively.

David Ortiz: Big Papi is back to being Big Papi. Ended the month in style with pinch hit game winning homer. If he is playing for a contract, he just may have earned himself a new 2-3 year deal.

Jacoby Ellsbury: Possibly the best leadoff man in the game. Second in totla hits behind Gonzales and tied with Gonzalez for most doubles. Should make a strong push to be starter in All-Star game.

Rich Hill: Eight innings of shut out ball. Unfortunately, will need Tommy John Surgery. The Sox will miss this left handed specialist coming out of the bullpen.

Jonathan Papelbon: Much better at beginning of month than at the end. Still best closer on team and one of the elite in all of baseball. Tends to struggle when he pitches in non save situations.

B+

Alfredo Aceves: Called up and replaced Daisuke in starting rotation. Two lights out performances and shelled in the other. Will be valuable asset in bullpen and spot starting.

Jon Lester: ERA going up along with wins. Wasn’t his best month ever.

Jason Varitek: Hit over .330 for the month. Beckett’s winning makes his stock rise higher. Also threw two would be base stealers in one game. Haven’t seen that in a long time.

Josh Reddick: Made red Sox debut and immediately made a contribution. Playing more as trade bait than competing for starting position.

Tim Wakefield: Replaced Lackey in starting rotation. His performance against the Cubs raised his stock. Will battle Aceves as Matsuzaka’s replacement.

Clay Buchholz: Better month then April, still giving up too many long balls. But, words can’t describe gutsy performance in rain delay game.

Kevin Youkilis: Just getting warmed up. Perfect fit between Gonzalez and Ortiz.

Drew Sutton: Called up to replace Jose Iglesias and made impact right away. Will be sent down as soon as Scutaro is activated.

B-

Jed Lowrie: Superman of April turned human in May. Still amongst the team leaders in batting avg. Defense is starting to become worrisome. Scutaro will provide some well needed rest on occassion.

C+

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: Salty showed some power this month. The criticism seems to be waning. Watch for him to only get better as year goes on.

Dustin Pedroia: Had the worst month of his career, but his one at bat against then undefeated Jared Weaver was a classic.

Daniel Bard: Inconsistent is the only way to describe his performance.

Carl Crawford: Three walk off hits the past month. Starting to show good signs of life in bat and legs. Pushing for top of order but better suited in the six hole behind Ortiz.

Dan Wheeler: Still not the Wheeler of the Rays, but looking better than April

Matt Albers: When good, very good. When bad, very bad.

J.D. Drew: Like the song says “You’re still the same, nothing ever seems to change.”

Scott Atchison: Called up. Wasn’t impressive but deserves time to get back in the groove.

D-

Mike Cameron: Very limited playing time, expect to see less playing time with Josh Reddick in town.

John Lackey: 0-2 before going on disabled list. Qualifies for an incomplete but will get an F based on two starts. Not fair? Oh well.

Franklin Morales: Acquired in trade. Made two appearance and went straight to DL

Incomplete :

Daisuke Matsuzaka: Off to have Tommy John surgery. We have probably seen the last of Daisuke’s wildness in Boston.

Marco Scutaro: First lost his job to Lowrie then got hurt. Looking to return in early June. Trade rumors swirling with his name on it.

Darnell McDonald: Only three at bats before being injured. Dissapoinment to say the least after last year..

Hideki Okajima: Sayonara

Bobby Jenks: Out with inured arm most of the month. At least he didn’t hurt the team.

Jose Iglesias: Called up to replace injured Scutaro. Too much too soon. Needed to stay in Pawtucket then ride the bench.

Overall Pitching B+

Starting pitching carried the team. Bullpen still had many ups and downs, with the exception of Papelbon. Need to acquire or promote a left hand specialist in a hurry.

Overall Position Players B+

Hitting and winning like the team that they were projected to be.

Manager, Terry Francona B+

Moving Crawford up to bat behind Ortiz was the perfect move at the perfect time.

Overall Team A

Good pitching, hitting and defense equals a winning month and first place in AL East

For all the latest news and analysis from BoSox Injection, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or with our RSS feed.