Eight reasons to keep watching the Boston Red Sox

Bobby V. and Papi: two to watch.

The Red Sox may yet have a push for the second Wild Card in them, but even if they continue to play .500 ball and miss the postseason, there are still plenty of reasons for fans to keep watching though September. Here are eight of them:

  

Pedro Ciriaco

Critics keep saying the little guy can't keep it up, but Ciriaco is still batting .338 after 27 games with Boston since his early July call-up from Pawtucket. He hit very well in two earlier stints with the Pirates as well, and now boasts a .336 career mark in 116 major league at-bats.

He has also shown a steady glove at three infield positions, an ability to hit in the clutch, and top-notch speed on the base paths. At 26, Ciriaco is not the “career minor leaguer” some have made him out to be, and his unabashed enthusiasm has made him a fan favorite.

Look for him to continue improving as a hitter and base stealer.

Gonzo is shining at the plate and in the field.

Adrian Gonzalez

He may never be the 45-homer guy Theo Epstein envisioned when he signed him to that monster eight-year deal, but Gonzalez is currently on the type of tear that few hitters can muster. He's now on pace to finish with more than 100 RBI and 200 hits for the second straight year, and he's saved Boston's steady stream of young infielders all year with his great glove work.

Sure, it would be nice to see more emotion, and with just 11 homers his “A-Gone” nickname should probably be changed, but Gonzalez is not the problem with this team

Will Middlebrooks

If it wasn't for the other-worldly numbers being put up by Mike Trout in Los Angeles, Boston's freshman third baseman would be getting plenty of attention as a Rookie of the Year candidate. His three-run pinch homer on Tuesday night was just the latest in a season full of big hits, and he has handled the pressure of replacing an iconic fan favorite (Kevin Youkilis) very well.

At age 23, Will the Thrill should be a fixture in Boston for the next decade.

Fans long to see Bailey pitching when it counts.

Andrew Bailey

The injury to Bailey in spring training was one of the biggest blows of the season, as it forced manager Bobby Valentine to reshuffle his pitching staff and turn projected starter/long man Alfredo Aceves into a closer. Aceves has had his moments, but he's clearly better cut out for his former role.

All eyes will be on Bailey when he makes his expected return to Boston later this month. If he can reclaim the form he showed as Oakland's bullpen ace in 2009-11, it will be a big plus for the Sox heading into next season.

  

David Ortiz

When Big Papi limped off the field on July 16, you could almost hear the death knells of the 2012 Red Sox season start playing. His Achilles strain has hurt the team deeply, as it removed Boston's biggest bat from the lineup at precisely the same time table-setters Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford were returning from their own injuries.

Ortiz was on his way to a 35-homer, 110-RBI season when he went down, and after he returns (likely by next week) will be out to prove he still has something left – and is worthy of the two-year contract he craves.

Buchholz has been looking up since June.

Clay Buchholz

While top-of-the-rotation starters Jon Lester and Josh Beckett have continued to struggle, No. 3 man Buchholz has rebounded from his own slow start to emerge as one of the best pitchers in the American League over the past two months.

He has allowed more than two runs in just two of his past 10 starts, and with a bit more luck and support could easily be among the league leaders in wins. It's unclear what the future holds for Lester and Beckett with Boston, but the only place Buchholz is likely going is to the No. 1 slot in next year's rotation.

All Those Doubles

Sure, they may all be struck in vain, but the Red Sox have a good shot to break their own major league record for most doubles by a team in one season. Boston's 2004 and 1997 clubs hit 373 apiece, which ties them with the 1930 Cardinals for the current standard.

With four more two-baggers Tuesday, this year's Red Sox already have 247 doubles through 111 games, which easily leads all of baseball. If they continue at their pace of 2.25 a contest, they will fall just short of the mark – but Ortiz's return should help raise that average. Come the last weeks of September, cheering for Wall balls could be all the rage at Fenway.

Bobby V. goes bonkers as Shaguhnessy looks on.

Bobby Valentine

Boston owner John Henry released a statement on Monday stating that Valentine's role as manager was safe, and the fact he felt compelled to do so says a lot about the dark clouds of turmoil surrounding the Red Sox. Valentine's sarcastic comments and often off-the-wall behavior of late suggest a man who is visibly displeased with the pressure and magnifying glass he is under, and while he has taken to defending his team's effort and attitude, the players have not sent much love back his way.

Terry Francona was content staying out of the spotlight, but Valentine can't seem to avoid it. And if the team is struggling its way to the finish line with 85 to 90 losses, Bobby V may feel he's “one and done” – and choose to go down swinging with outbursts we can't yet imagine.

Red Sox doubling their pleasure at a record pace

Another double for Gonzo?

Ever since Fenway Park was constructed with its quirky configurations, a big part of the Red Sox offense has consisted of two-base hits that slam off the 37-foot Green Monster in left field or bounce around in the assorted nooks and crannies of the center-field triangle and right- and left-field corners.

From Earl Webb's mind-boggling 67 doubles in 1931 -- still a MLB record -- to the AL-best 54 turned in by MVP Dustin Pedroia in 2008, Sox hitters have often led all American League batters in the category. They routinely place among the best; last year Jacoby Ellsbury (46) and Adrian Gonzalez (45) were right behind top man Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers.

This season, however, is unlike anything even the Red Sox have done before.

Through the first 42 games of the season, the Sox have hit 116 doubles -- an average of nearly three per game. The next-closest team in the American League, the Royals, has 90, and the AL leader-board looks like a Boston lineup card once you get past the leadoff man:

Cano, New York, 16; 

Gonzalez, Boston, 15;

Ortiz, Boston, 15;

Pedroia, Boston, 14; 

Sweeney, Boston, 14;

Aviles, Boston, 13;

 ...and, just a little further down the charts...

Saltalamacchia, Boston, 10;

Ross, Boston, 9

Pedroia follows through on a two-base hit.

To put this into historic perspective, the most doubles the Red Sox have ever hit as a team in one year was a MLB-record-tying 373, accomplished in both the magical 2004 season and the largely-forgettable 1997 campaign. The 2003 near-miss club had 371, the only other Boston team to top 360. (The 1930 St. Louis Cardinals are the other club to hit 373.)

Do some quick math, and you see just how amazing a two-bag pace the current Sox are on. They've played roughly a quarter of the season; were they to keep hitting doubles at their current rate, they would finish with well over 450 and shatter the old team and MLB record.

This blistering early clip has helped the Red Sox recover from a terrible start to reach .500 at 21-21. Imagine where they would be without all the doubles?

Boston has hit 54 home runs and four triples as a team, numbers that put the Sox well behind the American League team leaders in each category. Clearly, the double has been the club's more important offensive weapon. Even with vastly improved starting pitching the past few weeks, the Red Sox team ERA is still a woeful 4.63. 28th out of 30 teams. Boston often needs all the runs it can get. 

Could Earl Webb's record ever be eclipsed?

Will six Red Sox batters wind up with 50+ doubles, as the current leaderboard suggests? It's doubtful, but it will certainly be fun to see if Boston keeps doubling its pleasure as the temperatures heat up and big boppers Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis return to the lineup. 

Saul Wisnia lives less than seven miles from Fenway Park and works 300 yards from Yawkey Way. His latest book, Fenway Park: The Centennial, is available at amazon.com and his Red Sox reflections can be found at http://saulwisnia.blogspot.com/. You can reach him at saulwizz@gmail.com or @saulwizz.