Red Sox struggling with horrific pitching
The Boston Red Sox were supposed to run away with the American League East this year. The Baltimore Orioles were certainly considered a threat, and the Toronto Blue Jays were too until Marcus Stroman tore his ACL in spring training. The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays were afterthoughts, but failing to put together a quality, well-rounded team in the offseason.
On May 7, Boston is sitting in last place of the AL East, 13-15, four games behind the Yankees. Why? Because for all their acquisitions in the winter, the Red Sox have allowed the most runs in the American League with 144. Every pundit applauded the moves of landing Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, adding ample punch to a lineup that already had Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli and David Ortiz. In the bandbox that is Fenway Park, it seemed obvious Boston would mash its way to 90 wins and the playoffs.
Instead, the pitching staff has let the Red Sox down in a big way. Rick Porcello, the one big name Boston acquired for the rotation, is leading the staff with a 4.38 ERA. When your best pitcher is giving up what equates to a run every two innings, you are in rough shape. The rest of the rotation can be likened to a grease fire, with Justin Masterson, Joe Kelly, Clay Buchholz and Wade Miley compiling ERAs north of 5.00, and in Miley’s case, 7.00.
The Red Sox have youngsters in the pipeline to trade if they want to make a move for Cole Hamels, the dynamic southpaw of the Philadelphia Phillies. However, management does not seem intent on doing that, keeping Hamels in play for other clubs. The Yankees would love to get their mitts on him, but can they pony up enough talent from the minors?
In response to the horrendous numbers, the Red Sox dismissed pitching coach Juan Nieves from his post on Thursday, according to a team announcement. Nieves may or may not be a good coach, but nobody is going to succeed with the men listed above. Somehow, general manager Ben Cherington disagrees, per ESPN.
“While we are confident we have many of the pieces in place to improve and will see improvement, John and I simply got to the point where we felt that, in order to continue to push forward and make improvements, we needed to make a change and have a different voice in that particular position,” Cherington said.
Boston is lucky that the AL East, and the AL in general, is so weak. The Red Sox have time to straighten out the rotation, whether it means calling up pitchers or making a significant deal. However, the main concern is that if Boston fails to land another arm, what can be done to salvage the mess currently pitching?
Only time will tell for Beantown’s Boys.
