Monday, March 15, 2010

Enough Already

Here's a few lines from Bill Madden's recent column on the strength of the BoSox's pitching:

Indeed, the fact that Francona is boasting about a five-strong rotation of Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Clay Buchholz, with 43-year-old Tim Wakefield, a first-half All-Star last year before he sustained back problems that required surgery, in reserve, should come as unsettling news to Yankee legions watching Joe Girardi conduct endless tryouts for the fifth spot in his rotation.

Of course we should be scared about the lack of stability in the five spot, since we needed a whole three starters to win the World Series last year. Further, while Francona may feel that he's "got six proven starting pitchers that I like" (from same column), one of those pitchers is older than Francona and needed back surgery last year. Another one of those pitchers is Dice-K, who was hardly durable last year, and has yet to throw a single session this Spring. That leaves four starting pitchers, one of whom is Clay Buchholz, who is about as proven as the Large Hadron Collider, except that he may actually be a black hole in that rotation. So, to make a long story short, enough already with the 'Sox rotation is the strongest ever' nonsense that has been so prevalent since they signed John Lackey. Not Cliff Lee. Not Halladay. Lackey. They signed Lackey. A pitcher so dominant he led his team to the couch where they could comfortably watch a three man rotation defeat the Phillies in the World Series. The Sox have clearly improved with the addition of Lackey, no question. But the Yanks are hardly shaking in their boots, particularly since they beat out both the Sox and Lackey last year with only three proven starters. Now they have four.

14 comments:

lady gaganonymous said...

LEGENDARY DEPTH. Don't question it!!!! Wait, what, Dice-K is already hurt?

Boston's top three is very good, but beyond that, it's shaky. People think Dice-K is AMAAAAAZING because of his 2008 but the chances of him repeating a year like that with the peripherals he had are very low, and it's obvious he's an injury/fitness risk at this point.

Also, seriously, what makes Buchholz better than Joba or Hughes? He threw a no-hitter in 2007. Is that why we're supposed to FEEEARRRR him? He has a 5.19 ERA since then. It's not that he can't be successful but I don't know why people act like Buchholz already = Lester and Buchholz >>>>> Joba/Hughes. Joba, with all his issues, has had a lot more success as a starter than Buch.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

Sometimes I wonder whether the unquestioned faith in Buchholz is actually a residual effect of the generally unquestioned faith in Theo. The idea being that because Theo is such a "great" GM who never ever makes a mistake (Matt Clement) Buchholz must be a great pitcher if the Sox are willing to put him in their rotation.

lady gaganonymous said...

Theo IS a very good GM but it's not like he never makes a mistake. I find that front office sometimes tries to be way too cute with the money/play Sisters of the Poor and they lose out on extremely good players because of it (A-Rod, Tex). Also, he's been bailed out a few times by Cashman/other GMs (Pavano took less money to go to the Yankees. Pavano was not the horribly wrong move it's portrayed as in retrospect because it was Cashman and ANYONE CAN BE A GOOD GM WITH THAT MONEY! ANYONE! anyway).

The only problem is that the only people that question Theo are idiots who generally slam stats beyond, like, RBI (check out the article by this guy named Thornton about stat geeks... or don't). Like I said, Theo is a good GM, but he has some bad moves, just like every other GM. Heck, his team won the WS in the year he made two absolutely HORRIBLE moves (Lugo and Gagne).

It just annoys me that Buchholz is accepted as a starter, with people recognizing he will struggle, but no media anywhere has the patience for Joba or Hughes.

Dylan said...

Agreed on Buchholz. Yes he did throw that no hitter, but Phil Hughes had a perfect game through six innings before he got hurt. Also Bucholz isn't really battling anyone for a spot in the rotation, because of Daiske's injury and Wakefield is more of a spot starter. Joba and Hughes have to perform now if they want to get starts, so of course there will be more scrutiny. I say we reserve judgement for five years, then decide.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

I prefer to make snap judgments and then when I'm wrong to pretend I never said that in the first place.

lady gaganonymous said...

Yep. If Adrian Gonzalez goes to Boston and the centerpiece of the deal is Buchholz I'm gonna be ticked off. If I'm the Padres' GM I ask for Lester at least.

Rich Mahogany said...

I think we should rebut Madden by hiring another sportswriter who argues that you can tell how good a player is by totaling up the number of World Series rings he has. Then the Yankees would clearly come out on top. Burnett's 2003 WS ring definitely counts because his team benefited from his positive energy.

lady gaganonymous said...

Luis Sojo > Ted Williams, Rich.

Rich Mahogany said...

No argument from me. Sojo knew how to win, whether by hitting a WS-winning single or tripping over his shoelaces at a humorous moment. He's the one who should be cryogenically frozen.

lady gaganonymous said...

Heh, Game 5 of the 2000 World Series was on the other day. I had it on here and there, and:
a. I totally forgot Luis Sojo had the WORLD-SERIES-WINNING HIT. That's just crazy. Kind of like how, of all people, Tony Womack got a huge hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. ugh =/
b. Did I mention Andy Pettitte is really hot one time or another?

lady gaganonymous said...

also, I know if the Red Sox are successful this year (which they won't be, pfft! ;) ), Theo will get deified as the man who created run prevention, when he's really just ripping off a model the Rockies, As, Mariners, etc., were doing for YEARS, and wouldn't have fed the Sox fans this BS if they could resign Bay. If they do well, it will be because of their great 1-2-3 at the top of the rotation that most teams can't afford, not necessarily the defense.

lady gaganonymous said...

eh, "this BS" is too strong. Run prevention is certainly valid. I just think you do it through really good pitching rather than defense. And certainly not through defense at Fenway. They are not Seattle, playing in Safeco.

Only Angels Fan in Mass (Nate) said...

Hey Hey Hey! I support your blog faithfully. Remember that we gave you a decent series and have been a spur in your behinds in the past. Last year WE beat the Red Sox ( who we usually lose to in the Post) and YOU beat us (Who you have had issues with in the past), so back off the Angels. So please make fun of Lackey as he fails for the Sux not as he had failed for the Angels.

Go Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles North of San Diego to the Right of the Pacific Ocean (right off the 57 Freeway Across the street from the Pond(Where the Ducks play)).

lady gaganonymous said...

Go Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles North of San Diego to the Right of the Pacific Ocean (right off the 57 Freeway Across the street from the Pond(Where the Ducks play)).

this rules. You are a cool Angels fan in my book, Nate!