Debut de la Rosa

[Sprowl]

Rubby de la Rosa's 2014 major league debut was nothing short of spectacular. 100+ heat? Check - Rubby rang the bell at 100.5 mph in the third inning, touched 98 as late as the seventh inning, and averaged 96.6 on 39 fastballs. Dominant changeup? Check - 46 changeups, 37 for strikes, 13 for whiffs, in any count and to any location. Legitimate secondary pitches? Check - 12 sliders, mostly to RHB, and 3 of them for whiffs; and 8 sinkers, averaging 95.3 mph. De la Rosa pitches backwards -- throwing fastballs out of the strike zone and changeups for strikes. He doesn't seem to get distracted by runners on base.
 

 
A few cautions: he may throw hard, but batters don't miss his fastball (0 whiffs on the 4-seamer). That's of minor concern when his changeup is so baffling. More worrisome for the long term: to me his throwing motion looks compact but violent. There may be another Tommy John in his future, or a shift to the bullpen. But for now, I'm looking forward to the next Rubby start, and the next one after that... 
 

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

I noticed in-game that he was throwing very hard, but not getting any swinging strikes on the heat. What accounts for that? Koji gets whiffs on 89mph fastballs, Rubby gives up solid contact at 98. 
 
Is Rubby showing the ball early? It looked like there was good movement on the fastball, but the camera can be deceptive. Especially with how good the changeup clearly is, it seems weird that everyone would be sitting fastball, so you'd think Rubby would sneak a few past. 

 

[joe dokes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VZ1gxtpKl8

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

De la Rosa pitches backwards -- throwing fastballs out of the strike zone and changeups for strikes. 
 

 
Thanks for the post.  I will be interested to see how long it takes for ML hitters to catch up to this and sit on his change-up and how DLR responds.  Does he have the fastball command to start throwing strikes with it?

 

[Boggs26]

 
Thanks for the post.  I will be interested to see how long it takes for ML hitters to catch up to this and sit on his change-up and how DLR responds.  Does he have the fastball command to start throwing strikes with it?

I think this is where the high-90s fastball will come into play. It's quite possible that the lack of whiffs on his FB is because that's what everyone sits on by default. Once his change is known to be his #1 pitch and people sit on that they should have a really hard time catching up to a 98mph FB even if it is pretty straight. And then we can all freak out that he's not getting swings and misses on the change anymore because that's what we do here...

Or that's the theory at least

 

[Puffy]

 
A few cautions: he may throw hard, but batters don't miss his fastball (0 whiffs on the 4-seamer). That's of minor concern when his changeup is so baffling. More worrisome for the long term: to me his throwing motion looks compact but violent. There may be another Tommy John in his future, or a shift to the bullpen. But for now, I'm looking forward to the next Rubby start, and the next one after that... 
 

 
I had the same thoughts about his delivery/mechanics. I am sure we will see how durable he is going forward, but he just kinda resembles a reliever out there with the velocity, jerky compact delivery, and particularly that short-arm stroke (that reminds me a bit of Craig Hansen). 

 

[Philip Jeff Frye]

Eh. I wouldn't get too excited. After all, he was facing the worst team in the American League.

 

[Plympton91]

If he can stay 96-99 with the fastball, I'll have to revise my opinion of him as the second coming of Manny Delcarmen. That's hard enough to get away with shaky command. He wasn't throwing that hard at the end of last season, which is when I formed by opinion.

 

[OttoC]

If you recall his first appearance as a Red Sox, he looked awesome out of the pen, regularly hitting 98; however, he gave up hits in 8 of his remaining 10 appearances, and if memory serves, he was not lighting up the gun that much. Adrenaline? It will be interesting to see if he gets speeds like yesterday's in his next start.

 

[MentalDisabldLst]

I think this is where the high-90s fastball will come into play. It's quite possible that the lack of whiffs on his FB is because that's what everyone sits on by default. Once his change is known to be his #1 pitch and people sit on that they should have a really hard time catching up to a 98mph FB even if it is pretty straight. And then we can all freak out that he's not getting swings and misses on the change anymore because that's what we do here...

