The Fox Hole: On Doubront, Darvish, Lester, Lackey, Buchholz, and more
By Sean Sylver
Apr 24, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher F. Doubront (22) talks with catcher
David Ross(3) during the second inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Some Tuesday thoughts following an off-day and a Bruins clunker…
…Felix Doubront starts tonight. BSI’s Patrick Green recently suggested sending Doubront to the bullpen, and I believe that’s where he’s going to end up. The only question is how long of a leash he has from John Farrell. Pundits often reference a 16-game stretch last year where Doubront was “lights-out,” but that’s a mischaracterization of what he actually achieved. It was a 16-game streak of allowing three or fewer earned runs. There’s rarely a mention that five of those starts lasted five innings or less — meaning Farrell pulled him because he was gassed and/or before things got out of hand. There was another time during the “impressive” stretch when Doubront walked six guys. Aside from that, there’s a 50 start sample of a league-average (or below) pitcher. That light better click on pretty soon…
…Our friend Jared Brentz, twin brother of Bryce, won the 2014 ParaLong National Championship in Mesquite, NV with a 409-yard bomb. Jared is an incredible athlete and his story is quite a good one, if I must say…
…Drew Peabody posted on memories of Tom Brunansky’s catch to win the AL East in 1990. What a great moment. Then I think of how Bruno (forever a Minnesota Twin) terrorized my Detroit Tigers in RBI Baseball all those years…
…Looking forward to visiting beautiful Target Field in the future – the Twins will be the last MLB team for whom I’ve yet to see a home game, after this upcoming weekend when I visit Arlington and Houston to see the Rangers and Astros in action…
…Speaking of the Rangers, the Sox bounced back after a Friday night embarrassment at the hands of Yu Darvish and took two of three in Texas. Last week on The Ranger Report podcast with Ben Dieter and David Cash, I pinned the Red Sox hopes for the weekend to Jon Lester and John Lackey. Whether you consider the lefty or the righty to be the ace of the staff, both were more than good enough in their contributions to the series win. Lester struck out eight and yielded three runs over seven innings Saturday night, while Lackey did one better, striking out nine and allowing only two runs on Sunday…
…Clay Buchholz was trampled by the Rangers lineup on Friday. Before the game, Conor Duffy discussed Boston’s options for Buchholz. Would you trade him? It’s a tough situation:
@BoSoxInjection Farrell's a pitching coach by trade, right? straighten him out. or at least trade when his value's a little higher.
— patrick (@gx5) May 10, 2014
He gets another turn against Phil Huges this week…
…Finally, Craig Breslow’s Strike 3 Foundation, which supports pediatric cancer research and treatment, will host the second annual “Sip Happens” food tasting and wine pairing May 19th at the Boston Children’s Museum. It will be attended by a number of Red Sox players and feature exceptional food and drink from top flight vendors. For more information about the foundation and the event, visit http www.strike3foundation.org