1. Do you think the Red Sox are playoff bound? If so, how deep can they go based on their performance in September?
— Da General
Based on the fact that they have so few starting pitching options and that they have to play six on the road while the other two teams finish at home, the Red Sox' two-game lead seems very shaky. Obviously, they still control their own destiny, but they have for weeks and still played like poop.
If they get in, and this has been debated for months, my feeling is they will want to draw Detroit in the first round in order to advance. I know that Justin Verlander looms, but let me explain.
Although the offense has been inconsistent, it probably is the one area that you know the Sox can match up with anyone. They remain the highest-scoring team in baseball by a good margin. But the types of teams that cause fits for Boston are those that run, play hit-and-run, take extra bases and do all those aggressive actions. That's why the Rays and Rangers have toyed with the Sox this year. The Yankees and Angels, although both lost their season series to Boston, present a similar dilemma. All those teams run, play defense and are sound fundamentally.
The Tigers, on the other hand, are last in the AL in steals and more mediocre defensively. They have a good offense, but not the kind that can exploit some of Boston's deficiencies as well as others. Then again, Verlander can throw 18 scoreless innings in two starts and send you home in a heartbeat.
2. Why not start Daniel Bard on Sunday? He is struggling now and has started in his past. Terry Francona has not announced the starter because it is John Lackey vs. Erik Bedard or a painful toss-up. Whoever pitches the eighth, worry about that then. It would be a nice problem to have if the game is close.
Also, you put my idea down two months ago. I stand by it still. Jacoby Ellsbury should have been offered for Clayton Kershaw. Put the high-priced Carl Crawford in the leadoff spot and let this offense sink or swim. We would have had a legit stopper every five days.
— Pete
Yes, Pete, I did give you some grief for the Ellsbury trade suggestion, and I'll give you more for your Bard idea. Simply put, it's not even close to being an option. For the sake of argument, I'll play along. Imagine if Bard starts (I'm laughing as I type that) and gives you two scoreless innings. Are you then pumped to hand things over to the bullpen? Are you ready to piece together six innings or so in a do-or-die affair?
Bard hasn't started in years. He cannot pitch more than a couple of innings and if he got through two, even three, then your already strapped bullpen is without one of its best options. And Bard is wasted for the remainder of the regular season. (Why did I just waste my time answering this?)
3. Hey! A couple questions here. With the way the starting rotation and team as a whole has crumbled the past few years from injuries etc., do you think that the organization needs to look into their conditioning staff? Even though I realize for the most part injuries are uncontrollable and a part of the game it seems as though the Red Sox have had A LOT more than any other team. Also do you see the Red Sox being strong contenders for another quality starting pitcher this offseason? Every year we are hit by injuries in the rotation and I don’t see Tim Wakefield or Daisuke Matsuzaka/Junichi Tazawa being able to pitch solid innings throughout next season. Could C.J. Wilson be an option or would a trade for maybe Felix Hernandez be more likely?
— John
Hey! Wow, we're getting some doozies this week.
Let me address the conditioning thing. I mentioned this last week, but it bears repeating. The Red Sox are one of the older teams in the league. That in itself will lead to a few more physical issues, one would think. And this year their injuries dropped significantly, from over 1,000 man games missed to what will be about 800. They look at every portion of the organization, and if they feel a change needs to be made, they will. But like you said some of this is just uncontrollable.
The rotation is largely set in terms of contracts for next year, but with Lackey's downturn and no real "No. 5 guy" right now, the team will have to be involved in pursuit of some starting pitching. But don’t expect it to all be frontline guys. They aren't getting Felix Hernandez. Just move on from that. Wilson is an intriguing name, as he will be a free agent. But his status as perhaps the top pitcher on the market means his asking price will not come cheap, especially after back-to-back very good years. With over $60 million already tied up in starters, the Sox will have a hard time throwing millions at a guy like that.
4. Being a Red Sox fan down here [in St. Petersburg, Fla.] is tough, but watching them pull a 70s-style collapse is more difficult. Lackey has yet to show anything since he has made the East Coast move. Is it possible he is telegraphing his pitches a la Brad Penny?
— Bryan Saunders
I haven't heard that theory yet. The biggest issue with Lackey, in my mind, is his inability to finish at-bats and innings. He sometimes gets two outs, but then surrenders a walk and a pair of hits and before you know it it's a 34-pitch inning and the opponent has added a run or two. The same goes for individual at-bats. Opponents are hitting .252 against him with two strikes, far above his .194 career mark. Lackey seems to be throwing too many strikes in situations where he can waste a pitch or two, and he's paying for it.
