In lost season, Red Sox found a new ace: Eduardo Rodriguez

Seen often this season: E-Rod gets a hand (AP)

Earlier this summer, Eduardo Rodriguez was asked what he attributed to his rapidly rising star on the Red Sox pitching staff. In slow but thoughtful English, which has improved along with his game, the Venezuelan left-hander said that rather than trying to emulate the three Cy Young Award winners who preceded him in Boston's starting rotation, he was now focusing more on himself -- on being the best he could be as a pitcher.

E-Rod's insights, which seemed astute at the time, have grown increasingly sagelike as this hugely disappointing Red Sox season has continued.

Those three Cy Young winners who helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title -- Chris Sale, David Price, and Rick Procello -- have all fizzled due to injuries and ineffectiveness. Rodriguez, meanwhile, has quietly put up the kind of numbers that traditional fans and the analytics crowd can all appreciate.

If you still believe that victories by a starting pitcher have relevance, E-Rod is your man. His 18-6 record after yesterday's victory over the Giants would look just as impressive in 1990 as it does today, and with two starts left he still has a shot at 20 wins -- a magic figure that has largely gone the way of the dodo and $1.50 bleacher seats.

His Twitter feed says it all: E-Rod is PUMPED!

Rodriguez is no Jake deGrom when it comes to ERA, but his 3.53 mark was good for 7th in the American League entering tonight despite the hardship of being a lefty who calls Fenway Park home. He has kept his team in games all season, and the Red Sox are 24-8 in his 32 starts. In games started by anybody else, they are 56-64.

Some people cite Rodriguez's tremendous run support in downplaying his success. For much of the season, Boston scored more often with E-Rod on the mound than any other MLB pitcher. But that is certainly not his fault; in fact, it's a trend any pitcher would covet. The aim of the game is to score the most runs and win. When Rodriguez pitches, the Red Sox usually do both.

Even more impressive is this: During the long, slow march to the end of Boston's championship reign, as his rotation-mates have floundered and flamed out, Rodriguez has shone brighter. He is 10-2 in his last 15 starts, with a 2.21 ERA and 6.2 WAR -- marks that would earn him heavy Cy Young consideration of his own were he to continue them over a full campaign. He's got something to prove, and it shows.

No one is going to confuse Rodriguez with Sale when it comes to strikeouts, but not trying to mow everybody down seems to agree with E-Rod too. He's no slouch in the department -- with 199, he ranks 9th in the AL -- but given the choice between heat and control, he seems content on the latter. Pitching to contact means quicker outs, which is keeping him in games longer.

Home and away, Rodriguez has caught on.

This might be the single most important change in Rodriquez circa 2019. Last year, when he went a solid 13-5 with a 3.82 ERA, E-Rod was known as a six-inning pitcher. This season he has gone 7+ innings eight times, and is 6th in the league in innings pitched. The decision to limit the workload for Ming vase mates Sale and Price in spring training backfired, in that both pitchers failed to last deep into the season before getting injured; E-Rod, in contrast, has been E-Long in August and September.

If Sale and Price were doing the same, even with the team's horrendous April, Boston would likely be pushing for the playoffs the final week of the regular season -- rather than playing out the string.

No less an authority than Red Sox pitching legend Luis Tiant cites this as the key to Rodriguez's rise: manager Alex Cora is giving him the chance to pitch out of more tough situations, and E-Rod is gaining confidence in himself. "If you don't give somebody the chance to get out of a jam now," asks Tiant, "when will he ever learn?"

The secret is out: E-Rod is for real. (LaVida Baseball)

Rodriguez is learning now, and along with everything else, he has age on his side.

Modern baseball is a sport where being 30 years old earns you a warning label come contract time, and Boston has three graybeards in Price (34), Sale (30), and Porcello (30). Rodriguez, in contrast, is just 26, an age that throughout the game's history has usually coincided with the start of a player's physical and statistical prime. In other words, while the "Big Three" of Boston's 2018 champs are trying to regain their standing as dependable hurlers come 2020, Rodriguez should be getting stronger and better.

As Boston fans count down the final days of a forgettable campaign -- and cheer for E-Rod to reach 20 wins, 200 strikeouts, and 200 innings -- that's a thought they can hang their Hot Stove hats on.

E-Rod is after it (Barry Chin/Boston Globe)

For David Price, it's time to grab that pick-axe and get yodeling

Price looks to the peak.

