The Go Go . . . Red Sox?

Well, maybe they are a ways from the present day equivalent of the 1959 White Sox team of a similar nickname that ran and played small ball all the way to the American League Pennant, but compared to what we are accustomed to with the slugging Red Sox, this year’s team is practically making games look like track meets. Boston has always built its teams around lumbering sluggers, and aside from the fact that perhaps the most famous play in team history IS a stolen base, one would be hard pressed to name any prolific basestealer in the 100 plus years the franchise has been in existence. In fact, since Theo Epstein has had control of the general manager reins, he has built the team around the "Moneyball" philosophy of high on base percentage and not giving away outs. The team has not only ignored stolen bases, but has pretty much discouraged them not wanting to risk giving away outs.

Well for those of your who have not been paying attention, you would probably be just as surprised as I was when I realized last night that the Red Sox were third in the American League in stolen bases and lead the league in success rate, having stolen 33 bases and only been caught 5 times. At roughly one quarter the way through the season, Boston is on pace to steal over 130 bases in 2008. This is a big difference for a team that since 2000 has finished no higher than 7^th in the AL in steals and has routinely been at the bottom of the League.

Most notably the team is led in this category by rookie phenom Jacoby Ellsbury who has been successful in all 14 of his stolen base attempts and is on pace to steal 63 bases this season. Ellsbury’s speed effects the game constantly when he is on base. Everyone remembers when he scored from second base on a wild pitch during his first stint with the team last summer. Last night, he tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly to Twins rightfielder Michael Cuddyer (last year’s AL leader in outfield assists) on a ball that was hit not all that deep and few other players would have attempted to score.

Ellsbury is not the only threat to steal a base, however. Coco Crisp is perfect in all 6 of his steal attempts this year, including one last night where he moved into scoring position with two outs in the ninth inning, giving Manny Ramirez the opportunity to tie the game up with a mere single. Julio Lugo also has 5 steals and even the self-proclaimed lead footed Dustin Pedroia has contributed 4 steals. In total, 7 different Boston players have successfully swiped a base so far this season.

While we are not about to see any change in offensive philosophy, this new found running game adds an additional dynamic to an already potent offense that so far ranks number one in the league in batting average and runs per game. The threat of a stolen base, especially when Ellsbury is on base, can provide quite a distraction to pitchers and often increases the likelihood that the big mashers will see a fastball. In close games when runs are tough to come by, it also gives the Red Sox additional options for moving runners into scoring position and no longer reliant on a big extra base hit to score the runner from first. Speed also puts pressure on defenses to make plays. Look at last night when Dustin Pedroia scored from second on what was essentially an infield single and the ball skipped just far enough away from the Twins’ third baseman, allowing Pedroia to make it home fairly easily.

No longer are the Red Sox merely a station to station, wait for the big home run type of team. They still have the same capability of overwhelming an opponent with big hitters, but now they have some very potent weapons to set the table for the run producers. By stealing bases and being more (intelligently) aggressive on the basepaths, Boston is providing Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz with more and more opportunities to do what is expected of them. 2008 and could be the year of the Go Go Sox.