The Official "keep Arroyo In The Rotation!" Thread

[Zenny]

NOTE: Don't freak if you've seen this before. I started the topic on NetSports and I'm copying and pasting the crap over here too. It's a relevant topic that needs to be discussed among Sox fans and I'm too lazy to come up with more original stuff.

Bronson Arroyo has done a fantastic job for cheap money this season. With time, he could become a very good #3 or 4 starter on a championship caliber team; and that may happen as quickly as this season.

Derek Lowe has been awful, but he has the tenure and the price tag. Sox Brass has a somewhat rightful love affair with BK Kim's potential. These two could spell disaster for Arroyo as a starter and that should not happen.

He has also been very effective working deeper into games as well. For pitches 61-75, 76-90 and 91-105, he has an OPS against of .633, .692 and .409 respectively. His OPS splits per every three innings (1-3, 4-6, 7-9) are .780, .682 and .701. Clearly, the arm strength and stamina are both there for him to be effective deeper into games as well.

He has not been as effective at Fenway, but I think that is about timing. Most of his early starts when he was struggling came at Fenway and his later, better starts have been on the road. Plus, half the team can't hit on the road and the other half crush at Fenway, so he doesn't need to be as perfect at Fenway. Although, consistency would be nice.

Some 2004 Splits
Starter: 4.04 ERA
Road: 3.06 ERA
Home: 5.27 ERA

Monthly Splits
April: 5.79
May: 4.44
June: 4.18
July: 1.20 (as of 7/18)

Once BK comes back, Derek Lowe should not maintain his rotation spot; Bronson Arroyo should.

[gosox613]

i agree, arroyo is a great developing starter. he has thrown some excellent games in which the opposing team scored little to no runs. i find his era and record very bad representation of his talent

[schillingouttheks]

we all need to remember, he is a young pitcher who was put into a great deal of competetiveness, and for that, his talent will grow like never before in a pitcher we have seen. his record may not be the greatest, but his talent will grow with every year that builds up to his prime. remember, he could be one of the young players the d-backs are looking for, but dont know about :ph34r: . he is a great pitcher that will bring a lot to the table come 2005-07, and more.

[element1151]

He should get a win against the Mariners tomorrow.

[elsrbueno]

I couldn't agree more, honestly. Derek Lowe has done very little to prove he still deserves a spot in the rotation. I think Arroyo (despite his record) has been one of the better #5 starters in baseball, and will continue to be a quality starter in the future. He seems to be a classic "tough luck" pitcher this year, when he pitches well, it seems the Sox don't score runs for him.

We'll see how his next few starts play out...anyone with an idea of Kim's ETA?

[RedSoxRooter]

No need to bend my arm on this one...

I don't think it will be an issue as I don't think we'll be seeing BK in Boston anytime soon. He'll need to be able to go longer than 2-3 innings and he'll have to throw harder than the 85-86 that's been reported out of Pawtucket. If he does get promoted to Boston, I see him in long relief for a while.

What I think is more likely is Arroyo being involved in a trade to get a decent #3 starter - effectively making Lowe the #5.

I said earlier this year that I&#39;d like to see Arroyo pitch "10-15 starts" (I caught real hell for that too <_< by the way..) and he has done that now. Here are my thoughts on him.

1- He&#39;s got a Casey Fossum-ish build which doesn&#39;t help him. He&#39;s been trying to bulk up some which has added some velocity to the fastball. I think he&#39;s up to 91 or so, but he has to throw it with every ounce of his being, therefore causing him to be a little wild at times.

2- He keeps the ball down pretty well, but needs to avoid the hangers more. I think the reason he gets hit well at Fenway is because he doesn&#39;t pitch to the parks strength. He pitches like he&#39;s got 350 feet to play with in left, which has lead to a ton of balls hitting near the top of the scoreboard - which are outs in any other park.

3- He needs an out pitch, which could be taken care of if he gets just 1 or 2 more miles on the fastball. This is something I think he can do by the beginning of next year if he works out this winter.

4- Probably the best thing about Arroyo is he approaches each game the exact same way. He&#39;s very level headed and doesn&#39;t get rattled. It doesn&#39;t matter if he&#39;s facing the Royals or the Yankees, you basically know what you&#39;re going to get.

5- When he runs into a jam, he sloooowwws down the game. This is fine except with a less than perfect defense behind him, it can lead to defensive lapses - which always seem to hurt Arroyo. This is not Arroyo&#39;s fault, but he&#39;s got to find a way to keep his defense awake/involved like Schilling seems to.

6- I don&#39;t like the hit batsmen, but I do like that he throws inside.

Those are just some of my thoughts on his season so far. He&#39;s certainly not a 3-7 pitcher but I think he can salvage this season and end with a winning record if given the chance.

[sarasoxfan]

i hate to beat a dead horse and I agree with nearly everything you all have siad. But a lot of the comments you mentioned seem to be issue that an effective manager and pitching coach might address.

The whole manny thing and the current up one minute and down the next personality of this team spells trouble.

We need some wins and fast.

I am still fuming over starting BLowe after the break. That was so fucking stupid.

Now he is going to use derek againhst the yankees.

God, Scocia would look good in our dogout.

[elsrbueno]

Bronson certainly didn&#39;t hurt his chances last night with a good outing.....

Now if the Sox could only hold leads for him...