5. Hi Tony. Has anybody heard from Theo Epstein in the past two weeks or so? It seems like I haven't heard much from him. Has he talked to the media at all? I'd be interested in hearing his opinion on these developments.
Also, what to make of the umpiring? Lost in the mix of the Red Sox struggles in this series is the fact that I thought the crew in blue was, well, awful. David Ortiz’s fair ball, the double botched calls against the Orioles on Tuesday night (within five seconds of each other), the missed call at first Wednesday night. Just curious on your thoughts?
— Tom W.
Here is one of Epstein's recent interviews with NESN’s Peter Gammons.
As for the umpiring, it was poor throughout the homestand. I actually thought the Rays got the raw end of the deal multiple times, and we saw the umpires have an impact on both the Sox and the Orioles. There have actually been two plays like Ortiz's in recent weeks. It wouldn't be all that surprising if MLB takes a look at adding such plays to those which umpires can review.
6. As long as the Sox make the playoffs who should get a Game 3 start, Bedard, Bucholz, or Aceves. (I don't Lackey should even be on the playoff roster)
— Fried Chicken
Well, Fried Chicken, that was the big debate about a month ago when Bedard and Lackey were both healthy and both pitching OK. Now Bedard is a question mark physically and Lackey has fallen on hard times again. We can eliminate Clay Buchholz because he won't be ready to start and Francona just loves Aceves in the pen, as he should. My guess is Bedard would be given that start if he shows the ability to get deeper into his next start, which will be his last of the season.
7. Can any of our late-season issues, specifically with pitching, be attributed to the first season without John Farrell?
— Bart
I don't think so. That was a legit concern when the pitching struggled early on because players were still getting comfortable with Curt Young. But there were stretches of solid pitching after that. This seems to be more tied to a combination of injuries, late-season fatigue and no depth.
8. Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but do you think Dustin Pedroia would be a good candidate to be the next Red Sox captain?
— Al Blanchard
Yes. It would take a situation where Pedroia re-signs a deal at some point that will keep him with the club until the end of his career, or close to it. That was the case with Jason Varitek, who was given the title upon signing a four-year deal in 2004. Pedroia's current deal is done after 2014, with a club option for 2015. Maybe then he gets to wear the "C" on his uniform.
9. Tony, after watching Lackey and Wakefield put the Red Sox in a hole before the fifth inning, what's stopping Francona from starting Felix Doubront and Aceves. I can't imagine them being any worse.
— Dean
The Aceves situation is an intriguing one. He might give you four or five very good innings, but he's not stretched out beyond that so you still need someone to bridge to the back of the pen. That's Francona's thinking on the topic, although the horrendous starting pitching is making this a tough call.
Doubront simply isn't a great candidate now because of the scarcity of work he had this year. Due to injuries and his eventual conversion to the bullpen, he hasn't thrown more than three innings in a game for more than two months. Maybe he can give you three or four solid innings on a good night, but that's about it.
10. I was wondering why Jacoby Ellsbury's RBI total out of the leadoff spot has not garnered much attention. I do believe it has historical significance. Could you please look into the significance of a possible 100-RBI season for him and the Red Sox?
— Thad Weaver
Sure thing. Ellsbury has 90 of those RBIs in the leadoff spot. The other eight came at the bottom of the order early in the year. As far as I know, Darin Erstad has the record for that category with 100 in the leadoff spot in 2000. Nomar Garciaparra had 98 for the Sox in 1997. Those are the numbers Ellsbury is shooting for in this final road trip.
11. It seems to be finger-pointing time. Is it Terry? Is it the bullpen? Is it the lack of clutch hitting? Is it not enough quality starting pitching? The list seems endless. When are the real remaining Red Sox going to stand up and win?
— Neal Hannon
I'll let a Jason Varitek quote speak for itself. When he was asked Wednesday night what the primary issue was, he uttered these words: "There's been different things that haven't matched up. Literally, when we've pitched well, we haven't swung the bats well. We've had freaky things happen defensively. This, that and the other. I think we've been through every part of it right now."
Oh, and there's also David Ortiz, who said this when asked if the team needs balance: "Definitely, that's how you win ballgames. Good pitching, good hitting, good defense, all at once. There's no way you can win ballgames with good pitching then not hitting, not good defense. Good defense, not hitting, not good pitching. Good hitting, not good pitching, not good defense. You know, everything has to be whole package."
Finally, Dustin Pedroia put a pretty good exclamation point on the finale of the homestand: "We didn't score more runs than them. Needed to do that."
Point your fingers all over the place.
