Red Sox Report Card For April
One month into the regular season and the Red Sox find themselves in unfamiliar territory through the month of April; last place in the AL East. But the good news is that they remain well within striking distance of the four other clubs and first place.
With the first of six months now in the books let’s grade the Red Sox with our monthly report card.
A+
David Ortiz – proving he is worth the salary the Red Sox gave him, returning to dominance.
Ryan Sweeney – more than 10 doubles in the first month from a guy who wasn’t supposed to hit his weight.
Junichi Tazawa – hasn’t allowed a run in relief, enough said.
A
Scott Atchison – a reliable arm out of the pen despite a couple shaky outings.
Cody Ross – he’s been pimping at the plate with 5 home runs.
Mike Aviles – had the unenviable task of trying to replace Jacoby Ellsbury as the leadoff man and he’s passed the test.
Marlon Byrd – small sample pool but making Ben Cherington look like an early genius.
B+
Felix Doubront – proven to be a great fourth arm for a rotation that has many questions.
Dustin Pedroia – scrappy, edgy leader who wills this team to victories on some nights
Daniel Bard – has silenced the critics and appears to have won the starting rotation battle
B
Jon Lester – two strong outings with little to no offense.
Matt Albers – decent relief outings muddled by one poor one.
Josh Beckett – one or two bad outings saddled with little offense, otherwise a nice start to the year.
Vicente Padilla – quickly becoming a trusted 8th inning guy.
C+
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – came on strong in the last week of the month
Alfredo Aceves – five saves in seven attempts redeems a higher grade.
Franklin Morales – average out of the bullpen.
C
Nick Punto – steady defense, inconsistent batting
Adrian Gonzalez – struggling to get to the level we’re used to seeing from Gonzo. Striking out a lot more.
D
Kelly Shoppach – meh, not much of anything aside from his four hit game against the Rays.
D-
Clay Buchholz – the only thing that’s keeping him from a F is his one good start against Tampa Bay.
Darnell McDonald – after a hot spring training he’s back to the old McDonald.
F
Kevin Youkilis – despite coming on late in the month, he’s again battling a broken down body and struggled overall for the month.
Rich Hill – small sample but struggled with command.
Carl Crawford – for the obvious reasons.
Mark Melancon – optioned to AAA and he might never return to the big leagues.
Incomplete:
Jacoby Ellsbury – IR
Jason Repko – IR
Overall Pitching: C
Decent starts from some but not all starters and the bullpen members range from shaky to good.
Overall Position Players: A
The offense has found it’s groove but sometimes no lead is safe.
Manager Bobby Valentine: C
Has made many questionable calls, plus he opens his mouth too much.
Overall Team: C+
After a rough start followed up by a catastrophic shellacking by Texas and New York, this team appears to have figured things out. Still have to prove they can run with the big dogs and help appears to be on the way for the bullpen.
What are your thoughts on the grades?
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