Red Sox forced into playing waiting game
It would be easy now to be the voice of doom. We choose instead to be the voice of reason.
It was bad enough for the Red Sox when they lost David Wells for an indefinite period earlier this week, but that was compounded yesterday with the news that Curt Schilling will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a bone bruise on his right ankle.
Schilling believes he'll be throwing again in a couple of weeks, though the Sox would certainly be wise to proceed with caution with the Nos. 1 and 2 starters in their rotation, especially when they're 38 (Schilling) and 41 (Wells) years old.
And now we're starting to hear comments such as, "That's what you get when you've got so many old guys in the rotation." It's a valid criticism because, as Sox manager Terry Francona pointed out yesterday, "I think it's a fact that guys 38 don't recover like guys 28."
Also true was that Francona saw Schilling do things with an injured ankle last season that he had never seen before, and that perhaps a younger pitcher with less desire wouldn't have been able to do while in that much pain.
The medical information Francona has received seems to indicate that neither Schilling's nor Wells's absence will be long term. Francona admits there will be trying times ahead, but neither pitcher will be rushed back before he is ready.
Francona also made it clear that Wade Miller, who is scheduled to make another rehab start today in Pawtucket, R.I., won't be hurried into his Red Sox debut. Sound thinking. It's April 28, not Aug. 28.
Benefiting the Sox is the likelihood that the Yankees aren't going to catch fire and run away with the division. They, too, have pitching injuries, to Jared Wright and Tanyon Sturtze. In addition, Kevin Brown is pitching terribly, and Randy Johnson hasn't cranked it up.
Meanwhile, Baltimore can hit, and has pitched better than expected, but do we really believe the Orioles have the horses to be there in September? What happens if they are hit by injuries? They don't quite have the depth that the Sox do.
"I don't like [the Red Sox] right now," said a scout yesterday. "It's an old group and old guys break down. But you see what you have for depth in these situations. The good teams have depth. This team should survive if they're still hungry after winning the World Series."
The key will be whether the Sox can hold their ground until they get Schilling and Wells back. It's similar to losing Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon at the beginning of last season. Of course, it's more difficult to lose two pitchers in your rotation than two hitters in your lineup. Last year, the Sox didn't have a starting pitcher miss time with an injury. This season, they've already had three starters (Schilling, Wells, and Miller) land on the disabled list a total of four times.
"I'm not Schilling or Wells," Nixon said. "You don't want those guys to go down. But the guys who step in for them have to do the job. It's their chance to show what they can do. It's an opportunity for them. Just because we've lost two important guys doesn't mean the rest of us just throw up our hands. We have to score runs, take the pressure off of our pitching staff and our bullpen."
Nixon mentioned the magic word -- bullpen.
Alan Embree, who has been shaky at times, leads the American League with 12 appearances, and Keith Foulke has allowed eight earned runs in 10 innings. With Schilling and Wells out, it is imperative that the bullpen shapes up quickly.
"Curt and David are guys who can go deep into games, so it's going to put more emphasis on the bullpen," said Bronson Arroyo. "I think the important thing for all of us is to do the best we can when it's our turn. You can only make one start at a time. It's impossible to think that you have to do more than you can do. That's when you start getting into trouble."
Francona was asked whether there is a silver lining because the injuries have occurred so early in the season. "It's a long season," he said. "We should be able to get through it."
Francona even went so far as to say he hopes there's a time when he has to "ruffle some feathers" and demote a starter who is performing well because there are too many healthy starters for spots in the rotation.
"If we go play well and overcome it, it makes you closer as a ball club," Francona said.
That's what many Sox players feel happened last season during the absences of Garciaparra and Nixon. Let's see if they can do it again in 2005.
