So the pitching, huh?
Here are some issues:
The pitching has been beyond horrific on the recent road trip: 7, 10, 6 and 13 runs allowed in the 4 games so far.
The pitching has been bad for the whole month of June. Last 28 days: 9-15, 5.02 in 213 IP with 40 HRs allowed, and 17 unearned runs also allowed.
2 or 3 of the 5 rotation spots have been godawful all year, no matter who they try in them. Price, brought in to be the ace, has a 4.68 ERA.
The back end has been insanely bad: Buchholz 5.90 ERA in 12 starts. Eduardo Rodriguez: 8.59 in 6 starts. Kelly: 8.46 in 6 starts. O'Sullivan: 7.94 in 2 starts. Owens: 5.11 in 3 starts. Elias: 15.88 in 1 start.
The only other in-house options are unappealing.
The bullpen has been overworked, which usually means it is going to get worse as the season goes on. Koji lately has looked like a 41-year-old at the end of his rope, as his ERA has soared over 5. Smith is out for another year, and hasn't been replaced.
The team ERA is 10th in the AL this year, after being 14th last year and 10th the year before.
The team has really struggled to develop any young starting pitchers for almost a decade now, despite spending a lot of high picks on pitchers.
That has led to going outside the organization to try to bring in starting pitchers. Most of those who have been brought in have failed or underperformed.
Why is the pitching so bad, and why haven't they been able to fix it, despite throwing loads of resources at it for a long time?
From Bradford on WEEI.com:
“The Red Sox have failed to either evaluate a good chunk of their starting pitching candidates, or fallen short when it comes to getting the most out of them. Either way, this is an enormous piece of the blame pie.
They thought the eight-start Joe Kelly of late last season was going to carry over. For whatever reason, it didn't. They thought Roenis Elias' stuff would play in some capacity, particularly since he already had 49 major league starts under his belt. Those hopes have disappeared.
The optimism hovering around Henry Owens after some signs of promise a year ago isn't anywhere to be found, with the lefty giving up five runs over four innings Sunday after a solid previous start with Triple-A Pawtucket.
Buchholz can't find any sort of consistency, and seems desperate for direction. And then there is Rodriguez, whose constant need to fix different aspects of his delivery reached the point of ultimate frustration in his 2 1/3-inning, nine-run, 11-hit disaster at Tropicana Field.
Sure, Steven Wright has worked out. But let's be honest, other than the continued belief from Red Sox manager John Farrell there hasn't been a need for any dramatic guidance.David Price? The guess here is that he will be OK, but what isn't acceptable is a 4.68 ERA in his first 16 Red Sox starts. And the Red Sox are 10-5 in Rick Porcello starts. That's good enough.
But something hasn't been right. The Red Sox starters have virtually the same ERA then they did at this time a year go. Consider the financial commitment, the offseason approach, and preseason predictions, that is pretty damning.
This month the Red Sox starters are 5-10 with a 5.39 ERA. The relievers, meanwhile, have been trying to hold down the fort, but are slowly wearing out. On this current road trip the bullpen has pitched more innings than the starting pitchers. That's not going to work.”
From Speier in 108 Stitches on how bad the pitching has been:
“For the first time since the disastrous month of September 2011, the Red Sox have allowed six or more runs in six straight games. In the past 100 years, they’d had 15 such streaks. They didn’t reach the postseason in any season where they endured such a run-prevention rut.
Sox have now been outscored 22-0 in the first inning dating to June 12 and 29-6 in the first inning in the month of June."
Rodriguez was sent down, and Buchholz will get another start. At some point soon they will need a 5th starter. Speier on the in-house rotation options for now:
"Righthander Aaron Wilkerson, a 27-year-old former indy leaguer, may have positioned himself as the leading candidate for the spot. He allowed two runs (both on solo homers) in seven innings while striking out eight and walking none on Monday for Triple A Pawtucket. In seven starts with the PawSox, he has a 2.25 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 10 walks in 40 innings (though the five homers he’s permitted in that span underscore some of the questions about whether he has the stuff to beat big league hitters.)
Sean O’Sullivan, who allowed one run in 15 innings while striking out 10 and walking none in his most recent two starts, was named International League Pitcher of the Week."
