Lefty swinging CF Fred Lynn burst onto the scene with the Boston Red Sox in 1975, as he won both the Rookie of the Year Award and the MVP Award in the American League. Lynn played in 145 games for the Red Sox in 1975 and he was 175 of 528 (.331 avg, .967 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 21 homers, 105 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Lynn also led the majors with 47 doubles in 1975. But, Lynn’s best season with the Red Sox came in 1979 when he finished 4th in the MVP voting. Lynn played in 147 games for the Red Sox in 1979 and he was 177 of 531 (.333 avg, 1.059 OPS) with 116 runs scored, 39 homers, 122 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Lynn played 7 seasons for the Red Sox and he made the All-Star team six times as well as winning four Gold Gloves. Lynn’s fearlessness in the field likely hampered him from reaching his full potential as he often lost battles with outfield walls, despite making some amazing plays. Lynn played in 828 games for the Red Sox in his career and he was 944 of 3,062 (.308 avg, .902 OPS) with 523 runs scored, 124 homers, 521 RBIs and 43 stolen bases. Lynn was never the same player after the Red Sox dealt him on January 23, 1981 to the California Angels.

26-year old switch-hitting Jarrod Saltalamacchia and 39-year old switch-hitting Jason Varitek have been awful both offensively and defensively for the Red Sox so far this year. Saltalamacchia has played in 12 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 7 for 36 (.194 avg, .479 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 5 RBIs. He has already whiffed 13 times this year while only walking only 2 times as he is showing almost no plate discipline. Jason Varitek has been even worse. Varitek has played in 9 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 1 for 23 (.043 avg, .229 OPS) without any runs scored or RBIs. He has also whiffed 9 times already this year as he has looked helpless with a bat in his hands. The Red Sox will likely be scouring the trade market for a catcher pretty soon unless one of these guys starts hitting.

Righty starting pitcher Josh Beckett is off to a very good start for the Boston Red Sox so far this year. Beckett has started 3 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He has only given up 10 hits in his first 20 innings this year while whiffing 23 batters as he has been electric so far this year for the Red Sox. Beckett had a really rough year in 2010, but it looks like he has left the bad pitching behind. He looks like the best starting pitcher the Red Sox have once again.

Righty starting pitchers Clay Buchholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey have really sucked for the Red Sox so far this year. Buchholz has started 2 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. Buchholz just got a nice long term deal from the Red Sox, so they have faith in him turning around things soon. Daisuke Matsuzaka is likely on a short leash as far as his rotation spot goes. Matsuzaka has started 2 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 0-2 with a 12.86 ERA and a 2.71 WHIP! He has given up 14 hits (3 of which are homers) in only 7 innings pitched, so opposing batters have been running up to the plate against him. John Lackey has started 2 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 15.58 ERA and a 2.42 WHIP. Lackey has given up 17 hits (3 homers) in only 8 2/3 innings and he has also walked 4 batters which is way too many. Due to the money Lackey is getting paid, the Red Sox are going to keep running him out there every five days. The Red Sox need Buchholz, Lackey and Matsuzaka to step up or it’s going to be a very long year for them.

Starting LF Carl Crawford was supposed to give the Red Sox a nice jolt at the top of the lineup with his speed. But, that hasn’t been the case so far as he’s finding out that it’s impossible to steal 1B. Crawford has played in 11 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 7 for 46 (.152 avg, .378 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers, 1 RBI and 2 stolen bases. He’s going to wish he never signed with the Red Sox if he doesn’t start hitting soon, as the Fenway Faithful are not good with dealing with guys who aren’t producing. I think Crawford will be fine as he’s too good of a hitter to keep this up much longer.