The Boston Red Sox Pitching Staff: Can They Be Stopped?
Posted on May 11, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized |
Boston’s pitching staff is looking nearly unstoppable, despite Daisuke Matsuzaka not quite living up to all the hype. Dice has pitched pretty well in most of his starts this season, but has lacked the run support in some of those games to come out victorious. His current record is 4-2 with a 4.80 ERA, but he has yet to display a clearly dominant pitching style that I think most Red Sox fans were expecting from such a highly touted recruit. I am trying not to sell him short just yet, however. I’m hoping he’s still a bit shell-shocked from moving to the US from Japan and being thrown head first into one of the most demanding baseball franchises in the world. That’s gotta be rough. Not to mention all the pressure on him to perform, given the ENORMOUS amount of money he is being paid. He should calm down once the media hype dies down a little bit, but he will have to start earning that $50 million dollar salary pretty soon, or the Boston press (along with the fans) will certainly have his head. To his credit, he did quietly pitch 7 innings of one-run baseball last Wednesday night, striking out 8 batters along the way. He still lacked the overpowering style I think most people are expecting, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction; and maybe that’s just his pitching style and we will all just have to get used to it.
Aside from Daisuke’s rough start, the rest of the Red Sox pitching staff are definitely earning their money. Josh Beckett has stolen the spotlight with a perfect 7-0 record to start the season (2.51 ERA). He currently leads the Major League in wins so far this season and if he can chalk up another one against the Orioles this Sunday, he will become only the fourth Red Sox pitcher in history to win his first 8 starts. This is exactly what Beckett needed to prove to Boston fans that he could be the Ace of their rotation, after last year’s rocky performance. The always reliable Curt Schilling is also off to a great start at 4-1 (3.28 ERA); his only loss coming on opening day to the Kansas City Royals. And that’s not all; the long tenured Tim Wakefield has begun his 13th season with the Red Sox with an incredible 1.79 ERA, but he too has lacked the run support needed in a few of his starts resulting in a 4-3 record. Wakefield had his most impressive start last night in Toronto, retiring 15 straight hitters at one point during his 7 inning shift, as the Red Sox shut out the Blue Jays 8 – 0 to sweep the series and hand the Jays their 9th straight loss. Even Julian Tavarez is starting to come around. He actually pitched rather well in his last start against the Twins, despite the 2-1 loss.
The Red Sox bullpen is also one of the best in the Majors. This is probably due to the fact that Boston’s starting pitchers have consistently pitched deep into the game and kept the pen fresh. Hideki Okajima (Boston’s other Japanese import) has been almost perfect through 17 innings this season posting a 0.53 ERA, and no discussion on the Boston Red Sox pitching staff would be complete without mention of the ever so popular closer, Jonathan Paplebon. With his trademark glare, he has saved 10 games this season and only blown one. The remainder of the bullpen has also looked pretty solid overall, but can be inconsistent at times. I think as long as the starting rotation can keep pitching the way they have been and everyone stays healthy, the Red Sox will continue to be a dominant force on the mound.
Comments
One Response to “The Boston Red Sox Pitching Staff: Can They Be Stopped?”
Leave a Reply
Great article!