Drew Pomeranz took tons of heat last year and at the beginning of this year. Now, however, he is earning the respect of Red Sox nation.
Yes, he is the guy who went to an art museum on the day of his start and got lit up but hey, this is America. I believe that you have the right to do that and the fans really can’t complain. That’s liberty. Anyhoo, since late May, the guy has straight up been dealing.
He threw a 6.2 inning start on Wednesday and in it, he only surrendered one run, and it wasn’t even earned. You wouldn’t have believed that three months ago but hey, times change. Pablo Sandoval used to be the Red Sox third baseman, so did Will Middlebrooks. Jenny Dell used to be the Red Sox sideline reporter, but she’s married to Middlebrooks. Gary Striewski used to have Jenny’s job, but he’s now a grad student at Lasell College. So yeah, times change….
But yeah, Pomeranz has flat out been dealing like a card dealer in Vegas since about mid-May. His Wednesday start lowered his on-the-year ERA to 3.51. That’s right: Pomeranz has a 3.51 ERA on the year—pitching at a hitter’s park in the American League in one of the toughest markets in an era where home runs are near a record pace. Who in the heck would’ve predicted that? Nadie maybe, which is Spanish for “no one”. That’s right, I took an extra year of Spanish in high school and remember enough of it to the point where I could write 75 percent of this blog post in the language. That’s not a brag, that’s a promise.
For Pomeranz though: put him in a rotation with Chris Sale and David Price and then there’s three of the most potent left-handers in the league altogether and that’s pretty special. Eduardo Rodriguez–if healthy–could contribute to that cause and make it a big four, but no one is betting their house on that. In fact, I’m going to ask you don’t bet your house on anything. Pretty risky.
Speaking of risky, the Padres, who withheld medical records, got Anderson Espinoza in the Pomeranz deal and Espinoza has been hurt all year, so he has not pitched an inning. Kharma.