First-Place Pitching Woes?

Boston’s starting rotation is probably the best its been in years. We were so stacked with starting pitching in spring training, we were able to trade away a great arm in Bronson Arroyo for more offense. I figured the last thing we needed to worry about was getting quality innings from the front 5, much less facing early blowouts.

But by the second inning of last night’s game, Matt Clement had already solidified a two-game losing streak for the Red Sox. Even after his offense staked him to a one-run lead in the first, he couldn’t find the plate in the top of the second, and paid for it. With the bases juiced, Vernon Wells lofted a long fly ball to dead center, the farthest part of the ballpark, for a four-run four-bagger and a quick 6-1 lead for the Jays.

To say this was discouraging is a colossal understatement, especially considering the performance David Wells put forth in Wednesday’s game. Two horrific starts in a row by starting pitchers, both of which are veterans in the league and considered staff aces at one point in their careers. In fact, all three Sox losses so far this year have come at the expense of bad starting pitching in early innings, the first of which was Wakefield’s forgettable appearance in Texas.

Here’s the difference in those starts, though: whereas the Wakefield and Clement losses are more than likely the case of a rare bad outing, Wells had just come off the disabled list and, as is speculated by many a Sox fan, may have rushed back to the starting rotation in order to meet performance clauses in his contract (Wells’ contract is structured around the amount of starts he makes per year).

Wake and Clement went through a normal spring training regimen, and were ready for their starting roles for the regular season. Clement pitched a 7-inning gem his first time out, and Wakefield rebounded nicely from the Texas game by going 6 innings in beating Baltimore. These guys are ready.

Wells? Not so much. Without even going into the obvious lack of physical shape this guy has obtained over his career, Wells had knee surgery in the offseason, which shortened his spring training significantly. His rehabilitation was obviously not complete, getting smacked around in a Triple-A start before joining the Red Sox for his ill-fated first start.

And it isn’t completely Wells’ fault for rushing back. I’m curious as to why the front office didn’t step in and suggest Wells make another rehab start or two in the minors before testing his knee on the big stage. Theo is on top of everything that goes on with that team, so you know he was well aware of the problems Wells had with a minor-league lineup. Yet he was welcomed back to the rotation with open arms, and promptly served up a lopsided loss.

Shame on you, David Wells, for risking the Sox winning streak. Shame on you for taking the hill before you were ready. Shame on you for putting the best interests of your Bank Account above those of your team and the City of Boson.

And shame on the front office for letting the loudmouth get away with it all.

There were some highlights to the game last night, though. David Ortiz smacked his fourth home run of the season, once again wrapping a two-run shot around Pesky’s Pole in right field. Seeing him rake the long ball and scamper down to first is a beautiful sight for Sox fans, and I hope Ortiz continues to torment opposing pitchers the way he has since joining the Sox. Now if Manny could only find his power swing again, all would be right in the Red Sox Nation.

Kevin Youkilis continues to impress me. I’ve been rooting for this guy to get some regular playing time so we could get a good look at how good a batter he is, and last night we witnesses a great example of just that.

Ninth inning of last night’s game, Youkilis is at the plate with runners at first and second, two outs, the score an 8-3 deficit. Youk doesn’t push, doesn’t rush, doesn’t try to do too much with the at-bat, just advance some runners and keep the game going. He fouls off a few VERY tough pitches inside, lets some corner-nibblers go by for balls, and battled for a full count. Next pitch, he rips a shot to left-center that rolls to the wall for a double, scoring both runners. Now the game is 8-5, making Ortiz the tying run (after Loretta doubled and scored Youk).

Youkilis stayed focused the whole game, not backing off for a second even though the Sox were all but out of the game by the ninth. He hung in there, and helped put the Red Sox in the position to win the game. Ortiz flied out to deep right to secure the loss, but what a dramatic ending anyway.

What’s the last thing a Sox fan wants to hear? “Now batting for Alex Gonzalez … Alex Cora!” See? Every Sox fan who read that last sentence just cringed in disgust. Talk about a no-win situation! That’s like substituting Sleepless in Seattle with You’ve Got Mail. Sure, they may be different, but both make you painfully aware you will never get those two hours of your life back.

And yes, I am horrified that I have used not one, but two chic-flick references in my blog now. In the same damn sentence to boot. I have already self-imposed a ban on my Man Card.

New CoolFlo helmets have been invading MLB this season. Has anyone else noticed these? They have interesting (read: ugly as all hell) ridges and vents on the top and sides of the helmet. Some teams have even taken to using these ridges as an outline for a two-tone color scheme (Mets), which just comes out looking overly-futuristic.

Thankfully, not all teams in the majors have adopted the new helmet style, including my beloved Red Sox. I would say that teams rich in tradition have led the way in bucking the trend, like the Sox and Yankees, but the Cubs have also taken to using the new design, so there goes that theory.

And what’s the purpose of the new helmet, anyway? Was there something wrong with the traditional batting helmets? Were they really THAT much hotter that more vents were needed? Did they create THAT much drag on runners that aerodynamics just had to be incorporated?

Selig was behind this, wasn’t he? That bastard.