Have you ever seen that "Price is Right" game with the little mountain climber? Contestants guess the price of several items, and the guy inches his way up the mountain for every cent they are off -- yodeling all the way. The goal is to be keep him from reaching the top and falling off the other side.

It isn't quite the perfect David Price/Price is Right analogy, but it's close. After last night's 5-4 loss at Cleveland in Game 1 of the ALDS, the Red Sox left-hander needs to deliver the type of "top of the rotation" performance this afternoon that John Henry and Dave Dombrowski had in mind when they shelled out $217 million for him over the winter -- or the Sox will face the arduous task of being down 0-2 as the five-game series shifts to Boston.

Yes, the Red Sox brain trust knew all about Price's 0-7 record and Everest-high ERA in eight postseason starts when they signed him. When asked about it at his first press conference at Fenway Park, the pitcher smiled and said he was saving all his postseason wins for Boston. This got a good laugh from those gathered, but it won't be so funny if he can't start proving it right today.

Price in 2015; ERA champ, playoff chump.

Baseball history is filled with pitchers who performed great in the regular season but bombed in the playoffs. Those who can raise their game when it counts the most are a rare commodity -- which is a big reason Red Sox fans were so upset when the team traded World Series hero Jon Lester in 2014. Madison Bumgarner is an excellent starter for the Giants from April through September, but when October comes he morphs into Sandy Koufax. Guys like that are invaluable.

Rick Porcello was signed to be a No. 2 or No. 3 pitcher, and this year surprised everyone with a Cy Young-worthy season. The fact he delivered his worst start of 2016 last night was maddening, but not entirely shocking. He was so consistent all year, he was almost due a dud -- and the intimidating environment of Progressive Field was a tough place to make your first playoff start in five years.

David Price is in a different situation entirely. He's started postseason games in six of the last seven years, so he shouldn't be rattled by the big stage. He was also brought here to be an ace, and his string of excellent starts in mid-to-late summer was one of the big reasons Boston was able to win the tough American League East. But his sub-par outing against the Yankees in the last week of the regular season helped cost his team home-field in the ALDS, and if they don't win today the Red Sox will need three straight victories to reach the next round -- including a Game 5 back at Cleveland.

Get yodeling, David

Here's why the mountain-climbing metaphor isn't quite perfect. On Price is Right, the idea is actually to have the guy climb as little as possible; the more you're off in your guess, and the higher he goes, the closer he is to toppling off the other side.

If the Red Sox are to scale the mountain to a fourth World Series championship this century, they need David Price to help get them there. What they don't need him to do is deliver the type of disappointing performance that sends them to the brink of elimination,

So for the sake of the analogy, let's just say that the best thing for the team is to keep climbing -- and the first swings of the pick-axe need to come from their ace pitcher.

 

Should the Red Sox be shipping Papelbon back up to Boston?

Worth the risk? You bet.

Forget about last year's flare-up with Bryce Harper. Forget the bloated ERA and declining speed on his fastball. Don't worry about the crotch-grabbing or the Trump stickers he may try and post around the clubhouse.

If Jonathan Papelbon wants to come to the Red Sox, Dave Dumbrowski should buy him a first-class ticket to Detroit and get him on a plane immediately.

Boston's starting pitching has excelled in August with an ERA around 2.50 for the month after David Price's fine rain-shortened effort in Baltimore last night. Going back to early July, it's still right around 3.25 -- a sample size of nearly 35 games. If Price and Drew Pomeranz can continue righting themselves, and Rick Porcello and Steven Wright remain rock solid, the rotation should be OK for the stretch drive. Should Wright's injury keep him down, or his knuckleball start staying up, Eduardo Rodriguez appears ready to take hold of the fifth spot.

Porcello (16-3) and Co. are not the issue.

Starters are not the problem for Boston. It's what happens after they leave games that has kept baseball's most explosive offensive team from running away with the AL East.

The Red Sox relief corps has been shaky and battle-scarred all year. Starting with the loss of Carson Smith to Tommy John Surgery in April, and extending through injuries to Craig Kimbrel, Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, and Brandon Workman, the bullpen has faced more casualties than Hawkeye and Trapper faced in Korea.

It's been a patchwork pen all season, made tougher by a slew of deer-in-the-headlights performances from middle-men, set-up men, and closers alike. There are no sure things in the Boston bullpen anymore, and this has kept the Sox from winning a majority of their close ballgames.

Seen too often: a Kimbrel crash.

