Remember last year when the Red Sox started off the season by losing their first 6 games? Apparently they do too, and they're going to do their best to replicate the feat. Now keep in mind, they had their closer of choice last year, so this 0-3 start is a bit more concerning.
As it sits right now, the two pitchers expected to close games for Boston this season have a combined ERA of 63 and WHIP of 9. Yes, these numbers will go down, (I mean, they have to, right?) but it's still pretty alarming. Twice they blew the save on Sunday. Sadly, I can't say that I'm all that surprised. Neither Melancon or Aceves is a closer, especially an upper echelon closer which Boston desperately needs.
Regarding Beckett's poor performance on Saturday, I'm not too worried. I think his thumb was still bothering him, and he'll be able to work through it. It does concern me that he doesn't have Varitek behind the plate anymore, but that's something he knew was coming, and I think he'll be able to work with Salty just fine.
It was very nice to see the Red Sox bats finally come alive on Sunday though. I'd be lying if I said Saturday's performance didn't worry me. 7 total hits and only 1 extra-base hit against Doug Fister and the Detroit bullpen isn't going to get it done. Honestly though, the hits will come. They didn't start off scoring a ton of runs last year either, and ended the season as the highest scoring team in all of MLB. The problem is pitching. It's a clear as day.
Lester and Beckett will be fine. I have no doubts about them. I'm cautiously optimistic about Buccholz and Doubront, and I have no idea how Daniel Bard will fair. As I said in my prior post, I think Bard needs to go back to the bullpen. He should be the closer. While Padilla isn't exactly who you want as a starting pitcher, having Melancon and Aceves to pitch the 7th and 8th, with Bard closing, is very workable. Padilla is that wiley veteran that teams often pass on but he ends up filling a huge role. I just don't feel like he is going to have a chance to live up to his potential if he's stuck in the bullpen.
Lastly, and I highly doubt this is going to happen but I'd be stupid not to mention it, Ben Cherington and Bobby Valentine need to seriously consider signing Roy Oswalt. This would allow them to move Bard to the closer's spot and not have to fill the starting rotation with someone who was slotted for a bullpen role this season. Again, I highly doubt this will happen, but it's something that deserves consideration at the very least. Because the way it looks right now, the Red Sox aren't going to have to worry about another historic September collapse, they'll be out of contention by mid-August.
Ok, I lied, this is actually my last point. Don't forget Sox fans, the enemy are in the same boat we are in regards to overall record. That's right, the Yankees (eeww, I don't even like typing that) are 0-3 as well, and they're pretty much healthy. Yes, the Rays are a very good team, but I think we can all agree no one saw them sweeping NY to open the season. What should scare Sox fans, is that the Yanks have Andy Pettitte on the way, and they're bullpen is set up the way they want it. Basically, they didn't have to scramble to figure out who was going to close games for them. All of that being said, it's still incredibly early, there are 159 games left to be played. Let's see how the Sox respond in Toronto this week, if it's just as bad, I'll put up directions to the nearest cliff and meet you all there.
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