 
I'm no ML scout, but to my eyes, his fastball was moving a whole heck of a lot.  Maybe we can get the actual chart for pitch movement, but I don't think having a straight 4-seamer is the problem.  It just looked like wherever Ross set up, the pitch got delivered between 12-18 inches away from there.  It had a lot of tailing action to pitcher's right, maybe more than DLR was expecting.

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

Brooks says more than -9 inches average horizontal movement, +8 inches of vertical movement. 
 
The only thing I could pull out of his pitch f/x is that all of his pitches basically tended to end up in the same place horizontally and vertically - he was down and away from almost everyone on all of his pitches.
 
Maybe that allowed hitters to get a little too comfortable as they could focus on one portion of the zone. It wasn't enough to make his stuff hittable, but kept the fastball from being a surprise.  

 

[garlan5]

That was some impressive stuff he showed us.  I was expecting 4-5 innings of work and maybe giving up a few runs. I def didnt think he'd have that much heat and look so damn good.  Stating the obvious here but it's nice to have peeled off some wins like that and extra nice to have Workman and DLR come in and make us feel (as fans) a sense of comfort with the back end of rotation with Clay and Felix out.  Even if that is only a temporary sense of comfort.  The stuff DLR brought made me more than comfortable. 

 

[1918stabbedbyfoulke]

I get to about one Pawsox game per year. Last year, late July, I was stoked at the McCoy as RDLR was the starter for my annual game. I was eager to see what the kid could do. The ump, however, had a very tight strike zone and ticked off the batteries on both teams. RDLR handled it very poorly. His body language went all to hell. Not once, but twice, in mid windup I dreaded the outcome of a pitch from RDLR. Both were long home runs. In both instances Rubby noticeably slowed down his delivery, thus telegraphing he was throwing a "get one over" meatball. He had a very short outing and looked incredibly immature on the mound.
 
Suffice it to say, I was astounded (in a good way) at his start against Tampa. He was in command and engaged in the game. He also worked quickly, which I am surprised no one else has mentioned. He was the anti-Beckett, he mixed up his pitches very well, and he was fun to watch. While hopeful for more of the same, I do want to see how he handles adversity when it comes, particularly when there is an ump behind the plate who thinks he is bigger than the game.

 

[garlan5]

I get to about one Pawsox game per year. Last year, late July, I was stoked at the McCoy as RDLR was the starter for my annual game. I was eager to see what the kid could do. The ump, however, had a very tight strike zone and ticked off the batteries on both teams. RDLR handled it very poorly. His body language went all to hell. Not once, but twice, in mid windup I dreaded the outcome of a pitch from RDLR. Both were long home runs. In both instances Rubby noticeably slowed down his delivery, thus telegraphing he was throwing a "get one over" meatball. He had a very short outing and looked incredibly immature on the mound.
 
Suffice it to say, I was astounded (in a good way) at his start against Tampa. He was in command and engaged in the game. He also worked quickly, which I am surprised no one else has mentioned. He was the anti-Beckett, he mixed up his pitches very well, and he was fun to watch. While hopeful for more of the same, I do want to see how he handles adversity when it comes, particularly when there is an ump behind the plate who thinks he is bigger than the game.

FOX guys mentioned it in game about his speedy delivery. I too am a fan of that.  He looked like he was just in a groove and feeding off of that.  Like you say some adversity will tell us what his makeup is about.  Either way very excited going forward. 
 
edited because I accidentally posted before finishing. #fatfingers

 

[koufax37]

I noticed in-game that he was throwing very hard, but not getting any swinging strikes on the heat. What accounts for that? Koji gets whiffs on 89mph fastballs, Rubby gives up solid contact at 98. 
 
Is Rubby showing the ball early? It looked like there was good movement on the fastball, but the camera can be deceptive. Especially with how good the changeup clearly is, it seems weird that everyone would be sitting fastball, so you'd think Rubby would sneak a few past. 

 
 

A few cautions: he may throw hard, but batters don't miss his fastball (0 whiffs on the 4-seamer). That's of minor concern when his changeup is so baffling. More worrisome for the long term: to me his throwing motion looks compact but violent. There may be another Tommy John in his future, or a shift to the bullpen. But for now, I'm looking forward to the next Rubby start, and the next one after that... 

