Red Sox Dominance

by Nicholas Papadopolous

The Boston Red Sox have been playing stellar baseball as of late. They are currently 8.5 games ahead of the Yankees who are in second place in the AL East.
The success in the team has been in their pitching. Curt Schilling has been leading the staff with a 4-1 record and a 3.63 ERA. Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Japanese rookie, has performed admirably and has a 5-2 record to show for it. Currently the best pitcher on the staff has been Josh Beckett. He has an amazing 7-0 record and a miniscule 2.66 ERA. Both Tim Wakefield and Julian Tavarez have been average, but are among the leagues top number 4 and number 5 pitchers in the league.
The sox bullpen, which hasn’t been near the top of the league in the past few years, has been doing great. Closer Jonathan Papelbon has been dominate and has saved 10 games in eleven chances. Fellow Japanese rookie Hideki Okajima has shut done hitters with a 0.48 ERA. The Sox are also eagerly anticipating veteran Mike Timlin’s return from the DL.
Once the Red Sox hitting heats up, the Red Sox will be nearly unstoppable. David Ortiz has been leading the offensive charge with 9 HR and 33 RBI’s while batting .313. Manny Ramirez has been having his usual slow start, batting .248 with 6 HR. Utility infielder Alex Cora has been the surprise of the year, coming through in clutch situations and batting .392.
All in all, the Sox are looking forward to the playoffs where they hope to win their 2nd World Series in 4 years.