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The Red Sox [team stats] seem to be having paralysis from analysis, so let’s make it easier for them: Name Daniel Bard and Felix Doubront your fourth and fifth starters.
Then, every other pitcher on the staff and fans back home can start to focus on the 2012 season with a great deal more clarity, and we can all get on with our lives.
After Bard’s mixed but mostly positive start yesterday against the Twins — three runs, four hits, seven strikeouts, three walks on 95 pitches in six innings — the Sox curiously refrained from settling the matter.
“(I) haven’t gotten a real clear answer, but, at the same time, up until (Thursday) we had a conversation and they’re still real positive, saying, ‘Hey, we want you to do this,’ ” said Bard. “They didn’t fully commit to it, but I feel like I have their support.”
Herald - Name Bard a starter
I'm in total agreement with Silverman. This has gone on long enough. It's time to name the starters.
The season hinges on this decision, so I have no problem with Valentine and the Sox doing their due diligence and making sure they've seen enough outings from all the candidates. Everyone that has been vying for the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation have gigantic question marks hanging above their heads. You need to give them time to showcase their stuff.
And, unfortunately, Spring Training isn't really the best stage for starting pitchers. Guys don't get legitimate starts in Spring. They get to throw for two or three innings for a few games, then, if they're lucky, they get one or two legitimate outings. But that's not new this year. That's how Spring Training works. The Sox have to have seen enough from their pitchers to know who is getting slotted in the rotation.
We're at a point where people need to know what role they're going to play for the Sox in the 2012 season. As we've stated several times this Spring, the decision isn't set in stone, either. We'll have 2 to 4 guys in the pen with starting experience that we could shift to the rotation if needed. Dice-K is coming back at some point early this summer. Let's choose our starters for April and see how it plays out.
Rest of the links:
Herald - Calm before storm | Lucchino: Sox, Cubs have talked | Globe - Bard starts to put it together | CSNNE - Countdown to Opening Day | Bard makes his final pitch to join the rotation | WEEI - Schilling: Valentine not 'right fit' for Red Sox | Ellsbury 'fine' after leaving with knee bruise |
