He’s now a big deal
Pomeranz performance a winning play for Sox
ST. PETERSBURG Fla. — Can’t say I blame you if you thought, even as late as this April, that the Drew Pomeranz trade was a big old mistake by Dave Dombrowski.
But I would say you’re being very stubborn if you can’t admit to today’s truth. One year in, actually 359 days in, the trade finally has reversed course and taken a turn into the win column. A clear-cut win, that is. Pomeranz’ last start of the first half for the Red Sox last night was far from perfect — five walks and six hits allowed over six innings — but when he needed to, Pomeranz delivered the right pitch and got exemplary defense behind him in an 8-3 win over the Rays. That’s what good pitchers do. And Pomeranz (9-4) is now the good pitcher the Red Sox traded for a year ago.
It took awhile, but make no mistake. This is the guy.
“Yeah, but I think it’s a little better,” said Pomeranz about his most recent run — 6-2, 2.57 ERA over 10 starts vs. 8-7, 2.47 ERA over his first 17 starts with San Diego. “Just being in this league, you have to mix it up and that’s kind of made me grow as a pitcher and get better at things that I needed to be successful here. So I think I’m pitching as good as I was last year in the first half, but I think I’m a better pitcher now, just the way I’m attacking guys.”
Manager John Farrell lived through the peaks and valleys Pomeranz rode upon his arrival in Boston — damaged goods, inconsistent performance, elbow procedure in the offseason, slow start this season — but he agrees we all see now what Red Sox scouts saw a year ago when Pomeranz was heading to the All-Star Game.
“I think this is probably similar to what he did in San Diego prior to the All-Star Game last year,” said Farrell. “It’s been much publicized some of the elbow (woes) that he went through last year when he was not pitching at 100 percent. But when you look at the crispness of his stuff, the power of his fastball he’s able to maintain, and the cutter is certainly a pitch that does help him. He got a couple of key ground balls with it tonight.”
If you’re a fan of any team, it’s not really admirable form to root against former players who get shipped out in a trade, especially when they are hurt. And Anderson Espinoza, dealt for Pomeranz, has not pitched an inning yet this year, while battling a forearm issue.
There’s nothing wrong with both teams winning a trade, if Espinoza blossoms into an ace one day, or if the two farmhands who netted Chris Sale — Michael Kopech and Yoan Moncada — turn into All-Stars. If they all come through, the result of the Pomeranz and Sale deals will long since been weighed and assessed. The two lefties are here to help push the Red Sox into the World Series in this window of one-to-three years.
And now Pomeranz looks more than capable of fulfilling his end of Dombrowski’s deal.
“It’s great, it’s a huge confidence boost for me,” said Pomeranz. “A few of those outings there I just kind of felt lost out there on the mound and I had to sit down and just rethink everything. Kind of get back to where I was last year and think about what I needed to do to be successful and have a run like this, and stay in there and give us a chance to win. I just started attacking guys, like I said, and let them put it in play because our guys make great plays behind me, the best defense. I’m just trying to roll with it.”
Confidence is critical, so the conviction with which Pomeranz views the finish to his first half is convincing.
“We’re not seeing misfires that we saw earlier in the year up to his armside, and that’s a credit to him and the work he’s done,” said Farrell. “Much has been made about some of the work he’s done with his delivery. But he’s been able to make adjustments from pitch to pitch where back in April, that wasn’t necessarily the case.”
And now Pomeranz’ case is completed. He’s a solid No. 2 or No. 3 starter, and while it may take awhile to convince everyone he’s dependable and effective, he’s off to a strong start.
A strong finish will close the book on the deal.