Though Jake Peavy is here, the Sox pitching problems are far from over. The team cannot reasonably expect Peavy to come in and be their ace. He is definitely not was he once was in San Diego. The best situation would be for him to be a number 3 man behind Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester.
Unfortunately, that is not possible right now. It's beginning to look like a September return for Buchholz, if that. And that brings us to, once again, Lester. Jon seems to have replaced John Lackey as the team's "whipping boy." The man who started 6-0 has faded to a 10-7 mark and unsatisfactory 4.37 ERA. He has had a few good efforts during that time, but they are just that-few. Lester and the team offer little explanation, such as injury or overwork. In Thursday's loss to the vastly-improved Royals, he immediately put his team in a 3-0 hole. Jonny Gomes' muff of a fly ball did not help, but Lester's two-out issues remain. With two on and a run in, he proceeded to give up his second walk of the inning followed by a two-run single. A 1-0 game became a 3-0 one, and the Sox never recovered.
It was discouraging to see Peavy get hit hard by the Royals the next night. But, as stated earlier, it is unfair to Jake to be the savior of the staff. Felix Doubront continues to pitch well, but Lackey and Ryan Dempster seem to be wearing down. The Bosox cannot expect their bats to constantly bail them out, as they did twice against the woeful Astros.
The time has come for a Sox starter to go out there with a Curt Scilling "look", throw a three-hit complete-game shutout, and give the bullpen a night off. Everyone knows the hurler of whom I am speaking.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
