On this one, fair ball is not the call
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Great idea for a billboard: a photo of Bronson Arroyo with the caption, "Life isn't fair." Here's a guy who could be another team's No. 3 or 4 starter, and after pitching six innings of three-hit ball in a 4-3 Red Sox loss to the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of yesterday's twinight doubleheader, Arroyo is looking at a demotion to the bullpen. Now, that's unfair. It's also a sign; a good sign for the Sox that they have tremendous pitching depth.
Great for the Sox, but for Arroyo, who is 27 and who toiled eight years in the Pittsburgh Pirates' system before being claimed off waivers by Boston last year, the demotion must be a killer. This is a guy who pitched a perfect game for Triple A Pawtucket last season. He made his 33d career start yesterday and it was as solid a performance as you're going to get out of a "sixth" starter. He has pitched six or more innings in each of his four starts this season.
Is it frustrating going back to the bullpen?
"Yeah, a little bit," Arroyo said between games. "In the last two outings we've been pitching more out of four days' rest, five days' rest. I've been kind of getting into the groove. You never want to come out of the rotation when you're feeling like that. We've got six guys here, we can only go with five." Yesterday, Arroyo allowed a pair of runs, two walks, and two hit batsmen. When he grazed Eric Young to lead off the seventh (the second time he had hit him), with his 85th pitch, manager Terry Francona quickly went for the hook.
"That's just the way we had the inning set up," said Francona. "We had a tough lefthanded hitter there and then we had [Scott Williamson] ready to go."
Life isn't fair. "I thought after what happened in New York" -- when Gary Sheffield drove in the tying run with a single off Arroyo in a 3-2 Sox win in 12 innings April 24 -- "when I went into the seventh, I thought we'd go lefty-lefty matchup," said Arroyo. "I felt fine at that point. I hadn't thrown that many pitches. My pitch count was up around 90."Lefthander Mark Malaska relieved Arroyo and allowed a single to lefthanded-hitting David Dellucci, sending Young to third. Francona stuck to the game plan, bringing in Williamson, who allowed a bloop single to center to No. 9 hitter Gerald Laird, scoring Young and leaving Arroyo without a decision. The Sox' bullpen picked a fine time to end its scoreless streak at 32 1/3 innings. Manny Ramirez picked a poor time to go 0 for 4 with four strikeouts. If Kevin Millar had started running sooner out of the box on his drive to right field in the fourth and not been thrown out by inches at second base, Arroyo might have earned a win.
"[Arroyo] was really good," Francona said. "If we put some runs on the board, we're talking about what an outstanding job he did instead of it just wasn't enough."
Life isn't fair.
"I've seen this kid for a long time and it's taken awhile, but this kid knows how to pitch," said one National League scout who watched Arroyo yesterday. "It's amazing he's going to the bullpen. I know a lot of teams who would have him prominently in their rotation right now."
Maybe Arroyo is trade bait down the road. Maybe he's protection in case of an injury to a starter. He'll likely be the long reliever. But how many times will the Sox need a long man? Basically, a very good start to a season by a guy who may have found himself as a major league pitcher will be going to waste. And we're not blaming Francona or the Sox. They decided long ago that Byung Hyun Kim was going to be a starter. The plan was derailed when Kim started the season on the disabled list, but now he's back. Last Thursday, Kim pitched five strong innings in his 2004 debut, against Tampa Bay, further solidifying his spot. And there's the $5 million per year Kim earns, which would not be cost-effective for a reliever who is not the closer.
"Every time you go out, I want to have a good start," Arroyo said. "It's not about me or him, it's about going out and trying to win a ballgame. I don't know how they're going to use me out of the pen. Maybe if something happens during the year to a starter I'll be the one out of the bullpen."
His first four starts have shown the Sox, the American League, and most importantly Arroyo, that he can be a good starting pitcher.
"In my mind, I feel I can pitch in a rotation with anybody," said Arroyo. "I can throw 180-200 innings a year and be a quality starter, but right now they're going in a different direction."
Living proof that life isn't fair.
