In this post, we’ll provide nine Red Sox stats and thoughts about this year’s team. The Red Sox were 12 games out of first place heading into Sunday’s game against the Rays. Any hope of making a run this year is pretty much behind us. The focus now is to see how some of the young players finish out the season such as Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, and Jackie Bradley Jr. The Red Sox will be looking to prepare for the 2016 season and find out what they need. The obvious glaring need on this team will be starting pitching. However, there also will be some holes to fill in the lineup including first base and right field. There have been some positives to take away from this season and some other glaring numbers of underperformance that will be discussed in this post.
1. Hanley Ramirez entered Sunday’s game with just seven doubles in 92 games. Last year with the Dodgers, he had 35 doubles in 128 games. In 2013, he had 25 in 86 games. Considering his ability to drive the ball as well as he does, this is a very odd stat. A lot of people have questioned Ramirez’s dedication and effort. It’s very difficult to measure effort statistically, but this stat sure doesn’t help his case. 19 home runs. Seven doubles.
2. Ramirez is currently on pace to hit 29 home runs this year. This would tie for the second most in his career. His career high is 33. For all of his flaws, he is a legitimate threat in the middle of the lineup.
3. David Ortiz is currently on pace for 31 home runs and 89 RBI’s. Ortiz had at least 28 home runs and 96 RBI’s in five of his last six seasons. The only season he didn’t reach these numbers was 2012. He had 23 home runs and 60 RBI’s in just 90 games that year. From a power and run production standpoint, Ortiz is right around where he should be although his batting average is well below the norm. Ortiz has flown under the radar this year. It’s amazing that he gets so much attention he’s not hitting, but when he does it’s never the story.
4. In his last 30 games, Ortiz is hitting .304 with 6 home runs and 19 RBI’s. His 1.016 OPS is seventh in the American League during this stretch. Since the All Star Game, Ortiz has 15 RBI’s in 15 games.
5. Since getting snubbed from the AL All Star Team, Xander Bogaerts is batting .388. Bogaerts entered Sunday’s game batting .319 which put his 4th in the American League. His performance this year has been outstanding both offensively and defensively. All of the questions going into the season about whether or not he can play shortstop in the big leagues have been answered. Pencil him in as the starting shortstop for the Red Sox and The American League All Star Team for many years to come. Chances are that he’ll blow away his competition next year.
6. In July, Koji Uehara a 0.93 ERA with a .118 opponents batting average and a 0.52 WHIP. Ridiculous numbers! Similar to Ortiz, Uehara has been written off by many fans and media members. When he pitches a bad game, people talk about his age and the questions come up about whether or not this is the end. Uehara is quietly having another great season with 23 saves and a 2.39 ERA. He’s signed through next year. He’ll be 41, but he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down right now.
7. Since May 1st, Wade Miley has let more than four runs just four times in 17 starts. These certainly aren’t amazing numbers, but the point is that since his terrible first month, Miley has been keeping the Red Sox in games. On this team, that’s a big deal. Miley posted a 3.49 ERA in May and a 3.30 ERA in June. July was not good as his ERA for the month was 5.30. If he’s you’re #4 or 5 starter, there are a lot of worse options out there.
8. Pablo Sandoval ranks 13th out of 13 qualifying AL third basemen in OPS. His .685 OPS and -0.6 WAR put him at the bottom of the league. This signing looks really bad right now. We can only hope that this was a lost season for him and he will bounce back next year.
9. Let’s finish this out on a more positive note with some more Pedro Martinez stats. In 1999 and 2000, Pedro let up 0 or 1 run in 34 out of 58 starts. In 59% of his starts, his opponents did not score more than one run. Wow! In those same two years, he gave up three runs or less in 54 out of 58 starts. In 93% of his starts, he gave up less than four runs! He did this in an era where offense was at its absolute peak. What an amazing player…