Is the actual rotation the worst in the last 10 Y?

[Northern Star]

Memo to Ben: pitching needs more jigawatts.

[Northern Star]

Apparently the Red Sox and Nationals were in serious discussions over Zimmerman this offseason. Rizzo said that there were some realistic trade offers made to them, but they decided it was better to keep their insane pitching staff intact.

 

I'd love to see the Sox beat up on the Nats the next two days. It could potentially open doors to trade candidates.

 

Can't blame them, I'd resist dealing him out of that rotation too.

[SoxnCycles]

Memo to Ben: pitching needs more jigawatts.

 

I wouldn't make a panic trade just yet.

 

The nice thing about a balanced team is that an offense can, occasionally, save a pitcher from himself.

 

We should know by June, whether or not the Sox have to find another arm.

[Palodios]

The Red Sox have a bunch of rotation candidates in Pawtucket. Brian Johnson is 24, has three solid pitches and is beating up on minor league pitching. Steven Wright has looked serviceable. The stud prospects probably aren't ready yet, but I would take any of those guys over Masterson right now.

[sk7326]

Obviously season is early - but things are playing out as you'd expect. The rotation is not good, but the bullpen is. Ogando has looked outstanding in particular and it was nice to see Koji resemble his healthy self.

 

Johnson, Wright and Barnes are probably your best candidates to start right now. Johnson is the probability guy. Given the nature of innings limits and how youngsters are handled, if Owens or Rodriguez is going to make a contribution it will probably be no earlier than mid-June.

 

The rental market ain't going to start to sort itself out for another few weeks. That said, the offense, bullpen and defense should be sufficient to keep the Sox solvent until then.

[seabeachfred]

The Red Sox have a bunch of rotation candidates in Pawtucket. Brian Johnson is 24, has three solid pitches and is beating up on minor league pitching. Steven Wright has looked serviceable. The stud prospects probably aren't ready yet, but I would take any of those guys over Masterson right now.

 

Pal, we just have to have someone down there who will be more effective than Masterson. Justin's velocity has fallen at an alarming rate and he is simply meat to be devoured by the opposition. I think putting him in the bullpen as a one or two inning pitcher would be most effective for the team. He is a lot like Workman in that the second time around he is more or less cannon fodder for batters.

[curiousd]

Trouble with games like that crazy 8-7 win versus NATS ..... a season of this tends to blow out the bull pen.....2011??

[Palodios]

Regarding Masterson-- I didn't realize this, but he has only allowed one extra base hit in both games. The problem has been walks, HBP, and a s*** ton of singles.

 

ERA 7.59, 9.28 K/9, 64.5 GB%, FIP 2.88, xFIP 3.24,

[Northern Star]

I know it's early, but this pitching's a f***ing joke. The good news is the starting pitching is not last in ERA, Minnesota is even worse.

[a700hitter]

I know it's early, but this pitching's a f***ing joke. The good news is the starting pitching is not last in ERA, Minnesota is even worse.

Their top pitcher is suspended for PEDs.

[Station 13]

Regarding Masterson-- I didn't realize this, but he has only allowed one extra base hit in both games. The problem has been walks, HBP, and a s*** ton of singles.

 

ERA 7.59, 9.28 K/9, 64.5 GB%, FIP 2.88, xFIP 3.24,

 

85-88 mph fastballs..... he is bad.

 

I think he is the first to be thrown into long relief for either E-rod or Johnson taking his place.

[Northern Star]

Their top pitcher is suspended for PEDs.

 

Their top pitcher? You mean the one with the career ERA > 4.00? They're coming off four 90 loss seasons in a row, their pitching has been s*** since Santana left. They've got a couple of guys coming through (May and Meyer) who might be good, but the lack of depth is nothing new.

[Northern Star]

85-88 mph fastballs..... he is bad.

 

I think he is the first to be thrown into long relief for either E-rod or Johnson taking his place.

 

I asked it last night, I'll ask it again. Look at Masterson's 2014 numbers, then explain to me why Ben signed him? Could he really find no one else?

[mvp 78]

Ben expected a rebound year for a guy who had injuries last year. Took a chance on a #5 guy. Not the end of the world.

 

I think Ben thought the rotation would be:

Porcello

Miley

Kelly

Buch

Masterson

[cp176]

85-88 mph fastballs..... he is bad.

 

I think he is the first to be thrown into long relief for either E-rod or Johnson taking his place.

 

I think that they leave E-Rod alone for the time being. He is young. They will probably give Wright an opportunity soon. Johnson and Barnes probably next but I don't think Owens is going to be down there for long. Personally, I would give him the first look. He isn't much younger than Johnson. I hope they hang on to Rodriguez. He's my top pick.

[User Name]

Ben expected a rebound year for a guy who had injuries last year. Took a chance on a #5 guy. Not the end of the world.

 

I think Ben thought the rotation would be:

Porcello

Miley

Kelly

Buch

Masterson

 

Not reinventing the wheel here.

[Kimmi]

Obviously season is early - but things are playing out as you'd expect. The rotation is not good, but the bullpen is. Ogando has looked outstanding in particular and it was nice to see Koji resemble his healthy self.

 

Johnson, Wright and Barnes are probably your best candidates to start right now. Johnson is the probability guy. Given the nature of innings limits and how youngsters are handled, if Owens or Rodriguez is going to make a contribution it will probably be no earlier than mid-June.

