Boston Red Sox: Dave Dombrowski calls out starting rotation
By Sam Minton
The Boston Red Sox starting rotation has been disappointing this season and Dave Dombrowski has been vocal about the need for improvement.
The Boston Red Sox’s starting rotation has been one of the weaker parts of the team this season. As we near the halfway point of the year it is clear that they need to be better.
So far the only bright spot in the rotation is David Price. After getting the postseason monkey off of his back, he is performing well in 2019. So far this season Price is 6-2 with a 3.33 ERA and 89 strikeouts.
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After that it is a whole lot of disappointment. Eduardo Rodriguez, Chris Sale, and Rick Porcello are a combined 16-19 with 153 earned runs, 44 home runs allowed, and a 4.63 ERA.
The name that stands out is Sale. He had a horrible start to the year going 0-5 in his first 6 appearances.
Sale couldn’t have picked a worst time to struggle out of the gate. In the offseason the lefty signed a five year extension worth $145 million.
So it’s not surprising to hear Boston’s president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski call out the starting rotation.
"“They’re a very talented group of pitchers.” They’re the guys who are supposed to carry us, really. That’s why I think they’ve been fine. They’ve been OK. But I can’t say they’ve really carried us at any point. The bullpen keeps getting pointed to all the time, I think a lot of times unfairly. It’s just that collectively, in a lot of places, we haven’t done as well as we hoped.”"
The criticism is justified. If the rotation doesn’t improve there is a good chance that the Red Sox miss the playoffs. Even if they do find a way to sneak in they won’t be laying for long.
Chris Sale needs to be the dominant ace that he was last season. He has improved but you need to see consistent velocity from the lefty and plenty of strikeouts.
Also guys like Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez need to eat up innings. The Sox bullpen is fragile so they can’t be left to dry in the 4th or 5th inning. You need your starters to go deep into the game.
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Hopefully after the All-Star break we will see a much improved Boston Red Sox starting rotation.