Does Boston have the arms to make the playoffs?

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It's really sad to see.

The team that was said of have one of the best pitching staffs in the game heading into the season is now relying on Clay Buchholz and Junichi Tazawa to get into the playoffs.

Remember when nothing made you more confident than to look at the Red Sox' rotation heading into a pivotal series? It seems a million years ago. Brad Penny didn't look so bad when he was your fifth starter. Now he's your third and lo and behold, the Red Sox are being left in the dust in the AL East and now trail in the Wild Card race.

Josh Beckett and Jon Lester have been all that you would expect them to be. Beckett has to be one of the favorites for the Cy Young award, especially with his current tear. He's 7-1 in his last 10 starts with a 1.93 ERA. Clearly he has done everything you could ask of your ace. Lester, likewise, has looked more than solid. He hasn't earned a decision in his last four starts, but has only allowed nine runs in 24.6 innings (3.29 ERA) in that span.

But Penny has been simply atrocious basically since the All-Star break. He's won just one of his six starts and dropped four with an ERA north of 6.50 after making Theo Epstein look like a genius over the first half of the season, especially when June rolled along. Perhaps the whiplash is getting to him, as he's allowed seven post-All-Star homers after giving up just 10 taters in 17 starts to begin the year.

Buchholz has done nothing to give Sox fans a warm and fuzzy feeling. He's learning the hard way once again that there's a major difference between AAA hitters and major league ones. Yes, he's been left out to dry in his last two starts by zero run support, but he's very lucky he hasn't gotten blown up with that 20/19 K/BB ratio. In fact, he's failed to strike out more batters than he's walked in each of his last three outings.

Tazawa has been placed in one tough position after another. Ok, go hold off the Yankees in extra innings in your first big-league appearance. Ok, go beat the Tigers on the road. Ok, help us hold the lead in the Wild Card against Texas. The kid has 20 professional appearances before being called up and while people have raved about his talent (though he has been overshadowed by Buchholz and Michael Bowden), he's still a green 23-year-old. Expect a lot more where today's outing came from against quality opponents (5 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 3BB, 0K).

Is this team and its postseason hopes fading away as its pitching staff falls apart? John Smoltz was an epic failure. You can't blame the organization for taking a gamble on a future Hall-of-Famer, but you can question their decision not to hold him out for longer, even when he complained. Anyone counting on Daisuke Matsuzaka needs to step away from the pipe and head to their nearest N.A. meeting. It seems ridiculous to say, but at this point, the Red Sox desperately need Tim Wakefield and unfortunately, he's still limping around.

Two pitchers does not a rotation make and at this point, that is what the Red Sox have to work with.

How much longer can the Smoltz experiment go on?

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Time to reach for the panic button? It's just one of those things that Red Sox fans are always going to do.

And after five starts and a 6.31 ERA, fans have to be wondering if John Smoltz has anything left in the tank. After all, this was the guy who was supposed to provide stability to the rotation, especially with the abysmal start to the season by Daisuke Matsuzaka. He's been the exact opposite of that. Everytime you think he's figured it out, he falters again.

His first start against Washington was predictably shaky as he allowed five runs in five innings, but he seemed to rebound against a pretty decent hitting Baltimore club. He only pitched four innings, thanks to a rain delay, but allowed just one run on three hits.

Then the hapless A's got to him for five runs on 10 hits in six innings. He followed that up with his first win in a Sox jersey, giving up just one run in five innings to the Royals and the see-saw continued.

Last night's loss was possibly the most disheartening. Smoltz had allowed just one run on four hits through the first five innings, then totally blew up in the sixth. Three homers and an RBI single did him in as all of a sudden, the veteran lost control of the strike zone and didn't make it out of the inning. What's worse, this was a game in which they needed a good start from Smoltz. With the loss, the Red Sox dropped into a tie with the New York Yankees for first in the AL East.

So what to do with Smoltz? This question may be easier to answer if Brad Penny was throwing well. But how long can the Red Sox go with two pitchers struggling at the back end of the rotation as a pennant race is heating up? Does Terry Francona keep throwing him out there every fifth day and hope Smoltz finds his way?

The answer for the time being is yes.

I know that fans are clammoring to see more of Clay Buchholz after his "strong" start against the Blue Jays. But the fact of the matter is this: Buchholz did not seem to be any better at commanding the strike zone than he was in 2008 when he imploded. That's the difference between AAA and the Majors. Sure, he was ok. But he threw over 100 pitches and still didn't get through the sixth inning.

There are two things that have to make you think that Smoltz will come around. First, he is making hitters miss. In 25.2 innings, Smoltz has struck out 22 batters, a ratio that is just about on par with his career numbers. And let's not forget those are pretty good. Second, he's not walking anybody. He's around the strike zone. In five starts, he's only issued four free passes and for the first five innings of last night's game, he commanded the strike zone. Then he lost it.

But let's not forget that before June 25, this guy hadn't thrown off a Major League mound since June 2, 2008. Were you expecting miracles right off the bat? Why not give him a chance to get his legs back?

It's hard to remain patient when the Yankees have closed the gap, but it is still July. There's still 2 1/2 months of baseball left to be played and the Red Sox are still in a pretty good position.

Beckett: Don't worry, bullpen. I got this one

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It was all too fitting.

A day after the Boston bullpen blew up once again, Josh Beckett did what you'd expect an ace to do. He picked up the Red Sox on his back and int he process, picked up his 100th career win.

The Red Sox bullpen has been one of the best for most of the first half, but they've also been one of the most overworked. Justin Masterson is on pace to throw over 120 innings after throwing just 153.1 over his first two seasons (that included 15 starts). Hideiki Okajima is on pace to excede his career high in innings, as is Ramon Ramirez. Jonathan Papelbon is on pace to surpass them both.

It's not because the Red Sox have decided to add more innings to their games. Daisuke Matsuzaka averaged just 4.1 innings per start before going on the DL with "shoulder weakness," otherwise known as leaving batting practice fastballs over the plate. Brad Penny, as good as he's been lately (3.44 ERA since the beginning of June), has averaged just about 5.2 innings per start. John Smoltz hasn't gone more than five innings since coming off the DL. Jon Lester has come around, but going seven innings was a struggle for him over the first two months of the season.

The All-Star break seems to be coming at just the right time for the Sox' pen, which is showing signed of weakeness over the past month or so. They still have the best ERA among American League bullpens, but over the last month, they have been strictly mediocre.

After watching them give up a combined six runs over the final three innings of last night's game, Beckett decided to give the pen a night off.

Beckett dominated over nine shutout innings, allowing just three hits. He struck out seven, including four of the first five batters he faced and threw 66 of his 94 pitches for strikes. That's right, folks. He needed just 94 pitches to go nine innings.

The shutout was the second of the season and his second in his last five games. Over that span, he's gone nine innings twice and seven innings twice and 6.2 innings once. He's not only eating innings, but he's being the guy he needs to be - a sure-fire winner. The righty is 4-0 and Red Sox are 5-0 over those five starts.

What's more, Beckett has a with a 1.63 ERA in those games. It's just scary.

When this guy's on, he's untouchable. The Red Sox need to hope he can keep being that guy.