There are lots of issues with the Red Sox to blame their
poor start. Injuries are the one that
shows up the most. In case you didn’t know the list: Carl Crawford, Andrew
Bailey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Rich Hill, Clay Buchholz, Diasuke Matsuzaka, Dustin
Pedroia, Will Middlebrooks to name the important ones.
My theory is pitching, how else can you explain the fact
they have scored the second most runs in the whole league and are still tied
for last in the American League East. The Sox are in the top 10 in runs allowed
and in the bottom ten for worst ERA in the league. Its great that Big Papi is having another
breakout season, and players like Cody Ross, Daniel Nava and Will Middlebrooks
are stepping up, but you can’t get far when you don’t have a consistent,
reliable pitching core.
Jon Lester (our number one) has a 4.49 ERA half way through.
He has given up 4 or more runs in half of his starts. Our second ace Josh
Beckett has been just as impressive (sarcasm) posting a 4.43ERA, given up 6 or
more runs in 3 games, has yet to pitch a complete game, and hasn’t been able to
reach late in the game like we are used to in the past. Clay Buchholz (when
healthy) is 8-2 on the season but posted a 5.52ERA, further proving that the
offense and injuries haven’t affected the Sox all that much. He has given up 5
earned 9 times thus far this season. Felix Dubrount, while inconsistent has
been one of the better performers, although he hasn’t pitched past 6 innings.
Dice-K Sucked before he got injured again, BIG surprise, Daniel Bard will be
back in the pen when he returns to the big leagues, no one could’ve called
that. (Can you taste the sarcasm yet?) I will leave the Bullpen alone for now
because, honestly, I am okay with how they are performing. I’d rather have
Papelbon closing than Aceves; I even like to see Atchison in that role. Sox also have 7th fewest errors in
the league, can’t blame fielding.
How to fix the problem: Is there a way to fix the problem
this year? Other then getting back a couple key players in the lineup and
keeping them healthy, I can’t see much else being able to help. You can attack the trade market; the only recognizable
pitcher on the market is Cole Hamels, which would be a nice upgrade, only if
the Sox could dump some salary with Beckett.
I like moving Bard back to the bullpen, not sure why he was a starter to
begin with. Maybe Bailey can be the one bright spot of the Sox rough off-season
acquisitions.
In short, Sox fans might just have to weather a rough season
to be able to re assess and add some new talent to the rotation next
off-season. Who knows, Beckett could put
his golf career on hold and show up once in while and Lester could find his
skill again. While this season is not lost yet, I have low expectations. Hopefully a little vacation is the right
prescription for this team.
No comments:
Post a Comment