Sox Pitching Staff Discussion

[moonslav59]

If he keeps pitching like he did last start the love will flow.

 

...and what if ERod can pitch like the top quality pitcher he could be from here on out as well?!?!

[oldtimer]

...and what if ERod can pitch like the top quality pitcher he could be from here on out as well?!?!

 

What happened to him tonight? I see he was only in for 4 innings. Did he get injured? He gave up no runs.

[Bellhorn04]

What happened to him tonight? I see he was only in for 4 innings. Did he get injured? He gave up no runs.

 

Hammy...keep your fingers crossed.

[greenwell]

Hammy...keep your fingers crossed.

 

Hamstring injuries are almost never short lived. I'll be surprised if he comes back this year.

[moonslav59]

Hamstring injuries are almost never short lived. I'll be surprised if he comes back this year.

 

Unless, it is just a minor discomfort.

[a700hitter]

Hamstring injuries are almost never short lived. I'll be surprised if he comes back this year.

It might just be a cramp due to the heat.

[Jasonbay44]

Red Sox manager John Farrell said he's optimistic Eduardo Rodriguez (hamstring) won't have to miss a turn in the starting rotation.

Rodriguez left his start Tuesday against the Orioles after four hitless innings because of tightness in his left hamstring, but the leg loosened up as the night went on and Farrell told reporters after the game that he felt the team caught the issue before it became something serious. Rodriguez has been excellent in three of his last four outings.

 

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/mlb/7561/eduardo-rodriguez

[moonslav59]

The Red Sox are hopeful they caught the injury early enough that it won't be an issue going forward.

 

"I think we got this early," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "He felt a little bit of hamstring tightness come on towards the last hitter of the fourth inning. We checked him in between innings. There was no reduction of strength or range of motion, but it was clear the first two pitches he threw to start the fifth [that] he was not right.

"He was definitely favoring it, so we got him out of the game at the time. He feels a little bit looser postgame. We'll have a better read on this tomorrow."

 

It was tough for Rodriguez to come out at a time he felt his stuff might have been the best of his young career. "From last year to this year, that was the first time I felt like that," Rodriguez said. "Every pitch was right where I wanted -- the fastball, changeup, slider, two-seam. Everything was right where I wanted."

 

Rodriguez spent the first two months of the season on the disabled list due to a right knee injury he suffered early in Spring Training.

 

After struggling mightily and then being optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, Rodriguez has thrived since his recall after the All-Star break, posting a 2.51 ERA.

 

"He's thrown the ball like he has the last few starts," said Farrell. "He's relaxed, he's free. He had such good life to that swing and miss fastball through the zone. He elevated at the appropriate times. He threw enough secondary pitches to keep guys off stride. He had a very good fastball tonight."

Rodriguez hopes the hamstring injury doesn't derail his recent momentum.

 

"I felt it on one pitch before the strikeout to [Mark] Trumbo," said Rodriguez. "When I threw the pitch, I felt something get tight in there. When I came out for the fifth, I was feeling like it was getting worse, so I didn't want to do something to something inside of there. I feel like we made the right decision before it got worse."

 

-Ian Browne

[Nick]

...and what if ERod can pitch like the top quality pitcher he could be from here on out as well?!?!

 

When healthy and pitching to their expectations, our rotation looks pretty good. We can be choosy with a trade. Need depth thought. Like to see Johnson at some point. It's all about control issues for Owens. It may take him another couple of years.

 

Biggest question mark on horizon is where exactly is Moncada and what to do with him? Is he ultimately an OF because he can't defend in infield? I love our OF.......I personally put those 3 ahead of Xander. Now if Xander shows signs of hitting for little more power, then it's between him and Betts for MVP. I just see him now as adequate defensive shortstop that can hit. I also like Betts the best because of his agent.

[Kimmi]

Thirteen million dollars a year to poorly satisfy almost 5 innings ... how far down the line had Clay fallen from our possible #1

 

Clay has fallen so far down that he has been moved to the BP. So yes, the expectation from him is no longer that of a #1 or #2, but rather to pitch well enough to give the team a chance. Not that I have lost hope with him, but I no longer have ace expectations with him.

 

To be fair, the fact that he only pitched 4+ innings is not his fault. He has been in the pen and was no longer stretched out. He was on a pitch limit of about 65-70 pitches.

 

He is now pitching as a spot starter. In that role, he did his job. Worth $13 mil? No, but he did his job for that start.

[Kimmi]

I don't have a problem with him out of the pen, he has actually been pretty solid there. But when he makes a spot start, regardless of he does, there is numerous people saying "good job Buchholz" or he "did his job" so 4 innings and 3 runs is a job well done? Even in spot start, no, that isn't good. You know it's not a good job when your ERA coming in is 5.64, and it goes up after your start...

 

What you hope for out of a spot starter is for him to go about 5 innings and keep the team in the game. Clay did that.

[Kimmi]

Pomeranz not getting any love here? really- I'm alone on my island!

 

Pomeranz was awesome in his last outing. Hopefully, he will continue pitching like that.

[Kimmi]

The news on ERod sounds promising. Hopefully, it was just a cramp.

 

Then again, the initial news on his knee injury was that he was likely to be out for 72 hours.

 

Stay tuned....

 

BTW, he was dominating for the short time he was in the game.

