How Much is Too Much Pitching?

Word broke around midday Tuesday that John Smoltz would be in a Red Sox uniform sometime next week against the Washington Nationals. Clay Buchholz made it known that he was "wasting his bullets" down in Triple-A. Michael Bowden expressed his love for the Red Sox organization and said he would "wait until called upon" to pitch in Boston. Tim Wakefield looks poised to get his first All-Star game under his belt. Brad "Sasquatch" Penny has been initiated into the Boston scene when he drilled A-Rod (an yes it was intentional) and then essentially told Joe Girardi to shut his whorish mouth, not to mention he's been pitching like a house on fire. Daisuke Walk-suzaka is pitching like he should be a mop up guy for the Pittsburgh Pirates. We won't even mention the Double headed no-hit tandem that is Jon Lester and Josh Beckett.

What does that all mean? It means we have a logjam at the Big League Level for pitching and there are a ton of speculative solutions that could potentially happen.

First we'll deal with my least favorite Red Sox just because I want to stop saying his name today because it's almost as long as every first inning that he throws. Daisuke has one more start before Smoltzy comes back and what will effectively be known as D-day for the Boston Staff. Let's say he doesn't pitch well this Friday against the Braves here is the scenarios concerning the "National Treasure." First off you could see a 15-Day DL Stint with some ailment close to a broken ego or Strained Chin. Second, A demotion to Pawtucket but with this would have to come Dice-K's OK on that decision being that in his contract he has the go ahead to veto any demotion. Lastly you could put him in the bullpen however you could completely break his psyche and therefore could lose for the rest of the year if not longer.

Brad Penny about 3 weeks ago was considered the expendable one but after the display of grit, toughness and arrogance against our arch rivals I'm not so sure. Out of 12 starts 10 have been quality starts and given his team a chance to win. He has CERTAINLY out pitched The man who shall remain nameless from one paragraph above and deserves to stay in this rotation. But here's what will probably happen. If Penny continues to get W's his price will only go up and we will probably get a B to B- Prospect for him and although that's not a bad trade I don't want to see the man that looks like Paul Bunyan on the hill leave town.

Smoltz is the easiest decision. When he's ready, he starts, BOTTOM LINE. Look for him to have the following stats: ( 8-3WL 3.5ERA, lights out in October).

I have mixed emotions about Buchholz and his comments. While I like the fire in his belly about wanting to be in the Big Leagues I've gotta think he's being an impatient little Brat. Most players that are destined for the big leagues spend atleast 3 seasons down in the Minors so for him to call out the Sox Brass about wanting to be up there speaks volumes of the Scott Boras like player that he could be. Look for him to either be traded in a BLOCKBUSTER or kept in the minors until September or if a starter gets injured.

Everyone wants Wakefield to move to the bullpen and to either deal Manny DelCarmen or Takashi Saito but why would a 42 year old potential all star this year who hasn't been healthy for a whole year in the last 3 season make the move to pen to just increase the likelihood of an injury. Although that is a very improbable option look for him to remain in the rotation.

There is now talk of a semi-6 man rotation which the only way this could be effective is to keep Beckett AND Lester on their normal 5 day rest and platoon the others to make sure they are used in a cycle around the aces of the staff. Ultimately someone is going to need a big league arm and we may need to fill some sort of hole in our team so one of these pitchers may not even be on our squad.

Lastly I'm starting to really warm up to the idea of Michael Bowden as a 5th starter NEXT year on the Boston Red Sox. He has the right menality, the PERFECT make up and great stuff. I'm not sure if I'd put him in a deal either unless it brings us an A List Bat or Arm. But this is the kind of player like Dustin and the Youkka that Boston is becoming famous for and I can't wait to see him in a Sox Uni full time!

It's not every day that you have quarrels with a future Hall of Famer joining your staff but hopefully you can see my dismay.

Stay Tuned

Ryan