It’s not that there aren’t some legitimate questions about the Red Sox and their rotation heading into the 2012 season.
It’s not that the two pitchers who eventually end up getting the bulk of the starts out of the number four and number five slots in the rotation won’t have a dramatic impact on how the upcoming season pans out.
It’s just that it’s also important to remember that the first three slots in the starting pitching rotation otherwise known as “the heart of the rotation” for the bulk of major league teams is or could be pretty darned good.
Yes, John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka are hurt, and no, the Sox never did land any of the high profile starting pitchers that dotted the free-agent landscape for just over three months.
John Maine, Vicente Padilla and Aaron Cook are on the list of potential back-of-the-rotation starters. It’s the type of list that might elicit one of those “Who the heck are these guys??” types of statements as seen in the movie Major League.
There are three guys who will definitely start this season. In fact they’re going to be called the “number one, number two and number three starters.” They’re pretty good too. Who are they? Well in case you forgot….