Lack Of Pitching

Lackey's often expression of frustration
on the mound sometimes were thought to
have shown up his teammates.

The downward spiral of the Boston Red Sox organization continued Tuesday with a major injury to their already thin pitching staff. Right-hander John Lackey will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss his 2012 season before it even got started.

Newly appointed general manager Ben Cherington broke the news in his promotion press conference just hours after his predecessor Theo Epstein was formally introduced as the new president of baseball operations of the Chicago Cubs.

Lackey is coming off the worse season of 10-year career, where he was 12-12 and posted a career-worst 6.41 ERA in 160 innings. He led the majors in earned runs surrendered with 114 and hit batsman, 19.

In his first two years in Boston, Lackey's record is barely above .500 at 26-23 and has a 5.26 in his 61 starts. Prior to the 2010 season, the Texan signed a similar five-year $82.5 contract that New York gave A.J. Burnett just an offseason before.

Next season will be the third year of that contract and with this recent news, it has been three years of disappointment.

Lackey is the third pitcher in the Red Sox organization to undergo reconstructive elbow surgery, joining Japanese import Daisuke Matsuzaka and left-hander Rich Hill to suffer the same fate. Fortunately for Cherington and the Red Sox, Matsuzaka, who will be in the final year of his current contract, should be pitching for the club midseason.

In the team's historic September collapse, where Boston went 7-20 in the season's final month to miss the postseason for the second straight, Lackey, along with fellow teammates Jon Lester and Josh Beckett, was accused of drinking beer and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse on days they were not pitching.

And when he was on the mound he didn't provide much help either. In his five September starts, opponents hit .353 against Lackey, going 0-2 and 9.13 ERA.

There had been speculation the San Diego Padres would be interested in acquiring the 33-year-old right-hander from Boston this offseason, but this injury has quieted any talk of that now. San Diego and Boston have a well working relationship thanks in large part to their now former GM Jed Hoyer.

Hoyer had been the assistant GM to Epstein in Boston until he took the GM job with the Padres in October of 2009. He will now join Epstein in Chicago as the GM of the Cubs.

A move back to the West Coast would have ensured Lackey a reunion with his former pitching coach in Anaheim, Bud Black. Those were the best years of Lackey's career, including winning Game 7 of the 2002 World Series as a rookie, winning a career-high 19 games in 2007 and leading the American League in ERA at 3.01 that same season.

The Red Sox are in the midst of some major personnel changes with the change at GM and the uncertainty who their next manager will be after Terry Francona decided it was time for a new voice at the helm after the season, but that won't stop owner John Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino from putting a contender on the field for the Fenway Faithful in 2012.

With their lack of pitching, Boston will be in the market for starting pitching this offseason with the availability of left-hander C.J. Wilson and possible open bidding for another Japanese import phenom, 25-year-old Yu Darvish.

As for Lackey, it has been a long two years for the 6-foot-6 righty in Beantown and it will be an even longer road back to a big league mound and his once All-Star form.

No Longer Twins

Nathan, left celebrates his recording setting
255th save as a Twin.

The road back to the Minnesota mound has been a long and treacherous one at that for Minnesota Twins' right-hander Joe Nathan. And while it has been a long journey, you could feel the liberation Wednesday for the now-thirty-six-year-old closer.

After preserving a 5-2 lead with a perfect ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox, Nathan surpassed Rick Aguilera as the club's all-time saves leader. It was the 256th save of Nathan's career and his 255th as a Twin.

Aguilera played 11 of his 16 major league seasons with the Twins with his final save for the team coming in 1999 during his second stint in the Twin Cities. A three-time All-Star, Aguilera was hoping to be in attendance when Nathan passed his mark, but was unable to due to a prior commitment.

As for their current closer, Nathan is coming off a year where he missed the entire 2010 campaign, needing Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his pitching elbow. The Texas native started this season as the Twins closer, but had a shaky start and promptly removed himself from the role. Matt Capps, who filled in for Nathan most of 2010, resumed the role up until now.

It was apparent when the season started Nathan had rushed himself back and was not fully healthy. In the 10 April games he appeared in, Nathan posted a career-worst earned run average for a month at 10.00. His May was a little better lowering his ERA to 7.63 on the year, but then only pitched twice in June before resuming his closing duties in July.

The hard throwing right-hander tied Aguilera's franchise record of 254 on the 26th of July. Who knew when they traded for then-twenty-eight-year-old right-hander it would be the beginning of something special.

Nathan was acquired from the San Francisco Giants in a deal prior to the 2004 season, that is still one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history. The Twins shipped their veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski to the West Coast in return for Nathan, and two minor league pitchers. One of those being a young left-hander out of the Dominican Republic named Francisco Liriano.

In their first season with their respective clubs, it yielded very different results. Pierzynski, who was coming off a career-year in Minnesota after setting career-highs in batting average (.312), home runs (11), and RBIs (74), disappointed many in his only season by the bay.

