The new manager is far from perfect, but he doesn't have an ERA of 5.81, either.
Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine took control of a flawed team this season.If Boston Red Sox fans were as smart as they are supposed to be, Bobby Valentine wouldn’t have become their punching bag.
Valentine didn’t sign Carl Crawford, John Lackey or Bobby Jenks. He didn’t make Daniel Bard a starter or trade shortstop Marco Scutaro (and give the position to Mike Aviles by default). He didn’t fall on Jacoby Ellsbury's right shoulder or mangle Andrew Bailey's right thumb. He didn’t give the Red Sox a brutal opening schedule.
Valentine hasn’t been perfect, as he is the first to admit. Calling out Kevin Youkilis was more misunderstanding than mistake, but, either way, Valentine didn’t need to back down. Dustin Pedroia should have been the one apologizing. Valentine wasn't around last September when Pedroia and Co. wilted, but if he had been he'd act grown up enough to be criticized without getting snotty.
Valentine also was slow to make a couple of pitching changes that cost the Red Sox, but those decisions don't look as bad now that we've learned what Valentine already suspected: His bullpen stinks.
Despite the objections coming out of Fenway Park over the weekend, I still think that hiring Valentine was the Red Sox's best move of the off-season. They needed a forceful, experienced voice to regain control of the clubhouse. Valentine has provided that much.
Of course, the Red Sox didn't do much in the off-season other than find the right manager. With their personnel decisions, it was like they started copying the thrifty Tampa Bay Rays after years of imitating the mega-spending New York Yankees. The Red Sox couldn't be expected to be as efficient as the Rays when shopping for bargains, either. The Rays have had far more practice.
But enough about how the Red Sox have put themselves in this mess. What matters now is fixing it. With 146 games left, time is on their side. So is the experience at digging out of holes. Remember the 2011 season when the Red Sox started 5-10 but posted the game's the best record over the next four months? Well, they entered Tuesday night's game at Minnesota with the same record they had after 15 games last season.
Also like last year, their schedule is turning in their favor after another brutal opening. The Red Sox just started a 22-game stretch during which they will not face a team that finished with a winning record in 2011.
A softer schedule will help, but righting the Red Sox's season rests where it always does - with the players. Unlike last season, Boston might not possess enough talent for a turnaround.
The lineup isn't a problem. Wait, let's revise that. The lineup shouldn't be a problem when Ellsbury and Crawford are back in it. But a starting outfield of Darnell McDonald, Cody Ross and Ryan Sweeney - against the Yankees, no less - isn’t what the Fenway faithful are paying to see. Don't expect newly acquired Marlon Byrd to help much, either.
The rotation shouldn't be a problem, even though its 5.81 ERA (before Tuesday's game) ranks 29th in the majors. At the top, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester haven't pitched great, but four of their first seven combined starts qualify as quality. Clay Buchholz was too good in 2010 to believe he won't at least halve his 9.00 ERA - that is, as long as his back holds up. Lefthander Felix Doubront has been the rare Red Sox starter to exceed expectations, though they can rely on him only so much. He is a 24-year-old with six career starts.
Help for the rotation is on the way, too. Daisuke Matsuzaka's first rehab start went poorly Monday night but based on spring-training reports, I expect him to pitch much more like he did in his first two years in Boston than in the past three. In addition, veteran righthander Aaron Cook continues to progress in his comeback, posting a 1.33 ERA in four Class AAA starts.
That brings us to the bullpen. You don't need a director of decision sciences to figure out that this is the team’s biggest weakness. A major league-worst 8.06 ERA is one giveaway. A look at the disabled list is another. The Red Sox expected their bullpen to feature Bailey, Alfredo Aceves, Mark Melancon and Bobby Jenks. Only Aceves is in uniform and he is in a role (closer) that no one expected a month ago.
With the season too young for teams to start shopping top arms, Boston will have to fix its bullpen from within. Bailey, who was lousy last season but whose control was greatly improved during spring training, has begun a rehab assignment. But the surest solution is obvious: Plant Bard back in the eighth-inning role.
Unfortunately, this would involve jerking him around more than he already has been. A starter is more valuable than a setup specialist, but I'm not sure that holds when you lack better options. The Red Sox lack better options. The bullpen - and the entire team - needs a boost that only Bard's return to a relief role can provide at this time.
Valentine had this figured out in spring training, as there were numerous reports that he preferred to keep Bard in the bullpen. Turns out, the manager knew what he was talking about even though all he has gotten so far are a few days of booing that he didn't deserve.