Gammons on M&M: Sox need four starters

Hall of Fame baseball writer and analyst Peter Gammons made his weekly appearance on the Mut & Merloni show Wednesday to talk about the latest Red Sox news.

The biggest news out of Toronto this week is the ankle injury to Red Sox starter Josh Beckett.

"I don't think we know until he goes out there," Gammons said of the injury's severity. "It's his push-off ankle. They say, 'OK, it's all right.' It's kind of like saying, 'Well, geez, [Clay] Buchholz feels great,' when he hasn't thrown yet. You don't know.

"I think what worries me here -- hopefully I'm just being worrisome -- but Beckett has become such a precise pitcher. He's very thoughtful. He's not throwing 98 the way he did when he was a kid. And yet, he is so precise. He takes the time to make really good pitches. The changeup has come so far. You just worry that if he gets thrown off a little bit, what is he going to be? He's a very, very tough guy. But we're just not going to know until he pitches."

Added Gammons: "We also know in the past -- the oblique and the back -- Josh has essentially tried to put it out of his mind and basically sort of sloughed off physical problems when he had them and gone out and really tried to win. He's not an excuse-maker, but this is scary."

Following are more highlights from the conversation.

On Erik Bedard as a possible No. 3 in the playoff rotation: "The way the schedule's shortened up now, it looks like you're going to need four starters. So, yes, I think Bedard's going to start, but I don't think he's starting over [John] Lackey, unless they just decide if the series starts in Texas, would you go Bedard-Lackey, something like that in Boston, or Lackey-Bedard.

"I think you need four starters now, at this point. But they do believe in [Bedard]. I was just talking to Curt Young and [Terry Francona] and other people. They think he showed enough stuff. … October is a stuff month. And Bedard's got the stuff. Now the question is: Is he going to be healthy and can he give them six innings? That's what they have to find out."

On the wild card race: "All of a sudden you start thinking about that -- whoops, Tampa Bay's only seven behind, Tampa Bay's pitching is so good. Now, the Rays don't think they have much of a chance, but it's our nature to think that the world is caving in. But you start thinking about it.

"But it is important that the Red Sox not have to go down to the last week with Tampa so they can give Beckett and Bedard all the rest they can get. Plus, not have to overwork [Alfredo] Aceves, [Daniel] Bard and [Jonathan] Papelbon."

On the possibility of Buchholz being a late-inning reliever for the playoffs: "That's what they're talking about. If he's completely healthy. … We really don't know until he goes out for what is it, the last 3 percent. It's one thing to be at 97 percent, it's another thing, that last 3 percent is what differentiates professional athletes from the rest of us Saturday afternoon athletes. I don't think anybody's going to know.

"I do think, though, it's important to try to get as much work in for [Kyle] Weiland, [Andrew] Miller, other guys here as they can just to find out. I don't know about you guys, but I was really disappointed on Sunday with [Felix] Doubront. Because with his stuff, I thought, 'Well, this guy can help in the bullpen in the postseason.' He's throwing hard, his stuff is good, but his command has just been terrible. Is he going toe reliable enough to throw into a game in the sixth or seventh inning. I've got my doubts now. I don't know about you, but I've got severe doubts."

On the Red Sox' inability to make a trade for a pitcher such as Mike Adams to help their bullpen: "I think one of the disappointments of this season has been that in the upper echelon of the farm system they really haven't developed pitching. They haven't had many alternatives. Alex Wilson is starting to really come. I'm not sure they'll activate him in September just because he doesn't have to go on the roster this winter.

"But if you look at the other guys -- [Stolmy] Pimentel, [Anthony] Ranaudo just did not have a good year. So, they haven't developed pitching in the upper levels of the minor leagues. That not only has manifested itself in not having guys to bring up so much, but they didn't have anything close -- having traded [Casey] Kelly -- they really didn't have two guys that would have brought them an Adams."

To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page. For more Red Sox news, visit the team page at weei.com/redsox.