There will tons of pressure on David Price to lead the Red Sox rotation this season.
After getting postponed yesterday, the Red Sox open the 2016 season this afternoon in Cleveland. It’ll be a 1:10 start. The Red Sox appear to be better on paper but when you compare them to the rest of the American League, they don’t exactly have the look of a contender. Here is my six thoughts on the upcoming season.
1. It’s Price and Everyone Else: Let’s be honest here folks, the rotation is not very good outside of David Price. Clay Buchholz is injury prone and inconsistent. Joe Kelly throws gas but isn’t a starter. Rick Porcello is a train wreck mentally. E Rod is hurt and is going to start the season on the D.L. Henry Owens can’t consistently throw strikes. You get my drift, its going to be an adventure when Price isn’t on the bump. Dave Dombrowski might have to use some of his young assets to acquire another starter at some point.
2. Papi’s Retirement Tour: The Red Sox need to have a good season and win at least 84-86 games otherwise its going to be painful for a lot of reasons. Namely, the David Ortiz retirement tour. I’ve spoken with Yankees fans in recent days who told me the Derek Jeter retirement tour wore on them as his last season went on. I suspect the same will happen to us here in Boston unless the team is in playoff contention. Look, I like Ortiz but watching him receiver a gift every other series will get annoying fast!
3. Can Travis Shaw Hold Onto the Starting Third Base Job? Shaw is the starter for now but will he be able to hold onto the starting third baseman job for the entire season? He hit the cover off the ball in the spring but it better translate to the regular season other Fatoval will get his job back. Remember, Fatoval is being $19 million year. He can’t ride pine if Shaw hits a rough patch. He has to play.
4. Rusney Castillo Needs to Wake Up! We have a pretty good idea of what Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr and even Travis Shaw can do but the Red Sox need Rusney Castillo to pick it up. He hasn’t done jack shit in two years. He’s being paid $12 million a year to collect ass splinters next to Fatoval. If the Red Sox are going to contend, they need Castillo to play up to his potential. Its either that or Dombrowski needs to ship his ass out of here. The Red Sox can’t afford to waste any more time on Castillo.
5. Hanley At First: Look, lets not kid ourselves! Its going to be an adventure with Ramirez at first. He is a space cadet! Who knows what the hell he’s thinking half the time? All I know is this. The Red Sox need to keep his bat in the line up. They are going to need to be patient with his defense otherwise they’ll have to move Shaw back to first and play Fatoval at third.
6. Farrell’s Leash is Short: The pressure is on Mr. Jessica Moran to get this team off to a good start. If the Red Sox don’t get off to a good start, Farrell will get canned and the “heir apparent” Torey Lovullo will take over. The Red Sox didn’t extend Lovullo’s contract because they think he’s a good shit. They extended his contract because they see him as a future big league manager. Farrell needs to a quick start or else he’ll have plenty of time on his hands to spend with his “Jessica Rabbit”.