Random Thoughts (May 1, 2008)

In the beginning of April I wrote that if the Red Sox were 17-12 going into April I would be happy. You know what? The 17-12 record they sport right now makes me more than happy. Considering all the travel, injuries, Big Papi's slump, the struggling bullpen and the schedule, the Sox have me very excited for the 2008 summer. In spite of the troubles I listed, many things have contributed to the good start for the Sox. Start with the starting pitching, which was very good in April. Daisuke Matsuzaka is off to a 4-0 start and has a 2.52 ERA. Dice-K may throw too many pitches for my liking (111 in seven innings last night) but he has been a much more dominant pitcher so far in 2008 than he was in 2007. Staff ace Josh Beckett's numbers don't jump off the paper (2-2, 4.10 ERA) but other than one poor inning in Toronto in his season debut, Beckett has been very good. Jon Lester (1-2, 4.31 ERA) wastes almost as many pitches as Dice-K but showed all of Red Sox Nation what kind of ability he has on Tuesday when he pitched eight innings of one-hit, shutout baseball. Tim Wakefield (2-0, 4.06), Clay Buchholz (1-2, 4.08) and Justin Masterson (0-0, 1.50) have also given the Sox solid starting pitching from the back end of the rotation. The Red Sox lineup, which has been waiting for David Ortiz (.184 BA, 5 HR, 21 RBI, .644 OPS) to get hot and healthy (that knee scares me) and for Mike Lowell (.189/0/0/.484) to do the same, is doing enough (eight wins in their last at-bat in April) to win. While the wait is on for Papi and Lowell, Manny Ramirez has jumped out to a great start (.343/6/20/1.029). Manny, who hired Scott Boras over the winter in anticipation of his possible free agency this winter, must be making Theo Epstein think hard about an extension. Manny is not the only Sox bat making noise. Dustin Pedroia (.303 BA, 13 RBI), Kevin Youkilis (.304 BA, 15 RBI) and Jacoby Ellsbury (.280 BA, 11 RBI, 8 SB) are off to great starts. The Sox have also received production from Jed Lowrie, Coco Crisp, Julio Lugo, Jason Varitek and JD Drew at different times and we can't forget the hot start Sean Casey was off to (.346 BA, 8 RBI) before injuring his hip. 17-12. A one-game lead over surprising Baltimore in the AL East. April is over and I'm very happy. May is here and I'm very excited... Ian Thomsen was dead on in his column for SI.com yesterday. The Celtics may look back on their "lost" weekend in Atlanta at the end of June and credit the two losses for pushing them to a championship level. Almost every great team has to experience losing before it reaches championship status and bouncing back from losing to the Hawks with a 110-85 win last night is a sign that this team is capable of putting a bad game or two behind them when it matters. Now, a 66-16 team beating a talented but very inexperienced team is not the 1980 Celtics losing to Philadelphia in the Eastern Finals. It is not the 1989 and 1990 Bulls losing to the Pistons in consecutive years. It is not the 1999 Lakers being swept by the Spurs. But it still means something. Other than San Antonio and Detroit, all the contenders made a serious addition or two to their roster before or during the 2007-08 season. The type of continuity we are used to seeing among the NBA powers is not in play this spring. I want to slap myself in the face for thinking that the Suns -- who added the decaying bones of Shaq in February -- could knock off the Spurs and advance to the Finals. The Spurs experience of playing together on a championship level for almost an entire decade is something no other team has, including the Pistons, who coast through the regular season like the Spurs but haven't found a way to turn up their level of play in the postseason like the Spurs. My point is that the Celtics might not have to go through the growing pains that championship teams traditionally had to endure. Sure, a Finals matchup with the Spurs might be where this team learns its June lessons but to win the East, a few losses to the Hawks could be just what this team needs... The best Celtics stat so far in the playoffs comes from Rajon Rondo. The young point guard has 40 assists against just 4 turnovers through his first five playoff games. Now Mike Bibby and Acie Law aren't exactly on the level of Gary Payton as defenders but a 10-to-1 ratio is amazing... The Roger Clemens steroid scandal is news. Any time a Hall of Fame player potentially cheated to reach his level of greatness, the ESPN's and Sports Illustrated's of the world have an obligation to cover it. But the Clemens-Mindy McReady scandal is not news (unless there is proof of a sexual relationship prior to the country music star turning 18 because then Clemens should be in jail). A man cheating on his wife is not something that should be splashed across headlines or something that should be the lead story on Sportscenter... The reports of Clemens stiffing the staff at the old Hard Rock Cafe back in the '80s and '90s and requesting them to play Elton John's "Rocket Man" when he walked into the bar are great. Imagining Clemens pounding down Miller Lites, stuffing his face and wondering why he didn't get the love in Boston that Larry Bird did makes me remember why Pedro Martinez, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield and Curt Schilling are my favorite Red Sox pitchers in my young lifetime... Enjoy The Office tonight...