Alex Speier, Red Sox Pregame

Alex Red Sox fans hopefully for their sake not the Red Sox themselves some of the state of shock I think still today after last -- beating. Boston came in -- that at least higher expectations after the way they played in Toronto and it didn't translate in it didn't translate essentially because of the starter -- and.

Well it was a cover your rise kind of start definitely last night and you know it's penny is now at a point which it's been. A couple months since he's been an effective pitcher which he certainly was earlier in the year but I'm not so much Lleyton so. There are obvious questions going forward about what that means for his status in the rotation. He met with John Terrell and Terry Francona today. And and afterwards you know basically Francona has said we're kind of -- a wait and see situation Tim Wakefield is ready to come off the disabled list. -- make a start on Wednesday so that has the potential to be a stabilizing influence on the pitching staff. But right now the back into the rotation. Seems at least that number five starter spots and Buchholz is a pretty good hold on the number four spot. Is is a pretty good question and part of that is going to play is going to depend on I think how to teach you sell it does today.

Yeah I get try not to make overall observations or at least conclusions based on. Watching a start like last night but like you just said a moment ago it's been awhile since Brad Penny has been an effective pitcher and you look at the two guys the two veteran guys the two chances that this team brought in in the offseason. And either of them panned out John Smoltz or Brad Penny.

It's interesting because certainly you know I think that there were some there was some gloating in some of the New York papers essentially saying look this is what you get when you. You know when you buy low and I don't know that I agree that this strategy was wrong I just think that a couple of the guys haven't. You know haven't performed up to be the higher end of what of what they've you know seemingly we're capable of but you know I -- there are questions about. You know -- hasn't worked for Brad Penny yesterday he had plenty of power -- his fastball he was hitting 97 pretty regularly in -- I think even I think touched 98. Into there just wasn't any there weren't any swings and misses on that fastball and he didn't have the off speed arsenal to to complement it.

Tim Wakefield pitched well in his rehab on Friday night certainly if he could return to any close to the form he had earlier in the season they help. About Daisuke Matsuzaka you know he's a -- a guy that I think a lot of fans of at least to some extent forgotten about they might be getting to a point in the not too distant future where they might need to count on him.

That would be really an interesting point to get to to be sure -- mean there their at a point where he's going to need a couple weeks of rehab starts before they can make a good assessment. He has since first coming up on Monday in the Gulf Coast League against rookie level competition. So that's not the best gauge. Of how a guy might perform back in the major leagues -- You know. It's it's really tough they're getting to a situation where I mean there's going to be so few opportunities from the pitched the idea of throwing him in. At the end of September and seeing a guy who was able to give them both the number of innings that they needed as well as the effectiveness they needed it's pretty challenging so. You know I think that anything he's able to bring is a bonus but I would say that it's. It's it's not exactly a likelihood that he's able to step in this area as a as a.

Force we spent the last three minutes talking about. For lack of better description what's wrong with a Red Sox what's right with the Yankees seemingly everything right now they are clearly the best team in baseball -- their lineup has absolutely relentless.

In let's not forget that they would have been more or less running away with the division much earlier in the year but for the fact that they went -- against the Red Sox but there there are. Tremendously talented team right now the fact that they've that they've had. You know and that they've had guys like Phil Coke in Philip Hughes step up and become stabilizing force in the bullpen took away what was -- life is their last weakness in. You know you talk about all of the things that the Red Sox have have hammered home through the years. You know top to bottom dominant lineup they have that they have guys who can grind out at bats and really just make life on pitchers really really -- get through them quickly. You get into opposing team's bullpen men. You know from the starting rotation standpoint we saw what Andy -- CC sabathia and AJ Burnett did. In new York and that when they played them earlier this month when those three guys put together what 22 in the third scoreless innings. Over the course of that series. Instead now they start to have a rotation looks like it's capable of thought of dominance in. You know they've got that Mariano guide the back end that their team with a lot of holes but. You know that that's great for the regular season and whether or not that plays out in the post season is another matter entirely. It's another season in October tired Alex thanks as always we'll talk is so thanks John.