By Bill Chuck
Special to CSNNE.com
It all revolves Adrian Gonzalez.
I dont mean, the sun, the moon, and the earth (but they may as well). I mean the success of the Red Sox.
Dont get me wrong, this is not a one-man team, but this is a team whose achievements can be traced to the accomplishments of one man, and that man is Adrian Gonzalez. (Save that last sentence, because if there is any controversy at seasons end as to who the AL MVP is, this should provide the support that is necessary for A-Gon.)
I have great respect for Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays, who leads the American League in Wins Above Replacement at 4.6, but his presence in the Toronto lineup is minimal compared to that of Gonzalez, who is second in the league with a 3.6.
I respect the fact that Adrian barely leads Jose in the batting race, .341 to .338 and Bautista leads the league in OPS (On-baseSlugging) at 1.190, over David Ortiz who is second at 1.019 (Gonzalez at .977 is fourth in the league, also trailing Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers who has a 1.004 OPS). But, the Toronto Blue Jays are under .500 at 32-34 while the Sox, and Gonzalez, have played 65 games and their 39-26 (.600) record heading into Tuesday night's game is only exceeded by the 40-26 Phillies (.606).
The Sox are a team reliant on hitting, because truth be told, their pitching is mediocre. The full staff has the eighth-best ERA in the league at 4.08. The starters and relievers ERA strangely are the same at 4.08 and both are only good for the ninth in the league, so its clearly the Sox bats that have led them to the top.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are first in the A.L. in runs, hits, doubles, total bases, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS, and their leader has been A-Gon. You do not need to be a stats maven to appreciate the numbers of Gonzalez. A quick look shows that he leads the A.L. with 91 hits, 22 doubles, 37 extra-base hits (tied with the ChiSox Carlos Quentin), 156 total bases, and most importantly, 60 RBI.
We were pleased when on May 7 he was hitting .303, but in the five weeks since that date he has hit .374 with 10 of his 13 homers (oh, did I neglect his power?) and 38 RBI. His presence in the lineup, particularly with runners on base, has a dramatic effect on every game.
Looking for a delicious stat? (For the newly initiated to Nation STATion, those are numbers that are so yummy that I gain weight thinking about them.) Try this: Gonzalez is hitting .310 with no one on base; with men on, hes hitting .369; with men in scoring position, hes hitting .376; and with men in scoring position and two outs, hes hitting .405.
So what is the Gonzalez influence?
The consistency of Gonzalez means that the pressure is off another member of the lineup who might be slumping or experiencing highs and lows. Take Dustin Pedroia, who has scuffled all season. His .262 average is far below the .305 lifetime average he had entering the season. But Pedey is protecting the plate for Jacoby Ellsbury, who has stolen a league-leading 24 bases and has scored 49 runs, driven in 18 times by Gonzalez.
You cant help but appreciate the confidence exhibited by Ellsbury as hes regained his role as a premier lead-off batter after a washed-out 2010. Ellsbury, the current AL Player of the Week, had an OBP of .294 on April 26 as he was hitting .221. Hes played 44 games since then and hit .356, with an OBP of .407 with 19 stolen bases and, most importantly, 37 runs scored. His season-long OBP is .376.
On the other end of the lineup, the Sox, thanks to Gonzalez and Big Papi, have been able to be patient with Jarrod Saltalamacchia who, since May 5, has raised his average from .194 to .252 by hitting .289 with five homers and 32 RBI.
The same is true for Carl Crawford, who returned to his baseball roots in Tampa on Tuesday. Had he gone on May 5, the fans would show no regret over his departure as he was hitting .197. Since that date, hes hit .290, with an .805 OPS and raised his average to a not embarrassing .246.
Thanks to Kevin Youkilis and, particularly Ortiz, pitchers cant and dont issue a lot of walks to Gonzalez. He only has received 22 so far this season which is same as the As Josh Willingham who is hitting .235. But when on May 9, Papi was hitting .280 with four homers, everyone in Red Sox Nation was content. Since that date, Ortiz has hit .355 with 13 homers and 27 RBI and Gonzalez has hit .369 with nine homers and 36 RBI. Oh, and the Sox were 17-18 on May 9 and since have gone 22-8.
Look up at the standings, or in the sky, and you will see it all revolves around the magnificent Gonzalez.