Mayday, mayday.... Red Sox ace going down

(AP PHOTO)
Eric D. Schabell
Contributing Writer

It was all based on the 'baseball book' which says in National League games you need to pinch run using starting pitchers, even when the only one available is your ace.

I questioned this move, hinting that you can better run your reliever, such as Clay Buchholz as he is effectively useless as a starting pitcher with demotion to the bullpen.

Instead, we have the worst case scenario.

Steven Wright has been placed on the 15 day disabled list, retroactive to 8 August.



Not only have the Red Sox put Buchholz back into the rotation for the spot start that was Wright's the first time, now he is in there until Wright returns. The first time around on 12 Aug he lasted just 4.1 innings against the Diamondbacks, giving up 3 hits, 3 ER and walking 3 with just one strikeout. His ERA is the worst on the staff at 5.66.

This can only get better, right?

"It's just not progressing the way I thought it was going to. It just hurts," Wright said. "I don't want to go out there and throw with too much pain, because I don't want to start compensating. If it's hurting as much as it has been on flat ground, you start adding the mound and all that, adrenaline, the last thing I want to do is hurt myself even more."

There's still a chance Wright could be activated to start on Aug. 23 at Tropicana Field, when his turn in the rotation would come up again.

"I'm super confident," Wright said when asked if he felt the injury would be short-term. "The stuff that I've been doing with the trainers from the first time when I came in on Tuesday until now, it's been significant gains. It's just not where we need it to be. Now that we can take a couple of extra days to really get after it, I'm sure I'll be fine."

Let's all hope that this is not something that keeps the real Red Sox ace out of the rotation any longer than two starts as the Red Sox need Wright to be himself and put together starts going deep into games. The bullpen has been over used with moves to starters like Buchholz, imploding regularly over the last month to give up games in the late innings.

Hopefully manager John Farrell as learned his lesson and burned his copy of the 'baseball book?'

Cross your fingers Red Sox Nation, it's going to be a bumpy ride until they get Wright back on the hill.

Post a comment or via twitter @erics_redsox with your thoughts.

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