Online Wager News: New Look Red Sox Struggling. The fans of the Red Sox nation were hoping for a perfect start to the new MLB season but online wager futility and a 0-4 start is not what they had in mind.Coming off an injury plagued season in 2010 in which starting pitchers dropped like flies and there was a new lineup nearly every night this team was hoping for big things in 2011. The starting rotation is healthy again and –on paper, anyway- this is arguably the best pitching staff in the AL.
Last year’s major slump at the plate was due mostly to injuries but the team went out and picked up some of the best free agent bats available as well to add some insurance at the plate.So far it’s all been a colossal failure as the team has a perfect 0-4 record through the first week of the season, unable to break into the win column.
After getting swept in the season’s 3-game opening series of the year it looked as if the team’s fortunes might change with the scenery.
But on Monday the team added another loss to Cleveland, 3-1, left this team with more questions than answers.
Ace Josh Beckett, pitching in his first game of the 2011 online wagering season gave up 3.0 runs in 5.0 innings and was outpitched by the other Josh, Indian’s unheralded starter, Josh Tomlin.
And as per usual the BoSox bats were silent.
As a team the Sox managed just 4 hits against a combination of average pitching.
But this has become routine for the ’11 Red Sox. The team batting average has now dropped to .186 on the year, easily the worst in the Big Leagues online wagering action. Three players (former MVP Dustin Pedroia .333, Adrian Gonzalez .294 and David Ortiz .267) have been respectable so far with the lumber. The rest of the team has been worthless at the plate without a single player in the other 6 lineup spots batting over .200.
The single biggest disappointment has been the poor hitting of free agent slugger Carl Crawford whose value was inflated due to the small supply of sluggers on the market this summer and whose production so far (.133 BA) has been non-existent.
The only good news for anyone that’s made an online wager on the BoSox this year is that the season is young and this team will only get better.
After all, it can’t get any worse.