Red Sox started the season as I expected in the month of April. Before the season started, I wrote two blog posts – Spring Training Red Sox and Hit a Home Run Opening Day.
In both of these posts, I expressed my concern about this year’s team starting pitching. In my Spring Training post, I wrote about each pitcher.
Red Sox Review
One early surprise for me has been Rick Porcello and Steven Wright. Both pitchers have exceeded my expectations over the last two months. Rick Porcello had good stuff with the Detroit Tigers and I was hoping 2015 was an off year and he would return to form. To date, Porcello’s record is 6-1 and his ERA is 3.51. I am hopeful that he will be a consistent Pitcher the entire year and have his ERA remain in the 3’s. Steven Wright is a knuckleball pitcher and he has surprised me most. Though he doesn’t have a lot of wins – he has shown good stuff early on. His knuckleball has been good the first two months and he has the team’s lowest ERA out of our Starting Pitchers at 2.36.
Dombrowski Signs David Price
I was very happy when Dave Dombrowski signed David Price. Unfortunately, early on, Price has given up a lot of hits and runs the majority of his starts. He is leading the league in strikeouts, however, his ERA is high and Batters are hitting presently at 271. Dustin Pedroia picked up on a few mechanics in Price’s pitching delivery and in his last start, Price showed the reason the team signed him. He was impressive in strikeouts and only allowed 1 run.
My biggest concern with the pitching staff is Clay Buckholz. When the team first brought up Buckholz, he threw a no-hitter early on. What happened to that Pitcher who threw a no-hitter against Baltimore? I’ve seen years of inconsistency and injuries season after season. He strikes me as someone who easily gets rattled and this has come across in all of his pitching starts thus far. Eduardo Rodriguez started the season on the injured list and we have yet to see him. I think Rodriguez shows a lot of poise and has good stuff. He has the potential to become an important part of the rotation. Joe Kelly is working his way back from an injury. In his latest minor league rehab start with Triple-A Pawtucket he fired 6 1/3 scoreless innings.
Awesome Offense
The offense has carried the team over the last two months. We have a winning record and are presently tied for first place in the American League East as I write this post. Will this continue? One thing the Red Sox need to get right is their starting pitching. My Red Sox review is for the first quarter of a long baseball season. I’m hopeful that my team continues to win the majority of series for the season. In David Ortiz’s last season, many are wondering why he is retiring, as he is killing it at the plate. David Ortiz will retire with good numbers and is a future hall of fame player.
I hope my next Red Sox review will continue to reflect on the positive.