Injuries Hurting the Red Sox

This has been quite a season so far and to think that the Red Sox have not yet completed half of their schedule. The team survived a slow start in April to climb back into the A.L. East race with the Yankees and Rays but now face a stretch in July with seven position players, one of their top starters, and a key relief pitcher all on the disabled list or fighting injuries. In the last week, the Red Sox have been forced to place Dustin Pedroia (broken foot), Victor Martinez (broken thumb), and Jason Varitek (broken foot) on the disabled list. They join fellow positional players Jacoby Ellsbury (broken ribs) and Jeremy Hermida (broken ribs) on the DL. Outfielders Mike Cameron (abdominal tear) and J.D. Drew (hamstring, neck, vertigo) have been playing through pain. For those of you scoring at home, the team's top four projected outfielders have all missed significant time this season. Josh Beckett, projected to be the team's top starting pitcher in a rotation full of aces, has suffered through a miserable 2010 campaign. He was 1-1 with a 7.29 ERA through eight starts before landing on the DL with back spasms. Beckett is not expected back until after the All-Star break at the earliest and Red Sox Nation can only hope he finds his 2007 form and joins Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and John Lackey in what should be the best starting rotation in the game. Joining the walking wounded was reliever Manny Delcarmen who is expected to be placed on the DL with a strain in his right forearm. With nine of their top players either on the DL or playing with pain, July is going to be the make-or-break month for the Red Sox. They have to hope that their starting pitching continues to be excellent, they get big contributions from David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, and Adrian Beltre, and that the replacement players like Daniel Nava and Darnell McDonald can continue to help this team stay competitive. If they can stay in the race with the Yankees and Rays through all of these injuries, the Sox should be in a great position to make it into the postseason and contend for the World Series once they get fully healthy.