As of this morning the Sox are a half game up on Detroit for the best record in baseball. Hard to argue, right?
Still, watching the games these days I find myself noticing:
- Coco Crisp stops running between third and home last night and the tying run died at the plate
- Mike Lowell two nights ago failed to run out a shallow fly to left that dropped, turning a double into a single and keeping a double play opportunity alive. It didn't cost them.
- Manny appears to have been calibrating his effort in left for the last month, based on where he thinks runners will end up. Meanwhile, JD Drew has been calibrating his running after fly balls and making defiantly lazy one hand grabs. Coco Crisp, perhaps not wanting to be the only one hustling, is getting in on the one handed grabs occasionally.
- Only about 1/2 the team appears to be running out infield ground balls.
- Everyone on the team stands for the tag when strike 3 is dropped.
First week of June the Sox were 37-17, good for a 68% winning percentage over the first 2+ months of the season. Since then they have gone 24-23. Just baseball? Things evening out over time? Or a team with a great pitching staff and a lot of expensive bats that isn't doing enough to win as many games as they should.
Random NE baseball fan anxiety stat: Since June 2nd the Sox have won 50% of their games and the Yankee have won 66% of their games (31-16). If both teams continue on their post-June 2nd pace the Yankees will take over first place in the AL East about the first week of September.
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Re Crisp, Francona didn't seem to see it as an effort thing:
Francona was talking about base running in light of Coco Crisp slowing up on his way to the plate, which cost the Sox the tying run in the sixth inning Wednesday night. "J.D. [Drew] is the best at it. He jumps up and he goes into the next base and his momentum is going in the right direction. Larry Walker was great at it. Jeff Bagwell was excellent and Scott Rolen is unbelievable."
Re dropped third strikes, Varitek ran one out in the game two nights ago (that seemed to prompt this port), and that's the only one I recall recently.
More generally, I don't see a lack of effort. YMMV.
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