Anyone Ready For Aaron Poreda?
I think I am. Or Aaron Spelling. Or Aaron Anyone. I just don’t want anymore Jose Contreras, at least not in the near future.
Contreras lost again yesterday and now sits at 0-3. He’s walked 11 (against only 9 Ks) and has allowed 19 hits in just 15 2/3 innings. He’s already given up 3 homers and his ERA is 8.04.
You might say Clayton Richard could take his place in the rotation while Poreda gets some experience in the pen. Perhaps. But I think I’ve seen enough of Richard to know that he’s very hittable and doesn’t have command of his pitches. I think his future is as a LOOGY, although I could be wrong.
Mark Gonzales of the Tribune says that “Richard appears more comfortable as a starter than as a reliever.” Well appearances are certainly deceiving. Because Richard was absolutely shelled last year as a starter. So I’d prefer the Sox skip that route.
Poreda has just 2 so-so starts at AA this year, but he was awesome last year. He had less hits than innings pitched, 3-1 K/BB ratio and allowed just 6 homers in 160+ innings. He’s got more than a full season of starts in the minors and also worked 3 years in college.
And he can’t be worse than Contreras. Or Richard. Get him going now and hopefully he’s comfortable by the time it’s playoff push time. Sounds good, right?
Patience. You can’t give up on Contreras (a proven quality starter) after only 3 starts. He hasn’t pitched in a long time and he deserves more starts to get into a rhythm again. Plus, the Sox are 8-6, so it’s not like they can’t afford to give him some time.
Maybe. But he hasn’t really been a good starter in a while. Last year was OK and 2007 was brutal. Now this. He is coming off a nasty injury, so maybe more time is all he needs.
But in this division every game counts.