Red Sox Dismal Season

By Jimmy Angell

J Ellsbury LF

D Pedroia 2B

V Martinez C

K Youkilis 1B

D Ortiz DH

A Beltre 3B

J Drew RF

M Cameron CF

M Scutaro SS

With former World Series MVP Josh Beckett on the mound, this was the Red Sox opening day lineup: a lineup built to strike fear into opponents. With 13 former All Stars on their roster, the Red Sox were loaded and destined for a world series run. And with a 9-7 win in the opener against the rival Yankees it seemed that already they were off to the races.

However on April 11, Red Sox left fielder and lead off hitter (Jacoby Ellsbury) collided with Adrian Beltre and fractured three ribs. Since then Jacoby Ellsbury has played just 12 games and on September 10 it was announced that he would be out the rest of the season.

Josh Beckett was the next Red Sox player to hit the disabled list. The former All Star and World Series MVP was placed on the disabled list on May 19^th because of a lower back strain. The team ace did not return until late July and he has been inconsistent since then.

Former league MVP and fan favorite Dustin Pedroia fouled a ball off his foot against the Colorado Rockies June 25. He suffered a bone fracture and has played just 75 games all season and will be on the disabled list the rest of the year.

A few days later Victor Martinez, Boston’s switch-hitting All Star, catcher broke his thumb and spent almost a month on the disabled list.

Around the same time backup catcher and Red Sox captain Jason Varitek went down with a fractured foot and has not returned to the lineup since then.

A few months ago MVP candidate Kevin Youkilis went down with torn ligaments in his thumb. He had season ending surgery so he will not be seen again until next year.

There was never a stretch of time when the Red Sox were at full strength. This years team is on pace to win roughly 90 games. Most teams would gladly accept a 90-win season, but playing in the AL East! That is good enough for 3^rd place. Boston fans expect nothing less than a playoff birth every year. This leaves us with the thought of what could the 2010 Red Sox have been if they had stayed even remotely healthy?