Sox in Some Trouble
The problem has been starting pitching. I believe this team will score gobs and gobs of runs, but the starters have been brutal, which brings in the middle relief, which has also been brutal. The late relief should be real good, but when you're way behind in every game, Jenks, Bard, and Pap are meaningless.
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Dice-K may be pitching his way out of town. By that, I mean a release is possible at some point this year (no GM in his right mind would give up anything for this guy the way he is throwing and if he turns his season around the Sox won't be dealing him or releasing him). He throws like he has no confidence in his stuff, and has for the last four years. Forgive me for patting myself on the back, but the first time I saw him throw the ball, I guessed that his acrosss-the-body delivery would mean a short shelf life (I've searched the blog for a mention and couldn't find any so I guess you'll have to take my word for it), and that's exactly what happened. Dice-K was solid his first year, lucky his second, and has been pretty bad the last two years, with a couple of abysmal starts so far this year. Can he be a fifth starter on a playoff team (meaning that he would head to the bullpen when the real games start)? Possibly, but I'm betting the Sox and Theo are working on something right now. Maybe Wake will give them some decent starts, as he is wont to do every couple of years. But all in all, getting two good years and three bad ones from a fourth starter is not what the Sox had in mind when they spent that $100m five years ago on the best pitcher Japan had produced. He's a big bust.
I have faith that Beckett can win 15 and pitch decent baseball. Lester and Bucholz are probably going to be outstanding again. If they aren't, the Sox won't win 90. But Lackey is the big question amongst the top four starters. He was brutal last year and has been regressing for several years now. The Sox signed him because they could afford him, but he has done nothing to show he's worth the money he's getting now and in the future. He could become an albatross just like Barry Zito has been for the Giants. That's what happens when teams sign pitchers to long term deals, quite often. Look at AJ Burnett of the Yanks and the Mets with Santana, to give just two examples. Thank goodness for Lester and Bucholz, the homegrown studs that a lot of folks thought should be dealt away years ago.
Everything else on the team is going to be fine. AG, Youk, Papi, Dustin, and Crawford are studs. No worries there.
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Dice-K may be pitching his way out of town. By that, I mean a release is possible at some point this year (no GM in his right mind would give up anything for this guy the way he is throwing and if he turns his season around the Sox won't be dealing him or releasing him). He throws like he has no confidence in his stuff, and has for the last four years. Forgive me for patting myself on the back, but the first time I saw him throw the ball, I guessed that his acrosss-the-body delivery would mean a short shelf life (I've searched the blog for a mention and couldn't find any so I guess you'll have to take my word for it), and that's exactly what happened. Dice-K was solid his first year, lucky his second, and has been pretty bad the last two years, with a couple of abysmal starts so far this year. Can he be a fifth starter on a playoff team (meaning that he would head to the bullpen when the real games start)? Possibly, but I'm betting the Sox and Theo are working on something right now. Maybe Wake will give them some decent starts, as he is wont to do every couple of years. But all in all, getting two good years and three bad ones from a fourth starter is not what the Sox had in mind when they spent that $100m five years ago on the best pitcher Japan had produced. He's a big bust.
I have faith that Beckett can win 15 and pitch decent baseball. Lester and Bucholz are probably going to be outstanding again. If they aren't, the Sox won't win 90. But Lackey is the big question amongst the top four starters. He was brutal last year and has been regressing for several years now. The Sox signed him because they could afford him, but he has done nothing to show he's worth the money he's getting now and in the future. He could become an albatross just like Barry Zito has been for the Giants. That's what happens when teams sign pitchers to long term deals, quite often. Look at AJ Burnett of the Yanks and the Mets with Santana, to give just two examples. Thank goodness for Lester and Bucholz, the homegrown studs that a lot of folks thought should be dealt away years ago.
Everything else on the team is going to be fine. AG, Youk, Papi, Dustin, and Crawford are studs. No worries there.
posted by joe sweeney at 1:31 PM
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