Lol, no.
Amidst a stretch of uninspired play on the field, the Red Sox got some good news off of it. Walker Buehler, who missed his most recent start with shoulder inflammation, announced that the issue is very minor and that “if this were October, we’re not even having this conversation.” After receiving an injection to ease the inflammation, Buehler is due to come off the IL in nine days. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
That’s certainly nice to hear given the shaky nature of the Red Sox rotation behind Garrett Crochet. What isn’t nice to hear is that Garrett Crochet’s velocity was by almost two MPH yesterday. A drop in velocity is often a precursor to injury, of course, though Crochet says the problem is mechanical. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Of course the velocity was only one concerning thing about Crochet’s start yesterday. There was also the fact that he pitched with a bloody nose after getting grazed by a come-backer. (Greg Dudek, NESN)
Unfortunately, the starting rotation is only part of the problem when it comes to Red Sox pitching. The bullpen has been a major issue as well, as the Sox seem to be making a habit of blowing leads in the later innings. The Sox and Diamondbacks are the only teams in baseball to lose four games in which they led after six innings. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
And now the Sox face the added difficulty of replacing Triston Casas. If you’re thinking that a trade might be in the offing, keep in mind that impact trades almost never happen at this point in the season. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
But what about a waiver wire solution to the Sox’ current first base hole? Bobby Dalbec himself has recently been DFA’d by the Chicago White Sox. Dalbec continues to struggle to turn his career around and has hit just .222/.333/.278 this year with a 28.7% strikeout rate. He is not good! But I’m not going to lie: part of me wants Bobby Dalbec to be a quad-A Red Sox for life. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)