When the Boston Red Sox opened up the 2009 season, they were presumed to have the most pitching depth of any team. They had Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield and Brad Penny in the big leagues with Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden in the minors. They also had John Smoltz rehabbing his way back to health to help in the second half.
Since then, Dice-K and Wake went down with injuries while Smoltz and Penny were released. Buchholz has come up and done a tremendous job while Bowden has filled in twice this season. They’ve even had young Japanese righty Junichi Tazawa help out.
Enter Paul Byrd.
At the end of the 2008 season, Byrd decided that he wanted to pitch only half a season so that he could spend more time with his family. When he was ready to pitch, no one wanted him so he began to face facts that he may never pitch again in the big leagues. He said he was okay with that and then the Red Sox came calling and it was too good to pass up.
Byrd had been throwing batting practice and coaching his sons’ baseball team and by doing so that allowed him to keep his arm in shape. So when he took the mound at Fenway Park, no one knew what to expect.
I don’t honestly think anyone would have thought that Byrd would go out and throw six scoreless innings against the Blue Jays but he did just that. Byrd did what the Red Sox had hoped for when they signed Smoltz. They wanted a veteran pitcher who could go out and throw 5-7 innings, keeping them in the ballgame and then letting the best bullpen in baseball do its job.
Well it only took until August 30th for Theo Epstein to find someone to do that job. And it came from an unlikely source in Byrd.
Humming Byrd [Boston Globe]
A bright light in the shadows [Boston Globe]
Wakefield to receive shot [Boston Globe]
Byrd Leads Sox Past Jays [Hartford Courant]
Wakefield’s Cranky Back Puts Season In Jeopardy [Hartford Courant]
Matsuzaka roughed up in rehab outing [Extra Bases]
Things are looking up [Lou Merloni – WEEI.com]
There was no guarantee for Byrd [Full Count]
Matsuzaka’s tale of two innings [Full Count]
Wakefield in a Week? Pitcher Hopes for Speedy Return [Full Count]
What’s Byrd’s Deal? [Full Count]
A magical day for Byrd, a forgettable one for Halladay [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Billy Wagner sharp and effective in Red Sox debut [Providence Journal]
Byrd’s journey: 13-and-under league to the big leagues, in about a month [Providence Journal]
Entering September, Sox hope they have finally found consistency [Providence Journal]
What’s Up With Doc? Halladay’s Struggles Continue [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Five Things We Learned: Wagner Makes a Dazzling First Impression [Joe Haggerty – WEEI.com]
Red Sox set for crucial series at the Trop [RedSox.com]
Red Sox to welcome depth with callups [RedSox.com]
Paul Byrd steps in and delivers [Boston Herald]
In debut, Billy Wagner fans side in 8th [Boston Herald]
Red Sox value Paul Byrd in hand [Boston Herald]
Daisuke Matsuzaka goes back for 2nd try [Boston Herald]
Tim Wakefield set for shot on hurt back [Boston Herald]
Good thing Red Sox didn’t get Roy Halladay [Batter-up with Bruno]
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.
And if the enemy papers are more your flavor, you can head over to the Toronto Star and Toronto Sun websites.