 
Different things can happen on pitcher debuts.  I think that the scouting report was on a rookie with a plus four seam fastball, and the lineup keyed in on that, not being surprised by it (but still not being effective against it), and opening up the changeup to look even more dominant than it might be as a pitch moving forward.
 
As he gets a few starts under his belt, hitters will be more focused on that changeup, and likely give up the quality of their swing on the fastball.  This is certainly the Koji-effect, as his dominant splitter stays in the batter's mind and makes his fastball much more effective than it would otherwise be.
 
I would wager that over time RDLR will get a somewhat consistent combined swing and miss percent between his fastball and changeup, but that there will be more variation game to game and among opposing teams as to how those splits happen.  Big league hitters can hit the fastball when sitting on the fastball (Billy Koch), and it is the attention and respect paid to secondary pitches that make the fastball effective (and the higher the velocity the less recognition and adjustment time there is, while at lower velocities location and movement matter even more).
 
So on a crazily small sample size, I would think that the focus was on his fastball, making it look statistically less dominant than it might be, and making his changeup look even better, and that an adjustment to the changeup over time will hurt that pitch slightly but get the fastball swing and misses we would have expected to normalize.

 

[blick38]

If he can stay 96-99 with the fastball, I'll have to revise my opinion of him as the second coming of Manny Delcarmen. That's hard enough to get away with shaky command. He wasn't throwing that hard at the end of last season, which is when I formed by opinion.

would you also care to revise your statement on May 26th: "This season is over."

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

I get to about one Pawsox game per year. Last year, late July, I was stoked at the McCoy as RDLR was the starter for my annual game. I was eager to see what the kid could do. The ump, however, had a very tight strike zone and ticked off the batteries on both teams. RDLR handled it very poorly. His body language went all to hell. Not once, but twice, in mid windup I dreaded the outcome of a pitch from RDLR. Both were long home runs. In both instances Rubby noticeably slowed down his delivery, thus telegraphing he was throwing a "get one over" meatball. He had a very short outing and looked incredibly immature on the mound.
 
Suffice it to say, I was astounded (in a good way) at his start against Tampa. He was in command and engaged in the game. He also worked quickly, which I am surprised no one else has mentioned. He was the anti-Beckett, he mixed up his pitches very well, and he was fun to watch. While hopeful for more of the same, I do want to see how he handles adversity when it comes, particularly when there is an ump behind the plate who thinks he is bigger than the game.

 
he's done some work with a guy named Pedro, who, IIRC, was a pretty quick worker on the mound.  Wouldn't surprise me if he learned that from Martinez.

 

[LoweTek]

he's done some work with a guy named Pedro, who, IIRC, was a pretty quick worker on the mound.  Wouldn't surprise me if he learned that from Martinez.

Obvious too from the quality and movement of his changeup, where he got it from.

 

[Reverend]

would you also care to revise your statement on May 26th: "This season is over."

 

 

[trekfan55]

This is a good a place to ask as any.  With an off day on Thursday, do the Sox skip his start (maybe even send him down to make his regular start there) and go to Lester/Lackey/Peavy for the weekend?
 
My guess is if that was the plan they would have sent him down for another bullpen arm (or position player maybe) already but I still wonder if it's feasible.

 

[Plympton91]

would you also care to revise your statement on May 26th: "This season is over."

Not really. They are still ahead of only 3 teams, despite a 7 game win streak. Injuries continue to pile up as does the sample size of suck on Bradley and Sizemore.

That's one of those "love to be proven wrong, but..." moments. I was positive throughout last year, from early in spring training through the darkness before Papi's ALCS slam; this year looks and feels very different.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

Brooks says more than -9 inches average horizontal movement, +8 inches of vertical movement. 
 
The only thing I could pull out of his pitch f/x is that all of his pitches basically tended to end up in the same place horizontally and vertically - he was down and away from almost everyone on all of his pitches.
 
Maybe that allowed hitters to get a little too comfortable as they could focus on one portion of the zone. It wasn't enough to make his stuff hittable, but kept the fastball from being a surprise.  

