Red Sox need to give the disappointing Drew Pomeranz a chance

The Red Sox rotation is a bit thin and a disappointing start by Drew Pomeranz offered little encouragement. Pomeranz will get another start this Tuesday.

John Lennon was willing to “Give Peace a Chance,” but Boston Red Sox fans fall well short of giving Drew Pomeranz a chance. Looking at Twitter and Facebook feeds during Pomeranz’s less than spectacular return to the rotation, I fully expected a baseball version of Visigoths to descend on Pomeranz in a display of baseball brutality.

The litany of sins attached to Pomeranz is noteworthy from a lack of speed, a lack of control, and the propensity to give up home runs.  Pomeranz’s generosity on the allowance of the longball was on display in Baltimore with two leaving the yard. And speed? Pomeranz barely touched 90 MPH. And control? A pair of walks – a career weakness via a 3.8 BB/9.

So just what do you do?

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The Red Sox needed a rotation boost and brought in another pending free agent in Nathan Eovaldi. My first choice for starting would have been Hector Velazquez, who eventually finished off Pomeranz’ latest début with a solid 2.1 innings. Red Sox management thinks different and Velazquez appears to be tethered to his role of long relief.

The Red Sox have a comfortable lead for the division title, but having a comfort zone with the Yankees is like tap dancing through a minefield. They are good, they are loading up, they have talent, and they have a bundle of games against Boston. That, however, does not prevent Pomeranz from taking that little bump on this Tuesday followed by another.

Pomeranz will be on display at home to face the Philadelphia Phillies and maybe his future for the next two months will be settled in that start.  The Phillies are a first-place team, but also have a losing record on the road hitting just .238. And Pomeranz? If this was 2017 and not 2018, Pomeranz’s chances of a win would be excellent going 10-3 (3.44 ERA) at home, but, alas, it is not.

Lines in the sand are a nice political term the last few years and Boston should have one with Pomeranz. That line is the number of starts before management realizes the well has dried up and it is an excellent idea to put Pomeranz into the bullpen – a place Pomeranz knows well. And for Pomeranz success or lack of is directly linked to future riches.

Pomeranz is a free agent when the season ends and at this point, my offer would be the remains of a bag of stale popcorn. Pomeranz is on the books for $8.5 million and a season comparable to 2017 (17-6, 3.32 ERA) would secure a contract that would make he and future generations of Pomeranz’s rather secure.

As  coach Lennon said, “Give Pomeranz a chance” as painful as it may be, but the potential reward for the rotation or bullpen makes the effort worth it.