Speier on developing young pitching:
“The Red Sox are in a years-long cycle of failure when it comes to developing young starters, one that has thrown them time and again into the free agent market where risk is enormous and rewards are fleeting yet still come at a considerable cost. At some point, if the Red Sox want to position themselves to fulfill their ambitions of sustainable success, they need to become an organization that cultivates young pitchers, develops them through the minors, and graduates them to the big leagues to stay.
In retrospect, it appears the Red Sox were so eager to get Rodriguez in their leaking rotation that they rushed him back before he was ready, at a time when he was experimenting with his delivery in an effort to reclaim the missing power to his stuff. He was left to try to find solutions on the fly in the big leagues, an imposing – and sometimes impossible – task for a 23-year-old with limited big league experience, even one who seemed to lay a significant career foundation last year.
Fairly or not, Rodriguez is now at something of a fork in the road, and the Sox are next to him at that same crossroads. He is the most promising young Sox starting pitcher to arrive in the big leagues since Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz almost a decade ago."
Drafting and developing pitchers:
"Here’s a list of the pitchers taken by the Sox in the top two rounds of the draft starting in 2007:
2007: Nick Hagadone– supplemental first (No. 55 overall): -0.2 career WAR
2008: Casey Kelly– first round (No. 30 overall) -1.5 career WAR
2009: Alex Wilson– second round (No. 77 overall): 2.5 career WAR
2010: Anthony Ranaudo– supplemental first (No. 39 overall): -1.0 career WAR
2010: Brandon Workman– second round (No. 57 overall): -1.2 career WAR
2011: Matt Barnes – first round (No. 18 overall): 0.2 career WAR
2011: Henry Owens– supplemental first (No. 36 overall): 0.5 career WAR
2012: Brian Johnson– first round (No. 31 overall): -0.1 career WAR
2012: Pat Light– supplemental first (No. 37 overall): -0.1 career WAR
2012: Jamie Callahan– second round (No. 87 overall): In High A Salem
2013: Trey Ball– first round (No. 7 overall): In High A Salem
2013: Teddy Stankiewicz– second round (No. 45 overall): In Double A Portland
2014: Michael Kopech– first round (No. 33 overall): In High A Salem
Here are some issues:
The pitching has been beyond horrific on the recent road trip: 7, 10, 6 and 13 runs allowed in the 4 games so far.
The pitching has been bad for the whole month of June. Last 28 days: 9-15, 5.02 in 213 IP with 40 HRs allowed, and 17 unearned runs also allowed.
2 or 3 of the 5 rotation spots have been godawful all year, no matter who they try in them. Price, brought in to be the ace, has a 4.68 ERA.
The back end has been insanely bad: Buchholz 5.90 ERA in 12 starts. Eduardo Rodriguez: 8.59 in 6 starts. Kelly: 8.46 in 6 starts. O'Sullivan: 7.94 in 2 starts. Owens: 5.11 in 3 starts. Elias: 15.88 in 1 start.
The only other in-house options are unappealing.
The bullpen has been overworked, which usually means it is going to get worse as the season goes on. Koji lately has looked like a 41-year-old at the end of his rope, as his ERA has soared over 5. Smith is out for another year, and hasn't been replaced.
The team ERA is 10th in the AL this year, after being 14th last year and 10th the year before.
The team has really struggled to develop any young starting pitchers for almost a decade now, despite spending a lot of high picks on pitchers.
That has led to going outside the organization to try to bring in starting pitchers. Most of those who have been brought in have failed or underperformed.
Why is the pitching so bad, and why haven't they been able to fix it, despite throwing loads of resources at it for a long time?
From Bradford on WEEI.com:
“The Red Sox have failed to either evaluate a good chunk of their starting pitching candidates, or fallen short when it comes to getting the most out of them. Either way, this is an enormous piece of the blame pie.
They thought the eight-start Joe Kelly of late last season was going to carry over. For whatever reason, it didn't. They thought Roenis Elias' stuff would play in some capacity, particularly since he already had 49 major league starts under his belt. Those hopes have disappeared.
The optimism hovering around Henry Owens after some signs of promise a year ago isn't anywhere to be found, with the lefty giving up five runs over four innings Sunday after a solid previous start with Triple-A Pawtucket.