I wonder how much the focus on staying down and away was a result of the previous night's extracurriculars. I know I was concerned about him losing one inside and getting tossed early by an overzealous ass.

 

[smastroyin]

This is a good a place to ask as any.  With an off day on Thursday, do the Sox skip his start (maybe even send him down to make his regular start there) and go to Lester/Lackey/Peavy for the weekend?
 
My guess is if that was the plan they would have sent him down for another bullpen arm (or position player maybe) already but I still wonder if it's feasible.

 
If they send him down, he has to stay down for 10 days unless they have yet another injury, so I don't think they'll be doing this unless they don't expect him to start again.  And the rule is largely for the reason you cite as an advantage.  Imagine if any of your optionable pitchers could be sent up or down every turn through the rotation - you would essentially create an extra roster spot for every day that they aren't pitching.

 

[lexrageorge]

Not really. They are still ahead of only 3 teams, despite a 7 game win streak. Injuries continue to pile up as does the sample size of suck on Bradley and Sizemore.

That's one of those "love to be proven wrong, but..." moments. I was positive throughout last year, from early in spring training through the darkness before Papi's ALCS slam; this year looks and feels very different.

The relative order if teams is meaningless at this point in the season.  The only numbers that matter are 6 (no. of games out of first place in the AL East) and 2.5 (no. of games back of the final Wild Card).  With over 100 games remaining, both hurdles are easily overcome.  The Sox themselves have come back from further deficits, and it is well known they've blown bigger leads as well.  
 
The month of June should give us a better idea of the "look and feel" of this year's team, and whether it's worthwhile upgrading one of their OF holes at the trade deadline.  
 
Finally, if the pitching is OK, and the infield offense continues to show progress, Bradley's offensive ineptitude is livable given what he brings defensively.  And he may yet come around.  Sizemore has 3-4 more weeks to turn it around, fair or not.  

 

[trekfan55]

 
If they send him down, he has to stay down for 10 days unless they have yet another injury, so I don't think they'll be doing this unless they don't expect him to start again.  And the rule is largely for the reason you cite as an advantage.  Imagine if any of your optionable pitchers could be sent up or down every turn through the rotation - you would essentially create an extra roster spot for every day that they aren't pitching.

 
 
I agree, but if the Sox wanted to do that then they could send him back on Sunday, he spends 10 days and comes back to make a start (provided they skip his turn in the rotation next Thursday).

 

[Plympton91]

The relative order if teams is meaningless at this point in the season.  The only numbers that matter are 6 (no. of games out of first place in the AL East) and 2.5 (no. of games back of the final Wild Card).  With over 100 games remaining, both hurdles are easily overcome.  The Sox themselves have come back from further deficits, and it is well known they've blown bigger leads as well.  
 
The month of June should give us a better idea of the "look and feel" of this year's team, and whether it's worthwhile upgrading one of their OF holes at the trade deadline.  
 
Finally, if the pitching is OK, and the infield offense continues to show progress, Bradley's offensive ineptitude is livable given what he brings defensively.  And he may yet come around.  Sizemore has 3-4 more weeks to turn it around, fair or not.  

I agree it's not so much the relative order. It's more that there are so many pretty evenly matched teams fighting for 1 division and 2 wild cards, and then needing to win the coin flip game even if you make it.

If everything was tied I'd give them a 25 percent chance of the Division and doing it quickly in my head I'd say a 25 percent chance of the wild card. But it's not all equal, they're behind, especially in the Division, so the odds are lower than that.

The combined odds of wild card and win the coin flip are then even lower

How many games out of the wild card were they when they white flagged 2012?

 

[Rasputin]

How many games out of the wild card were they when they white flagged 2012?

 
Ten. Also it was late August and David Ortiz was hurt.

 

[Montana Fan]

How many games out of the wild card were they when they white flagged 2012?

Zero - read, 11/29/11, a date that will live in infamy.

 

[MentalDisabldLst]

Zero - read, 11/29/11, a date that will live in infamy.

 
Who is this Valentine you speak of?

