Shoring Up the Rotation

[Quinny]

I guess a 4.18 ERA might not be considered "excelling" but its pretty damn solid for your 5th starter. A solid placeholder

[a700hitter]

I guess a 4.18 ERA might not be considered "excelling" but its pretty damn solid for your 5th starter. A solid placeholder

He is not as good as a starter as a reliever. It is not the role he excels in. It's very simple.

[Quinny]

He is not as good as a starter as a reliever. It is not the role he excels in. It's very simple.

 

I would agree with that statement. But my original argument that he will be a "solid" placeholder for 2 or 3 starts based on his career starts.

[a700hitter]

I would agree with that statement. But my original argument that he will be a "solid" placeholder for 2 or 3 starts based on his career starts.

and I don't disagree with that.

[mvp 78]

@bradfo: Per source: Red Sox don't have interest in Aaron Harang

[Lord Snow]

I figured they would DL him(was it retroactive?) and he miss 2-3 starts on the short end. This is why they have put up with Aceves issues, this is the role he has excelled in. I think the team would be alright with him as the #5 for a month. If it's longer then alternatives should be explored.

 

Can't expect anything from Lackey this season. He likely had his last significant impact on the club in 2011. Never bank on pitcher coming off any type of throwing arm surgery to have any significant positive impact on his team and you won't end up disappointed.

 

I expect no more than 40 innings out of him this season, and that's a high-end estimate.

 

I really wouldn't mind the Sox turning to Allen Webster in the #5 slot. If they're going to make a run at things this season he will almost certainly have to be a part of that formula.

[jung]

Well in truth the more we get to see the young guys play, the more fun this team is to watch. JBJ needs to see time in Pawtucket. If there is a silver lining to the way the regular season has gone for him it does not look like fans will be clamoring and demanding that he stay when Ortiz comes back. So the Sox get their little JBJ boost and get to deal with the 2019 thing.

 

Drew will have to perform really good to make it worthwhile not to be watching Iggy gobble up ground balls all over the Sox infield.

 

Things may not break right for the rotation after all. This could be the first of the arm issues that Lackey may face this his first season after TJS. I can't say that Dempster has made me forget the scouting reports on him as an AL pitcher. He did pitch better this outing than the first cause he did a better job keeping the ball down. However he is way more vulnerable than I had hoped for if he is up in the zone at all. If things continue as reports suggested, he will win some and lose some but will not overly impress. Felix did not show up in shape and Buch will probably have us lighting candles for him all season hoping he can take the ball as scheduled every time. I gotta' think there will be ample opportunity for somebody to help this rotation and I still do not think that means Ace for very long. So if it turns out Webster can help, that would actually be great as long as they don't screw him up in the process.

[BSN07]

Well in truth the more we get to see the young guys play, the more fun this team is to watch. JBJ needs to see time in Pawtucket. If there is a silver lining to the way the regular season has gone for him it does not look like fans will be clamoring and demanding that he stay when Ortiz comes back. So the Sox get their little JBJ boost and get to deal with the 2019 thing.

 

Drew will have to perform really good to make it worthwhile not to be watching Iggy gobble up ground balls all over the Sox infield.

 

Things may not break right for the rotation after all. This could be the first of the arm issues that Lackey may face this his first season after TJS. I can't say that Dempster has made me forget the scouting reports on him as an AL pitcher. He did pitch better this outing than the first cause he did a better job keeping the ball down. However he is way more vulnerable than I had hoped for if he is up in the zone at all. If things continue as reports suggested, he will win some and lose some but will not overly impress. Felix did not show up in shape and Buch will probably have us lighting candles for him all season hoping he can take the ball as scheduled every time. I gotta' think there will be ample opportunity for somebody to help this rotation and I still do not think that means Ace for very long. So if it turns out Webster can help, that would actually be great as long as they don't screw him up in the process.

 

If Drew shows he's healthy and hitting I think he gets traded not long after June 1 when he is eligible for trade w/o his consent. I'm guessing St. Louis and it could be for an arm(no idea who though). I think the offense has shown enough potency and with Ortiz coming back(also has to show he's healthy and hitting) that Drews bat won't be missed. Iggy's defense could be even more helpful especially with the shaky end of the rotation.

[MJantomaso]

Can't expect anything from Lackey this season. He likely had his last significant impact on the club in 2011. Never bank on pitcher coming off any type of throwing arm surgery to have any significant positive impact on his team and you won't end up disappointed.

 

I expect no more than 40 innings out of him this season, and that's a high-end estimate.

 

I really wouldn't mind the Sox turning to Allen Webster in the #5 slot. If they're going to make a run at things this season he will almost certainly have to be a part of that formula.

 

What about John Smoltz, Josh Johnson, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Stephen Strasburg...etc?

