We knew they'd hit, but could the Sox starters hold it down?
The sights, and sounds, and smells of summer are in full swing, but it feels like Christmas! Christmas in July, that is. The Major League Baseball non-waiver trading deadline is under two weeks away, and it’s no secret that July 31st is one of my favorite days of the year. It takes a lot to win a World Series Championship, and most teams don’t have all the pieces right at the outset. The trading deadline allows the major players in the league to go out and get those missing pieces that they hope will put them over the top. The coverage is always completely ridiculous, and now with most of the “insiders” using Twitter, this season promises to be even more in your face. It’s exciting to follow along to see where the pieces land, which is why it’s so hard for me to say that the Sox need to stand pat. Momentum can swing in a huge way after this day has come and gone, but as we approach this yearly shift in baseball, a warning: don’t sell the farm.
The Red Sox are in first place in the A.L. East, and show no signs of slowing down over the last three months of the season. There are a number of positions that are producing at numbers that don’t quite live up to expectations, but we’re alright. With a one game lead and 68 games to play in the season, the Red Sox will pick up major pieces without having to trade for anyone. If you run down the roster, there are two positions that you could highlight as trouble spots for the Sox as they head down the stretch—starting-pitching and right field.
As we entered the season, the offense was supposed to be monstrous, and it has been. So why mess? Yes, JD Drew has been lackluster at best in right, but with Josh Reddick knocking the cover off the ball, we’ve got a nice platoon out there in right. The two big guns on the trade market, Carlos Beltran and Ryan Ludwick, wouldn’t provide enough of an upgrade to warrant a farm system fire sale, and there will surely be a piece that will pass through waivers later in the summer that Boston could use to spell Drew and Reddick at the 9thposition. The Sox have scored more runs, have more extra base hits, and have the highest batting average in the majors. They are who we thought they were, so let’s leave them be. It’s the starting rotation that had all the question marks back in March.
Is Josh Beckett due for a comeback? Which Clay Buchholz will we see to start the season? Do Dice-K and Wakefield have anything left in the tank? And finally, was the worst free agent pitching contract in Red Sox history signed by John Lackey? Now that we’ve gone through two-thirds of the season, we can answer a number of those questions. Yes, Beckett was due for a comeback, and he has been tremendous. Buchholz isn’t quite as good as his break-out 2010 campaign may have shown, but when healthy, he may be the best number three starter in the league. Dice-K is done, and Wakefield is spitting straight in the face of father time. And yes, John Lackey is just plain terrible. All of that said—the Red Sox don’t need to go out and get a starting pitcher.
When Lester and Buchholz come back from the DL, and it is my personal opinion that we shouldn’t see either of them back in the bigs for at least a month, it will be like they went out and got a true number one and a true number three. Let’s not forget here people, Boston is in first place in the toughest division in the league. So Theo, if you’re reading, give those guys some time to get themselves right, trust the team you have, and don’t mortgage the farm to get a starting arm come the deadline.