Deep Sixing the Six Man
by Texy
2008 January 28 at 1:41 am
Though there was discussion earlier in the offseason the the Red Sox might seize the chance to utilize a six-man rotation, it appears that is not going to happen.
Boston pitching coach John Farrell said he didn’t feel it was practical, given the number of off days in the early part of the schedule and the desire to have Josh Beckett pitch on his normal days of rest, which worked so well last season.
That decision will probably impact whether Clay Buchholz will be a member of the Red Sox or the Paw Sox to begin the ‘08 season.
That might not bode well for Clay Buchholz breaking camp with the team, unless there’s an injury to a starter or the Sox use him out of the bullpen, which appears unlikely.
Aw. Well, it’s good to let Beckett keep his routine, and one of our old farts is inevitably going to get hurt at some point (No offense, Curt and Tim…), so Lester and Clay will probably get lots of starts, even if they aren’t regular starters.
It’s probably for the best that Stickbug starts the season in AAA anyway – all the talk is that he’s had a fabulous offseason, with great workouts. Some seasoning in AAA will be excellent… and like you said, chances are one of the five starters will go on the DL anyway.