The All-Star backstop saw his average drop to .272, forty points below the previous season. And while he matched his home run total and eclipsed his career-high in RBIs with 77 from the year before, it was his demeanor many didn't like, starting a reputation as one of the most disliked players around the majors.

Pierzynski also killed multiple rallies that season, leading the majors in grounding into double-plays with 27.

Pierznyski only spent one
season with the Giants.

Pierzynski headed back to American League Central following the '04 season, signing with the Chicago White Sox. A place he is has been the last seven years, winning a World Series title his first year on the South Side.

On the other hand, Nathan and Liriano continued to develop into two the brightest young pitching stars in baseball.

Nathan has been making headlines of his own ever since the trade went down. In his first year as a full-time closer, Nathan recorded 44 saves in 47 opportunities, made his first All-Star appearance, finished twelfth in the AL MVP voting and fourth for the Cy Young Award.

Nathan is now a four-time All-Star and recorded 40 plus saves three of the seven season he has been closing for the Twins, including a career-high 47 the year before his injury.

Although Nathan has yet to show his dominance on baseball's biggest stage. In the eight games he has appeared in the postseason, Nathan as posted a 7.88 ERA, converting only 1 of the 3 save opportunities he has been given. Those statistics make the numbers of his piers, like Mariano Rivera, who owns every postseason pitching recording known to man, that much more impressive.

Meanwhile Liriano, burst onto the scene in 2006 with his unbelievable fastball and devastating slider, finishing third in the Rookie of the Year voting and was selected to his first All-Star game. Then in 2007 Liriano fell victim to Tommy John Surgery and was headed for the knife.

He missed the entire '07 season, but since has come back with a bang, throwing the first no-hitter of the '11 season earlier this year.

Now with Nathan back to form, we can look for the Twins to get back to their winning ways and compete for another division crown in 2012. Until then Nathan reminds us to remember the past while honoring the present.

No-No Lirano

Liriano receives congratulations after
tossing the 7th no-hitter in
franchise history.

The Minnesota Twins have not had many shining moments during the first month of the season, posting a 10-17 record before Tuesday night in Chicago.

When the calendar turned May the result was much of the same with a 10-3 loss in Kansas City and received a much need day off Monday.

Left-hander Francisco Liriano was set to take the mound with a 1-4 record and 9.13 earned run average, putting his future in Minnesota in doubt.

Something magical was about to occur for the 27-year old lefty at U.S. Celluar Field.

Liriano tossed the seventh no-hitter in Twins history, but was nothing close to perfect, struggling with his command of the strike zone, walking six Chicago White Sox. Liriano, who has been known in his young career to be a strike out pitcher, only recorded two strikeouts in Minnesota's 1-0 win.

That's the third fewest number of strike outs in any no-hitter.

The game's lone run came on Jason Kubel's third home run of the year in the fourth inning off right-hander Edwin Jackson. Jackson tossed a no-hitter of his own last season while pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The last Twins pitcher to toss a no-hitter was another left-hander, Eric Milton, who did so in the Metrodome against the then-Anaheim Angels on September 11, 1999. Oddly enough Lirano's comes days after the assassination of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

As a rookie in 2006, Liriano was an instant phenom with Minnesota, going 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA, looking to follow in the foot steps on fellow teammate and ace left-hander, Johan Santana.

Liriano was hampered by an arm injury that required Tommy John surgery, costing him the entire 2007 season. It took Liriano two full seasons to regain form and get back to the pitcher that once had so much promise. Last season, Liriano got back to his winning ways throwing a career-high 191.2 innings and striking out 201 batters, eclipsing that mark for the first time in his career.

He also record a career-high 14 wins, helping the Twins win their sixth American League Central Division title in nine years.

2010 was known as the year of the pitcher with six no-hit and/or perfect games thrown, this is the first of 2011 and it comes from an unexpected customer. Prior to his injury, the baseball world always thought after watching Liriano in '06 that he would some day throw a no-hitter in the big leagues and now has done so.

Liriano had not thrown a shutout or even a complete game for that matter at the Minor or Major League level until now, one he won't soon forget. Liriano lowered his ERA to 6.61 on the season, but his strikeout-to-walk-ratio did not improve. He has walked 24 hitters this season compared to his 20 strikeouts.

Liriano threw 123 pitches on the South Side to complete the no-hit bid.

With a healthy Justin Morneau and catcher Joe Mauer nearing his return from the disabled list, this might just be the jolt the Twins had been waiting for to shake off a terrible April. Fresh off his '10 AL Manager of the Year Award, Ron Gardenhire looks to the right the ship before the surprising division leading Cleveland Indians run away with the AL Central.

The win takes the Twins out of the division cellar for the moment putting them a half game up on Chicago.

At least for one night the Twin Cities can sleep a little easier knowing Liriano said No-No.

Starter or Closer?

Will Feliz start or close in
2011?

The 2010 American League Rookie of the Year in Major League Baseball is set to start his first game of the spring on Thursday.