Buchholz can't find any sort of consistency, and seems desperate for direction. And then there is Rodriguez, whose constant need to fix different aspects of his delivery reached the point of ultimate frustration in his 2 1/3-inning, nine-run, 11-hit disaster at Tropicana Field.
Sure, Steven Wright has worked out. But let's be honest, other than the continued belief from Red Sox manager John Farrell there hasn't been a need for any dramatic guidance.David Price? The guess here is that he will be OK, but what isn't acceptable is a 4.68 ERA in his first 16 Red Sox starts. And the Red Sox are 10-5 in Rick Porcello starts. That's good enough.
But something hasn't been right. The Red Sox starters have virtually the same ERA then they did at this time a year go. Consider the financial commitment, the offseason approach, and preseason predictions, that is pretty damning.
This month the Red Sox starters are 5-10 with a 5.39 ERA. The relievers, meanwhile, have been trying to hold down the fort, but are slowly wearing out. On this current road trip the bullpen has pitched more innings than the starting pitchers. That's not going to work.”
From Speier in 108 Stitches on how bad the pitching has been:
“For the first time since the disastrous month of September 2011, the Red Sox have allowed six or more runs in six straight games. In the past 100 years, they’d had 15 such streaks. They didn’t reach the postseason in any season where they endured such a run-prevention rut.
Sox have now been outscored 22-0 in the first inning dating to June 12 and 29-6 in the first inning in the month of June."
Rodriguez was sent down, and Buchholz will get another start. At some point soon they will need a 5th starter. Speier on the in-house rotation options for now:
"Righthander Aaron Wilkerson, a 27-year-old former indy leaguer, may have positioned himself as the leading candidate for the spot. He allowed two runs (both on solo homers) in seven innings while striking out eight and walking none on Monday for Triple A Pawtucket. In seven starts with the PawSox, he has a 2.25 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 10 walks in 40 innings (though the five homers he’s permitted in that span underscore some of the questions about whether he has the stuff to beat big league hitters.)
Sean O’Sullivan, who allowed one run in 15 innings while striking out 10 and walking none in his most recent two starts, was named International League Pitcher of the Week."
Speier on developing young pitching:
“The Red Sox are in a years-long cycle of failure when it comes to developing young starters, one that has thrown them time and again into the free agent market where risk is enormous and rewards are fleeting yet still come at a considerable cost. At some point, if the Red Sox want to position themselves to fulfill their ambitions of sustainable success, they need to become an organization that cultivates young pitchers, develops them through the minors, and graduates them to the big leagues to stay.
In retrospect, it appears the Red Sox were so eager to get Rodriguez in their leaking rotation that they rushed him back before he was ready, at a time when he was experimenting with his delivery in an effort to reclaim the missing power to his stuff. He was left to try to find solutions on the fly in the big leagues, an imposing – and sometimes impossible – task for a 23-year-old with limited big league experience, even one who seemed to lay a significant career foundation last year.
Fairly or not, Rodriguez is now at something of a fork in the road, and the Sox are next to him at that same crossroads. He is the most promising young Sox starting pitcher to arrive in the big leagues since Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz almost a decade ago."
Drafting and developing pitchers:
"Here’s a list of the pitchers taken by the Sox in the top two rounds of the draft starting in 2007:
2007: Nick Hagadone– supplemental first (No. 55 overall): -0.2 career WAR
2008: Casey Kelly– first round (No. 30 overall) -1.5 career WAR
2009: Alex Wilson– second round (No. 77 overall): 2.5 career WAR
2010: Anthony Ranaudo– supplemental first (No. 39 overall): -1.0 career WAR
2010: Brandon Workman– second round (No. 57 overall): -1.2 career WAR
2011: Matt Barnes – first round (No. 18 overall): 0.2 career WAR
2011: Henry Owens– supplemental first (No. 36 overall): 0.5 career WAR
2012: Brian Johnson– first round (No. 31 overall): -0.1 career WAR
2012: Pat Light– supplemental first (No. 37 overall): -0.1 career WAR
2012: Jamie Callahan– second round (No. 87 overall): In High A Salem
2013: Trey Ball– first round (No. 7 overall): In High A Salem
2013: Teddy Stankiewicz– second round (No. 45 overall): In Double A Portland
2014: Michael Kopech– first round (No. 33 overall): In High A Salem