Boston Red Sox: 10 Kinks That Must Be Worked Out Before It's Too Late

Bobby Valentine and his Boston Red Sox have started the 2012 campaign just as they ended last year's season—on a downward skid. The kinks within this team must be worked out before it's too late.

After the hiring of GM Ben Cherington and manager Bobby Valentine, the Red Sox management looked to erase memories of last September and forget about the turmoil within Terry Francona's clubhouse.

That mission has been far from successful.

Players have failed to produce, pitching has been embarrassing at best and the team has already found itself with tensions building in the clubhouse.

The Red Sox must begin to turn around the 2012 season, and this is what they must fix in order to do so.

Bobby Valentine

Before even managing a game, Bobby Valentine was hated by many and loved by few. The hatred seemed to grow when roughly 37,000 fans booed the Red Sox manager after the bullpen blew a 9-1 lead entering the seventh inning Apr. 21 against the New York Yankees.

Despite the overwhelming feelings of disappointment by fans, Boston management has stuck by its man. As reported by Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston, when he asked GM Ben Cherington about his feelings on Valentine's performance as manager, Ben replied with:

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"Very satisfied," Cherington said. "He makes the lineup out, makes decisions during the game. The players will always influence wins and losses more than anybody else, and that's no different here.

 "He's doing the best he can with the roster he has. It'll get better. He knows that and I know that, and along the way if changes need to be made on the roster, that's my responsibility."

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Of course, the GM must downplay the situation and remain confident in his hiring decisions, but fans know there is an issue.

Valentine was hired in place of Francona to regain the reins, help create a better locker room environment and push the players to perform to their potential and worth.

After a poor start in 2011, ex-manager Francona did just that. Despite a 1-8 start, the Red Sox found their groove and played most of the remaining season as the best team in baseball. As things seemed to be working just fine, the team fell apart once again to close the season.

Valentine must reel this team in collectively and start to produce at a high level—without losing control in the clubhouse. Do not, for one second, think that a manager holds no weight against a team's record.

Alfredo Aceves

Alfredo Aceves has yet to even be a shell of what he was in 2011 for the Boston bullpen.

Last season, Aceves pitched 114 innings, recording 10 wins with a spectacular 2.61 ERA.

Thus far during his 2012 campaign—three innings pitched and eight earned runs, giving him a horrendous 24.00 ERA.

Even considering the small sample size of this year's performance, Aceves has left much to be desired among the mound.

If the Red Sox wish to start turning their season around, Aceves will be depended upon late in games, and he must figure out what has been haunting him.

Mark Melancon

Acquiring Mark Melancon before the start of the season was then thought to bolster a strong Boston bullpen.

During 2011 with the Houston Astros, Melancon recorded 20 saves with an ERA of 2.78 throughout 74 innings.

Although a slight rise in ERA is always expected when moving from the National League to the American League, no one predicted 11 earned runs in just two innings.

According ESPNBoston.com, the Sox have since demoted Melancon to Triple-A Pawtucket. This move will provide him with the opportunity to work out his own kinks and return to solid form. Fortunately, Valentine told media that Melancon assured him injuries have not been an issue during his horrific start in a Red Sox uniform.

The Red Sox are expecting Melancon to clear his head and find his groove—a kink that must be worked out in order for them to have a dependable bullpen.

Daniel Bard

After a recent impressive start against the rival Tampa Bay Rays and their ace James Shields, Steven Krasner of ESPNBoston.com reported that Daniel Bard will be temporarily moved to the bullpen.

"I'd like to use him if we have a lead in the eighth inning just as he's been comfortable doing in the past," said Valentine.

It is a move that's required in order for the rest of the bullpen to have time in solving their own problems.

While Aceves and Melancon work to turn their horrific starts into a productive season, the bullpen will rely heavily upon the proven Bard.

He'll be a key factor in the revitalization of Boston's back-end pitching.

Marlon Byrd

Just two hours after the devastating 15-9 loss against the Yankees, GM Ben Cherington announced that the Red Sox have acquired outfielder Marlon Byrd from the Chicago Cubs.

With Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury both on the disabled list, the Red Sox add depth to the depleted position with Byrd.

Although Byrd will not amaze you statistically, he has been a career .278 hitter who has some pop and something the Red Sox can always use more of—consistency at the plate and solid play in the field.

