Red Sox Need an Inning Eater to Win the World Series

The last free agent pitcher who was labelled as an ‘innings eater’ was signed last week when the Washington Nationals signed Edwin Jackson.  The Red Sox were in the mix and had even gone as far as offering him a one-year deal but eventually fell short in the money department (sounds weird doesn’t it).  Now they have the task of trying to win the World Series without a starting pitcher who threw 200 innings plus last season, something that the last ten champions have boasted.

Including the two Red Sox championship teams, the last ten winners of the World  Series have all had at least one pitcher who hurled 200 innings or more.  What’s most impressive is the 2005 Chicago White Sox had four starters all reach that plateau, Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras and Freddy Garcia.

Last year, the Red Sox didn’t have a starter hit the 200 level.  Josh Beckett came the closest with 193.0 innings while Jon Lester worked in 191.1 innings.  Given Beckett’s freak injury in August, he certainly could have obtained the double century mark.

But looking ahead to a rotation that has more question marks than ever before, it’s difficult to pin point which, if any of the starting five can hit 200 innings.

Clay Buchholz will be on an innings watch and if he can stay healthy will likely top out around 160-170 innings.

Daniel Bard will also be limited to how many innings he endures in his first year as a starter, of course that’s providing he can stick in the rotation.  Like Buchholz, Bard will likely finish the year around 150 innings.

The fifth spot, which so many Red Sox fans were hoping for Edwin Jackson, remains without a permanent name, at least for now. This much we do know.  Neither Carlos Silva, Aaron Cook or Vicente Padilla will work in over 200 innings this season, not when they’re all coming off an injury riddled 2o10 season.

Even Roy Oswalt, should he ever pick a team to play for, isn’t likely to work that much given his track record of back flare ups.

So that leaves the two obvious choices, Lester or Beckett.  Both are prone to minor injuries forcing them to miss a start or two throughout the year.  Given how Beckett can often get into pitch count problems, going the distance in games could limit his potential to rack up the innings.

But maybe this is the year that both hurlers stay healthy and give the club that boost they need.  Both careers are littered with 200 inning seasons, it just didn’t happen last year.

Lester did it three straight seasons prior to last year (2008-2010) and considering that he’s only been a starter for four full seasons, he is likely your best bet. Again, health is the only factor that can slow down Lester.

Beckett has reached the mark three times in his career, 2006, 2007 and 2009.  He is 32, four years older than Lester and lately injury has become an all too common word when discussing Beckett.  Some feel that Beckett is due for a down year based on this trend that he struggles every second year.  Personally, I’m not buying it. He’s got a lot to prove this year and with a new manager on board, it will be a no nonsense clubhouse, focusing on one thing, winning.

While sill stats and trends like this one are for the baseball nerds such as myself who get immersed in stats and odd facts, this year’s edition of the Red Sox will need some pitchers to eat some innings.  If both Beckett and Lester can stay healthy enough to tackle between 200-220 innings each, they’d take some pressure off of the rest of the guys.

Tim Wakefield and John Lackey both chewed up some precious innings last season, despite their performances being less than stellar.  Regardless, someone will need to pick up nearly 300 innings.  Bard could take half of that, give another 130 to the fifth guy, and let Beckett, Lester and a spot starter fill in the difference.

Of course we’ve become accustomed to expect the unexpected, so should no Red Sox pitcher not reach 200 innings and this club still contend for the World Series, I don’t think many Sox fans would be surprised, would they?

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