Francona: Starting pitching Sox' biggest issue

Former Red Sox manager and current ESPN baseball analyst Terry Francona joined Michael Holley and Kirk Minihane on The Big Show Thursday to discuss the team and its first-half struggles. 

As they head back from the All-Star break, the Sox are tied with the Blue Jays for last in the American League East with a 43-43 record. Francona said that while the team has had injuries, the likes of Daniel Nava and Scott Podsednik have made up for them, and that the true problem is the team's underachieving starting rotation. 

"I think the easy thing to say is injuries. … Saying that, they've got some unbelievable production out of places that they never thought they would. … Their numbers across the board rank fairly high in the league, like they always do. 

"Now, and this goes back to September, they're a little inconsistent. You'll see a game where they score 10 or 12 runs, and they'll go a couple games where they don't score. Their starting pitching hasn't been anywhere near what they thought it would be. Their bullpen was real slow out of the gate, but then it caught fire even with guys like Daniel Bard not being there and [Jonathan] Papelbon gone. The bullpen's really been a strength but the starting pitching just hasn't gotten them where they need to [be]."

Jon Lester has had perhaps the most perplexing campaign of the Sox' starters, as he is in the prime of his career at 28 years of age but has a 5-6 record with a 4.49 earned run average.

"It is [strange]," Francona said. "I'm not in that clubhouse anymore, but I do notice that he isn't throwing as many cutters as he has in the past. Whether that means he's tender, whether that means they don't want him to or whether he's not comfortable -- because that was a big pitch for him. … When he commanded both sides of the plate [with it], it made him one of the tougher pitchers in the game. Right now, he hasn't had that, so when he makes a mistake guys are hitting it a lot more often than they used to." 

Francona did say that he believes that Lester can return to being one of the best pitchers in the game, but he'll need to have more efficient outings in order to achieve the success of which many feel he is capable. 

"He's always had the ability," Francona said. "… He looks healthy, his velocity's down a tick or two, but nothing to be worried about, and when you look at his career numbers he is one of the elite pitchers. … There's a lot to like, but he's throwing a lot of pitches early in the game. Whether it's foul balls or getting deep in counts, he's at 100 pitches after five innings. That's a tough way to have a lot of success." 

Francona also said he finds it strange that Josh Beckett has had sharp outings but looked "out of sorts" in other starts. He stressed that Beckett, Lester and the rest of the rotation needs to straighten things out in order to challenge for a playoff spot. 

"I'm not an insider anymore, so I don't know all the things that are going on, but I do know that until their starting pitching becomes more consistent, it's going to be hard for them to catch up to these other teams." 

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