July 30, 2007
...
No game scheduled ... Manny Ramirez has been scorching the ball
against lefthanders (.379, 36 for 95), with his overall average at
.303 with a .399 on-base percentage, .522 slugging percentage, 18
home runs, and 68 RBIs. That puts him on pace for season totals of
approximately 28 home runs and 105 RBIs. He has hit at least 30
homers in every season since 1997 with Cleveland.
But lately
Ramirez has been on a tear. Since the All-Star break, he has a .388 average,
.457 on-base percentage, and .776 slugging percentage. He has hit seven of his
homers in that span, including three on the seven-game trip, during which he
also had 10 RBIs. For that, Ramirez was named American League Player of the
Week, the third Boston player to win the award this season. It was also the 15th
time he has been so honored, the most for any AL player.
Even with
giving up the five runs in two games charged to the bullpen, the group's ERA
still is 2.74 (up from 2.65 before Saturday's game). That's the lowest in the
major leagues, ahead of the Padres at 3.09, and way ahead of the Blue Jays, at
3.47, the second-lowest in the American League. Also, the Sox' pen has allowed
only 27 of 133 inherited runners to score. And while it certainly helps that the
bullpen has pitched the third-fewest innings in the majors (289), that doesn't
mean it doesn't deserve a lot of credit.
The Red Sox
will honor Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr before Thursday's game against the Orioles.
It will be held on the 60th anniversary of the first Bobby Doerr Day at Fenway
Park.
