Red Sox Starting Pitching

The 2007 Boston Red Sox can be summed up with one word, hype. This team has as much as hype as the 2004 "Idiots". J.D. Drew is coming in to protect Ortiz and Manny, who is back again for another season of "Manny being Manny". Julio Lugo is making 9 million to give the Sox someone to get on for the middle of the lineup. Coco Crisp and Wily Mo Pena are back and will hopefully produce more this year for the Sox. 2004 Golden Spikes Winner, Dustin Pedroia, is going to have an everyday spot at second base. And there is a rumor that they may get Helton. The lineup is definitely hyped up to make an impact in the AL East this season.

The lineup may be hype, but I will tell you someting that is not, their starting pitching. This may the deepest pitching staf this team has ever had. Even deeper than Schiling, Martinez, Lowe, Wakefield, and Arroyo. For all of you who will disagree with me just listen to the staff they are going to roll out this year. Schilling is back and he proved that last year he was healthy and was still able to handle the workload. Besides posting the best strikeout to walk ratio in the league, he pitched over 200 innings and won 15 games for a team that was constantly disrupted by injury and roster changes. Curt is the anchor and will bring this young talent to the top of its game.

Imported from Japan, Daisuke Matsusaka, will give the Sox a potential second ace to help out Schilling. Dice-K was a $100 million dollar import brought to the Sox to top the Yankees. Is he all hype? No. What he showed in the World Baseball Classic, what he showed in the MLB All Star expeditions, and what he has shown in his career in Japan can be confused with hype. It is not hype, it's talent. This guy has control over five pitches and will thrive in the American League. If you think you can just dominate with a fastball in the American League, then ask Josh Beckett how that worked out.

Josh Beckett was the name that made Red Sox fullly aroused last year when the trade went through. He was young, he was a flame thrower from Texas, and he shut-out the Yanks in the Bronx in the World Series. He has the brawn, 95-98 mph fastball with a nasty curve, but he does not prove that he has the brains to succeed in the American League. He needs to stop challenging these hitters with fastballs belt high and pitch. Remember all you Beckett haters out there, that this is still the same pitcher that proved that he could pitch 200 innings in a season last year, found a way to win 16 games, and proved that blister and arm problems would not stop him from taking the mound for 30 starts. Was Beckett what the Sox were hoping for? No. The good news, he is going to be 27 this season.

Can Papelbon start? You are damn right he can start. The player with possibly the best stuff on the team could be the team's number four starter this year. Papelbon was the best pitcher on the team last season, and he proved that he has stuff to dominate. The Red Sox think that his shoulder problems are similar to the ones that John Smoltz had after he was the Braves' closer. The only question that I would worry about is if Papelbon's arm can handle a 200 inning workload. If it can watch out this team may not get touched.

Rounding out the end of the rotation is the Red Sox who has the longest tenure, Tim Wakefield. Wakefield is old, he will 41 to be exact. That does not matter because his ball still flutters. And on a hot night at the Fens he can be flat out unhittable. The one thing that is great about Wakefield is that he can handle a workload. The knuckleball does not tax his arm so unless opponents get to him early, Wakefield, can suck up innings. If he is not good enough to start Wakefield has proved that he can also be an effective reliever.

Do not forget about Jon Lester. Lester has shown to spring training at 212 pounds, fully recovered from his cancer treatment from last year. When Lester went down last season that was the nail in the coffin for the 2006 season. When he went down he was the most reliable starter behind Schilling. He went 7-2 and if one of the five previously mentioned either struggles or goes down to injury this southpaw will be called to duty. Lester has already proved that he can pitch in this league, he will probably start the year off in the minors to get back into game shape. Matt Clement we should not forget about. He also may not pitch this year due to injury. Clement might be able to come back and be effective for the Sox mid-season. People forget that until he got in the head he was a 2004 All-Star. The Sox also ended the season on a high note with a shut-out from Devern Hansack, he most likely will not get a chance to start, but if he does the Sox might not have that much to worry about. And do not forget baseball fans that if the Sox are in the playoff in June and have a problem with the rotation there is a Rocket that might re-launch in Beantown. As long as these guys find a closer this team might be dominant.