The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Red Sox Recap, Week One

Edward Mujica's wheels came off in his second relief outing  of the season this past week (Michael Ivins/Getty Images)

Jan-Christian Sorensen
Contributing Writer

Eeeeaaasy, Red Sox Nation: put down the Sam Adams Lagah and step back from the edge of the roof — it’s early yet.

The Old Towne team might have stumbled to a 2-4 tally in its first week back on the diamond, but the MLB season is a marathon, not a race, and there’s plenty of time to bounce back.

And still seven months to lob the phrase “Defending World Series champs — by the way, that’s THREE in TEN years” at unsuspecting Yankee fans.

Here’s a look back at The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Week One:

Record: 2-4 (series win in Baltimore, Milwaukee sweep at Fenway)
Runs Scored: 19
Runs Allowed: 24
Team BA: .254 (13th in MLB)
Team ERA: 3.60 (14th in MLB)

Top 3 Defenders of the Nation:

1. Jon Lester: Don’t let the 0-2 tally throw you off. Lester (2.51 ERA) logged two solid outings during the road opener in Baltimore March 31 (7 IP, 108 pitches, 6 H, 2 ER, 8 K, 1 BB) and at home versus Milwaukee April 6 (7.1 IP, 104 pitches, 7 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 1 W) but received help from neither bullpen nor bats.

Dustin Pedroia didn't show many signs of rust in his first six games back with Boston in 2014 (Patrick Semansky/AP photo)

2. Dustin Pedroia: The Little Fella looks like he hasn’t developed a single spot of rust on the panels since last October. In six games this week, Pedey was 10-for-28 (.357) with a double, three runs scored and only one strikeout. In the field, Pedroia tied Xander Bogaerts for the team lead in total assists (14) while not committing an error.

3. Xander Bogaerts: The Flying Dutchman and rookie phenom shortstop continued his torrid pace at the plate in his first half-dozen games of 2014, going 8-for-21 (.381) and scoring four runs while stroking two doubles and walking four times. His OPS of .956 leads the team.

Honourable Mention: Mike Napoli, who struck out nine times but also drew four free passes, swatted two homers, one double and drove in 7 RBI while batting .261.

Top 3 Offenders of the Nation:

1. Clay Buchholz: Buch, who went 12-1 with a 1.71 ERA in 2013, showed true feet of Clay in his 2014 season debut April 5 against the Brewers, allowing 6 ER on 13 hits (including two homers) in just 4.1 IP. His resultant ERA is 12.46, second-worst on the team behind the new arrival below.

2. Edward Mujica: This former STL relief pitcher was anything but in his second outing with the Red Sox, who signed the setup man/closer to a two-year, $9.5-million contract in the offseason. While he went an inning and only gave up one hit while striking out one on April 2 in Baltimore, he imploded two days later at home against Milwaukee, allowing 4 ER on 4 hits in just two-thirds of an inning and taking the loss.

3. Daniel Nava: The Feelgood, Up-By-The-Bootstraps story — who hit .303 in 458 at-bats in 2013 — sure wasn’t looking good at the dish in his first six games of 2014, going 3-for-26 (.115) with no walks, one double and four strikeouts. 

Dishonourable mention: Jonny Gomes, who struck out eight times in 18 at-bats while only hitting .167 with no RBI.

Highlight Line of the Week:

April 2, Mike Napoli: 5 AB, 2 H, I HR, 4 RBI, 0 K, .429 BA.

Lowlight Line of the Week:

April 4, Edward Mujica: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 21.60 ERA, L (0-1).

On Tap:

The Red Sox host the Texas Rangers (3-3) at Fenway for three games starting Monday before heading to the Bronx on Thursday to take on the Yankees (3-3) for four games.

Keep the Faith. Drink the Dirty Water. Connect with me on Twitter: @jan_doh