Red Sox: Grading the first 50 games
By Rick McNair
The Red Sox may be positioning themselves for no June swoon despite an inconsistent first part of the season. What are the grades for the collective? Who in the division will roll or fade?
The Red Sox team has suffered through bad weather, bad injuries, sloppy play and the retirement of David Ortiz that may have affected more than just the offense. Despite the rather rough road the team is in a good position for the next few months to be meaningful and not meaningless.
My personal benchmark for the season is the 50 game point – a possible left over from when the schedule was 154 games. The Red Sox just completed a successful home stand so the game total rests at 49 – close enough. By this point, you have an idea of just what type of team you will have. Pitching, hitting and defense should all have enough in the statistical bank to give you an excellent baseline for measurement. I’ll start with the keys to the kingdom – pitching.