Now more than three weeks into the month of May I think it is fair to say that the Boston Red Sox offense is showing some signs of life. The team that mustered just 103 runs over the whole month of April has already scored 125 runs in May. Without question, weaker competition has something to do with this but the bats have indeed come alive and there seem to be some identifiable remnants of the juggernaut lineup of 2003. Let us explore.

- The Sox hit at a .260/.349/.417 clip throughout the month of April. In May thus far, they are hitting .273/.357/.455.
- Johnny Damon, he of the .693 April OPS, has posted a downright two-thousandesque .871 OPS in May. This is a good sign as Damon has been a notoriously slow starter throughout his career. That he has cut short that slow start by a good month or two this season may just mean we will see something resembling the player the good folks of Kansas City saw at the turn of the century.
- Manny has been Manny again this month. He is raking again, like he does every month. His two towering home runs this weekend, both absolutely no-doubters, were yet two more reminders of why it is such a pleasure to have this guy in a Sox uniform. What a hitter.
- Jason Varitek is showing that 2003 was no fluke. He is now almost undeniably one of the top five catchers in the game. While Scott Boras’ hope of getting four years and $10MM per like Pudge may be a pipe dream for his 33 year old client, I think the Sox may have to entertain either the term or the rate of the contract, most likely the latter. Incessant talk of his invaluable intangibles aside, Varitek is as productive as any catcher not named Jorge or Ivan. He has been one of the best Sox hitters in May, pounding the ball to the tune of a .302/.413/.524 line.
- Mark Bellhorn, an on-base wonder-boy from the get-go this season, has begun to hit a bit. He has raised his slugging percentage 77 points thus far in May and now stands at an above second-baseman-league-average .400 for the year.
- Even Kevin Millar has contributed this month, albeit almost solely on the on-base side of the offensive ledger. Millar’s .407 OBP has been an upgrade over his out-crazy April. Still, his slugging remains below .400 for both the season and the month, an unacceptable figure for a player that has done little more than just slug over the course of his career.
- Pokey’s May numbers: .274/.338/.435
AL avg. SS numbers: .275/.322/.406

Don’t get me wrong, it’s been nice getting this kind of production from Pokey and all but I wouldn’t expect it to last.

What’s encouraging is that the over-performance and the under-performance plus injuries seem to be, at the very worst, evening out. The Red Sox have averaged 5.43 runs a game this month. In order to reach 900 runs for the season, the team would have to score 5.69 runs per game for the rest of the season. Sustained quality play from Bellhorn, Varitek, Manny and Damon along with improved numbers from Ortiz, Millar and whoever is playing third base and finally solid comebacks from Nomar and Nixon and this team can do just that.

Nice to see the bats back.

Finally, my condolences to all that knew and loved Doug Pappas. If you haven’t read his work, do so. He was THE authority on the business of baseball and his contributions will be missed.