Save us, John Lackey!

The Red Sox got absolutely shellacked tonight, after getting their butts handed to them last night. They're given up sixteen runs in two days. In fact, it's an incredible testament to how amazing they were in April that they're still sharing first place with the Orioles after losing five of their last six games.

The Sox have John Lackey on the mound tomorrow, and while his last start was less than impressive, the one before was solid. He should be able to pitch slightly deeper into the game than in his last start, as the extra limits on his pitch count due to the injury have been lifted.

I know Lackey isn't terribly popular in Red Sox Nation, although I think he's improved from being persona non grata to being sort of an afterthought. But I really think Lackey has the potential to do great things for this team. He used to be the number one starter for the Angels, and came in third in Cy Young voting in 2007 with a 19-9 record.

I'm not trying to say that Lackey's about to challenge for a Cy Young Award, or have his first 20-game season, but he's tossed over 200 innings five times in his career, and I really think that he can be an integral part of this rotation. Here's hoping he starts to prove me right tomorrow by stopping this downward spiral.