Ups and Downs

As we head into the homestretch, we can see the playoffs on the horizon. Now would be a good time to take a look at what is currently encouraging with the Sox and what should concern us.

The bad news is that most of the downs concern the pitching staff. Not good considering we have banked all year on the fact that we will have the better pitching in the postseason. So let's start with the bad news.

The Downs:

Being totally objective, it's tough to look at the current starting rotation without breaking into a cold sweat. After Josh Beckett and maybe the resurgence of Jon Lester (of course it's been four starts against the Orioles and Devil Rays), the rest of the staff should definitely give you a case of the Calvin Schiraldis.

Dice K: The rookie phenom has clearly hit the wall, Tito's protestations to the contrary. He is pitching on fumes and desperately needs a rest. Hopefully Tito doesn't believe the claptrap he has been serving up and seriously considers letting Dice K miss a start or two. He needs to recharge the batteries or he will be useless in the playoffs. Watching him get knocked around by the O's and Rays, how do you feel about watching him against the Angels and Yankees? How do you say Oi Vay in Japanese?

Tim Wakefield: In recent years, Wake has spent a stretch of time on the DL with some injury or another. He has avoided that this year...until now. He is a warrior, but if his effort against the O's is any indication, he is not ready for prime time.

Curt Schilling: The transformation of the Big Schill from power pitcher to John Burkett continues. As we have said, if anyone can be effective with an 88 mile an hour fastball, that would be Schilling, but this clearly remains a work in progress. Again, how do you feel about running him out there against the Yankee? Perhaps the Bombers will drown themselves drooling. Or there might be an injury or two as they battle to get to the bat rack. Scary.

Manny Delcarmen: Talk about the girl with the curl. When he is good, he is very very good. When he is bad, well you know how that goes. When I see him go out there I always feel we are a couple of four pitch walks away from disaster.

Hideki Okajima: See Dice K above. Okidokie has already appeared in 62 games. His highest total EVER in Japan was 58. Time for Tito to lay off for a while.

Eric Gagne: On the one hand, it's nice to hear that he was actually injured and that is the reason he was getting hammered. (Please don't buy that drivel that he overworked himself trying to work out of his problem and that he was tipping his pitches.) A stud closer like Gagne becomes ineffective for only one reason: he's hurt. And we now find out that was the case. The good news is that if this layoff allows him to come back healthy, we may actually have the bullpen we hoped we had on July 31.

Manny Ramirez: The Sox are doing fine without Manny against the Weak Sisters of the Poor who they have been playing lately, but they will need Manny in the post season. Please note that when they played a good team i.e. the Yankees, they lost three straight without number 24. This time off can work one of two ways. If he comes back healthy and refreshed, he can do serious damage in October. If he is not recovered, his absence creates a gaping hole in the lineup that could be fatal come playoff time.

Kevin Youkilis: He continues to play gold glove first base, but he is rapidly become absolutely Drewish at the plate. For the second consecutive year, Youk has worn down in the second half. This is an issue the Sox brass really have to address as they make plans for the future. As for the near term, his strike outs have begun to make him look like Mark Bellhorn. Another potential hole in a swiss cheese lineup.

JD Drew: Enough said. Huge disappointment. Get ready for a lot of ground balls to second and an occasional walk with runners in scoring position.

But the news is not all bad. In fact there are a few encouraging developments heading into the postseason.

Jonathan Papelbon: Tito has used him brilliantly this year and he appears ready to put together a Mariano Rivera/Dennis Eckersley/Rollie Fingers (for you old timers) type of post season. The key is, can the Sox lightweight lineup get him enough leads to save?

David Ortiz: Either through some key adjustments or just by getting more healthy, Big Papi appears to be rounding into his old Hero self. The pop appears to be back and if Manny can slip in behind him, we can hope for another clutch post season by Ortiz.

Coco Crisp: This is double good news. Coco is picking up his his hitting to go along with his yearlong outstanding defense just in time for the playoffs . That bodes well for the Sox in October. For the long term, Coco is increasing his trade value daily, something that will pay dividends in the offseason when Theo deals him. It is obvious that with the play of Ellsbury and the Albatross Drew contract that Crisp is the odd man out. I hate to see him go, but if he can bring back a couple of young pitching and a catching prospect, that would work out fine. Maybe Theo can work out a reverse Beckett, trading Crisp but making them take Drew's contract as well. Won't happen. Theo can't trade with himself.

Jacoby Ellsbury: Something tells me he will make a serious impact in the post season. As much as we all like him, however, he is not going to be a substitute for Manny, so let's not get carried away. That said, it will be nice to have him and his five tool game on the bench. Maybe Tito will stand up to Theo and play him instead of Drew.

Dustin Pedroia: The AL Rookie of the Year continues to hit, play defense and give this team the dirt dog edge that left with Trot Nixon. I really expected him to go out after Daniel Cabrera even though he was giving up a foot and a half. The fact that he didn't proves that he is smart as well as talented.

Mike Lowell: When you open the Baseball Dictionary and look up "Salary Drive" you will see a picture of Mike Lowell. He is making himself hundreds of thousands of dollars a day with his continued stellar play. From the beginning of the year, when the debate was how much less than 9 million would he accept to now when he has probably priced himself out of Boston (Shouldn't he be looking for Drew money at 14 million per year?). That's unfortunate since he has become the go to guy on this team. Short term, that bodes well for the postseason. It will be sad to see him go, if he leaves.

Overall, it will come down to pitching, as it always does. Tito has three weeks to get the staff ready. Time to build momentum for October.

The magic number is 14.