Boston Red Sox
Improving on their record away from Fenway is a must for Boston to stay in the A.L. East chase.
09:15 AM EDT on Friday, July 16, 2004
One team has a batting average of .303. The other, .258.
One team scores 6.2 runs per game. The other, 4.9.
One team gets on base 37.6 percent of the time. The other, 34.4.
It should be no surprise, therefore, that one team has a .667 winning
percentage (which, if projected out to 162 games, translates to a
seasonal record of 108-54). The other, .439 (71-91).
What is surprising, though, is that these aren't really two teams.
The first -- the .667 group -- is the 2004 Boston Red Sox when playing
at Fenway Park. The other -- the .439 bunch -- is the 2004 Boston Red
Sox when playing anywhere else.
And that's why the beginning of the second half of the season, which
kicked off late last night at Anaheim, is so crucial to the Sox. They
play 18 of their first 23 in the second half on the road, and a .439
winning percentage in those
18 games would probably extinguish whatever slim hopes they have of
catching the Yankees in the A.L. East. More importantly, it could put
them behind the eight-ball in the wild-card race, which they led by a
game heading into last night's action.
In order to avoid those dual fates, they're going to have to play much
better on the road than they have recently. They've lost their last four
road series (two out of three in Atlanta, three straight in Yankee
Stadium, two out of three in San Francisco and two out of three in
Colorado), and five of their last six. In fact, their three-game sweep
of the Yankees in late April is the only road series they've won all
year against a team that's currently over .500.
The culprits aren't hard to find:
Fact is, virtually every Red Sox hitter is more effective in Boston than
out of Boston. It's not unique -- most every team and many major-league
players hit better at home than on the road -- but the Sox' dropoff is
dramatic . . . and it shows in the won-loss record.
It's dramatic enough to offset their pitching, which, unlike their
hitting, has been utterly superb on the road. Prior to last night the
Sox had the best road earned-run average in the American League (4.06;
the second-best team, Minnesota, was at 4.29) and also led in batting
average allowed (.251) and OPS (on base plus slugging) allowed (.714) on
the road. Their road WHIP -- Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched -- of
1.31 is also a league-best.
But you can't win if you don't score, or at least don't score enough.
And the '04 Sox didn't score enough to avoid posting an 18-23 road
record in the first half.
These are numbers they're going to have to improve -- and right away --
if they hope to remain a factor in the A.L. East race.
NOTES: The Sox demoted rookie third baseman Kevin Youkilis to Pawtucket
prior to last night's game in order to reactivate relief pitcher Ramiro
Mendoza. Mendoza, sidelined since April because of arm problems, just
completed a 30-day rehabilitation assignment at Pawtucket, and under
baseball's rules had to be activated or released by yesterday. Youkilis'
playing time decreased after Mueller returned from knee surgery.
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