ALDS Coverage: Boston’s Lacking Offense

How poor was Boston’s offensive effort last night? Only Jason Bay produced a positive WPA, and even then his figure was only .016. Mike Lowell contributed -.137; Kevin Youkilis -.094; David Ortiz -.059; and Dustin Pedroia -.058. To state the obvious: this needs to be corrected and quickly. Boston’s lineup combined to strike out five times (three were by Ortiz) and only walked once (thanks Victor Martinez) otherwise they put a bunch of balls into play and saw their efforts go unrewarded. They had chances to cash in, mind you, but not too many.

In the highly documented third inning, Boston put two on with two out and watched Pedroia fly out harmlessly on the second pitch. In the sixth Kevin Youkilis came up in a similar situation which lead to a fielder’s choice. In the eighth, J.D. Drew singled to start the inning, advanced to second after an errant pitch, and was stranded as Casey Kotchman and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to third and Pedroia lined out to second.

That’s it. Those were the only times Boston really threatened. John Lackey is responsible for some of the futility, but the Red Sox were the best team in the American League at drawing walks during the regular season and last night Bobby Abreu tripled their free passes all by his lonesome.

As Carson noted, Jered Weaver goes to the hill tonight for the Halos, meanwhile Boston responds with Josh Beckett. Everyone knows what Beckett brings to the table: power fastball, heaven-sent curve, occasional change-up, awful facial hair, and enough folklore to make Curt Schilling question his self-worth. The most stunning revelation someone will have about Beckett today is this doozy which explains how John Henry wanted Beckett (and A.J. Burnett) to be transferred to the Red Sox following his purchase.

Using the phrase “must-win” for game two is a tad much, especially given the recent history of this team’s ability to resurrect their series chances in worse situations than 2-0. Still, avoiding an 0-2 start is preferable; both at the plate and in the series.