SchillingBeckett
Wells
Clement
Wakefield
Papelbon
(Arroyo)
***Warning. This is a long post, centered around the Red Sox pitching staff. You may want to skip it if you are not a Red Sox, baseball or rambling nonsense fan. Also, yes, I am aware of the Roger Clemens rumors. No, I won't comment until I see him at a press conference with Theo.***
Curt Schilling - 8-8, 5.69 ERA, 9 saves
Not what you want from your staff's ace, huh? Yeah, I'm not too pleased, either. However, it's not what he did last year, it's the 2004 season that really counts for any Red Sox fans. If it took a year of injury and disappointing results to win the World Series, so be it. There's really no fault to be found in Schilling's performance when you view it through that prism. Is it making the best of a bad situation? Sure, but for anyone who saw him enter the game from the pen in his first relief start knows what he means to this franchise.
He recently did a Q&A session with Bill Simmons of Boston Sports Guy fame and sounds ready to rebound in a big way. Instead of worshipping at the dual altars of BSG and Schilling, I'll just say that he's a gamer and I have little question that the spirit is willing. Whether or not his body keeps pace remains to be seen.
As a man who holds dual-citizenship in both Red Sox Nation and the Cult of the Cubs, let's just say I've been down this road before. There is no harsher mistress than 'If this staff stays healthy' but considering it wasn't arm or shoulder trouble, I'd be ready to bet on a strong year from him.
I could go on for weeks about how much respect I have for Schilling. He was brought in to be a Yankee Killer and he did just that. He was brought in to win and he did that. If you need any more proof, don't take my word for it, Google 'Schilling" and 'sock' and see for yourself.
On a final note, despite his Republican boosting and love of Jesus, I can't hate Schilling because when all is said and done, he gets it. He understands the fan perspective better than most players and you have to respect someone who calls up sports talk from his car to read the hosts the riot act. Was it the smartest idea from a PR perspective? Hell no, but it sure was a lot of fun.
Josh Beckett - 15-8, 3.38 ERA, 178.2 IP
I have to admit I'm a lot more comfortable now knowing that his nickname is 'Country.' Although, Enos Slaughter was nicknamed Country, too - maybe that's a bad omen, huh?
Let's see, a stunning young pitcher with blister problems (fingers, not Kyle Farnsworth blistering) who the Sox picked up for a song in the offseason and recently avoided arbitration with. Why worry, right?
Try these numbers on for size - 24.0, 107.2, 142.0, 156.2, 178.2 - those are inning counts for Beckett in his first five years as a pro. The first season is indicative of the four starts, but it's still troublesome (see the thoughts on Schilling above). Prior and Wood move over for Curt and Josh?
Nothing is worse than a starting staff that falls apart piece by piece as the season progresses, aside from a staff that falls apart piece by piece from the top as the season progresses. Here's to hoping the Florida humidity was causing the blisters or that the Red Sox have those tiny band-aids they give you at the doctor's office after they draw blood. For the life of me, I'll never understand professional pitchers who are shut down for finger blisters. They pitch in a fice-man rotation and can't gut it out with finger blisters? Really? Really?
Last thing on Beckett is that they'd given up on Hanley Ramirez, the star of the Red Sox farm system to pick him up in a package with Mike Lowell's bloated contract. Ramirez was the crown jewel you hear about for years and years before they hit the majors. Like the Cubs with Kerry Wood and the Mariners with King Felix, you get a buzz that builds and builds until they hit the scene and light up the league or fizzle out.
Now, with the gaping hole that existed at short until last week, I wonder what went wrong there. Sure, Beckett was a deal too good to pass on, but the choice of trade bait is puzzling. This may warrant its own post in a week or so, along with the Andy Marte deal.
David Wells - 15-7, 4.45 ERA, 184 IP
In the words of Ted Williams, 'Hello, whale belly!'
The Pillsbury Throw Boy had a quiet season last year, which off the field is a great thing. The problem was that Boomer was pretty silent on the field as well. I'd go into depth about how he was actually as solid a pitcher as the Sox had, but honestly, with Wells trying to get out of his contract to head out west and head back with the Padres (rumors were in the works for a Dave Roberts trade) it's hard to think of much more to say until opening day.
If the Human Donut Apocalypse comes back, great, if not, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a fan who will take this very hard.
Matt Clement - 13-6, 4.57 ERA, 191 IP
True story. I was sitting in the stands last spring, watching a Red Sox spring training game with Clement starting one of his first games after he signed over from the Cubs. He'd done well the year before, but got no run support. He was 9-13 while holding batters to a career best 155 hits all year. For whatever reason, the Cubs just took the day off when the Amish Outlaw took the mound. It was the damnedest thing.
I remember two things about that start. First, no one in the stands around us (mainly snowbirds and people who made the trip to call their friends in New England and rub it in) knew who he was. After he gave up a few scattered hits, he got hit pretty good in the early innings before he was pulled. Not good. I made a joke about the ex-Cub factor, but had spent the week seeing some pretty brutal pitching performances.