Likely to only be a role player once we see the return of Ellsbury and Crawford, Byrd will be a vital player for a stretch of six to eight weeks. His production at the plate and fielding abilities will need to help the Red Sox battle through the injuries in the outfield.

Staying Healthy

With the Red Sox injury report including the likes of Ellsbury, Crawford, Rich Hill, Kevin Youkilis and Jason Repko—it's vitally important to practice caution.

With the season only 14 games old, management must allow the injury issues to work themselves out and not panic.

Youkilis is day-to-day, but Hill, Repko, Ellsbury and Crawford are currently disabled and in the process of rehabbing.

Hill's return will provide more support in the bullpen, whereas, we all know what Ellsbury and Crawford's roles will be once they return.

Also eying a possible return this season is pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. The return of Dice-K, possibly by midseason, will give the Red Sox more flexibility with their starting rotation and bullpen.

Injuries will always be a concern for any team in the major leagues, but the Red Sox must take special consideration in dealing with recoveries if they wish to be at full strength at some point this season.

The Three Starters

The starts for Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz have begun well below expectations—combining for a 7.33 ERA over 53.2 innings.

The source of Boston's slow start—outside of the bullpen—has been the lackluster performances by the first three pitchers in the rotation.

Although both Beckett and Lester have had great outings, allowing only one run each, they have also been shelled early in the season. Buchholz has yet to find any type of groove, allowing no fewer than five earned runs in all three starts.

With the bullpen already struggling, it's pivotal that the top of the rotation begins to work out its own kinks so that the offense can build leads. In the loss to the Yankees, after allowing 14 runs in the final three innings, no lead may be large enough to secure a win. But it will surely help the bullpen build its confidence.

In order for the Red Sox to begin the early-season turnaround before it is too late, these three starters must start pitching to midseason form a few months early and lead this team's struggling pitching staff.

Kevin Youkilis

As depicted in the photo above, one of the reasons contributing to Youkilis' slow start is timing. He's often finding himself far ahead of pitches but falling behind in the count.

What will it take to iron out this problem? That's simple, as Youkilis has been here before and just needs more time—something that manager Bobby Valentine should know about his third baseman's career.

In 2011, Youkilis started the season on a 4-of-27 slump with a .184 average—very similar to his current start of .190. Following the slow beginnings in 2011, though, Youkilis spent the next two months batting just shy of .300.

Given patience and time to eradicate any issues at the plate, Youkilis will continue to perform reliably in the Red Sox order, barring injuries of course.

Role Players

Role players have had a glaring presence already in the young season for the Boston Red Sox, failing to produce at the plate.

Currently, we have seen Darnell McDonald, Nick Punto and Jason Repko share time at numerous positions. All three, however, have disappointed with their performances.

McDonald leads the trio with 27 at-bats and has only successfully connected with three hits. The .111 average owned by Darnell is a number deemed unacceptable by major league standards.

Repko, already finding himself on the injury report, has shown some nifty play in the outfield, but he has a measly one hit through five games and a poor on-base percentage of .091.

Punto has a respectable .267 average but has produced only one run. He often finds himself lost in the field, committing errors through his first seven games.

With the injuries of Crawford and Ellsbury, these role players are expected to help fill voids in the lineup at the plate but have yet to do so.

In order for the offense to help further support a struggling pitching staff, these three players must power through early struggles in the season and start producing at a major league level.

Confidence

There have been few times in recent Red Sox history in which one can consider the team's confidence as a chink in the armor. That time, however, is currently present amongst the team.

With a tough early schedule against some of the American League's finest teams, the Red Sox have struggled in almost every aspect of the game—more notably pitching. The lack of success has left the team hanging its head.

On top of the struggling record of 4-10, the team has also found its share of negative thinking and poor media perception.

No moment better showcased the lack of confidence than when ESPNBoston.com reported that Bobby Valentine appeared on SportsXtra, stating his lack of confidence in Kevin Youkilis:

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“I don’t think he’s as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason.”

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As the leader, Valentine must take this as a learning experience and begin rallying behind his troops— showing not only support, but the utmost confidence in every player.

The lack of confidence is contagious and has already proven to be detrimental, as the Red Sox have failed to win a game since the previously mentioned quote occurred.

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