Check out my new post at Boston Sports Then and Now! All week I’ll be counting down to Red Sox’ Opening Day by listing the 30 things that need to go right for the club. Here’s a taste:
27. Marco Scutaro’s 2009 was no fluke
Signed to a two year deal this offseason to at last solve the Red Sox’ shortstop problems of the last 6 years, Scutaro is coming off of a career year. In 2009, he hit .282 with a .379 on base percentage, a .409 slugging average, 12 home runs, and he scored 100 runs. If he can repeat this, he will represent a significant offensive improvement for Boston. Those numbers are all career highs, though, and his 2009 OPS was 68 points higher than his career mark. Given his steady defense, he won’t kill the team should he fall back to his previous marks. Scutaro and the Sox brass, though, both feel as though in his first season as a starter he had the opportunity to blossom and the numbers are no coincidence. If they’re right, the club will enjoy the most production from the shortstop spot since Orlando Cabrera left town.
