A Look At The Upcoming Red Sox Season: Pitching

Written by: Michael Maher on 15th January 2010

A Look At The Upcoming Red Sox Season: Pitching | read this item

With about a month remaining before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, it seems like a good time to take inventory of the off-season moves made by the Boston Red Sox and how the rest of the lineup shapes up for the upcoming season. Chances are there will be no additional moves that drastically change the current depth chart for the 2010 roster. In the first of several posts about the Red Sox depth in 2010, I am going to discuss the starting rotation.

The biggest pickup by the Red Sox during the hot stove season was the signing of John Lackey to a 5 year deal right before Christmas, which I wrote about here at Baseball Digest a few days after the deal. Throughout baseball and the media, the deal is considered an upgrade to the Red Sox rotation. With John Lackey, the rotation will look something like this:

Jon Lester

Josh Beckett

John Lackey

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Clay Buchholz/Tim Wakefield

The 2010 rotation looks fantastic on paper, but it does come with a few questions.

The biggest question may involve the status of Daisuke Matsuzaka. Recently the Sporting News reported that Dice K hid an injury sustained during the 2009 World Baseball Classic from the Red Sox and attempted to heal from the injury without missing his turn in the rotation. In hindsight, this proved to be a bad decision on Dice K’s part, as he stumbled to a 4-6 record with an ERA heading towards 6.00 in 12 starts while missing much of the season. Dice K has indicated that he is fully prepared for the 2010 season, but it’s worth noting the Boston Globe interview with pitching coach John Farrell, which summarizes the Matsuzaka situation well. In short, the unknown injury was not the first time the pitcher and the coaching staff were not on the same page. The hope is Dice K is fully healthy and 2010 will show he has returned to form.

While Dice K struggled in 2009, the Red Sox reached the postseason for the third straight season on the backs of their double-barreled aces. Jon Lester continued to show his potential as the new ace of the staff while Josh Beckett regained the form that he showed before his subpar 2008 campaign. Together they combined for 32 victories in 64 starts, spanning over 400 innings with ERAs under 4.00. If the pair can come close to duplicating their 2009 seasons, the Red Sox will undoubtedly be well positioned to make a serious push towards the 2010 postseason.

After Lester and Beckett, the rotation had more questions than answers in 2009. Tim Wakefield and Clay Buchholz combined to go 18-9 in 37 starts, and Wakefield earned his first trip to the All-Star game. However, Wakefield made just 4 starts after the All-Star break and unfortunately his injury contributed to an already large hole that began with the Dice K injury. An attempt to gradually increase Buchholz’s season workload meant that Brad Penny, John Smoltz, Justin Masterson, Paul Byrd and Junichi Tazawa went 14-21 in 48 starts in place of Dice K and Wakefield.

What does John Lackey mean for the 2010 season? Lackey provides an opportunity to limit the number of starts by pitchers like Penny, Smoltz, Byrd and others. Lackey provides depth by allowing flexibility with the use of Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield, while avoiding early overexposure to developing players like Junichi Tazawa. The question of who will fill the fifth spot of the rotation will likely sort itself out in the spring, as Wakefield returns from off-season back surgery and Clay Buchholz comes into camp with the chance to win the final spot. The John Lackey signing means the Red Sox have a solid 1-2-3 punch to match up with just about any rotation in baseball, something they severely lacked(no pun intented) in the 2009 ALDS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

One aspect of the Red Sox roster that may see a few adjustments before opening day is the bullpen. It might be worth revisiting the bullpen once Spring Training is underway before analysing it fully. However, it’s worth noting that even with a bullpen anchored by closer Jonathan Papelbon, there were questions raised about Manny Delcarmen’s ability to remain a reliable option during the late stretch of the season. That said, the emergence of Daniel Bard gives some hope that the ‘pen will be able to bridge the gap from the starters to Papelbon.

Despite the challenges they face in the AL East, It’s a little difficult for a Red Sox fan to be anything but downright giddy when considering the 2010 Red Sox pitching staff.

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Topics: 2010 Season Preview, Bad Decision, Baseball Digest, Boston Globe, Boston Red Sox, Clay Buchholz, Coach John, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Depth Chart, Dice K, Hot Stove, John Farrell, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Pitching Coach, Sox Season, Sporting News, Straight Season, Tim Wakefield, World Baseball