News
Ailing Sox winning with grit, determination
Boston making no excuses despite missing key players
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
05/11/09 1:04 PM ET
BOSTON -- After 17 games in 17 days, the Red Sox finally got a chance to exhale amid the calm of Southern California. Manager Terry Francona's team spent Monday in full chill-mode, as they gear up for a six-game road trip that starts in Anaheim and ends in Seattle.If the Red Sox take any time out of their day for reflection, they are likely to feel pretty satisfied with what they've accomplished.
Particularly over the last week -- and in a sense, since the season started -- very little has come easy for Boston's 2009 edition. Yet the Sox have built a 20-12 record, which is tied with the Cardinals for third-best in the Major Leagues.
Just imagine what might happen when David Ortiz -- no homers in his first 116 at-bats and a .328 slugging percentage -- starts going deep again. Think of the possibilities if Jon Lester (2-3, 6.31 ERA) can soon recapture the form he displayed for most of last season. What if the starting rotation -- thought to be loaded when the year started -- begins to show consistency outside of Tim Wakefield?
In essence, the Red Sox have put together a very good stretch behind a loaded bullpen and a gritty group of position players who don't make excuses.
"We're a little beat up, that's for sure," said Francona. "I think we'd rather win and be beat up then lose and be beat up."
If there was a week for the Sox to make excuses, it would have been the one that just passed. Kevin Youkilis exited last Monday's game with a sore left side and still hasn't returned. Jacoby Ellsbury, the igniter of the offense, missed a couple of games with tightness in his right hamstring. The night Ortiz was out with a stiff neck, Boston merely scored 12 runs with nobody out. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia, the reigning American League Most Valuable Player, strained his right groin Sunday night and likely will return on Wednesday.
"It's been tough but we're finding ways to win games," said Pedroia. "That's the biggest thing. A lot of guys have stepped up and will continue to do that."
Through all of those ailments, the Red Sox went 5-2, sweeping the Yankees in New York, splitting a two-game series with the Indians and taking two out of three from the defending AL champion Rays.
Perhaps part of the tone is set from the manager's office, where Francona never goes around moaning about injuries.
"I'd rather just put the lineup up and have the guys expect to win because they're our guys, rather than feel sorry for us because, 'Oh, we have two guys out' or whatever," said Francona. "It just doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense, and I think our guys do a good job of that, so I don't need to be the one feeling sorry because we don't feel that way."
Without Youkilis, Jason Bay has taken over at the cleanup spot and basically carried the team with one late-inning hit after another.
"I'm not doing anything different," said Bay.
The professionalism of the 2009 Red Sox is embodied by players like Bay and third baseman Mike Lowell, who, despite coming off right hip surgery, has been one of the team's most durable and productive players.
With Youkilis out of the mix and Ortiz still finding his way, those two hitters have had a considerable impact on the team's early-season success.
"I'll tell you what, man, this team so far has been unbelievable," said Ortiz. "We've been winning games. We've had a few guys that have carried the whole team. We've had Youk out for a few games now. You know, Youk is one of the really good hitters we have right now. Having him out of the lineup is a big difference and you're still playing good games, you're still winning. It tells you that the guys that are coming in are doing a good job. When those guys get back, it will pretty much go back to normal."
What the Red Sox are doing right now is what several of the team's veterans expect.
"I think that's kind of what you have to do," said Lowell. "I don't think we can just say, 'Oh, Youk's hurt so we're going to lose.' I don't want to downplay that he's not a big part of the team -- he absolutely is. But that's why you have guys on the bench who can fill in at times like that."
As for that potential Ortiz breakout, perhaps Sunday night's big double off the Green Monster to set up Bay's game-winning double is what will finally put the big man's bat in motion.
"I've been swinging good, I've been feeling good," Ortiz said. "Sometimes, you just need that little click that gets you in the mood and maybe that's about it."
Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