 

[Sprowl]

Speak no more of him who shall not be named. This thread is about the future.
 
 
In the 4th and 5th innings, Rubby threw seven 98+ fastballs. Two of them registered 100+. This probably does not reflect Fenway's current topside exaggeration: that is legitimate heat.
 
But the hardest pitches turned into hits, including the first three hardest pitches he threw. On the downside, under pressure Rubby tends to overthrow, and it shows in his missing high all game long. Against a lineup like the Tigers', that won't work.
 

 
On the upside, he's got a LOT to overthrow. Rubby time means high grade Pitching P*rn.
 
Insert your own emoticon here.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

Bump

Another terrific outing by Rubby tonight .. 7 ip 1 hit! , 3bb/3Ks

What's going to happen when Doubront and Buch are healthy ? Doubront to the pen and Capuano released?

 

[Rasputin]

Bump

Another terrific outing by Rubby tonight .. 7 ip 1 hit! , 3bb/3Ks

What's going to happen when Doubront and Buch are healthy ? Doubront to the pen and Capuano released?

 
DLR should get one more start before tht happens and it's really not going to be an easy decision. I wonder if the whole thing might not be made easier by getting a jump on the deadline and trading Peavy somewhere. 
 
I suspect that what they're going to do is keep the talent, which is to say, send Workman and RDLR back. 
 
But I think that sucks.

 

[HillysLastWalk]

I agree with you Raputin, they have to let some of these arms take a crack at the majors. I liked the Peavy trade, and his contributions, but he's the obvious candidate (won't resign him after this year, is he worth a QO?). If Ranaudo's recent adjustments are real, he's knocking on the door as well (in addition to Workman, RDLR).

 

[ivanvamp]

Only four games for RDLR, but a quick stat comparison between him and Peavy for 2014:
 
RDLR:  4 G, 2 QS, 2.84 era, 1.11 whip, 8.2 k/9
Peavy:  14 G, 8 QS, 4.53 era, 1.44 whip, 6.9 k/9
 
Obviously, long-term future, given their respective ages, RDLR is a better bet than Peavy.  But even this year, right now, it's possible that RDLR gives the Sox a better chance to win than Peavy does.  
 
One thing about RDLR's small sample is that in two games he was utterly dominant, and in two he was not good at all.  So he's a bit of a coin toss as to what you're going to get.  Peavy has been a little more steady.  Not many dominating games, but quite a few "solid" ones.
 
Long story short, I don't think the Sox will offer Peavy anything, even a QO (because what if he takes it?), for 2015.  So he's as good as gone after this season.  Do they just keep the talent in-house or do they deal Peavy and allow RDLR to pitch in Boston for the remainder of the season, gearing up for 2015?
 
I'd prefer they do the latter, but I can totally see why they'd do the former.  

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Only four games for RDLR, but a quick stat comparison between him and Peavy for 2014:
 
RDLR:  4 G, 2 QS, 2.84 era, 1.11 whip, 8.2 k/9
Peavy:  14 G, 8 QS, 4.53 era, 1.44 whip, 6.9 k/9
 
Obviously, long-term future, given their respective ages, RDLR is a better bet than Peavy.  But even this year, right now, it's possible that RDLR gives the Sox a better chance to win than Peavy does.  
 
One thing about RDLR's small sample is that in two games he was utterly dominant, and in two he was not good at all.  So he's a bit of a coin toss as to what you're going to get.  Peavy has been a little more steady.  Not many dominating games, but quite a few "solid" ones.
 
Long story short, I don't think the Sox will offer Peavy anything, even a QO (because what if he takes it?), for 2015.  So he's as good as gone after this season.  Do they just keep the talent in-house or do they deal Peavy and allow RDLR to pitch in Boston for the remainder of the season, gearing up for 2015?
 
I'd prefer they do the latter, but I can totally see why they'd do the former.  

Peavy has had a rough go of it. I'll never forget how he pitched vs Tampa in the playoffs. He earned his ring with that game. Being said if a NL contender is willing to trade a pretty good prospect or two for him I would take the deal. In reality the two guys who are most expendable are the two that are currently on the shelf. Buchholz has had trouble making 20 starts in a season and Doubront is very inconsistent and looks to be ticketed to the pen. Either way trading Peavy seems to be the most realistic option right now.

