So, yeah. In the midst of trying to fight their way back into the Kingdom of Relevance, the Red Sox have somewhat suddenly lost 40 percent of their starting rotation. Peter Abraham (via Boston.com):
Down Two Starters, What’s Next For Red Sox?
Within a span of 24 hours, the Red Sox placed John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list with elbow injuries. It won't be official until tomorrow with Matsuzaka.
"Obviously we're in a little bit of a state of flux. We have some moving parts," Terry Francona said tonight after the game against Baltimore was rained out.
--snip--
In theory, Lackey could return as early as May 27.
One thing is certain, the Red Sox will need Alfredo Aceves and Tim Wakefield to give them some innings over the next two weeks. Given how poorly Matsuzaka and Lackey have pitched to date, going a combined 5-8 with a 6.69 earned run average, the Sox may even benefit from the switch.
That’s an outstanding point by Abraham. The Red Sox have been quite competitive since their 0-6 start, and they’ve done that with two starting pitchers who could hardly have been worse. Wakefield and Aceves can hardly be worse than a 6.69 ERA over the next however many weeks they’re occupying the fourth and fifth slots in the rotation.
But that 6.69 is both a low standard and an unacceptable standard. Why? Because while both Jon Lester (3.28 ERA) and Clay Buchholz (3.94) have pitched, more or less, at their true levels of ability, Josh Beckett's 1.75 ERA simply isn't sustainable. He's a good pitcher, but he's not that good. If the Red Sox are going to get back into this thing, they'll need more than just non-disastrous performances from the back end of their rotation; they'll need their No. 4 or 5 guy to actually pitch well this season, for at least a good stretch of the summer.
Is that going to be Wakefield? I sure hope so. If nothing else, it would boost sales of his book. But let’s be honest: His ERA since 2009 is 5.34, because he’s just leaving too many pitches over the plate and giving up too many home runs. Even knuckleballers hit a wall eventually, and usually it’s right around 44 (wrote the 44-year-old).
Is that going to be Aceves? Who can know? The guy’s started five games in the major leagues.
Next on the depth chart: Brandon Duckworth.
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