Silverman: Defense appears to be a growing strength for Red Sox

Enough about the Red Sox’ pitching.

Let’s talk about their defense.

This is, after all, the beginning of the post-David Ortiz era, an epoch in which the Red Sox realize they cannot yet replace Ortiz’ thunder at the plate. Instead, they have opted to make up the difference in run production lost with run prevention gained.

Pitching is the favored child of the run prevention equation, the field general when it comes to spearheading the battle against opponents. But they cannot do it alone. What happens after batters make contact or reach base is just as important as the overall goal.

The Red Sox’ defense actually stands up quite well when placed under the spotlight. It should be better than last…