After five games, one thing stands out for the Sox-they have the most questions on their pitching staff since 1994. That season, their starters were Danny Darwin, Joe Hesketh, Aaron Sele, and a struggling Roger Clemens. Their bullpen contained Ken Ryan, Greg Harris, Scott Bankhead, and Chris Howard. It was a strike-shortened season with no playoffs, and the team finished 54-61.
Though on paper, this year’s starting rotation-at least the top 3- is much better than that group, which was managed by Butch Hobson, questions abound. Let’s start with the bullpen. Andrew Bailey’s injury and Daniel Bard’s move to the starting rotation have basically left the team with neither an established closer nor established setup man. Alfredo Aceves, as seen is his first three appearences, will have to grow into the job at the very least. Mark Melancon, though he had 20 saves in Houston last year, has had a journeyman-like career.
The bullpen is filled with names-Franklin Morales, Scott Atchison, Vicente Padilla, Justin Thomas. It is likely that Bobby V will be moving people around trying to find the right combination for at least a couple of months. Unfortunately, we can probably expect more games like Sunday’s- take a lead and pray.
The starting staff situation is not much better. Only Jon Lester and, for five innings, Felix Doubront, have really looked comfortable. Josh Beckett-admittedly facing a hard-hitting Detroit lineup- looked a lot more like John Wasdin than a number 2 starter. Clay Buchholz seemed like a man who had not pitched a meaningful game in 10 months, which he is.
What this means is -until the rotation settles down- is that the guys who are supposed to have to hit. After four contests, Jacoby Ellsbury was at .118, Cody Ross at .167, and Mike Aviles at .200. Kevin Youkilis was 0 for his first 12.
There have been many Sox teams that have tried-and failed- to overcome mediocre pitching with strong hitting. This does not have to be a season-long strategy.But until the staff finds its way, there will probably be few 3-2 and 2-1 wins. As they did Sunday, they must come back quickly from early deficits and assume no lead is too large.
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