Can you really afford to remove De La Rosa or Workman from the rotation right now?

 

[Toe Nash]

I would prefer to see them both stay in the rotation over Peavy and Doubront*. However, you can make an argument that RdlR has showed he needs to work on consistency at least. As mentioned, he was great in two starts, and not great in the other two.
 
I don't think you can make a good argument for sending Workman down other than seniority. He has a 3.39 FIP in his MLB career and has kept the Sox in every game he's started. If you can't make a trade, Doubront should go to the pen. I don't think Doubront deserves to start any more than him.
 
*I don't have a lot of faith in Buchholz right now either, but he has so much talent that you can't just ditch him.

 

[NDame616]

I think the simplest move when Doubie comes back is he goes to the pen and someone gets DFAed/optioned. I think when/if Buchholz comes back then Workman is the odd man out. At that time it'll be near the trade DL and then we can see if we are going to ship out Lackey/Lester/Peavy etc
 
I am skeptical at Peavy bringing much back in retun

 

[HillysLastWalk]

I am skeptical at Peavy bringing much back in retun

As am I, but dumping some of his salary for other moves might help. Or (and mind you, I havent thought about other teams in any kind of depth), imagine a team like the Dodgers, who just lost Billingsley for the year, who has extra outfielders*

*Not an endorsement of any trade with Dodgers or picking up any of Kemp's or Either's salary. And I understand he didnt pitch in 2014 yet. They arent really a fit, more of an idea.

 

[BosRedSox5]

I think the simplest move when Doubie comes back is he goes to the pen and someone gets DFAed/optioned. I think when/if Buchholz comes back then Workman is the odd man out. At that time it'll be near the trade DL and then we can see if we are going to ship out Lackey/Lester/Peavy etc
 
I am skeptical at Peavy bringing much back in retun

 
Workman has been outstanding this season. His secondary pitches have developed much better than anyone anticipated and he's pretty firmly entrenched himself as a future starter. Optioning him back to AAA makes absolutely no sense to me. Let's not forget that last year Peavy was traded essentially for a very promising shortstop prospect who placed second in the rookie of the year voting. Sure, Iglesias has his flaws, but I don't see why we'd have to settle for nothing when it comes to dealing Peavy. Even if we did, who cares? Getting Workman more innings is more important than having Peavy pitch meaningless games for us. 

 

[HillysLastWalk]

To be fair, the Sox had an extra year of control that potential trade partners won't have ... but definitely agree overall.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

You put RDLR in the rotation, you do know he's gonna have to pitch road games as well as at home, right?
 
Check out those splits

 

[Super Nomario]

Only four games for RDLR, but a quick stat comparison between him and Peavy for 2014:
 
RDLR:  4 G, 2 QS, 2.84 era, 1.11 whip, 8.2 k/9
Peavy:  14 G, 8 QS, 4.53 era, 1.44 whip, 6.9 k/9
 
Obviously, long-term future, given their respective ages, RDLR is a better bet than Peavy.  But even this year, right now, it's possible that RDLR gives the Sox a better chance to win than Peavy does.  
 
One thing about RDLR's small sample is that in two games he was utterly dominant, and in two he was not good at all.  So he's a bit of a coin toss as to what you're going to get.  Peavy has been a little more steady.  Not many dominating games, but quite a few "solid" ones.
 
Long story short, I don't think the Sox will offer Peavy anything, even a QO (because what if he takes it?), for 2015.  So he's as good as gone after this season.  Do they just keep the talent in-house or do they deal Peavy and allow RDLR to pitch in Boston for the remainder of the season, gearing up for 2015?
 
I'd prefer they do the latter, but I can totally see why they'd do the former.  

RDLR might be as good as Peavy, but he only threw 91 innings last year and hasn't thrown more than 110 innings in a season. He's already at 77 this year. I think giving him a few more starts and moving him to the bullpen for the rest of the year will get his innings where he needs to be to take another step forward next year, while giving him more exposure to major league hitters and letting him help the big club.

