Things are looking up, Lowrie, Dice-K

So I was just thinking last night, and I believe I uncovered the key difference from 2009 that will spell success in 2010: The starting rotation-bullpen ratio and its effect on Tim Wakefield. Early on in 2009, the Red Sox were in a nasty rut. Josh Beckett would start and throw 4-5 innings, then the next day Jon Lester would repeat those innings, and then the day after that Dice-K would come in and throw 2-3 innings. By the time the team got to Tim Wakefield's start in the rotation, the bullpen had already tossed somewhere around 16-18 innings the previous four days, necessitating a lengthy start from Tim Wakefield. By the second half of the 2009 season, the wear took its toll on Wakefield and the bullpen. Wake was injured and unable to be the rock of the rotation like he was throughout the first half. At the same time, our bullpen began giving up exponentially more home runs and struggled to close out games. I believe that with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and a healthy John Lackey fronting the rotation, the innings disparity should be lessened dramatically from the abysmal start in 2009. As such, the bullpen will be used A LOT less in those games. Ultimately this means that Tim Wakefield's eating innings goes from a necessity to a luxury. Less pressure on Wakefield and less strain on the bullpen should result in more wins. Just a thought!

In other news, Jed Lowrie is suffering from an irregular heartbeat and fatigue and took a stress test today to try and figure out the cause. Dice-K Matsuzaka attempted another BP today but only threw 19 pitches and was done. Doesn't look like he has much of a shot of being ready for opening day.