 

Idk if you watched the game but Lackey looked pretty damn good against a powerful lineup. He has inflammation, he will only miss a couple starts.

[a700hitter]

Rubby got pasted the other night in his first AAA start:

 

                  IP   H R ER BB SO HR ERA 
Rubby De La Rosa  2.1  4 5 5   1  3  2 19.29 

[BSN07]

Ya that's a rough outing, happens tho.

[seabeachfred]

Rubby got pasted the other night in his first AAA start:

 

                  IP   H R ER BB SO HR ERA 
Rubby De La Rosa  2.1  4 5 5   1  3  2 19.29 

 

I've said all along Ted to anyone who would listen that Rubby is just not very good. He has a live arm and a dead brain, is a thrower and not a pitcher. His fastball is as straight as an arrow and he usually pitches behind the count---deadly for a FB pitcher with a straight hummer. With time and experience he might get better but two years ago the Bums of LA were singing his praises and then got rid of him. I saw him a few times on the tube and he stunk just about every time. Webster may turn out to be a solid pitcher for us but DeLaRosa will be a one inning bullpen pitcher who might overpower batters for three outs. No way in my opinion will they want this guy facing batters a second time, let alone a third time.

[a700hitter]

I've said all along Ted to anyone who would listen that Rubby is just not very good. He has a live arm and a dead brain, is a thrower and not a pitcher. His fastball is as straight as an arrow and he usually pitches behind the count---deadly for a FB pitcher with a straight hummer. With time and experience he might get better but two years ago the Bums of LA were singing his praises and then got rid of him. I saw him a few times on the tube and he stunk just about every time. Webster may turn out to be a solid pitcher for us but DeLaRosa will be a one inning bullpen pitcher who might overpower batters for three outs. No way in my opinion will they want this guy facing batters a second time, let alone a third time.

When I saw him in person, I thought that he just doesn't have a starting pitchers body. Rubby isn't Chubby, but he is stocky and not tall. I don't see him as having a durable starting pitcher's body.

[SoxSport]

Can't tell anything about a pitcher based on one outing. Last night, Farrell brought in 3 relief pitchers pitchers in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings to replace Dempster--a guy they're paying $13 million, and he can't go beyond the 5th? He lucked out on the 3--they all had their stuff. But he pressed his luck bringing in a 4th guy--the "closer" Hanrahan, who did not his stuff. The result was a loss that should have been a win.

 

Fault Hanrahan? Yes and no. The guy has what--3 saves? So he doesn't have it one night and loses the game. Closers are set up to win or lose games. That's the way it is. Soriano and Rodney have both s*** the bed this year--once each so far. ERAs out of sight. Closers do it all the time. They aren't machines. They don't have their stuff every appearance. Now today, Farrell and Hanrahan have to face the music in the media for one blown save.

 

I don't like the ideology of one RP per inning. They used 4 last night in 4 innings. The odds of one of those guys not having his stuff and getting hit are very high. When you have a guy who is getting people out, leave him in there for at least another inning. If they did that last night, they might not have needed Hanrahan. But wait. That means Hanrahan doesn't get a save. Heavens. His agent will throw a fit. Not to mention fantasy players.

 

They have a pretty deep BP right now. Maybe 4 guys who could close on any given night. I know Farrell is risking shaking up the baseball world, but why not distribute some of those saves?

[Thunder]

So Aceves goes tonight? I would rather see a guy like Miller (a lefty) or Uehara replace Lackey. Aceves makes me worry, and that's never good.

 

On a side note, with the rain tomorrow, I will probably see Lester pitch on Sunday rather than Buchholz.

[RedSoxNC84]

@bradfo: Per source: Red Sox don't have interest in Aaron Harang

 

Thank God.

[Lord Snow]

Rubby got pasted the other night in his first AAA start:

 

                  IP   H R ER BB SO HR ERA 
Rubby De La Rosa  2.1  4 5 5   1  3  2 19.29 

 

I'm not overly concerned. While I would love Rubby to become an ace I'm fully aware that he is just a year and a half removed from TJ. He hardly pitched last year and when he did the results weren't very encouraging. It's why the Sox got him so 'cheap'. Prior to the surgery he showed enormous potential at a young age which by all accounts is still present.

 

It could be half a season before he shakes off the rust and gets used to his new arm.

 

I think he will be in Boston before the season is over.

[dupree]

Agreed i think when he gets fully used to his new arm he very well can be in boston by season's end. Plus i hope he can become an ace or atleast a #2.