 

The rental market ain't going to start to sort itself out for another few weeks. That said, the offense, bullpen and defense should be sufficient to keep the Sox solvent until then.

 

 

It's hard to watch games like today's and last night's, even though we won that one. But like you said, what we have should be good enough to get us to the trade deadline, when we'll have a better feel for what our needs are and what is available.

 

It is definitely too early to panic.

[Kimmi]

Trouble with games like that crazy 8-7 win versus NATS ..... a season of this tends to blow out the bull pen.....2011??

 

 

Fortunately, it shouldn't be too hard to find some BP arms if we need them.

[a700hitter]

We should bludgeon our way to enough wins to play better than .500 ball. The problem will come in the dog days when offenses sputter. By that time the pen should be worn down to a bunch of noodle arms. Pitching reinforcements at mid season looks to be a likely path.

[yankthis]

"enough wins to play better than .500 ball"

 

The two they won against the Nationals were basically gifted to them, and the Phillies and Yankees did them a few favors too. They're not going to get lucky like that almost every day over the course of several months. They'll be 4th place in AL East by mid-May, if not sooner.

[mvp 78]

Trouble with games like that crazy 8-7 win versus NATS ..... a season of this tends to blow out the bull pen.....2011??

 

In 2011, the arms in AAA were hot garbage. Today in Pawtucket, each starter and a few relievers could all have a meaningful impact if brought up.

[Northern Star]

Ben expected a rebound year for a guy who had injuries last year. Took a chance on a #5 guy. Not the end of the world.

 

I think Ben thought the rotation would be:

Porcello

Miley

Kelly

Buch

Masterson

 

At $9.5 mil? That's barely below what St Louis paid him. He should have been due a significant paycut after stinking last year.

[User Name]

At $9.5 mil? That's barely below what St Louis paid him. He should have been due a significant paycut after stinking last year.

 

That's the going rate. Guys who are more injury-prone and have had less recent success (Brett Anderson) got similar guarantees. Whether it pisses you off or not, that is the market.

 

For a team with the resources the Red Sox have, these are high-risk plays they can afford to make. The funny thing is that when they don't spend money, then the whining about "penny-pinching" comes into play. Let them spend.

[Bellhorn04]

"enough wins to play better than .500 ball"

 

The two they won against the Nationals were basically gifted to them, and the Phillies and Yankees did them a few favors too. They're not going to get lucky like that almost every day over the course of several months. They'll be 4th place in AL East by mid-May, if not sooner.

 

Yeah, put a fork in us. 62-100

[SoxnCycles]

"enough wins to play better than .500 ball"

 

The two they won against the Nationals were basically gifted to them, and the Phillies and Yankees did them a few favors too. They're not going to get lucky like that almost every day over the course of several months. They'll be 4th place in AL East by mid-May, if not sooner.

 

And they're going to get more games "gifted" to them from bad teams.

 

All decent teams do, over the course of the season.

 

I love how fans were so non-committal to this team being good, one turn through the rotation, but now that we've had not quite two, we all know they're screwed.

Edited April 16, 2015 by SoxnCycles

[User Name]

Yeah, put a fork in us. 62-100

 

Actually, 6-156.

[sk7326]

"enough wins to play better than .500 ball"

 

The two they won against the Nationals were basically gifted to them, and the Phillies and Yankees did them a few favors too. They're not going to get lucky like that almost every day over the course of several months. They'll be 4th place in AL East by mid-May, if not sooner.

 

If the Red Sox score 5.6 runs per 9 innings (56 runs in 9 games, but one of the games was 19 innings) ... they don't really have to even be good at run prevention to still be a .500 sort of team.

 

We know Miley and Buchholz are better than this because no pessimistic prediction for them would have them putting up 8 ERAs. I do not deny that this team needs more to win in October - but if the team hits like this (and while you argue regression - Papi, Betts and Sandoval have not really gotten going yet) they will be okay.

[gojohn99]

I HOPE Buchholz is better than this. He can be, but he did have a 5.43 ERA in 2014

 

We know Miley and Buchholz are better than this because no pessimistic prediction for them would have them putting up 8 ERAs. I do not deny that this team needs more to win in October - but if the team hits like this (and while you argue regression - Papi, Betts and Sandoval have not really gotten going yet) they will be okay.

[a700hitter]

I HOPE Buchholz is better than this. He can be, but he did have a 5.43 ERA in 2014

Buchholz is the real wild card in the rotation. In a rotation that is a pile of mediocrity, Porcello seems to be the best bet to be the leader of the pack, but there have been stretches in Buchholz's career where he has been exceptional. If he can get on one of those runs, like he was on at the beginning of 2013, that could really jump start this team's fortunes. However, if he pitches to last year's 5.43 ERA, this very mediocre rotation will put tremendous pressure on the offense to produce big numbers.

[seabeachfred]

Buchholz is the real wild card in the rotation. In a rotation that is a pile of mediocrity, Porcello seems to be the best bet to be the leader of the pack, but there have been stretches in Buchholz's career where he has been exceptional. If he can get on one of those runs, like he was on at the beginning of 2013, that could really jump start this team's fortunes. However, if he pitches to last year's 5.43 ERA, this very mediocre rotation will put tremendous pressure on the offense to produce big numbers.

 

Enough with the baby s***-----they've coddled this guy year to year. A little tough love and tough talk from a Dutch uncle is now needed to get this candy ass to either shape up or barf out.