It seems strange to me that in a year when they have a good lineup full of good, offensively productive players, and in a year that will be highlighted by Pedro Martinez, the best pitcher I’ve ever seen, one of the five best pitchers the Red Sox have had in their 110+ year history, and hands-down my favorite baseball player ever, is getting inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, that the Boston Red Sox do not have an ace in their pitching rotation. The yearlong celebration of Pedro should have been enough of a reminder for them that pitching is the most important part of a successful baseball club. Sure, it’s not the only thing, but how far have the Red Sox ever gone without it?
There is more than one way to win in baseball. different teams have different traditions and trademarks that make them unique. For instance, the Red Sox have a long tradition, with the exception increasingly unbelievable 2013 World Series run, of having a Hall of Fame caliber hitter manning the real estate in front of the Green Monster in left field when they are at their best. From, Ted Williams’ Major League debut in 1939 to Jim Rice’s retirement in 1989 (oh yeah, and Carl Yastrziemski had a 18 All-Star appearances, a Triple Crown and an American League MVP in the years between Williams and Rice), with the exception of the years Williams spent serving his country in World War II, the Sox always had a Hall of Famer in left. In the 90s, Mike Greenwell and Troy O’Leary, two pretty good players in their own right, were mere placeholders in left field at Fenway before the arrival of Manny Ramirez, who was a huge part of both the 2004 and 2007 World Series wins for Boston. Whether or not he gets voted into Cooperstown by the BBWAA, Manny is a Hall of Famer in my mind. That dude could hit as well as any player I’ve seen. The 2013 Red Sox were the exception to the rule. They are an all time great team in the history of the Red Sox, Boston’s 13th American League Pennant and 8th World Series Champion, but they did it with a platoon of Jonny Gomes and Daniel Nava in left. They got offense from other spots on the field, and a historically great postseason performance from the ageless wonder David Ortiz, and great pitching (which I promise the rest of the article will be about), and they won it all. The blueprint for that team’s success was not sustainable, however, and with the Red Sox crashing back to earth last place in the AL East, the roster was gutted at the trade deadline, and now another All-Star hitter named Ramirez is in left field.
As crucial to the historical success of the Boston Red Sox as left field has been dominant pitching. This is a team that employed Cy Young. You know, the guy the CY YOUNG AWARD, awarded annually to the best pitcher in each league, is named after! They had Lefty Grove, as well! They don’t get to the 1967 World Series without Jim Lonborg, and they don’t get to the 1975 World Series without Luis Tiant. They employed Tom Seaver (who earned the highest percentage of the BBWAA’s Hall of Fame vote of any player in Cooperstown) at the end of his career to be a pitching mentor to Roger Clemens. This is a franchise that historically values and has benefited immensely from great pitching over the years.
In the three times the Red Sox have won the World Series in the 21st century, they had two aces each time. In 2004, it was Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez. In 2007, it was Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett with a young man named Jon Lester showing the first signs of his future as a great big game performer. In 2013, it was Jon Lester and John Lackey. The one-two punch at the top of the rotation like that was the best plan for success for the Red Sox. To win it all, the Red Sox have needed not one, but two aces on their staff, which is why it is so baffling that they went into 2015 with zero.
I still don’t like the way things ended for Jon Lester in Boston. I didn’t like it before it happened, and while they got a pretty good player and traded him for another pretty good player, I would still rather have Jon Lester on the Red Sox than on the Cubs. I get that John Lackey didn’t really like it in Boston, and once they dealt Lester, it made sense to deal Lackey as well. Maybe it was the better move in the long term to move on from those guys, but not replacing two aces with even one ace was a huge mistake in the short term. Right now they have a rotation of Clay Buchholz (who is my least favorite Red Sox player ever, and has contributed the least of any player in Red Sox history with two rings), Rick Porcello, Justin Masterson, Wade Miley, and Joe Kelly. All have their moments. All would make nice rotational depth behind ace pitchers. Without those aces, rotational depth is nothing more than mediocrity.
The Red Sox currently have a record of 12-12, which is good enough for 4th place in the AL East. For the lineup they’re paying, headlined by Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, and Pablo Sandoval, that is not good enough. Something needs to be done to improve that pitching staff. Maybe trade for Jordan Zimmermann of the Washington Nationals. Maybe trade for Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies. Maybe trade for Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox. Maybe, and I realize it’s unlikely because Billy Beane doesn’t usually like to trade pitchers within the American League, trade for Sonny Gray from the Oakland Athletics. There are pitchers out there and deals to be made, so do it!
Normally I’m much more excited for baseball season than I have been this year. Part of it was the Westerosi winter New England had to deal with in 2014-15, but most of it is because the Red Sox burned up all the good will in 2014 that they had generated with the fans in 2013. They’re still my team, but it’ll take a little more than Justin Masterson and Wade Miley to get excited for the Red Sox again.
Dave's Words 