Don’t Mess With the Staff

As the World Series glow slowly fades, thoughts about the future are everywhere. Repeating as World Champs isn't as easy as it was when the Yanks took 5 in a row from 1949 through 1953. Of course, free agency is a big part of that.

 

I'm not sure which Sox free agents will stay, though I'm pretty sure Jacoby Ellsbury is a goner. I would hesitate to let both Mike Napoli and Stephen Drew both leave, since that could create a hole in the infield. But I can't agree with those who want to trade an established starter.

 

The Bosox may have the most consistent rotation in the league, if not in all of baseball. They lack a big-stat man like Max Scherzer or Matt Moore, though a healthy Clay Buchholz might have been a Cy Young contender. But the seven hurlers who, at different times, were regular starters made up an extremely reliable staff. Though Jon Lester was the top winner at 15-8, Buchholz, John Lackey, Felix Doubront, Jake Peavy, Brandon Workman and Ryan 
Dempster combined for a 66-41 record and 3.88 ERA.  All except Buchholz proved to be durable and relatively injury-free. Every one of those hurlers had slumps, but all recovered and came up big in the late season/playoff period.

 

Unlike the Ellsbury group, none of these pitchers is a free agent, though Lackey and Lester will be there in a year. So, for that matter, will Peavy and Dempster, though both are on the downside of their careers and should not attract much interest.

 

The old adage about never having too much pitching applies here. Next year's rotation should have seven hurlers competing for five spots, not including youngsters like Allen Webster and Steven Wright. This is a huge advantage, especially if age or injuries eliminate one or more of these men.

 

When callers or hosts bring up trading Lackey, it angers me a bit. The pitcher's transformation from pariah to hero is one of the feel-good stories of the year in any sport. In addition, the Lack-man's postseason experience  was one of the big factors in the World Series run. A year from now, the team will face a decision about re-signing the righthander, but dealing him now will take some of the luster off the Sox achievement. It might also hurt the momentum going into 2014.

 

Leave the starting staff alone, at least for now. Sometimes another saying should be heeded- some of the best trades are the ones not made.