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In a day that was suppose to be about watching an incredible young prospect for the Tampa Bay Rays named Wil Myers and the chance to see a double dip of baseball (both wins for the Boston Red Sox by the way), the real news comes from a player that was unable to complete a bullpen session between games.
Clay Buchholtz took a bullpen session, which was a good sign since he was nursing a strained neck, but was unable to complete it was placed on the 15-day DL. Alex Wilson was recalled and will be a helpful arm in the bullpen, but it does mean Alfredo Aceves will be getting some more starts, much to the dismay of Sox fans.
Although this just re-emphasizes my earlier article lobbying for the Sox to make a deal for Matt Garza, I decided to look into the farm system and see how the young talented arms are looking. Unfortunately, it did not reveal anything good.
Stud prospect Matt Barnes pitched today for the Portland Sea Dogs and was less than impressive. For the second time in 10 days, he didn’t even make it to the fifth inning. Rubby De La Rosa is still working on strengthening his arm after Tommy John Surgery last season and hasn’t made it more than 5.1 innings this year, and his only big league work coming out of the bullpen.
Regardless, the Red Sox will have to make do with a less-than-ideal back of the rotation, and a front end that is missing Buchholtz and dealing with struggles from Jon Lester.
The next couple of weeks are an important couple for the Sox to try and tread water and stay at the top of the division despite seeing tough opponents with another game against the Rays, then series against the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and suddenly hot Toronto Blue Jays.
Shaun Kernahan also writes for his blog The Stain Sports. Follow Shaun on twitter @shaunkernahan.
