Abraham On Toucher & Rich: What Will Red Sox' Playoff Rotation Look Like?
BOSTON (CBS) - The Boston Red Sox' rotation got a big boost from their deadline acquisition over the weekend, with Jake Peavy tossing seven strong innings Saturday night in a win over the Diamondbacks at Fenway.
"That was exactly what they wanted; a guy to go deep in the game, give you a chance to win, and not walk a lot of guys. It was pretty much a perfect start for him," Peter Abraham said of Peavy's start during his weekly call-in to 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Monday.
Peavy gives Boston's rotation some added depth as Jon Lester tries to work out of his struggles and Clay Buchholz continues his long road to recovery.
The Sox also received another solid outing from Felix Doubront on Sunday, with the lefty tossing seven shutout innings to pick up his eighth win of the season and lower his ERA down to 3.56. It was Doubront's 15th straight start in which he held his opponent to three or fewer earned runs, the longest streak by a Sox lefty since 1919 -- according to Elias Sports Bureau.
This will make for a tough decision by manager John Farrell when it comes time to make his playoff rotation, but Abraham says Farrell should toss reputation out the window and go with whoever has the hot arm at that point.
"It's going to come down to who is pitching well at that time. It's sort of the unwritten rules in baseball that when it gets to the postseason you sort of throw away reputation and stuff like that that maybe plays more in the regular season. The manager will take the guys that he feels are the best then and toss them in the rotation in whatever order he feels like," said Abraham.
"Once you get to the postseason, if Doubront is your best guy you start Doubront," he said. "Look at what they did coming out of the all-star break when they started Doubront over Lester against the Yankees; that was pretty telling and I think that is evidence on how Farrell would treat the postseason – if they get there."
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The rotation would be a little clearer if Buchholz could return soon, but it's still unknown when he will be back. Despite the pitcher saying he was progressing nicely over the weekend, he has said that before only to suffer a setback.
How does Abraham view Buchholz's recent optimism?
"Until he gets into some kind of game, even if it's just a minor league game, it's hard to put some credence to this stuff. He's been to this point at least twice before where he was ready to start a minor league assignment and something happened," said Abraham.
"At this point he hasn't even pitched out of the bullpen. So until he gets to the mound and pitches in a game, you can't get too excited for when he might pitch for the Red Sox. We're at a point now where if everything goes perfectly, you're still not seeing him until September."
Abraham also talked about John Henry's purchase of the Boston Globe :
