Sox resilient despite a Homer-less Ortiz and injury plagued lineup

Justin Thrift

Ask anyone in New England about the current predicament of longtime power-hitter and RBI man David Ortiz, and they’re sure to grimace and moan. With almost 40 games down in the Red Sox 2009 season the fact remains that the Boston slugger is batting an uncharacteristic .208 average with 15 RBI’s and 0 homers.

To add to the woes of the Fenway Faithful, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Julio Lugo have all faced game-missing injuries, while Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Brad Penny have failed to find consistency for the team’s starting rotation. Capping it off, Jed Lowrie, Boston’s stealthy shortstop, will miss most of the 2009 season due to wrist surgery.

This means that The Nation is officially swinging into panic mode, right? Wrong.

If there’s one thing that can be learned from the start of the Red Sox season, it’s that their team depth is even deeper than many thought it was. With their iconic DH slumping harder than ever before and injuries plaguing their lineup, the Sox aren’t fumbling to find run support and win games; in fact, they’re doing just fine.

Going into Tuesday’s showdown with the AL East topping Jay’s, the Red Sox are sitting 3.5 games back of first in the toughest division in Major League Baseball. Perhaps Jason Bay is the most notable Boston player who’s bat has turned hot to support the team. Bay’s 11 home runs puts him at 3rd in the American League for homers and his 40 RBI’s sits him second in the Majors in that category.

The success of this Boston team has also partly come from unsung heroes and rookies such as shortstop Nick Greene, batting a .302 avg., and backup first basemen Jeff Bailey, who’s recent homer lifted the Sox over Seattle in a close game at Safeco Field.

In addition, the Boston bullpen has provided it’s starters with some of the best relief in the game. Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen both have an ERA under 1.00 while Jonathan Papelbon continues to prove he’s the best closer in baseball with an ERA of 1.06 and a dominant 19 strikeouts in only 17 innings pitched. The Sox also have strong reliable arms in Hideki Okajima, Takashi Saito, Hunter Jones and Javier Lopez – all of which have provided the strong pitching that is crucial in playing championship baseball. And with Dice-K set to return to the starting rotation this week, Justin Masterson will also be rejoining the bullpen after a steady streak as a starting pitcher.

Boston now looks forward to hosting the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway for the first series between these teams of the year. The Red Sox will have their minds set on gaining ground on the league leading Jays who have managed to stay a few games ahead of the Sox for most of the season. Big Papi is expected to return to the lineup after a few days on the bench, while Julio Lugo may also make a return to the starting lineup.

Toronto’s reign at the top of the AL East will be tested throughout the three game series as Boston, New York, and Tampa Bay continue to pick up pace in the second month of Major League play.

Jay’s pitcher Brian Tallet (2-1) takes on Boston’s veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (4-1) at 7:10 p.m. ET.