While John Lackey won today, it was another shaky victory—aided by nine runs for the good guys. Andrew Miller has been reverting to his wildness lately and Clay Buchholz won't return until mid-August. Add to all of this Jon Lester's balky lat and Wakefield's adventuresome starts and you have one dysfunctional starting pitching situation for the Red Sox. Beckett can't do it alone.
What this suggests is that Boston's priority at the trade deadline might just be a starter rather than a right-handed outfield bat. It could be Matt Garza, or Hiroki Kuroda, or even old friend Derek Lowe, but the team needs some stability in the rotation if it plans on maintaining a lead in the AL East.
In Theo We Trust.