Neftali Feliz was the closer for the AL champion Texas Rangers last year, saving a rookie record 40 games and now, might make the move the starting rotation. This has been a debatable decision for some time with the departure of left-hander Cliff Lee in the offseason.

The move is simply not a good one for the Rangers in the now nor the future. Texas has a lethal weapon in their bullpen with a firey young closer with great poise and an even better fastball. If the Rangers move Feliz to the rotation they will be taking away one of their strengths that helped them capture their first AL Pennant. Today, to contend for a World Series title in the majors, a top notch starting pitcher is need, someone that can lead a staff. This is what Texas thinks Feliz can be.

You also need a great closer to win in the postseason.
  
It has been stated many times by former and current players, along with people associated with baseball that the New York Yankees do not win those four World Series titles in the late 90s without the contributions of closer Mariano Rivera. He was the most valuable player on those teams and maybe in baseball the past decade and a half.

For example, look at Atlanta Braves during the 90s. They had the best starting rotation throughout baseball and were in the postseason every year, but only won one World Series in that time period appearing in a total of three. If they had Rivera at the back end of their 'pen we might be talking about Atlanta as the team of the 90s, not New York.

There have been know to be exceptions like Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals. Wainwright was a closer his first season in the big leagues and a good one, much like Feliz, leading the Cardinals to their first World Series title since 1982.

Wainwright has now turned into a front of the rotation starter for the Cardinals and is considered one of the best pitchers in baseball. On the other hand, there is story of Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain burst onto the scence in 2007, posting an unbelievable 0.38 ERA in 24 innings. The Yankees saw him as a front of the rotation starter, but Chamberlain's electric stuff did not translate into the rotation.

Now Chamberlain is back in the bullpen with an uncertain role and his career at a crossroad after it started so bright.

John Smoltz, who is a future Hall of Famer, also took on double duty. Here's the catch, Smoltz was a starter for the first 12 years of his big league career, winning a Cy Young in 1996 before ever getting a taste of the bullpen. Then after the 1999 season, Smoltz needed Tommy John surgery to repair his right elbow and missed the entire 2000 season. Coming off an injury and wanting to help the team in any way possible Smoltz moved to the bullpen in 2001 in an effort to stay healthy. Smoltz was successful in both roles eventually moving back to the rotation, but was a successful starter before the move to the bullpen.

Going from a closer to a starter is much more difficult than going from a successful starter to an elite closer, especially for a 22-year-old kid.

There is no question an ace is needed to lead your staff into the postseason, if Feliz proves to be that then he and the Rangers will silence all the critics, including myself. Although what if it fails? Then you leave not only the rotation a question mark, but also the back end of the bullpen.

The Rangers have made too many moves in the offseason with a team that fresh off their first World Series appearance in franchise history. They were in first-place well before they acquired Lee at the trade deadline last July. The Seattle Mariners had two of the best starting pitchers in the game, Lee and Felix Hernandez, to start the season, they finished 40 games under .500. A starting pitcher pitches every fifth day and can only impact that game, a closer can effect an entire series.

What if your starting pitcher goes eight scoreless innings and is clinging to 2-0 lead in the ninth and no closer to close the game? All that work of your starer is now gone with no one to secure the victory.

Chew on that.

All is No Longer Wright in St. Louis

Every fifth day could be a
nightmare for the Cards
without No. 50.

The St. Louis Cardinals now face an uphill battle in 2011.

After finding out ace Adam Wainwright will need his second Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his throwing elbow, the season ahead just got even more complicated.

The Cardinals, who are already having to face the fear of losing superstar first baseman Albert Pujols in the offseason to free agency, now, face another obstacle losing their ace for 12-15 months. Wainwright has been nothing short of spectacular since arriving to the show. The right-hander became the Cardinals closer in his rookie campaign, saving four of the five chances he was given in the postseason, not allowing an earned run and striking out 15, eventually leading St. Louis to the 2006 World Series crown. 

He was transformed into a starter after the '06 season and won 14 games that season, throwing 202 innings. Since then Wainwright has turned in a legitimate front of the rotation starter reducing his earned run average every year in the big leagues.

Wainwright won 19 and 20 games, respectively in the last two seasons and finishing in top three of the Cy Young voting of each of those seasons.

There is no question that Wainwright's presence will be missed in '11 and add pressure to right arm of Chris Carpenter. 

A former Cy Young Award winner, Carpenter is also considered to be an ace with some of the best stuff and command in baseball. The Cards will need another huge season from the three-time All-Star if they are to reach their ultimate goal.

Left-handed phenom Jamie Garica, who is coming off an unbelievable rookie season, will need to avoid a sophomore slump to fill the shoes that Wainwright has left. It's uncertain if they can be filled, but only time will tell. With manager Tony La Russa leading the way and the addition of Lance Berkman and Matt Holiday, who still has with six-years left on this current contract, the Cardinal offense should provide plenty of protection for "Fat Albert".

No matter what move the Cardinals decide to make none can replace a player the caliber of Waingwright. The road to dethrone the defending National League Central champion Cincinnati Reds just got a little more rocky.