Many thought it was a mistake to stick with Dustin Pedroia in April. No one thought that in October.

What Went Right?

What did not go right for this team?  A second World Series title in four seasons and their second sweep of the Fall Classic along with a major league-best record and owners first place in the AL East the entire season, Boston had everything going for right for them in 2007.

Mike Lowell got more hits with runners in scoring position than most teams in the entire league (or at least it seems that way) as the World Series MVP cruised to the best season of his career, hitting over .300 for the first time (.324) to go along with 21 home runs and a career high 120 RBI. In two seasons with Boston, Lowell has hit .304 with 41 home runs and 200 RBI, not bad numbers for a guy who hit .236 two years ago and a player Florida wanted to depart with so badly they told the Red Sox they had to take him if they wanted Josh Beckett.

Speaking of Josh Beckett, I guess he can handle the AL after all. This Cy Young favorite posted a 20-7 record and 3.27 making only 30 starts. Beckett’s K/BB ratio was simply astonishing at 194/40 and he dropped his ERA 1.74 points from 2006. His home runs allowed came down from 36 to 17 in ’07 and oh yeah he wasn’t that bad in the postseason either (4-0, 1.20 ERA).

Red Sox Nation was nervous at general manager Theo Epstein’s idea to replace the sound Mark Loretta at second with rookie Dustin Pedroia, but Pedroia had little trouble adjusting to the major league game in route to getting serious consideration for the Rookie of the Year award. Pedroia hit just about everywhere in the lineup besides the three and four spots (apparently they have some pretty good hitters already there) and managed to hit .317. Listed at 180 pounds (maybe soaking wet, maybe), Pedroia had eight homers and pair in the playoffs, but this high fastball hitter has serious potential and his power numbers should steadily increase over the coming seasons.

Kevin Youkilis enjoyed his second season as a starter on Boston, but this late bloomer picked up 16 home runs and 83 RBI as the Red Sox’ toughest out for a good part of the season. No other person in the majors saw more pitches per plate appearance than Youkilis, leading to his .390 OBP and .288 AVG. As an apparent fixture in the Boston lineup for years to come, the right side of the infield with Pedroia and Youkilis is something Red Sox fans can be excited about.

There are maybe a handful of guys, if that, who did not “go right” for the Red Sox, but this season there was no bigger surprise than Hideki Okajima. The Japanese lefty setup man gave up a home run on his first major league pitch and then went without allowing an earned run for 19 straight appearances. Fatigue and the grueling American baseball schedule caught up to Okajima at the end of the season as his ERA climbed to 2.22 to finish off his rookie season, but after being well rested he came back for October only to run into some trouble again in the World Series. Okajima allowed only 50 hits in 69 innings of work and struck out 63 while walking only 17 and with numbers like that Theo Epstein doesn’t have to worry about getting the ball to Papelbon for a few seasons.