Bats...and Buchholz...go boom in Baltimore

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It was both an encouraging and disturbing day for the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards yesterday. Where to begin? Well, let's start with the positive.

The Red Sox scored 18 runs. Yep. The offense that was simply dreadful coming out of the All-Star break appears to have awakened. 23 hits, seven walks and only three strikeouts. What's more, they did it with the starting corner outfielders sitting on the bench. Jason Bay had the day off and J.D. Drew appeared to aggravate his groin injury legging out a triple in the first inning. The Red Sox are now 7-3 since snapping their five-game losing streak, averaging seven runs per game over that span.

Victor Martinez looks like he's settled right in with the Red Sox lineup. The Sox' big trade deadline splash went 5-for-6 yesterday with a double four RBI. Since coming to Boston two days ago, he's had as many RBI as Jason Bay had the entire month of July. In the first two games, Terry Francona has batted him third, where he primarily hit in Cleveland with a .304/.380/.490 line.

Josh Reddick continues to fill in admirably. Since coming up from AAA Pawtuckett, where he had a .277/.352/.520 line, Reddick has been asked to start twice, once in the place of J.D. Drew and once in the place of Jason Bay. In those two days, the 22-year-old has accomplished a plethora of firsts. Saturday, he recorded his first major-league hit and first major league double. The double was one of two he had, making it also his first multi-hit game. Sunday, he belted his first major-league homer, netted his first major-league RBI and scored his first major-league run. It's a very small sample size, but in three games (two starts, one pinch-hit), Reddick has a .364/.417/818 line with two doubles, a homer, two RBI and two runs scored. This probably won't keep, as scouts on every level have said he needs to polish his approach at the plate, but it's nice to see.

And now the negative. There's only really one big one.

Clay Buchholz showed his appreciation to the Red Sox brass for holding onto him by allowing seven runs in four innings to the AL East's worst team. And it was even worse than it sounds. Buchholz gave up nine hits and four walks. It seems odd, given that he threw 46 of his 76 pitches (61 percent) for strikes, but that just means he had no command. When he missed, he missed bad and when he hit the zone, he put it right in the O's hitters' wheelhouse. The Orioles' problems have never revolved around the offense, which is fourth in the majors in batting average, but that more illustrates the point than acts as an excuse. When you're against a team that can hit, you need to be more conscious of where you're putting the ball. Buchholz didn't do that and as a result, saw his ERA rise from 3.52 to 6.05. He hasn't made it out of the sixth inning in any of his five starts, giving up 28 hits - including 9 in each of his last two starts - in 19.1 innings and has a putrid 14/11 K/BB ratio.

Talking B's: Bay, Bard and Buchholz

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Having a hard time remembering the last time Jason Bay had an RBI? Let me help you out. It was July 9. That's right folks, the man hs a big, giant goose egg in the RBI department since the All-Star break.

We all knew he wasn't going to keep up the ungodly pace he put up earlier this season, but this is an epic struggle like few we've ever seen.

His batting average was an impressive .324 in April and while he only hit .266 in May, he pounded 10 homers and 30 RBI. Even when he batted .230 in June, it didn't seem to be quite as big of a deal because he still knocked in 20. He was still productive.

But now it's reached the point where it's downright ugly. He's gone 12 straight without an RBI and over the last 30 days, he's posted an OPS of .616, putting him behind the likes of LA's Blake DeWitt and Casey Blake and San Francisco's Rich Aurilia.

Hopefully seing Oakland come to twon will help. In a very small sample size (11 games), Bay has done very well against A's pitching, posting a .385 batting average and 1.203 OPS (his highest OPS against any team).

Meet your new closer

Like what you've seen from Daniel Bard so far?

Let's hope so, because if he doesn't get traded, he very well could be the Red Sox' closerin the near future. Papelbon is under the Red Sox' control with arbitration eligible years in 2010 and 2011. He avoided arbitration this season with one-year contract, but rest assured he's going to be looking for more security.

