Neither Nor

Michael Kopech made his second start of the spring yesterday, and it was pretty much like his first, only worse. Kopech went 2.2 innings against the Dodgers, giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits, three walks and a HBP. He threw 32 pitches while facing fourteen Dodgers in an eventual 12-9 loss. Also yesterday, Sox manager Mickey Mouse wouldn’t say Kopech was going to be one of his starting pitchers. Why, pray tell, would you put him in the bullpen? A clean inning just isn’t part of his mindset. Maybe I should mention here that the big Texas righthander is 27-years old. How much longer do you wait for him to put it together? If I were in charge, I’d pretty much make it clear that I wasn’t looking at strikeouts or ERA to make my decision; it would be WHIP. Anything over 1.25 by the end of spring training, and I’d find myself another pitcher. Kopech’s WHIP stands at 1.29 after two starts.