Yankees and Red Sox have similarly dominant but thin pitching staffs
By Cory Claus
Mine are Bigger than Yours
For starters, they, too, have two aces. And they have even better resumes than those of the Yanks.
Chris Sale was healthy last season and deserves to be first mentioned here. The lefties’ 214.1 IP led the AL, as did his 308 SO. Consider that he posted a 2.90 ERA and it becomes little wonder he finished second in the CY Young voting.
Sale is in the middle of what looks like a Hall of Fame career; that’s pedigree enough for any pitcher.
And right behind him is perhaps fellow Cooperstown inductee, LHP David Price. Two years ago Price was as good as any pitcher in baseball, throwing 220 innings while posting a league-best 2.45 ERA.
He was injured for much of last year but at least enjoyed the most success he has had in the postseason. Price appeared in two of the Sox five games and brought his best stuff with him, finishing with a 0.00 ERA. Price is healthy now and could easily return to his 2016 form.
There are Aces, and then there are Sale and Price.
The Lefties Keep on Coming
Next up for Boston is yet another left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz; he, like Gray, surpasses what a number three should be. Now becoming one of the most reliable pitchers in the game, Drew posted his second straight season with an ERA of 3.32.
And once again he pitched roughly 170 innings.
Although he melted down in the playoffs—two IP/18.00 ERA—it was a limited sample size. Pomeranz figures to give the Sox another impressive and imposing season.
That seems likely to be the case for RHP Rick Porcello as well. The enigmatic pitcher has been alternating great years and bad for five years, making his 4.65 ERA from last year a tantalizing promise for 2018 — especially if he can match his numbers from 2016.
That year his ERA of 3.15, along with his 193 hits in 223 IP, was good enough to win him the Cy Young. As a reminder, he is the Red Sox fourth pitcher. And he could end up as the best in the American League.
Those four will support an offense that could be every bit as dynamic as the Yankees’.