Boston Red Sox: 3 takeaways from the team’s opening slate of games
Boston Red Sox takeaway No. 1: The pitching staff is going to be an issue
Heading into the season, the Sox pitching staff as a whole was in shambles. With Sale missing time due to injury, that forced Michael Wacha and Rich Hill into starting roles, making the starting rotation much weaker for the time being. And the bullpen, well, it’s seen better days.
There are standout arms such as the previously mentioned Eovaldi and Whitlock, but there’s not much behind them, and that’s becoming an issue. The starting rotation could be better if Sale returns and is effective. The bullpen on the other hand is in very rough shape, and it may take a miracle to turn them into an effective unit this season.
The most surprising part is that so far, the pitching has actually been decent for Boston. Aside from yesterday’s bullpen meltdown in which Austin Davis and Kutter Crawford did their best to lose a five run lead in the eighth inning, most of the guys have been solid so far. Davis and Crawford’s implosion yesterday is a sign of things to come though.
Guys like Hansel Robles, Jake Diekman, and Matt Strahm haven’t allowed a run so far, but given their inconsistencies, it’s not worth counting on them to keep that up. And while the starting rotation has been OK so far, Wacha and Hill aren’t going to deliver each time out.
Next. Criticize the Red Sox early results at your peril. dark
If the Red Sox want to be serious contenders this year they are going to need to get more pitching help at one point or another. Their bullpen was faulty last season, and this season it looks like it could be even worse. In a tightly packed AL East, Boston can’t afford to fork over leads like they nearly did yesterday against Detroit, and while it hasn’t hurt them yet, it’s going to down the line if changes aren’t made.