.338 OBP is not adequate for a lead-off hitter.
However, his hitting 8th seems odd to me as well, seeing as the Ellsbury-Pedroia 9-1 tandem seems like it would be much more productive.
But his execution was poor. You have stated yourself your 1-4 are not gonna average 6.1 innings every start for the rest of the season.
Brett Tomko sucks.
A lot of good pitchers have finished refining their repertoire on the bullpen.
Johan Santana comes to mind.
Jacko's fact driven post whch you clearly backed up.
See, if Pettite keeps this up, this is one of those nights where having a long man out of the pen (Phil Hughes) can prove really valuable.