A month ago, we checked in on Boston's 2011 offense, and how it stacked up historically in the designated hitter era. Boston was on pace to beat out the 1998 New York Yankees and 1982 Milwaukee Brewers for the title of most productive team in that time frame -- essentially a 40-year period. Those two clubs both posted True Averages (TAv is similar to wOBA, except on a batting average scale) of .289, and the Red Sox, at that time, were also at .289, as were the New York Yankees.
In the month since, things have changed dramatically. The Yankees remain second in the majors in TAv, but at .283, while the Red Sox have climbed to .293. For those of you who prefer the flavor of wRC+, Boston is up 121 to 115 on the Bombers.
Dustin Pedroia's two month long laser show has had a lot to do with this, as he has hit .368/.468/.652 after posting a line of .240/.351/.322 the first two months of the year. Josh Reddick's playing time since the last time we checked in on this -- essentially right after Carl Crawford landed on the disabled list -- also helped, as he hit .339/.403/.694 while Crawford was out.
The whole team has been hitting, though, and it shows. The league average American League team is hitting .254/.321/.397, but the Red Sox are at .276/.352/.455. They are drawing a 10 percent walk rate as a team, are third in the majors in home runs behind New York and Texas (despite playing their home games in a park that limits home run production, unlike the homer-happy parks of those two clbus), and are the first and only club to crack the 200 doubles mark this year.
The thing is, Boston has needed it lately. Their rotation is in shambles due to injuries, but the offense has been there for them. They are the only team with 500 runs scored, and have a chance to reach 550 before anyone else hits 500. Their run differential is +118, tops in the majors, despite the 2-10 start, and despite the mangled starting pitching. Now that's a team that can hit.