Red Sox Off to Rocky Start

Hopefully Ellsbury can avoid the DL.

Three series in. 10 games down. 4-6 record. Big Papi still stinks. Sox fans are hitting the panic button.

The bats need to wake up. Four regulars: David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, Victor Martinez, and Mike Cameron are batting a combined .183 (22-120). Ortiz is off to another forgettable start and Drew and Victor have each yet to find their stroke. Cameron, a career .250 hitter, missed today's game with a possible case of appendicitis. If Cameron is forced to go on the DL it could mean trouble for the Sox as it would require a lengthy period of rest for the defensive minded center fielder. Jacoby Ellsbury, who was off to a nice start, took a knee in the ribs from Adrian Beltre when they collided in foul ground. Jacoby said that he is having trouble breathing deeply without pain and could also be DL bound.

On the pitching side, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester have stumbled out of the gate, but it's only been two starts. John Lackey has been very solid in 12 2/3 innings of work compiling a minuscule 1.42 ERA. Keep an eye on Daniel Bard's work load. The filthy righty has done a superb job throwing his fastball-slider combination out of the pen, but six appearances in ten games for the 24 year old is a bit concerning. Hopefully they can even it out going forward as to not mess with the hurler's arm.

All offseason, the talk was about run prevention and defense. Well, the team has committed four errors in ten games. Now with the possible impending DL stints for Cameron and Jacoby, the outfield's range will take a significant hit.

It's very early, and we do not know this team's true identity quite yet. The Sox come home for a ten game home stand versus the Rays, Rangers, and Orioles, and hopefully this will be a good opportunity for the team to bring that record over .500 with a 7-3 stint.