Have The Sox Solved Their "Lefty" Problem?

It is no secret that in recent years, the Red Sox have been particularly vulnerable to lefties. Whether it was Sox killer Andy Pettitte, Jays southpaw Ted Lilly or youngsters like Scott Kazmir and Bobby Mardritsch, Boston has struggled mightily against lefthanders. It is too early to make a definitive judgment, but there is reason to hope that the 2005 Sox will enjoy more success against lefties than Sox teams from past years. I say this for a few reasons, the most important of which may be the addition of Edgar Renteria. In case anyone forgot, Nomar had an absolutely miserable time hitting lefties in 2004, hitting just .240 and slugging .370. Now to be fair, OC was passable against lefties, but Pokey was a disaster, much like Nomie. You may have some criticisms of Renteria, like the fact that he doesn’t walk a whole lot, but one thing you cannot say is he punks out against southpaws. In 2004, he slugged .550 against lefties and since 1997, his OPS is about 100 points higher against lefties than right-handers. Renteria showed some of his skill against southpaws last Thursday when he took Randy Johnson yard. I wouldn’t try drawing too much from that at bat, but it is clear that this guy can and will hit lefties, and good ones at that. The other marked change that could pay dividends is the acquisition of Jay Payton and the recognition that Trot just should not be out there against southpaws. For some reason, Trot just can’t get it done against lefties, as evidenced by some woeful number in 2004 and historic numbers that are not so hot either. Well, in comes Payton who actually has a pretty nice resume against lefties. Since 1997, Payton’s OPS versus lefties is a respectable .818, which is more than fifty points higher than his OPS versus right-handers. More importantly, that .818 number is almost 200 points higher than Trot’s over the same time period. As such, there is almost no way someone can justify playing Nixon ahead of Payton when a lefty is on the mound. The last point worth making on this subject is that the Sox cause against lefties would sure be helped if Billy Mueller could return to his 2003 form when hitting right-handed. He was miserable hitting right-handed last year and the Sox need him to bump up his production against lefties. He drew some walks today, but Billy M needs to start parking some balls off that wall. So how did my theory work out today against Scott Kazmir. Well, I cannot exactly claim victory since the Sox only put up three runs against Kazmir in five innings, but that sure beats the two outings the Sox had against Scott in 2004. As for my boys, Renteria jacked one and Payton had a single that scored two. It is too early to call my theory bulletproof, but I like some of the early data points.