 

[HillysLastWalk]

You put RDLR in the rotation, you do know he's gonna have to pitch road games as well as at home, right?
 
Check out those splits

Something to keep an eye on, but is a two game sample indicative of anything yet? I think its related to competition (detroit and baltimore vs. tampa bay and minnesota)

In actuality, Id move RDLR to the bullpen once they have to make room for Doobie and Clay. Bye Mujica!

 

[Sandy Leon Trotsky]

Can we call RDLR "Our Dealer"?  Or just "The DeaLeR" for short?  Let me know if you're not getting the "RDLR" thing.....  it's subtle.

 

[Curtis Pride]

You put RDLR in the rotation, you do know he's gonna have to pitch road games as well as at home, right?
 
Check out those splits

It may be more lke the opponents he's faced. The two home games were against the Rays and the Twins, weaker offenses. The two road games were against the Orioles and Tigers, much stronger offenses. So if he starts pitching well against the better-hitting teams, then I think he's ready to stay at the major league level.

 

[lexrageorge]

We have 5 pitchers for 3 spots in the rotation.  Assuming good health all around (a big assumption), it make most sense to do the following, IMO:
 
Doubront replaces De La Rosa.  Felix has shown he can be a decent middle-to-end of rotation left handed starter, assuming he's able to shake off his injury.  I don't think this is the end of the world; option RDLR for a month or so, and then have him spot start and do some bullpen work later in the season.  
 
Buchholz replaces Workman.  Initially.  Workman still needs to serve a short suspension (I'm assuming his appeal is rejected), and we do need to see what Clay can bring to the table.  Peavy is basically on a trade deadline audition right now.  I don't see a fit for him going forward, but for now he's injury insurance for the end of the rotation.  
 
A lot depends if the Sox are able to get back into the race.  If Peavy continues to struggle, I see no reason to keep him in the rotation.  If Doubront struggles, it's a tougher call.  If the Sox are out of it at the non-waiver deadline, it's time to trade Peavy and see what the kids can do 2nd half of the season.  The fact they traded Iglesias for him is meaningless at this point; they already earned back that trade.  

 

[RoDaddy]

His stuff is comparable to some of the great name pitchers in baseball history and 3 guys come to mind: Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, and Koufax.  All struggled for years in the bigs before success, and all had big time control issues early on - a lot worse than RDLR.  Nonetheless, all these guys were left in the rotation because their ceilings were so high.  Barring disaster, I think the Sox should do the same with RDLR.   

 

[mfried]

His stuff is comparable to some of the great name pitchers in baseball history and 3 guys come to mind: Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, and Koufax.  All struggled for years in the bigs before success, and all had big time control issues early on - a lot worse than RDLR.  Nonetheless, all these guys were left in the rotation because their ceilings were so high.  Barring disaster, I think the Sox should do the same with RDLR.   

A bit premature to relate RDLR to those pitching giants.  He needs a 3rd pitch for solid starter status, as well as firming up of consistency.  For now, he would seem to be a candidate for middle-long relief or short-range Roogy duty with no baserunners.  DFA Mujica.  Workman vs. Doubront vs. Buchholz: that's a tough one, but should be performance-based.  A choice is in our future, coupled with lots of bus tix to Pawtucket.

 

[judyb]

I might be missing something, but it seems like they're going to have to option De La Rosa while Workman's suspended to open a roster spot for a replacement starter for Workman's spot who will then have to be optioned for Doubront to replace De La Rosa's.

 

[Rovin Romine]

RDLR might be as good as Peavy, but he only threw 91 innings last year and hasn't thrown more than 110 innings in a season. He's already at 77 this year. I think giving him a few more starts and moving him to the bullpen for the rest of the year will get his innings where he needs to be to take another step forward next year, while giving him more exposure to major league hitters and letting him help the big club.

 
I think the innings count is really the key issue here - plus he's not exactly the most efficient pitcher (in terms of pitches per inning).  What's his ceiling for the year?  Is it better to use RDLR as a starter over a shorter period and then shut him down or move him to the bullpen?  We want him in the rotation next year - it would be foolish to burn him out this year.