Opinion

For Red Sox fans, there weren’t too many things to cheer about in the month of April.

The team got off to a horrendous start, plagued by a surprising lack of pitching and a not so surprising lack of offensive punch.

David Ortiz is once again showing himself to be “Big Pop-up” as opposed to “Big Papi,” and the offseason acquisitions of Marco Scutaro, Adrian Beltre, and Mike Cameron have provided minimal run production.

J.D. Drew hit a home run Sunday afternoon.

While I'd usually make some sort of snarky comment about how difficult it is to hit balls out of the park without the use of a human heart, that turn of events this time instead brought home the reality of how upside down this season has been so far in Boston.

J.D. Drew has been the Red Sox's most durable outfielder.

So far in 2010, it's pretty safe to say that Javier Vazquez stinks for the Yankees.

He hasn't just been bad. He's been horrific—so horrific that every time he departs from Yankee Stadium, he gets by far the loudest boos of the team.

In his first five starts back with the team, he is 1-3 with a 9.78 ERA.

His longest outing thus far has been 5.2 innings. His innings totals aren't that high, but his hits, runs, walks, and ERA are extremely high.

The bullpen was supposed to be a key strength for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2010.

All the talk about lacking a true No. 1 starter didn't matter, because the relievers would be there to secure any lead.

That bravado hinged, in no small way, on the return of Scot Shields.

Shields has indeed returned, but his pitching form has not.

After looking at the merits of the Boston Red Sox trading for Milwaukee Brewers first baseman, Prince Fielder, there could be another team with colored socks in the mix for Fielder's services, the Chicago White Sox.

GM Kenny Williams isn't afraid to bring in a big-name player to his organization, as evident by his acquisitions of Jake Peavy and Alex Rios last season.

Fielder would just serve as the latest player to come to Chicago thanks to one of the most aggressive general managers in baseball.

Whatever way you want to slice and dice the Mets Sunday-night defeat in Philadelphia, there's no getting away from the fact that Johan Santana struggled.

Struggled is probably the nicest word to describe his shortcomings in Citizens Bank Park. It's like saying that Stalin struggled to understand the merits of democracy or that C.C. Sabathia struggled to fit into a pair or Chinos with a 36-inch waist.

Not yet...

The starting pitching had to let down at some point this season. It’s virtually impossible to keep up the pace.

Mike Pelfrey got the fun started, giving up six runs in the fourth inning on Saturday en route to a 10-0 loss, the first loss for the Mets in eight games.

Things only got worst on Sunday when Johan Santana put up his worst effort in his time with the Mets, as he gave up 10 runs in less than four innings pitched.

The Cincinnati Reds' starters are pitching like we thought they would going into the season, including, yes, Aaron Harang. 

But the Reds have an unexpected problem. The bullpen, more specifically the middle relievers, are pitching like kids dropped on their heads as babies.

The back-end is fine. Coco Cordero is lights out. And if Arthur Rhodes keeps it up, he may be the first eighth-inning guy to win a Cy Young Award.

Daniel Ray Herrera has been fine for the two or three batters he faces, and Micah Owings is doing alright in the mop-up role.

Since Brian Cashman took the reigns of a championship-bound team in 1998, he has acquired several players who were run out of town following their disastrous tenures in pinstripes. Scathing condemnations written by dozens of columnists questioned these previously successful players' respective abilities to succeed under the bright spotlight of New York. 

The New York Yankees finished up a three game series against the Chicago White Sox with a 12-3 win today. The Yankees won the series by winning the opening game as well as the finale, but losing the middle game.

I wanted to share some thoughts that came to mind as the series wrapped up.

New Look Outfield