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Cheer up Pitching woes aside, Red Sox have reason to be optimisticPosted: Thursday April 04, 2002 5:44 PM
Dustin Hermanson leaving Wednesday night's game against the Blue Jays after two innings with a groin injury might have been as ominous a sign for the Red Sox as Pedro Martinez's shaky outing on Opening Day. With John Burkett on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis, Boston's rotation now consists of: Martinez, who doesn't look, sound or act like the Pedro we know and love; Derek Lowe, who pitched well this spring but has all of 22 career starts under his belt, just three of which have come since 1998; Frank Castillo (76-88 lifetime) and, perhaps, Rolando Arrojo as Hermanson's replacement. Not pretty. But forget about the Pedro Panic for a moment. It was only one game, but Boston, which finished in the middle of the pack last season in runs scored, showed on Opening Day its offense can be explosive. Tony Clark (three hits and a home run), plucked off waivers over the winter, may go down as one of deposed GM Dan Duquette's smartest pickups. Nomar Garciaparra appeared healthy and comfortable, hitting a trademark line drive high off the center field wall that missed going out by about two feet. And catcher Jason Varitek looked sharp (3 for 3) in his first game back after breaking his elbow last June. The more important signs of hope, however, are in the clubhouse, where the only reminder of the disharmonious Carl Everett Era is the picture that hangs above Manny Ramirez's locker of the slugger and Carl arm-in-arm. Boston's season unraveled last year partly because Pedro, Nomar and Varitek got hurt, partly because the clubhouse melted down in a torrent of complaints from players and, late in the season, a near-mutiny against manager Joe Kerrigan. The atmosphere is much better now. New manager Grady Little, a favorite of most of the players, gets credit for that, but so does the new ownership group. (Players were stationed at Fenway's entrance gates to welcome fans on Wednesday night, a striking departure from the previous regime's lackluster fan-appreciation efforts.) "From management on down," says one veteran player, "people aren't walking on eggshells as much around here." Will the harmony still be there if the Sox are 12 games out in June? Who knows, but the early signs are encouraging. The players took a page from the New England Patriots' book -- remember them being introduced as a team before the Super Bowl? -- and on Monday were announced to the Fenway Park crowd in numerical order, rather than as starters and bench players. Clark brings a thoughtful and commanding presence to the clubhouse. And Mike Stanley, one of the team's leaders as a player two years ago, is back as bench coach. In short, there are a few clubhouse cops to help keep things from deteriorating as they did last year. It's early, but the Sox appear to have adopted a new attitude. Now they can concentrate on getting Pedro back. April OmensYou'll hear a lot in the next couple weeks about fast starters and slow starters. Every season has its early stars who flame out (Eric Owens of the Marlins hit three homers last April and finished the season with five) and early duds who pan out, but there are also players who, for whatever reason, consistently play far above or below their heads in April. What does it mean? Judging by the lists below, if you're a good hitter in April, you're probably good all year long. In most cases, stud April pitchers better enjoy the success while it lasts.
Sports Illustrated staff writer Stephen Cannella covers the baseball beat for the magazine. Touching Base appears every week on CNNSI.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
