Boston Red Sox: 10 Positive Signs from the Early Going

Bobby Valentine's season started much like Terry Francona's ended. Although it has been a rough start, a few good signs have popped up.

After a dismal September and one of the most historic collapses in the Major League Baseball's history, the Boston Red Sox retooled their front office by sending Terry Francona and Theo Epstein out the door.

In came Ben Cherington and Bobby Valentine.

As the new GM, Cherington made minor moves. As manager, Valentine has spent the majority of his time with the media in one way or another.

Even though the season as begun in losing fashion, sparing no drama, there are a few things to be encouraged about so far.

Here are 10 positive signs in the early going of the 2012 season.

David Ortiz

Entering the 2012 season, one of the many questions regarding the Boston Red Sox was whether or not slugger David Ortiz would still produce a a high enough level.

Through 10 games, he has exceeded all expectations.

Currently, David is hitting .405 with one homer and 10 runs batted in. With the Red Sox lineup off to a slow start, Ortiz has been a bright spot.

Suddenly, his surprise season last year is looking less like a fluke and more like the Ortiz of old.

Dustin Pedroia

Dustin Pedroia doesn't make this list because of his early web-gem plays or offensive production—although he has hit a pleasant .295 with three homers and five runs batted in sitting in the two-hole. He makes the list for his leadership.

When Bobby Valentine came out and mistakenly bad-mouthed Kevin Youkilis, Dusty was the one who stepped up and protested it.

As reported by Gordon Edes of ESPN, Bobby V started the exchange by saying:

"

"I don't think he's as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason,'' Valentine said Sunday. "But [on Saturday] it seemed, you know, he's seeing the ball well, got those two walks, got his on-base percentage up higher than his batting average, which is always a good thing, and he'll move on from there."

"

Second basemen Pedroia wasted no time in defending Youkilis, also reported by Gordon Edes as saying:

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"I really don't know what Bobby is trying to do," Pedroia said Monday. "That's not the way we go about our stuff around here. He'll figure that out. The whole team is behind Youk. We have each other's backs here."

"

It is a wonderful surprise to see a player step up and stand up for his teammate, especially so early in the year.

Cody Ross

After turning in a hot spring, the Red Sox were not going to be surprised if outfielder Cody Ross continued to swing the bat well. To no surprise—he did.

In 37 at-bats, Ross has already driven in eight runs and rounded the bases twice in a home run trot. Surprisingly, Ross has become one of the big-hit guys here in early 2012.

Cody has been barely hovering over his career average at the plate, batting .270, but his power numbers have been spectacular thus far.

Ryan Sweeney

Cody Ross was expected to put up good numbers after the spring he had, but it was Ryan Sweeney who started his season off with a run-scoring triple in the ninth inning against Detroit to tie the Opening Day game.

Since then, Sweeney has batted .406 with an impressive .457 OBP.

Besides swinging the bat well, Sweeney has turned in numerous highlight-reel plays in right field—as can be seen in the picture above.

With Carl Crawford injured to begin the season, Ross and Sweeney have done a magnificent job filling voids. A positive sign that the Red Sox will have depth, especially since hearing the news of Jacoby Ellsbury's misfortune.

Daniel Bard

No questions were more imminent about the Boston Red Sox than their pitching staff.

With Daniel Bard moving from the setup role to the starting rotation, he has been nothing short of dazzling.

Most recently, Bard took part in what was a great Patriots' Day pitching duel against the Tampa Bay Rays' ace James Shields.

in 6.2 innings pitched, Daniel earned only one run while striking out seven. Although he got the loss in the performance, it was a very positive turn forward from the five earned runs earned he suffered in his first start.

Felix Doubront

Felix Doubront fills in the Boston Red Sox rotation, and even though his ERA insists he has had bad starts, he hasn't.

The knock thus far on Felix has been single-innings, where he has found himself in trouble—more notably the fifth inning.

Outside of the fifth inning, he has been a very good pitcher in his two starts with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 13:4.

Much of Boston's success lies in the hands of Bard and Doubront, and the early indication that these two pitchers are capable of keeping them in contention to win games is highly encouraging.

Adrian Gonzalez

The best slugger for the Boston Red Sox has started the 2012 campaign as everyone wished he would.

Batting cleanup, Adrian has done everything asked of him—batting .318 with two home runs and driving in eight.

As the steadiest and most dependable bat in the lineup, it was important for Adrian to start the season immediately-hot as he did.

Poised for another great season, Adrian shows no signs of regressing while he continues to anchor the high-powered Red Sox offense.

The Schedule

Despite the early woes and the 4-6 record throughout the first four games, it must be kept in mind that the Red Sox began the season with an incredibly tough schedule.

To begin the 2012 season, the Red Sox have faced Detroit, Toronto, Tampa Bay, are currently facing Texas and have the Yankees next on the docket.

More importantly, they face three teams from the American League East that are expected to contend for a playoff spot.

Although starting the season 4-6 is a disappointment, one has to believe that the early kinks will be worked out and the Red Sox will see the wins start rising as they face the weaker opponents.

The Tampa Bay Series

As the Red Sox opened their home season against the Tampa Bay Rays, they set out to do one thing—regain dominance over the Rays in the AL East.

Winning three of four, they did just that.

If it wasn't for a 1-0 shutout loss to James Shields, the Red Sox would have swept their division foes in their home opener.

When the season was approaching, critics often predicted the Rays would be a lock behind the Yankees, if not in front of the division. This most likely leaves the Red Sox out of the playoffs.

In what looks to be the toughest division in Major League Baseball, the Sox started their division crown quest with a 4-3 record while scoring 32 runs against the team with the most feared pitching staff.

The Media

After another horrid start to a season, trailing the historic September meltdown in the clubhouse, Boston fans could only expect another media frenzy and panic.

The opposite has happened. The media has found the light at the end of the tunnel rather than dooming the early season.

This may not seem important, but it shows that the media and fans believe this team will turn their woes into wins and compete for a bid in the playoffs.

the season is young, and there is plenty of time for change. Usually, the harsh Boston media would be in attack mode at this point, but surprisingly they have taken a new road.

A road of positivity.