Lester vs. Gabbard

by Dean Geddes

There doesn't seem to be much talk about a position battle brewing in the Red Sox organization. We all know Curt Schilling is coming back to the rotation, and somebody is going to the bullpen. The Red Sox have two great young lefties, Kason Gabbard and Jon Lester pitching for the right to claim the fifth spot in the rotation.

At the start of the season, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Jon Lester would take Julian Taverez's spot in the rotation once he fully recovered from his battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But in one of those problems every team loves to have, a young lefty by the name of Kason Gabbard has stepped in and been pitching lights out.

Honestly, before last night, I would have said the spot belongs to Gabbard, no question. But Gabbard's meltdown in the fifth inning after being staked to a 9-1 lead on Thursday, it's become a race again. I still think Gabbard should get the spot, you can't judge a pitcher on one outing, heck, one inning. But with these two young guns, you don't have much else to go on.

Lester pitched a gem in his first return to the Major Leagues since being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It was a feel-good story not just for Red Sox fans, but for baseball fans. He held a great Indians offense to two runs, pitched deep into the game, and got the win. That's all you can ask for from your starter. And quite frankly, Lester is a major league caliber pitcher. There is no reason he should not be pitching every fifth day in the bigs. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for the Red Sox, he is on a team with a lot of quality starters.

It will be interesting to see how each fares in their next start. But in all honestly, unless Gabbard has a horrible outing, I don't see how the Red Sox front office could put him in the bullpen, he has been too good. Even courting his poor outing in Cleveland, he is 4-0 with a 3.73 ERA this year in seven starts.. He seems to thrive at Fenway too, posting a 4-0 record with a 2.03 ERA in four starts.

If Lester is lights out tomorrow against Tampa Bay, then perhaps the Red Sox can get him another start before Schilling comes back. Maybe slowdown Schilling's rehab or give Wakefield a breather. It will be a shame to see either of these guys in the pen, but this rotation ain't big enough for the both of them. Not yet.

One of a dying breed

By Austin Amoroso

On Wednesday night, a pitcher took one step closer to baseball immortality, to joining the most elite of pitching clubs and all but cementing himself in baseball lore.

Tom Glavine won the 299th game of his career that night, beating the Pirates with six innings of three-run ball. On the very same night, Alex Rodriguez also took one step closer to an exclusive and quite impressive club, slugging the 499th homerun of his career. But in media outlets everywhere, A-Rod is receiving a lot more pub than Glavine. I just can’t figure out why.

Maybe it’s because Rodriguez is the face of baseball. Or because Glavine is almost 42 and well past his prime. Or just because America (and chicks) digs the long ball. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t make much sense because what Glavine is about to do is much more special.

While the two clubs have roughly the same amount of members, eight have hit homerun number 500 in the past 20 years while only three have won their 300th game over the same span. Bottom line, the 500-homerun club is losing its distinction while the 300-win club is gaining it.

And while there are 22 300-game winners in baseball history, half of them played before 1930 when pitchers were making 45 starts, throwing 400 innings and winning 35 games a year.

So the modern 300-win club really only has 11 members, making what Glavine is about to do all that much more impressive. Two of those 11 are active right now (Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux), but Glavine might be the last one to ever accomplish the feat.

Yes there are two other pitchers, active ones at that, that joined the club just four years ago, but Glavine is one of a dying breed. In fact, after Glavine, the club might just shut and lock its doors and throw away the key forever.

In this day and age of pitch counts, lefty specialists and seven-man bullpens, it’s becoming increasingly less likely that anyone can pitch deep enough into games to get enough decisions to make it to 300. 250 is going to become the new 300.

Once Glavine does the deed, the next in line are 43-year-old Randy Johnson with 284, 38-year-old Mike Mussina with 244 and the 44-year-old David Wells with 235. Randy has a shot, but it’s looking more and more like his career is over. And Mussina, well, to be honest, I’m pretty surprised every time he pitches well enough to earn a W.

You have to go a lot further down the line to find a pitcher that has a legitimate chance to do it. All the way down to a guy with 129 wins, a guy in 332nd place on the all-time list. He just has to pass 309 more guys to join the elusive club.

That pitcher is Tim Hudson. He is 31 and has 129 wins. All he needs to do is win an average of 14 games over the next 12 or 13 years and he’ll do it. Unlikely. The only other players with even an outside shot at it right now are 29-year-old Roy Oswalt with 107 wins and 28-year-old Mark Buehrle with 104. But they’d both have to sustain an average of about 13 wins over the next 15 years. Even more unlikely.

Glavine’s first shot at 300 will come this weekend in Milwaukee. And the next time through the rotation, he’ll take the mound against the Cubs in Wrigley. Finally, after two starts, if all goes accordingly, he’ll face the Marlins at Shea. Mets disdain aside, I just hope he gets bombed against the Brewers and Cubs because I want a chance to be at Shea when history is made, to see one of the greatest feats in baseball. And to see something that may never happen again.

Sox Finally Have a Made Hand

By Dean Geddes

Let's hope the rumors are just that. With the trade deadline less than five days away, there is a whirlwind of speculation surrounding the Red Sox. But for god's sake, the front office had better not sacrifice any future prospect for somebody they don't even need.

Rumors seem to include three groups of players: relief pitchers, first basemen and outfielders. I know its great to have a lot of options in the bullpen, but the Sox already have plenty, not to mention, you can expect either Jon Lester or Kason Gabbard to join the bullpen once Curt Schilling returns to the rotation.

As for the offense, I cannot for the life of me understand why the Red Sox would be interested in starting first basemen like Mark Teixeira or Todd Helton. Those are big names, and don't get me wrong I would love to see either one in a Red Sox uniform. But not through a trade. In order to get those guys teams will demand top tier prospects like Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Kevin Youkilis has proven to be an above average first baseman. An offensive upgrade at first base is not going to push this team over the hump because, honestly, this team is already over the hump. I don't want to sound like a homer, but I really don't see any holes in the Red Sox as a team. They have the best pitching, from starters to the pen, in all of baseball.

And I really like the bench, Eric Hinske is a good left-handed batter who can play the outfield and first base. Alex Cora is like a Swiss army knife in the infield, and although he's not a great hitter, he is great at having productive at-bats and moving runners over.

The only problem is Wily Mo Peña. I can understand the Red Sox picking up a right-handed outfielder with a strong glove. Wily Mo is a project. And the Red Sox are doing the worst possible thing with a player like this. Letting him rot on the bench. David Ortiz had a bittersweet quote about Wily Mo yesterday:

"He can be even better than me. He is one of the strongest people I've ever been around. With Wily Mo it's just playing time. With his hitting it's just timing. That's all it is. People say he can't hit the breaking ball. Well, I couldn't hit the breaking ball either. I learned to hit it. But I learned to hit it because I got the opportunity. Wily Mo hasn't had the opportunity."

I think it makes more sense to let him play in AAA if you can't get him an everyday spot in Boston. Maybe if one of the the starting outfielders goes down (and they are a fragile bunch), Wily Mo can step in and play everyday.

I hope the Red Sox don't trade him though. Not only because they will be trading him for pennies on the dollar, but also because I think he will turn out to be a great hitter.

So, Theo, for the sake of the future, turn your phone off. You can turn it back on in four days.