It's Feeling a Little Like 2010

The Red Sox have a lot of players currently on the disabled list:

Carl Crawford (OF): 60-day DL, expected back possibly July (Ulnar collateral ligament sprain in left elbow)
Jacoby Ellsbury (OF): 60-day DL, expected back possibly early July (right shoulder)
Andrew Bailey (P): 60-day DL, expected back late July/early August (right thumb)
Daisuke Matsuzaka (P): 60-day DL, expected back late June (Tommy John surgery)
Aaron Cook (P): 15-day DL, expected back possibly June (left knee laceration)
Chris Carpenter (P): 60-day DL, expected back possibly June (bone spur in right elbow)
Ryan Kalish (OF): 60-day DL, expected back possibly June (left shoulder surgery)
Bobby Jenks (remember him?)(P): 60-day DL, expected back possibly after All-Star Break (recovering from back surgery)
John Lackey (wish we could forget him) (P):out for season (Tommy John surgery)
Darnell McDonald (OF): 15-day DL, expected back possibly today (right oblique strain)
Cody Ross (OF): 15-day DL, expected back possibly June (small left foot fracture)
Jason Repko (OF): 15-day DL, expected date unknown (left shoulder separation, knee)

Plus Dustin Pedroia (thumb injury) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (illness) are day-to-day. Those are just the players on the 40-man roster!

Despite that, they are still finding ways to win ballgames. Last night’s game featured the following line-up:

Daniel Nava- LF
Mike Aviles- SS
Adrian Gonzalez- RF
David Ortiz- DH
Kevin Youkilis- 1B
Will Middlebrooks- 3B
Marlon Byrd- CF
Kelly Shoppach- C
Nick Punto- 2B

Ideally, the line-up would look more like this (by position only, not batting order):

Carl Crawford- LF
Mike Aviles- SS
Cody Ross/ Ryan Sweeney- RF
David Ortiz- DH
Adrian Gonzalez- 1B
Kevin Youkilis- 3B
Jacoby Ellsbury-CF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- C
Dustin Pedroia- 2B

With all the injuries this season, it’s reminding me a lot of 2010. In 2010, the Red Sox had the following players on the disabled list, followed by the amount of time they missed:

Daisuke Matsuzaka (P): 4/4-5/1 (neck strain), 6/8- 6/24 (right forearm strain)
Boof Bonser (P): 4/4-6/7 (right groin strain)
Jed Lowrie (SS): 4/4-7/21 (mononucleosis)
Junichi Tazawa (P): 4/4-end of season (right elbow ligament sprain- Tommy John surgery)
Jacoby Ellsbury (OF): 4/12- 5/22 (left chest contusion), 5/25- 6/4 (left chest contusion), 8/14-end of season (rib injury)
Mike Cameron (OF): 4/20-5/24 (groin sports hernia), 7/31-end of season (abdominal muscle strain)
Josh Beckett (P): 5/19-7/23 (back injury)
Manny Delcarmen (P): 6/8-6/24 (right forearm strain)
Jeremy Hermida (OF): 6/10-7/22 (ribs fracture)
Mike Lowell (3B): 6/23-8/3 (right hip strain)
Dustin Pedroia (2B): 6/26-8/17 (left foot broken), 8/19-end of season (left foot broken)
Clay Buchholz (P): 6/27-7/21 (left hamstring strain)
Victor Martinez (C): 6/28-7/26 (left thumb bone fracture)
Jason Varitek (C): 7/2-9/6 (left foot broken)
Kevin Youkilis (1B): 8/3-end of season (right thumb adductor muscle tear)
Hideki Okajima (P): 8/6-8/28 (right hamstring strain)
Kevin Cash (C): 8/9-8/24 (left hamstring strain)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (C): 8/16-9/1 (right leg infection)
Eric Patterson (OF): 8/17-9/1 (neck strain)

Just wanted to point out the similarities between 2010 and 2012 so far. In 2010, the Red Sox had a 29-23 record as of May 30th. Today, the Red Sox have a 26-24 record. The 2010 Sox finished the season at 89-73 and played competitively throughout the season.
In my opinion, Terry Francona deserved the AL Manager of the Year Award that year because of his players performing despite the injuries.

I’m hoping the recent rash of injuries for the Red Sox is short-lived, our players get healthy and return to playing great baseball. With that said, I’m also enjoying watching players like Daniel Nava and Will Middlebrooks. Let’s hope for a Tiger’s sweep tonight!