Random Red Sox Ramblings---Step Back From The Bridges Bostonians!

***Someone called in on WEEI sports radio in Boston this morning and said that Francona should’ve had someone come in to start the 4th inning of last nights Yankee/Sox game after Kotchman homered to make it 3-1 Boston. Ridiculous. Like it or not, Smoltz is your starter right now and he will be managed accordingly. He should be out there starting the 4th with a 3-1 lead. Otherwise, just take him out of the rotation all together.(more on that later) What some people fail to see about baseball is that it’s not always managed on a game to game basis. It’s managed to try to win each series but you can’t go ‘all out’ every night and pitch and play your best guys or you’ll burn out quick. Francona had a plan last night, if Smoltz didn’t go six innings he was going with Billy Traber. The bullpen was spared the whole game as Traber just got knocked around. It’s fine. It’s one game and for these last three (two of which you have Beckett and Lester going) we have all of our big guns in the pen rested and ready to go. It’s a marathon people, not a sprint. I’m still quite confident we get a split here in this series and I’m still quite confident that we will compete hard and that we have just as good of a shot as making it to the World Series as anyone, we just have to find someone to step it up and take that #3 starter role. That being said, what do you want to do with Smoltz? I’ve been in his corner but it just isn’t working out at this point for a variety of different reasons. What do you want to do though? Wake’s hurt, Dice-K is rehabbing, so what are your options? Put Smoltz in the pen? Release him? Who takes his spot in the rotation? Michael Bowden? Paul 'bleepin' Byrd? I’m fine with giving Bowden a shot but it’s a lot of pressure calling the kid up in the heat of a pennant race. The reality is this…We are going to lay a lot of our hopes on the tight wire, wipe the sweat of my brow, walk 8 guys a game and hope to get out of it--- Dice-K, heading down the stretch. He is going to play a huge role at the end of August and in September in determining the success or failure of this Red Sox season. Here’s hoping his magic act from ’08 returns to form, because I’m telling you now, he is going to be a huge footnote on this ’09 season one way or the other when we look back on it. They desperately need a #3 guy and quite frankly, my thoughts on him aside, he is the best candidate to provide that stability. (please finsih reading @ www.sportramble.com @ Two Cents From Beantown site)