Just under a month ago we were proclaiming that the time was right for the Red Sox' to put their best foot forward when it came to offering Eduardo Rodriguez an extension.
Believe it or not -- even after the Red Sox' 8-0 loss to the Blue Jays Tuesday night -- that hasn't changed. In fact, such moments, when players are feeling down on their luck, are oftentimes the best to when it comes to convincing that the time is right to sign on the dotted line. (See Josh Beckett, 2006.)
But that is a different conversation for a different time.
What is of the utmost importance in the here and the now for these Red Sox is getting Rodriguez right. Because, this loss in wind-swept Dunedin, Fla. showed, Alex Cora's club really, really needs the designated ace to be an actual ace.
In this case, Rodriguez had his chance to show the top-of-the-rotation merit so many have labeled with him despite the myocarditis uncertainty and year-off from pitching. He was going head-to-head with the Blue Jays' ace, Hyung Jin Ryu.
Either Rodriguez was going to show the second-place Jays what was what and push the Red Sox first-place lead back up to 2 1/2 games, or things were going to start to get uncomfortable. It was the latter.
Whether you wanted to use the box score (5 innings, 11 hits, 5 runs), or just the eye-test, it was clear this was not the Rodriguez the Red Sox were banking on.
Ryu, on the other hand, was the guy Toronto had no problem leaning on, ending up with seven shutout innings.
Should the Rodriguez dynamic offer some cause for concern? Somewhat. The pitcher said repeatedly after the game it was just a matter of missing his spots. Cora noted the lefty's inability to throw an effective cutter.
For whatever reason (and yes, the fastball velocity is down slightly from 2019), this is closer to the dead-arm Rodriguez than the get-on-my-back Rodriguez.
Fortunately for the Red Sox, their other starting rotation options all carry ERAs under 4.00 while Rodriguez tries to whittle down his current mark of 4.70. But there are going to be instances like this again -- whether it be in tiny Dunedin or the big, bad Bronx.
The Red Sox need to get Rodriguez right.
