Boston Red Sox pitching rotation feature for the Berkshire Eagle (5/23/07)

Red Sox have some arms to bear
By Denis Gorman,

Special to The Eagle

Wednesday, May 23

NEW YORK--Bostonian writer and theorist George Santayana once suggested that those who fail to heed history's lessons are condemned to repeating errors.

Between 1919 and 2003, the Boston Red Sox built teams long on offense and little pitching. In that time, the Red Sox were able to score runs and fielded impressive teams, but failed to win.

In 2004, the Red Sox focused on pitching. A lopsided trade brought in Curt Schilling. Keith Foulke signed as a free agent after compiling a 43-save, 2.08 ERA season with Oakland. In October 2004, the Red Sox hoisted their first World Series title in 86 years.

Three years later, the Red Sox are built around pitching. If Santayana's theorem is valid, come October, the Red Sox could be celebrating its fifth World Series Championship.

The Red Sox finished 11th in Major League Baseball with a 4.18 ERA in 2004. This season, the Sox's 3.51 ERA is good enough for fifth best in MLB.

"Our starting pitching has gotten us deep enough into games and allowed our bullpen to be very good," manager Terry Francona said in the bowels of Yankee Stadium Monday night prior to the Red Sox's 6-2 loss. Thirteen times this season the Red Sox have allowed five or more runs. In those games, the Red Sox's record is 6-8.

Tim Wakefield struggled against New York on Monday, allowing six runs over five innings, highlighted by massive home runs by third baseman Alex Rodriguez in the first inning and designated hitter Jason Giambi in the second. After the game, the knuckleball pitcher said he wasn't in rhythm.

"Usually, when I leave the bullpen, I know it is good," said the longest-reigning Red Sox. "I never got comfortable (Monday night). The ball stayed up on the (home runs) to Alex and Jason. I tried to grind it out; I didn't have great stuff."

After winning the World Series in 2004, the Red Sox would allow good pitching to leave 4 Yawkey Way. Starting pitchers Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe signed four-year deals with the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively. To offset the departures of the legendary Martinez and playoff hero Lowe, the Red Sox brought in Matt Clement and David Wells in 2005 and 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett in 2006.

The losses of Martinez and Lowe showed themselves throughout the 2005 and 2006 seasons. In 2005, the Red Sox finished with a 95-67 record, second in the division to the New York Yankees, and were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual World Series Champion Chicago White Sox. Last season, the Red Sox finished third in the division with an 86-76 record, an even 10 games behind division champion New York and missed the playoffs for the first time in the Francona era.

The left-hander Wells pitched a season and a half in Boston, compiling a 17-10 record, before being traded to San Diego in 2006 for minor leaguer George Kotteras. Clement struggled, putting together an 18-11 record with a 5.13 ERA in 44 starts over two seasons before undergoing shoulder surgery last June. He is still on the DL, and his contract is up at the end of the season.

In 2006, his first season facing the deeper lineups of the American League, Beckett experienced difficulty, over-relying on his fastball to bail him out of tight situations. It often led to long innings and high pitch counts for the 27-year-old right hander. He finished with a 16-11 record and a career-worst 5.01 ERA.

"He learned a lot about the hitters in this league the first time around; two, three at-bats isn't the same as 20," said third baseman Mike Lowell, a teammate of Beckett's on the 2003 Marlins.
This season, working with catcher Jason Varitek and pitching coach John Farrell, Beckett has been the American League's best pitcher, going 7-0 with a 2.66 ERA before going on the disabled list last week with a tearing of the skin on his right middle finger.

"His stuff is still the same, great stuff. I think he has a definite plan that he's following and he's composed following that plan," noted Lowell.

When last season came to its inglorious end, the Red Sox braintrust met and determined that with Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, they had enough offense. What was needed was pitching. To that end, the Red Sox signed highly coveted Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka to a six-year contract worth more than $100 million. Adding Matsuzaka to a rotation with 2004 holdovers Schilling and Wakefield, spot-starter Julien Tavarez and Beckett, along with stud closer Jonathan Papelbon, gave the Sox another power arm. So far, it's paid off. The starters boast a record of 23-12 with a 3.70 ERA in 265 innings.

"Our starters are doing a good job," Lowell said. "I think they've done the best where we haven't scored a lot of runs. We scored seven runs in the Minnesota series and won the series. Maybe we can answer that back when the pitchers have an outing (they) aren't happy with and we pick them up."

The one pick up that the Red Sox didn't make was Roger Clemens. Yes, the organization was involved in the Roger Clemens Sweepstakes, but unlike the Yankees and Astros, the American League East leader's need for the 44-year-old right-hander wasn't great. The future Hall-of-Famer would have been a luxury instead of a necessity. That's due to the Red Sox's quality depth throughout the rotation and Jon Lester waiting in the wings.

Currently, Lester is in Triple-A Pawtucket rehabbing from cancer treatment. Last season, Lester was 7-2 in 81 1/3 innings with the Red Sox before undergoing chemotherapy treatment last August for lymphoma.

On Saturday night against Ottawa Lynx, he threw 3 2/3 innings allowing one hit and a walk, while striking out two. According to Francona, Lester is due to next throw on Friday against Syracuse.

"He has to get his pitch count back up so where he can get here," said Francona. "When he's ready to help us, we'll gladly accept that."

A deep rotation that possess good pitching. The 2004 Red Sox won a World Series using that formula. The 2007 edition hopes to do the same.

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