Optimism is the key, or maybe humor is?

It’s a big hit – it’s going back, way back and it’s gone, Red Sox pitching is gone! Some Red Sox fans wish this were true right now. Others are choosing to take a more optimistic approach. I gotta say, no matter which approach you choose to take, you are really sick of hearing the announcers scream “it’s gone” when the bat was swung by the opposing team. I, however, don’t think we are hopeless! Isn’t that nice to hear? Red Sox starting pitching is not hopeless.

Sure, Jon Lester was not exactly the ace pitcher we were hoping to see, John Lackey did not seem to have learned anything from last year, and Clay Buchholz did give up 4 home runs. These are all great things to have to hear over and over again, but wouldn’t it be nice to hear something like; Jon Lester took accountability for his slow start, John Lackey thought he was still warming up in the bullpen and Clay Buchholz found himself pitching more than he ever did in Spring Training. With the exception of my clear optimism towards Lackey those are all true things. We should take a closer look at these starters, and possibly find some other comforting facts about them.

Jon Lester –  You gotta say, he was pretty good last year and that reputation is hard to live up to, he did take full accountability for his dreadful start. He didn’t strike anyone out, just think of how easy it will be to break the season record. Some good news for all these starters is for their second time on the mound they wont be facing Texas, something to smile about. Lester did have to learn where the players comfortable hitting zone was the hard way, the thing is, the whole zone was comfortable for Texas.

John Lackey – I’m pretty positive he can pitch better than he did on Saturday night. When I read his lips after giving up the Grand Slam to Adrian Beltre, he thought so too. Every sports writer and announcer has made a point to say Lackey’s 2010 wasn’t great. To be honest it wasn’t great but on the bright side, 2010 is better than what we saw on Saturday, so things are already looking up. Not to mention the obvious when it comes to John Lackey, the facial expressions are hard to beat and come across as a little humorous at times! I think one of the best things about his outing is the room for growth he has….which there is quite a bit of.

Clay Buchholz – On this list and many other Red Sox lists he is the best starter we’ve seen so far (In the Red Sox rotation) and might be the only starter to stay on the roster. There is not much to say about Buchholz, I wasn’t impressed with his outing but then again I wasn’t appalled either. He did go the longest for Red Sox pitching, it was more successful than Spring Training and he kept the score at a reasonable number. Four solo shots could happen to any pitcher on a bad day (a really bad day).

Red Sox pitching wasn’t the best, we’ve seen 3 out of the 5 starters and we’ve been disappointed each of the times. Texas isn’t a fun team to face and not an easy one either. I will safely make the prediction that Josh Becket will have the best outing we’ve seen from him in a while and Dice-K will follow with a reasonably good one. More importantly, I think Jon Lester will look even stronger on the mound facing Cleveland. With the right amount of optimism and a fair amount of humor, we will start looking like the team we’re suppose to.

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