With spring training here I feel its only fitting to do a little Red Sox breakdown as the pitching staff stands today. The way we will go through this is player by player (one question mark about them, and one thing to look forward to). We will start with the starting pitching.
Starting Pitching:
Josh Beckett:
Good: Beckett is coming off a career year. He had one of the most dominant post-seasons in history and is still only 27 years old.
Bad: Injuries? Can he have the same kind of year he had last year now that he is coming into the season as the ace (lack of Schilling)
Daisuke Matsuzaka:
Good: Dice-K had a nice rookie year with 15 win. He showed that he can strike major league players out, and proved to be very durable.
Bad: Had an ERA of 4.40. His ERA in September/October was over 8. Was it that he was tired, or did hitters figure him out?
Tim Wakefield:
Good: He is solid every year and is a nice change of pace pitcher to have in your rotation.
Bad: Age? Injuries? It also hurts him that Doug (Dave’s boy) can't seem to hit anymore, and no one else can catch the knuckleball.
Jon Lester:
Good: Is only 24 years old and showed a lot of promise. he is also very cheap (a little under 400k this season)
Bad: Has never pitched a full season in the MLB, can he hold up? Also seems to have a problem making it past the 5th inning.
Clay Buchholtz:
Good: Another young stud (23 years old). Already has pitched a no-hitter, seems to have limitless ceiling of talent.
Bad: Has not pitched a full season before. He also is going to have a ton of pressure to live up to the hype. Can he step up to the plate and be a solid pitcher for the 162 game season?
Curt Schilling (Inj):
Good: Had a great post-season and has limitless experience. Has showed he can pitch in the big game. Could be great (if healthy) for another post-season run.
Bad: Injury? Has not been good (in regular season) for a couple years now. When will he be ready to go? What will his relationship with the front office be?
-BMack
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