Secondly, I tapped my buddy, Rich, and said, 'I think the Sox will do as well as he does this year.'
'Who the fuck is that guy?' asked Rich.
Well, fast forward to the Tampa game in July/August and Clement getting the Charlie Brown treatment and so went the season. He never seemed right after that and neither did the Sox. This has since been proven untrue, but still, something was off. I wish this guy could catch a break, but for whatever reason he keeps falling short.
His numbers weren't awful last year, but he didn't pitch well, either. He's a solid second-tier starter, but should benefit from not having to be the top dog all season.
Tim Wakefield - 16-12, 4.15 ERA, 225.1 IP
What's wrong with this picture? At 39, Wake was the most dependable member of the staff? Well, knuckleballers pitch until they're in their mid-70s (see Charlie Hough), but there's no way this guy should have chewed up this many innings last season.
What the stats fail to show is that in that 4.15 ERA are games with two runs and others with six or more runs. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground here. When the wind is kicking up and the knuckler is dancing, it's great. When you're in the Metrodome, you get slapped around like Flavor Flav at Bridgette Nielsen's house. Not the best pitcher to put up there on some days. Making matters worse, is that it usually takes Terry Francona a bit to catch on to this.
Colorful as he is, Wake becomes a liability some days. I remember spending the day of his playoff start against the White Sox nervous and going back and forth with Frankie, a long-time friend and White Sox fan. It's never a good feeling to have to rely on a 39-year-old knuckleballer in the postseason. Never.
Should Wake be on the Opening Day Roster? Yes. Should he sit in October? Yes again.
Also worth mentioning is the loss of Wake's show pony, Doug Mirabelli. The backup catcher caught every fifth day and only for Wakefield. His glove was the size of a garbage can lid and he has quick, soft hands. These are two great qualities for a knuckleball catcher.
Anyone who discounts this factor needs only watch game tape of Varitek (a very good defensive catcher) trying to catch for Wakefield. It's a mess. If there's a stat for percentage of runs scored by pitch type, it'd hands down be on knucklers. A runner on third is a very real threat, no matter the count or number of outs with a knuckler on the mound. Again, this might be worth its own posting. Something to keep an eye on this season.
Jon Papelbon - 3-1, 2.65 ERA, 34 K, 34.0 IP
The fair-haired child and possible savior for the Red Sox was the only bright spot on the mound in October. The only one who didn't look totally overmatched. The only one who held the White Sox in check. The only one who didn't seem like he could get shelled at any moment. Ah, youth...
Not much on that stat line yet, but it looks like he'll be moving into the rotation this year. I think he's ready, Red Sox Nation thinks he's ready, hopefully he thinks he's ready, too. He was 12-7 with a 2.64 ERA for AA Sarasota before making the leap to the show, but a season with the big club doesn't seem like over-reaching to anyone who saw him in October.
He was the one not sucking.
Bronson Arroyo - 14-10, 4.51 ERA, 205.1 IP
The man who Schilling said had 'balls the size of Saturn' in the 2004 playoffs was up and down last year. Like Derek Lowe before him, he showed flashes of what it takes to be a starter with a bright future, but then sunk just as quickly.
His side career as a rock star has been blamed for erratic performances (especially when spot starts required him to step in the night after a planned gig) and I think the guy named after Charles Bronson needs to suck it up and realize that most rockers would rather be pitching in the bigs just as he'd like to perform in front of sold out arenas.
This choice reminds me a bit of the Kyle Farnsworth epic in Chicago where you always saw him for what he should be versus what he is and don't think that it's too rash to say that this is a turning point for him in his career. Either he can focus, lose those stupid cornrows once and for all, and get down to the business of baseball. With six seasons under his belt (only two worth much, though) it's make or break time.
It looks like he'll be farmed back to the bullpen for now, but he'll be a heartbeat, blown ankle or finger blister away from the starting rotation.
So what's it going to be? You wanna be a starter in this league, or are you happy to bounce around with Tim McCarver calling you 'Brandon' before World Series starts?
The Wrap-up
In all, it's a good staff on paper. If I get my act together, I'd like to do division breakdowns in the weeks leading into the season, but suffice to say with neighbors like the Yankees, Orioles and retooled Blue Jays, serviceable isn't going to cut it this year.
I hate playing the games where if the staff stays healthy, they have a shot, but the Sox have done more with less in the past. Without even peeking into the bullpen and regardless of how the David Wells story plays out, I think that this is a pretty shaky starting staff.
For the record, there are two "if healthy's," a rookie, two "if they pull it together's"and a knuckleballer who'll turn 40 in August. Add Wells and you have a human bullpen cart. However, if just half of those actually pan out, you might have something and if that half is Beckett and Papelbon, you have a contender in the East.
And that is something I can live with... at least until April.
(Photo from Boston.com)
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