SarroSports

9/1/08 11:13pm

Heading into the final two months of the regular season, stability at the back end of the rotation was a big concern for the Boston Red Sox. With the Rays fourth and fifth starters performing more like pitchers that should be at the front end of the rotation, (Andy Sonnanstine 13-6 and Edwin Jackson 11-8) what the Sox were sending to the mound after their big three, just wasn’t cutting it. Recently demoted starter Clay Buchholz, had posted a record of 2-9 with an ERA nearing seven. Being a journalism major who is not very gifted in math, even I can see that if the Rays fifth starter had a record of an even .500 and the Sox fifth starter posting a record of 2-9 (Buchholz), that puts the Rays seven games ahead in the American League East. The good news is, baseball uses five starters and the Sox have gained ground with both Jon Lester and Dice K having great seasons. The bad news is, the Rays fifth starter doesn’t have a .500 record, Andy Sonnanstine is 13-6 with a 4.61 ERA. For all those who are counting, thats two more wins than Sox ace Josh Beckett. With all this said, Theo Epstein went out and got veteran starter Paul Byrd and expects Bartolo Colon to be back from the disabled list sometime next week.

Byrd has been in the big leagues for 13 years while playing for seven different teams, posting a career record of 106-92. Numbers that fit the role of a pitcher at the back end of the rotation of a big league team looking to make the playoffs. After giving up four runs in seven innings during Monday nights 7-4 win over the Orioles, the Sox finally looked confident behind someone not named Beckett, Dick K, or Lester. Byrd has been nothing but consistent since his arrival in Boston, posting a record of 3-1 and lasting at least six innings in all of his four starts. There has been no secret to his success, Byrd has been pounding the strike zone and mixing up his pitches which are barely throw hard enough to break a plain of glass. The 37 year old from Louisville Kentucky, keeps finding ways to get batters out while limiting the damage on the scoreboard.

If the Red Sox hang on to their lead in the wild card and make the post-season, They have acquired a pitcher that is no stranger to the atmosphere of playoff baseball. Byrd’s post-season record stands at 3-1 while pitching for Atlanta (2004), LA Angles (2005), and last year for the Indians who got sent home by the Red Sox in the ALCS. With his throwback delivery and bulldog mentality, Byrd just might be a big reason the Red Sox will have success the rest of the way in 2008.

-Sarro