SRYD's NOTEBOOK

The Sox are currently in the midst of a 7 game road trip to KC and Tampa and have started off with a poor 2-3 record. The Sox have 34 games remaining and currently have a record of 68-60 and are .5 games back of Cleveland for the Wildcard lead with Oakland and Toronto right behind them. The Sox have also lost ground to New York and are now 5.0 games behind.

Do the Sox have enough to hang on and make the playoffs? That is a question that I will offer my opinion on by looking at the second half so far, the Sox hitting struggles, and the remaining games that the Sox have and who they face in those games.

So far, the Sox have a respectable 25-19 record in the 2nd half, but they have had a disappointing August with a 14-12 record. In the remaining 34 games, I think that the Sox will need to go 22-12 (.647 winning percentage) to make the playoffs. That would give them a 90-72 record. This will be a tall task, but I believe that they are capable of making a run like that, similar to last season, when they went 24-10 over the last 34 games (with a fantastic run of 18-4 from August 28 to September 21, closing from 8.5 back to 3 back of New York).

Clearly, the biggest dilemma facing the Sox has been a lack of offense. Here is a look at the post-All Star Game play of the current roster. I'll split the players into 5 categories: excellent, decent, mediocre, poor, and awful. All stats are through 8/27.

THE EXCELLENT- Only 3 guys qualify here
Nomar:     51-148, .345 BA, 13 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 19 RBI, 1.002 OPS 
Hatteberg:  23-76, .303 BA,  8 2B,       3 HR, 11 RBI,  .945 OPS 
O'Leary:   51-156, .327 BA, 10 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 28 RBI,  .885 OPS 

Notes- Nomar is hitting .345 with 51 hits and only 19 RBI !!!! That 
means that the Sox 1-2 hitters have been awful!!! 
THE DECENT- only 2 guys make it here 
Everett:   29-120, .242 BA, 6 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 23 RBI, .786 OPS 
Merloni:    17-52, .327 BA, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR,  9 RBI, .762 OPS 
 
THE MEDIOCRE- only 3 guys qualify here 
Varitek:   29-133, .218 BA,  7 2B, 3 HR, 24 RBI, .629 OPS 
Daubach:   36-153, .235 BA, 11 2B, 5 HR, 18 RBI, .683 OPS 
Brogna:     9-40,  .225 BA,  2 2B, 1 HR,  7 RBI, .629 OPS 

THE POOR- 2 guys make it here, although both have been virtually 
          invisible. 
Nixon:     21-84, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 8 RBI, .664 OPS 
Gilkey:    15-61, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .677 OPS 

THE AWFUL- 4 guys make it here, but 2 are excused because they are here for their Gloves, 
           not their bats. 
Lewis:     22-96,  .229 BA, 2 2B,       1 HR,  7 RBI, .583 OPS 
Alexander: 12-54,  .222 BA, 1 2B,       1 HR,  5 RBI, .572 OPS 
Offerman:  20-97,  .206 BA, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR,  3 RBI, .556 OPS 
Lansing:   28-131, .214 BA, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 12 RBI, .506 OPS 
Notes: Jimy needs to stop putting both of these guys in the line-up in the same game. 
        Platoon them at second. No DH duties period. 

If the Sox want to make the playoffs, several guys need to step it up and soon. (Daubach, Varitek, Nixon, Gilkey, Offerman, Lansing).

The Sox have a tough schedule ahead but they have a 39-26 record (.600 winning percentage) vs. those opponents so far this season. Here is a breakdown of the opposing teams:

OPPONENT RECORD VS. GAMES REMAINING 
Tampa     4-3        5 (5 Away) 
Seattle   3-3        4 (4 Home) 
Oakland   4-4        2 (2 Home) 
Minnesota 7-2        1 (1 Home) 
New York  5-3        4 (3 Home, 1 Away) 
Cleveland 2-2        8 (5 Home, 3 Away) 
Detroit   5-3        4 (4 Away) 
Baltimore 6-3        3 (3 Home) 
Chicago   3-3        3 (3 Away) 

I think that Jimy has to do something different with the line-up and definitely something different vs. lefties. Stop playing Offerman and Lansing at the same time, give Izzy and Brogna more playing time, and alter the batting order. Here are my suggestions vs. right and left.

Vs. Right
1. Nixon RF
2. Daubach 1B or DH
3. Everett CF
4. Nomar SS
5. O'Leary LF
6. Merloni 3B or Izzy DH or Burkhart DH
7. Brogna 1B, or Hatteberg DH or C
8. Varitek C (or Merloni 3B)
9. Offerman or Lansing 2B

Vs. Left
1. Offerman 2B or Lewis RF
2. Everett CF
3. Nomar SS
4. Izzy DH or Gilkey DH
5. O'Leary LF
6. Gilkey RF or Merloni 3B
7. Varitek C
8. Daubach 1B
9. Merloni 3B or Lewis RF or Lansing 2B

Finally, stay positive and enjoy the last 34 games. They can do it !!!!!!!

P.S. I am disgusted by this "Fire Jim Rice" nonsense. Where was that talk when this team scored 20 plus runs vs. Cleveland in the playoffs last year ???

SRYD OUT