Tanner Houck talks his evolution
This wasn't necessarily exactly how the Red Sox mapped things out. It's not the first time. That's why we have quotes about it.
"The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry." - Robert Burns.
"The devil fools with best laid plans." - Neil Young.
But, at the same time ...
"To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect." - Oscar Wilde.
Take your pick. Whatever the case, it's working out for these Red Sox.
Kutter Crawford did it again during Wednesday night's 6-2 win over the Giants, allowing just two runs over seven innings. It put his ERA at 1.56, with the Sox starters' sitting with a combined number of 2.03.
It also kept a very interesting conversation alive: Do the Red Sox actually possess the best 1-2 starting pitching punch in baseball right now?
The "best-laid plans" heading into the season put Brayan Bello and Nick Pivetta at the top of the starting pitching heap. And a few weeks before that you could have included Lucas Giolito. Crawford and Houck? They were simply hoping their fate wasn't going to lead them back to the bullpen.
Now, it's almost silly to think of such things.
What isn't up for interpretation is how fortunate the Red Sox have been in finding this top-of-the-rotation combination. While they try and weather the storm that has come with injuries to Giolito, Bello, Pivetta and Garrett Whitlock, the certainty of Crawford and Houck has allowed pressure to be taken off all those who have filled in behind them - not to mention the bullpen.
Where the debate does reside in baseball is exactly how we should view what the Red Sox have compared to other teams' pair of aces. In that regard, a case can certainly be made that Boston possesses the best of the bunch.
A trip through the Fangraphs database will support the Red Sox' starters' case. Houck and Crawford join Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler as the only pitchers with a WAR as high as 1.4. And using the Web site's metric of converting that number into current monetary worth, Houck comes out as the most valuable pitcher in baseball ($11.4 million), with Wheeler next at $11 million and Crawford just behind with a $10.9 million valuation.
Houck and Crawford are the only teammates who reside in the Top 7 of FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), sitting at first and seventh, respectively. The next group that comes close belongs to Detroit (Tarik Skubal, 4th; Reese Olson, 10th).
As for the Red Sox' duo's chief competition for the honor, there are certainly some who can enter the debate.
When it comes to combined ERA, Houck and Whitlock (1.59) are edged out by two other tandems - the Cubs' Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad (1.39) and the Phillies' Ranger Suarez and Spencer Turnbull (1.47).
But it certainly doesn't damage the Sox's pair's case too much sitting at No. 3, especially considering who they are still better than: 4. Seattle's Logan Gilbert/Bryce Miller (2.03), 5. Kansas City's Seth Lugo/Brady Singer (2.04), 6. San Francisco's Jordan Hicks/Logan Webb (2.36), and 7. the Dodgers' Tyler Glasnow/Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.81).
Are they better than the Top 2? Well, the Cubs' case is rooted heavily in the ERA leader, Imanaga, with Chicago totaling a 9-3 record when its Top 2 pitches. The Phillies' pair? They might have the best case considering Philadelphia's 11-1 mark when Suarez and Turnbull pitch.
But the point is that the Red Sox' have an unexpected luxury most teams would kill for. That was put on display once again, this time leading Alex Cora's crew to its fourth straight win.