Mr. Silver Lining

I know that we've all been coming down on the Sox lately. Heck, even SawxBlog is down: " I just have nothing to say on this team right now...pathetic." Absolutely justified, given the fact that a team that once boasted pitching depth is now scrambling for castoffs from the Kansas City Royals (see: Kyle Snyder). But wait, what's that?

Fear not, true believers, for Jon Lester showed signs of the pitcher we all want him to be tonight against the Braves. Going six innings and allowing only 5 hits with 3 BBs, 5 Ks and 1 ER, Lester showed he has the ability to toss plus-quality pitches and obtain the whiffs he needs. I'm pretty sure that a decent outing against a struggling team like the Braves doesn't count as an "emergence", but we've had so little to be optimistic lately that we might as well hope, right? Add in the fact that Lester's first career win comes on the same day our $9 million D-Lowe Lite was placed on the DL, and it becomes even more significant.

This is the kind of thing the Sox need to get going. There needs to be a freakin' youth movement in that bullpen and pitching staff. We're probably going to see Abe Alvarez come in to take the place of Clement, meaning we'll have 3 starters under 30... something I'm sure nobody foresaw until at least next season.

So, on a day that saw Chad Cordero fail to hold the Yankees, Matt Clement go on the DL with a boo-boo, and (almost forgot) Gabe "The Babe" Kapler rejoin his former team, we saw what could be the future of the Red Sox rotation pick up his first MLB victory.