Despite Sunday’s performance, the Sox are still not hitting. Their .242 team average puts them on the road to their lowest mark in 46 years. It is all the more frustrating given some fine mound efforts by youngsters Rubby DeLa Rosa and Brandon Workman and even much-maligned Felix Doubront.
The plain truth is that the men expected to lead the team are simply not hitting for average. Dustin Pedroia’s .265 is a 35-point drop from 2013. Despite his heroic homers, David Ortiz’s .248 is a drop of 61. Mike Napoli is hanging in at .268, but his power production is down.
The team seems to be waiting for someone to get hot, but it is not happening right now. Xander Bogearts went through a tough stretch, not surprising for a 21-year-old pegged as a coming star. Time seems to be running out on Jackie Bradley Jr, despite his fine defensive play. Brock Holt has yet to prove he is more than a fine utility man.
Sox 2014 fortunes seem to reflect those of two players who seem to have faded out of the loop- Daniel Nava and Will Middlebrooks. Nava’s story is well-known- his inability to make his first college squad, his signing by the team for $1, his slow climb up the minor league ladder, the grand slam on his first major league pitch. It also includes his waiver by the Sox in 2011 (no team signed) and his return to Pawtucket as a non-roster player. The Cinderella story includes a breakout year in 2013- a .313 average, 12 homers, 66 rbi’s and a .564 slugging percentage. It also includes a World Championship Ring. The slipper seems to have fallen off this year, however- a .205 mark with 4 rbi’s and a temporary trip back to the minors.
Middlebrooks, still currently on the DL, also has had many ups and downs. Unlike Nava, Will was a hot prospect from the start, being ranked the Sox’ top prospect in 2012 at age 22. Recalled early in that season, he won the third base spot from Kevin Youkilis. Middlebrooks was a bright spot in the depressing Bobby V season, batting .288 with 15 homers and 54 rbi’s until breaking a bone in his hand in August and missing the rest of the year. Will could not get it going last year, dropping to .227 and sharing time at third with Holt, Jose Iglesias and Brandon Snyder. The injury bug hit again this spring with a strained calf and broken finger resulting in a .197 start. When he returns, it may be at first or in the outfield.
The reason Middlebrooks and Nava give some hope is because their major league careers are probably on the line. Baseball history is full of one-season wonders, and neither man-both hard-working and team players- wants to go down in that category.
With the Sox still (barely) in the race, they should give both of these guys a chance to save their careers.
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