Red Sox Far From Invincible

The 90th version of the Boston Red Sox came south with several questions, as befitting a third-place, .512 team. Who would play right field? Who would play first base? And, most notably, what to do about a pitching staff that has too few starters and too many closers?

Now, as the engine begins to warm on the first season of the post-lockout era, the Red Sox have managed to solve only the first-base question. And even that is tenuous. Is the Billy Jo Robidoux-Carlos Quintana platoon system the answer until Mo Vaughn is ready? Maybe. Does Billy Buckner fit in? Probably for now, as part of the 27-man roster. But not after that.

For the most part, the everyday positions this year will be filled with the same faces as last year, when the Red Sox collapsed behind the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles. Other than first base, the only sure difference is catcher, where Tony Pena takes over.

And then there is the pitching, or lack thereof. The starting rotation looks to be Roger Clemens, Mike Boddicker, John Dopson and a cast of thousands. The bullpen is strong, if chemically unbalanced because there is one short-man too many. There is only one answer -- Lee Smith has to go. General Manager Lou Gorman knows it. Unfortunately, so does the rest of baseball, so no one is offering enough by Gorman’s standards.

So, we have a team whose pitching is questionable, whose speed is non-existent (except for center fielder Ellis Burks) and whose primary power source last year, Nick Esasky, now plays in Atlanta.

But there is good news for the Red Sox. Help is on the way. If spring training answered any question unequivocally, it is that the crop of youngsters steaming toward Fenway is better than even the organization thought. And even better, even the ever-cautious Red Sox management says it won’t be long before Tim Naehring, Vaughn, Scott Cooper, Kevin Morton and Mickey Pina are in the bigs.

If mixed properly with the current nucleus, the youngsters could make this franchise one of the more highly charged teams of the 90s.

Does all of this mean the Red Sox are just playing out the year, waiting for the future to arrive, and thus are destined for third place again? Possibly. But in the equal-opportunity American League East -- where the prevailing mediocrity makes all things possible for all teams -- the Red Sox could even win it, barring serious injuries to key players.

But don’t count on it. Second place is more likely, behind the Blue Jays. Or third. Or fourth. Or some place even lower than that.

The team expects to take 11 pitchers to start the season. Sure things are Clemens, Boddicker, Dopson, Wes Gardner, Greg Harris, Dennis Lamp, Rob Murphy, Jeff Reardon and Lee Smith.

That leaves Mike Rochford, Eric Hetzel, Dana Kiecker and Tom Bolton fighting for the last two spots.

Whatever the configuration, we’re not talking the 1969 Baltimore Orioles here.

Clemens (17-11, 3.13) has had a monster spring, and seems driven to carry that into the regular season. Just don’t ask him about it. The only question at this point is whether he will wear Jim Rice’s No.14 Opening Day. Or maybe he’ll opt for Al Nipper’s No. 49.

Behind Clemens comes Boddicker (15-11, 4.00) and Dopson (12-8, 3.99). Boddicker had a horrendous start last year, but finished strongly. He has pitched passably this spring, alternating between making people look foolish with his assortment of curveballs and off-speed stuff, and getting hit hard. He says he is ready, but a fast start is a must. Dopson remains an enigma. He was a surprise last year and Manager Joe Morgan is pleased with his spring. But, sometimes he just checks out mentally. And virtually every pitch is an adventure. Rich Gedman says he has no idea how Dopson’s ball is going to break. “And he doesn’t, either,” Gedman said.

After those three, life becomes a mystery. The Red Sox had hoped to use Smith as the trade material that would bring in a fourth starter, allowing them to use one of the current hired hands as a fifth starter. The lack of a trade has deep-sixed that plan, and the demise of Shane Rawley forced the team to hold an open audition for both jobs throughout the spring.

The results were less than sterling. The only candidate who really pitched well each time out was rookie Dana Kiecker, and he has ane excellent chance of making the roster as a fifth starter or long man out of the bullpen. But as a fifth starter. The fourth slot will go by default to Gardner (3-7, 5.97). The Red Sox remain exasperated by Gardner’s inability to pitch up to his potential. “It has to be Gardner right now,” Gorman said. “He has the most experience and the best arm. We just have to hope he gets straightened out.” Another possibility is left-handed Rochford, particularly early in the year against predominantly left-handed hitting teams like the Tigers.