With Jonathan Papelbon in the last year of his contract in 2012 and the Red Sox smartly not willing to issue a long-term, big-money contract to a closer, Bard appears to be the heir to the bullpen throne.

The Red Sox have made it pretty clear whom they wish to keep around, locking up the young talent they wanted to long-term deals last year. Papelbon was offerered no such deal, so the writing is pretty much on the wall. He wants top dollar on the marker and he'll most definitely get it, but not from the Red Sox. With the exception of a few (Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman), the shelf life for a closer is not very long.

With what they've seen so far, they obviously appear confident to move on with Bard as Papelbon's replacement. The number have been pretty good. In 23 games (27.1 innings), he's posted a 2.26 ERA as well as bullpen bests in the form of a 1.01 WHIP and .184 opponent's batting average.

How he'll respond to ninth inning work remains to be seen, but with a fastball touching 100 and a nasty slider, he certainly has the raw talent.

Buchholz for the right price

Clay Buchholz, as it turns out, is available for trade.

While the answer was a resounding "No" when the Indians came calling offering Victor Martinez for Buchholz, according to some reports, the Red Sox may be willing to offer Buchholz as part of a package for Roy Halladay.

That package would ultimately shoot down my Bard-in-the-closer's-role theory, as it's said to also include Bard and a top-ranked prospect.

While it's all talk at this point, it does raise the question as to whether or not Buchholz, Bard and say a Michael Bowden or Lars Anderson would be too much for Halladay. In this case, the answer has to be no way. Halladay is one of the three best pitchers in baseball and instantly makes any team that acquires him better.

The real question now becomes would the Red Sox really have to give up that much? The main competition for Halladay has come from the Phillies, who are reportedly unwilling to part with both J.A. Happ and minor-league starter Kyle Drabek, who Charlie Manuel compared to Tom Seaver, even though he had Tommy John surgery last year.

Given the fact they would be trading within the division, the Red Sox probably will have to pay more than they usually would. But given the caliber of player they get in return, it just might be worth it and make them the front-runners in the American League.

Ortiz still has a lot more to prove

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Another home run for David Ortiz.

That makes six on the year and five in June with eight games left in the month.

So as the weather gets hotter, will Ortiz's bat follow suit? His recent production would suggest yes, but this is one fan that remains skeptical.

The Red Sox need Ortiz to produce in the DH spot for one reason more than any - they don't have anyone to replace him with. No one on the bench or in Pawtucket could provide the kind of offense you desire at the designated hitter position, otherwise, you have to think they at least you have been given a look at this point.

So many fans have come to the conclusion that the Red Sox don't need Ortiz because the team has managed to be successful thus far without him. Jason Bay has been an RBI machine. Kevin Youkilis has thrived in the three spot. Most importantly, the Red Sox are in first place and still winning.

But what happens if things go wrong? Mike Lowell, who has played a major part in helping people forget Ortiz's struggles, now has sat out two games with discomfort in his surgically repaired hip. Losing a valuable guy has to make you start thinking, "What if?"

What if Bay hits a prolonged slump? What if Youkilis goes down or Lowell needs to miss significant time? Or there are other less dramatic questions. For instance, what if Nick Green remembers he's the guy who didn't have a job this time last year? What if the Red Sox will need offensive production from other means.

Ortiz has to be that guy. The DH cannot be a hole in the batting order.

His recent success has to give you hope, but at the same time, can we count on Ortiz to be David Ortiz when it really counts? He's connecting when he was missing and he's hit some mistakes out of the ballpark. But when it comes down to it, can Ortiz still hack it against the best of the best as he'd be called upon to do if/when the Red Sox make the postseason?

He's still late on a good fastball and still looks confused at times. You have to hope if you're a Sox fan that this will continue to improve as he gets more comfortable. But at the same time, you have to realize that all season this has not looked like the David Ortiz fans have come to know and love. Something is off and sometimes big, aging ballplayers just lose something, especially ones coming off of injury. He just might not make it back to become "our" David Ortiz ever again.