3 Red Sox players the fans have already lost their patience with
Patience isn't something Boston Red Sox fans are known for. Red Sox nation is quick to get on their own players, and let them know when they need to be better.
Some players Red Sox fans have more patience for than others. Chris Sale is healthy for the first time in a long time. Fans are more patient with him, and it's beginning to pay off with how he's pitched lately. Others aren't entitled to that same luxury, like Ryan Brasier who was finally DFA'd.
It's only mid-May, and the Red Sox are actually overperforming most optimistic fans' expectations. Still, fans always expect the most out of their players, and these three in particular need to be better than they have been. Fans are losing patience with them.
1) Red Sox fans have already lost their patience with Nick Pivetta
Alex Cora and Red Sox management have finally agreed, to an extent. Nick Pivetta is no longer in the Red Sox rotation. I would've DFA'd him, but seeing him bumped from the rotation is good enough for now.
After being a decent enough back-end arm for the last couple of seasons, Pivetta has gotten off to a dreadful start in 2023. The right-hander has a 6.30 ERA in eight starts and has allowed nine home runs already in 40 innings of work.
Pivetta allowed three or more runs in seven of his eight starts and only reached the six inning mark once. Virtually the entire Red Sox rotation has underwhelmed all season, but Pivetta is a guy who's had his chances and never really made the most of them.
The Sox score a lot which has helped, but Pivetta has been dreadful particularly in the first inning. He's allowed ten runs in the eight first innings he's completed, which puts Boston in an early hole, and it's always harder to win when your starter does this.
The move to the bullpen was overdue in my opinion. Let's see how he does in low-leverage long-relief work.
2) Red Sox fans have lost their patience with Corey Kluber
This was the big rotation addition? Really? After a decent season with the Rays which saw the two-time Cy Young Award winner post a 4.34 ERA in 31 starts, the Red Sox decided to sign 37-year-old Kluber to a one-year deal worth $10 million. At the time I didn't think the deal was so bad, but that take has not aged well. He has not turned back the clock.
Through his first eight starts, Kluber has an ERA of 6.41. The ERA is worse than Pivetta's, and he hasn't even reached the 40-inning plateau. To make matters worse, Kluber has a 6.63 FIP and a 5.93 xERA. His rough start is not a fluke.
After walking just 21 batters in 164 innings pitched last season, Kluber has handed out 15 free passes in 39.1 innings of work. He led the league with 1.2 BB/9 last season, and is now walking 3.4/9. Kluber is a guy who's been a control artist his entire career, and that's completely betrayed him.
Another way it's betrayed him is with the long ball. Kluber allowed 20 home runs last season and 1.1 HR/9. This season, he's already allowed 11 home runs, or 2.5 HR/9. To put it lightly, he's been dreadful.
Can he turn it around? Maybe. Should the Red Sox give him many more starts if they're actually serious about competing this season? Absolutely not.
3) Red Sox fans have already lost their patience with Tanner Houck as a starter
I'm a Tanner Houck believer, but I'm starting to only be a believer in him as a reliever. I was fully on board with giving him a shot as a full-time starter this season, but it just isn't working out.
His 5.48 ERA is actually among the better ERA's for Red Sox starters which is an issue in itself, but we've seen similar patters with this right-hander.
To start games, Houck has been terrific. He's allowed two first-inning runs in his eight starts, and no runs in the second and third. He has a 0.75 ERA through innings 1-3. When facing a hitter for the first time in a game, those hitters are slashing .111/.197/.127 with one extra-base hit (a double) in 71 plate appearances. Houck's issue is he completely melts down as games progress.
In innings 4-6, he has a 10.70 ERA, allowing 21 runs in 17.2 innings pitched. When facing hitters for a second time, he's allowed them to slash .375/.414/.531 against him.
I personally can't explain this drastic change. What I can say is the Houck experiment as a starter, at least in my eyes, is reaching a breaking point. It's hard when the entire rotation is underwhelming and there aren't many great depth options, but it's just so clear the way Houck should be utilized. From innings 1-3 it's working. When you push him more than that it just isn't.
You can't keep a guy in the rotation who can only be effective for three innings. The only possible way to do that is to use an opener in front of him.
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