Baserunning

An often overlooked statistic, solid base running can be the difference between a win and a lost. We all remember the difference Dave Roberts made in 2004. So lets take a look at how Bill James rated our starting 9 for this season based on last year stats.

Crisp +11
Drew +8
Lowell -14
Lugo +9
Mirabelli -9
Ortiz 0
Pedroia N/A
Pena +3
Ramirez -11
Varitek +0
Youkilis +11

So overall we have a pretty good running team. Speed is in abundance, but it doesn't need to be. A smart runner is much more valuable then a fast one. Mistakes can be inning killers and game changers. The new players to the list are both above average runners, Drew and Lugo, which should help the team a great deal. Youkilis is a small shock that he is rated so highly, being tied for the best runner on the team. If you add all those numbers together, you see that the team should be a +8, pending on Pedroia. +8 is a very solid number and should help to improve on last years record.