[rorschach]

I really don't think it's worth it to keep arguing over Dojii's Nava love. What's the point? He really likes the kid and everyone of us has had a certain player that we wind up getting attached to at some point. I used to be irrationally in love with Salty. I find myself becoming more and more of a rider on the Nava bandwagon. He's versatile and has awesome on base skills vs righties, so what if Dojii is obsessed with him? It isn't hurting anything and it isn't worth arguing over. The Sox are looking good and have been fun to watch, why can't we just enjoy that?

 

I'm personally loving the work put in from the entire rotation, very pleasantly surprised to say the least. We do need to bring in and keep someone on the hook for Lackey's injury stints this season, but when he's healthy if he can bring anything like what he did for 4 1/3 against Toronto I'll be a happy camper. If Dempster and Doubront can keep pitching like they have so far, a little run support thrown in there, they can both easily be above .500 starters.

 

If there's any real worry I have about position depth it's at 3rd, Middlebrooks has been the definition of the word streaky. And with exception of one outstanding game in Toronto, his contact per AB and walk/K ratio has been somewhat alarming threw his first 12 games played. Bradley clearly isn't ready for big league pitching either, but that problem will be cleared up as soon as Ortiz gets his ass in gear, and off the DL.

 

All in all though, I couldn't be happier with the teams start, especially when you consider how almost everyone thought these 1st 12 games would look. With 4 of 9 slumping bats in the starting lineup Napoli (.220) (but he does appear to be coming around) Middlebrooks (.217) Bradley (.097) & Gomes (.158) to have a record of 8-4 and in first place in the division, the starting pitching has been pretty damn good all the way around. If Dempster had a little run support his last 2 starts, hell even all 3 of his starts he would be 3-0 right now with his 2.65 ERA. :thumbsup:

[User Name]

You're worried about positional depth at third on April 16th? Have some faith. It's been 12 games.

[rorschach]

You're worried about positional depth at third on April 16th? Have some faith. It's been 12 games.

 

I'm not really worried about anything lol. I was just saying, imo if there is any concern about position depth at all, it's not at SP. Middlebrooks lack of contact has been somewhat discouraging, but this early in the season it shouldn't be cause for concern yet. Basically, almost half our starting lineup is off to a rocky start with the bats, our rotation has been keeping us in winnable situations, so why worry about the rotation that's off to a great start?

 

Hell if everyone's so worried about the 5th spot s***ing himself, go with the 4 man act until Lackey returns. Our offense has been inconsistent in the first 12 not our rotation, if people want to worry, project it to the right places.

[SoxSport]

How does Wright get called up over Webster? Good question.

[BornToRun]

Because it's been made quite clear that Webster isn't gonna see the bigs until June at the earliest.

[Palodios]

Can we talk about how the Red Sox have the best overall pitching staff in the AL, and second best pitching staff in the majors right now?

[BSN07]

Can we talk about how the Red Sox have the best overall pitching staff in the AL, and second best pitching staff in the majors right now?

 

Ya it's really nice. It must have all the naysayers stymied. According to those guys, these pitchers where done and never going to amount to anything ever again

[a700hitter]

Can we talk about how the Red Sox have the best overall pitching staff in the AL, and second best pitching staff in the majors right now?

I don't think it is too shocking that Lester and Buch have bounced back, especially in light of the Spring Training that they had. They have done better than bounce back this far. They are off to the best starts of their careers. The real shocker has been how well the third thru fifth slots have performed. We just need those guys to be healthy and make their starts to be competitive. If they keep performing like this, it could be a very fun season.

[SoxSport]

On the pitching, it's still very early. So far, so good. Consistency and durability are yet to be proven.

[a700hitter]

On the pitching, it's still very early. So far, so good. Consistency and durability are yet to be proven.

Those are the keys. In the past several years we have suffered more than our share of injuries. Maybe this year the injury bug won't bite us too hard.

[Dojji]

Can't hate what Aceves gave us last night. 5 and 3 is what you hope for from a #6 guy.

[seabeachfred]

Can we talk about how the Red Sox have the best overall pitching staff in the AL, and second best pitching staff in the majors right now?

 

Once again, a helluva good point by you Pal. Let's give some kuddos to our pitching staff right about now. This was supposed to be our achilles heel, and you yourself said "need pitching" at the bottom of your posts. Keep it there, though, because we need our pitching to keep doing what they've been doing, which is pitching lights out. If there is any cause for concern it is keeping the staff healthy and hoping the bottom end of the rotation can do deeper into games. I don't want the bullpen gassed by August.

 

Tonight we have Jon Lester going and that is good for us, but just a tad of a caution. The Guardians had Masterson and his 3-0 and terrific ERA going for them last night against our Aceves who hadn't pitched all that well----and Alfredo won. So there is nothing automatic about tonight's game. Suffice to say, though, if Jon pitches to his capabilities and we play the ball like we've been playing we ought to turn another hat trick tonight.;);)