[S5Dewey]

Grrr. I was optimistic that possibly ERod's problem was related to dehydration - hot temps in Baltimore, high humidity, etc., until you reminded me of the FO's assessment of his knee injury. That brought me back to what they said about Young's injury (shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks) and then to Buch's mysterious neck injury that 'shouldn't be more than a few days' and turned into a half season.

 

I can't decide whether the Sox medical staff is incompetent or if they're intentionally blowing smoke toward the fans, but whatever it is I have no faith in what they say. It's always "wait and see" for me now.

[mvp 78]

Clay has fallen so far down that he has been moved to the BP. So yes, the expectation from him is no longer that of a #1 or #2, but rather to pitch well enough to give the team a chance. Not that I have lost hope with him, but I no longer have ace expectations with him.

 

To be fair, the fact that he only pitched 4+ innings is not his fault. He has been in the pen and was no longer stretched out. He was on a pitch limit of about 65-70 pitches.

 

He is now pitching as a spot starter. In that role, he did his job. Worth $13 mil? No, but he did his job for that start.

 

He's definitely thriving in the swing role. If you keeps pitching well, you can guarantee that the option will be picked up again.

[Dojji]

I think we can find a better place to put that money.

[mvp 78]

Pomeranz not getting any love here? really- I'm alone on my island!

 

Right after his good start, a ton of B level media were throwing shade on his performance. I don't get it. Some people will NEVER be happy about that trade no matter how it turns out.

[mvp 78]

I think we can find a better place to put that money.

 

He's a guy with great stuff and ace level ceiling. They don't grow on trees.

[Dojji]

They don't grow on trees, but Buchholz is ready to fertilize one.

[moonslav59]

When healthy and pitching to their expectations, our rotation looks pretty good. We can be choosy with a trade. Need depth thought. Like to see Johnson at some point. It's all about control issues for Owens. It may take him another couple of years.

 

Biggest question mark on horizon is where exactly is Moncada and what to do with him? Is he ultimately an OF because he can't defend in infield? I love our OF.......I personally put those 3 ahead of Xander. Now if Xander shows signs of hitting for little more power, then it's between him and Betts for MVP. I just see him now as adequate defensive shortstop that can hit. I also like Betts the best because of his agent.

 

One bright spot- Owens pitched his first game with 1 BB this year. Maybe he's turned the corner.

[moonslav59]

Right after his good start, a ton of B level media were throwing shade on his performance. I don't get it. Some people will NEVER be happy about that trade no matter how it turns out.

 

I'll be happy to admit I was wrong, but if Espi becomes the next Pedro...

[Dojji]

All I expect of Owens and Johnson is to be competent emergency starters. I think they can accomplish that much.

[Kimmi]

Grrr. I was optimistic that possibly ERod's problem was related to dehydration - hot temps in Baltimore, high humidity, etc., until you reminded me of the FO's assessment of his knee injury. That brought me back to what they said about Young's injury (shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks) and then to Buch's mysterious neck injury that 'shouldn't be more than a few days' and turned into a half season.

 

I can't decide whether the Sox medical staff is incompetent or if they're intentionally blowing smoke toward the fans, but whatever it is I have no faith in what they say. It's always "wait and see" for me now.

 

I am optimistic that he will return very soon, but you're right about our medical staff. I don't know what it is, but I wouldn't think that they'd continually blow smoke toward the fans. What's the point in doing that? Either way, you have to take what they say with a grain of salt.

[Bellhorn04]

I'll be happy to admit I was wrong, but if Espi becomes the next Pedro...

 

We'll have that cloud hanging over us for the next few years right? Good times.

[Kimmi]

He's definitely thriving in the swing role. If you keeps pitching well, you can guarantee that the option will be picked up again.

 

If he keeps pitching well, I can see the option being picked up again. However, it's not the no brainer that it was last year.

[Dojji]

I don't think they're blowing smoke, I do think they're preaching the best possible outcome rather than the 50-percentile outcome, if you will. The problem with doing that consistently is that it does set fans up to be disappointed later on.

[Dojji]

I'll be happy to admit I was wrong, but if Espi becomes the next Pedro...

 

If Espi becomes the next Pedro, Padres development staff will have had so much to do with that that it will be easy to dismiss the idea that he would so defnintely have done the same thing in Boston. Especially because the difference between pitching in Boston and pitching in SD is night and day, and no one demonstrates that better than Drew Pomeranz

 

We traded potential talent for developed talent in a year when we had every chance to make the playoffs and teams do that ALL the frigging time. Espinosa is not THAT special.

[Kimmi]

I don't think they're blowing smoke, I do think they're preaching the best possible outcome rather than the 50-percentile outcome, if you will. The problem with doing that consistently is that it does set fans up to be disappointed later on.

 

It not only sets the fans up for disappointment, but it causes the fans to lose trust and confidence in their reports.

[Dojji]

It not only sets the fans up for disappointment, but it causes the fans to lose trust and confidence in their reports.

 

Well yeah, that kind of goes with the territory. I completely agree

[Kimmi]

I don't know if Papelbon is being discussed elsewhere, but personally, I think picking him up is worth serious consideration. I believe that any attitude issues that he has had with other teams would not carry over to the Red Sox. If he is picked up, it would have to be made clear to both Paps and Kimbrel that Paps will not be the team's closer, and may not even be the set up man. If Paps is not okay with that, then don't sign him.

 

Yes, I'm aware of his less than stellar numbers this year.