So why throw another guy into the late-inning mix in Papelbon who many experts say is on the downslide and a threat to clubhouse chemistry? There are several reasons:

1. It's a cheap risk. Whichever team picks up Pap as a free agent will only have to pay him the major-league minimum for the balance of the season -- about $150,000.

2. John Farrell knows what makes him tick. The Red Sox manager was Papelbon's pitching coach in Boston in 2007-2010, when he was one of the best closers in the game despite a hothead personality. While it's true Pap no longer has an electric 95-97 MPH heater, he likely still has the mental toughness that enabled him to win on the biggest stage -- and for baseball's most demanding fans. In fact, Farrell admits he's talked to Pap about coming to Boston.

John knows Jonathan.

3. The stats are deceiving. Papelbon was pitching very well into late July, with a 2.56 ERA after his first 34 appearances. A handful of bad outings in the past two weeks blew it up, but Pap might have been already looking out the door at that point. If thrown into a pennant race,

4. He was great just last year. Papelbon's 2015 stats -- a 2.13 ERA and 1.026 WHIP in 59 appearances split between Philadelphia and Washington -- earned him an All-Star berth. Could be really have lost it that fast?

3. Even when slumping, he's better than some of the guys in the Boston bullpen. Who would you rather have in the 7th or 8th inning of a close game -- Fernando Abad or Jonathan Papelbon?

4. Pedroia and Ortiz won't let him hurt the clubhouse. Both these guys went to war with Papelbon in the old days, and as the elder statesmen on the club they can keep their old buddy in line.

5. He's been there before. With the exception of Uehara, Boston's prospective late-inning men and closers have zero deep postseason experience. Kimbrel, Brad Ziegler, and the others can learn plenty by picking Pap's brain. Nobody has ever been more lights-out over a longer period of time in Boston -- and that's knowledge worth having around.

5.  It's a Blue State. Even if he turns some on Yawkey Way toward Trump, Massachusetts is a Democratic stronghold.

So get this guy's ticket stamped, Dave -- this free agent may not be the Papelbon of 2007, but he's worth taking a shot on.

Hanley Ramirez homering at record pace for Red Sox -- will weak pitching make it moot?

That ball is gone -- and so is the helmet. (AP)

Jimmie Foxx never did it. Neither did Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, or Mo Vaughn.

When Hanley Ramirez smoked a R.A. Dickey pitch into the left-field Monster seats at Fenway Park last night, it marked his 10th home run of April. Ramirez is tied atop the majors in homers with Nelson Cruz of Seattle, and just one player in Red Sox history has ever hit that many in the season's first month: David Ortiz in 2006.

That was the year Ortiz set a team record with 54 homers, but his prodigious slugging was not enough to save a pitching-thin Boston team from a third-place finish. Ramirez may meet a fate similar to his Dominican countryman this summer.

Although Rick Porcello pitched seven two-hit innings against the heavy-hitting Blue Jays last night in a 4-1 win, Red Sox starters have the worst ERA of any rotation in the major leagues.  

Slugger's Hug: Ortiz greets Ramirez. (USA Today)

Still, while pitching remains a major concern for Boston, Ramirez has quickly become a fan favorite with his prodigious slugging.

In addition to his 10 homers through 20 games, he is also tied with Cruz atop the AL with 22 RBI, while his .659 slugging percentage and .999 OPS place him among the Top 5. To put his hot start in perspective, Ramirez hit just 13 homers all of last season, and he is already nearly one-third of the way to his career high of 33 (set in 2008).

Making his performance all the more exciting is how he's doing it. Ramirez has a robust swing that often causes his helmet to fly off, and he has run out several home runs this year -- including last night's shot -- with nothing atop his colorful cornrows but a skull cap.

He did wrap a homer around the Pesky Pole on Tuesday night, but most of Hanley's howitzers have been no-doubters that fly off his bat even faster than they are delivered by the pitcher. Ramirez's Wednesday shot was estimated to have traveled 106 mph from the plate to the Monster seats, and some are predicting he could hit 50 for Boston hitting in a stacked lineup with Ortiz and fellow newcomer Pablo Sandoval.

Will an offense be enough? (Boston Globe)

The big question is whether all of these hitters will be enough to offset an ace-less Boston rotation that has had trouble getting through the middle of games. Porcello is the only Red Sox starter averaging six or more innings per game, and the team predicted by many to be a World Series contender is a so-so 12-10.

Red Sox fans hope that Rodriguez not only keeps knocking them out, but that come August and September his home runs will still have meaning as Boston seeks a return to the playoffs.