Baseball

For Starters

A struggling rotation has the Red Sox teetering on the playoff edge, so perhaps it's time for them to make a drastic move

The nadir of the Red Sox' maddening summer came last Thursday night in Kansas City, where a 5-4 defeat ended a humiliating six-game road trip in which Boston dropped five straight to the Devil Rays and the Royals, the two punching bags of the American League. Even perpetually sunny DH David Ortiz was glum after the latest loss dropped his team three games behind the Yankees in the AL East. "Things are not going good," he lamented.

The Boston rotation has crumbled like the Big Dig-its 4.98 ERA in August ranked 10th in the league at week's end. "They just don't have the horses in the rotation to stay with the Yankees, and the White Sox and Twins, top to bottom, have much better pitching than the Red Sox," says an AL team executive. "After not making a [major] deal before the [nonwaiver trade deadline], they need to do something to shake up the team. Otherwise I think they may be done." Not so fast. After sweeping the Orioles last week the lineup was humming-the Red Sox were second in the majors in runs scored and first in on-base percentage-and the defense was on pace to commit the fewest errors in team history.

But here's the move that could save Boston's season: Turn Jonathan Papelbon, the rookie righthander who was converted to a closer in April, into a starter now. Groomed to be part of the Red Sox rotation during his three-year rise through the minors, the 25-year-old flamethrower, unlike most closers, has a devastating three-pitch repertoire and has been used liberally by his manager. In his last 24 appearances, Papelbon (4-2, 31 saves, 0.91 ERA) had been summoned by Terry Francona to pitch multiple innings 11 times.

While Papelbon doubts there is enough time left in the season to build up the arm strength needed to become a starter-"Next year, maybe, but not this year," he said last Friday-and Red Sox pitching coach Dave Wallace has indicated that the club is not mulling the possibility, Boston needs to roll the dice to reach the postseason. "It's not unreasonable to consider it," says Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty, who has toyed with the idea of slotting his 24-year-old setup man, Adam Wainwright (2-1, 3.13 ERA), into St. Louis's struggling rotation. Wainwright and Papelbon had each pitched about 60 innings this season. "It would take two or three starts to build up the pitch count. It can be done. The problem for us is that it would leave a huge hole in our bullpen."

Too often the team's best pitcher is wasted in the closer's role. If the Red Sox were to take Papelbon out of the pen, they wouldn't be any worse off than they were a year ago, when righty Curt Schilling ended his one-month stint as the team's closer and returned to the rotation in late August. Boston first went to a closer by committee, then let Mike Timlin finish games down the stretch; this season he was 5-1 with a 3.07 ERA.

As a starter Papelbon would replace Jason Johnson (0-7, 6.80 ERA since June 2) and boost a staff that ranked 10th in the AL with a 4.64 ERA; even the aces, Schilling (4.81 ERA since the All-Star break) and Josh Beckett (league-high 31 homers allowed), have been eminently hittable. The move would also make Boston more dangerous in October, if it can get that far; last year the rotation surrendered 14 earned runs to the White Sox in Chicago's three-game Division Series sweep.

Boston has left open the possibility that Papelbon will be slotted into the rotation in 2007, but it shouldn't close the door on the idea this year.

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