Terry Cashman, the baseball-themed folk singer much-maligned by Red Sox Nation for some weird reason due to an unpopular reception to a tune he penned for the team, is best known for his song Willie Micky and the Duke, but I always remember another song he had from that same time period that went: Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you're rained out.
Well, the Sox learned that last night. But, all-in-all, I doubt there are too many complaints. This is an extra day for J.D. Drew to rest his back he smacked against the right field wall on Tuesday night. With the double-header, it ensures Wily Mo Pena, Alex Cora, and Eric Hinske a chance to play in a game they may have been relegated to the bench.
Of course, the talk of the town is about how the Red Sox will overcome their first taste of adversity, namely the skin aversion on the middle finger of Josh Beckett. Really, one starter missing one or two starts is not too big a deal. In the short term, the team has to be over-cautious because running him out before he is ready can lead to alterations of his delivery, arm-angle, etc and that leads to extended disabled list trips. The Sox can afford to think long-term right now with an eight game lead in the A.L. East.
What I am most encouraged about is the pending return of Jon Lester. To tell the truth, not many teams can look at their starting rotation and see a 22 year old lefty who throws 95 ready to jump into the rotation. I expect that Lester is the ace-in-the-hole to counter the move of the Yankees getting Roger Rocket (who I all but guarantee has at least one 15-day DL trip left in his achy legs). With Lester in the rotation, Tavarez can move to the bullpen and give the front of the pen the boost it so desperately needs. Definately, at the worst it is addition by subtraction. Hopefully Kason Gabbard pitches well enough to boot Tavarez back to the pen sooner rather than later.
No team can stay healthy all 160+ games, but taking advantage of it while they are healthy is the sign of a good team. The Sox have done that so far, and, like the White Sox in 05 and the Tigers in 06, need to just continue to ride the starting pitching as far as it takes them.
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Well, the Sox learned that last night. But, all-in-all, I doubt there are too many complaints. This is an extra day for J.D. Drew to rest his back he smacked against the right field wall on Tuesday night. With the double-header, it ensures Wily Mo Pena, Alex Cora, and Eric Hinske a chance to play in a game they may have been relegated to the bench.
Of course, the talk of the town is about how the Red Sox will overcome their first taste of adversity, namely the skin aversion on the middle finger of Josh Beckett. Really, one starter missing one or two starts is not too big a deal. In the short term, the team has to be over-cautious because running him out before he is ready can lead to alterations of his delivery, arm-angle, etc and that leads to extended disabled list trips. The Sox can afford to think long-term right now with an eight game lead in the A.L. East.
What I am most encouraged about is the pending return of Jon Lester. To tell the truth, not many teams can look at their starting rotation and see a 22 year old lefty who throws 95 ready to jump into the rotation. I expect that Lester is the ace-in-the-hole to counter the move of the Yankees getting Roger Rocket (who I all but guarantee has at least one 15-day DL trip left in his achy legs). With Lester in the rotation, Tavarez can move to the bullpen and give the front of the pen the boost it so desperately needs. Definately, at the worst it is addition by subtraction. Hopefully Kason Gabbard pitches well enough to boot Tavarez back to the pen sooner rather than later.
No team can stay healthy all 160+ games, but taking advantage of it while they are healthy is the sign of a good team. The Sox have done that so far, and, like the White Sox in 05 and the Tigers in 06, need to just continue to ride the starting pitching as far as it takes them.
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