The Red Sox have found a replacement for former pitching coach John Farrell, and it’s someone who comes with an impressive résumé.
The Sox have signed former Oakland Athletics pitching coach Curt Young to fill the void left by Farrell. Young spent the last seven years with the A’s, guiding Oakland’s pitching staff to an AL-best 3.56 ERA in 2010. In fact, the A’s finished in the top-six in the AL in ERA during all seven of Young’s years with the club.
"We are lucky to be able to add an experienced pitching coach the caliber of Curt Young to the organization," said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein. "Curt has a proven track record of success in this job, mixing excellent relationship-building skills with expert knowledge of pitching and how to get hitters out at the Major League level. Pitchers who have worked with Curt swear by him, and the results speak for themselves. We think he will work well with our pitching staff and within the culture of our clubhouse."
With Boston, Young will inherit a staff that underperformed in 2010. Boston finished just ninth in the AL with a 4.19 ERA, despite having one of the most promising starting rotations in baseball heading into the season. Luckily for Young, the Red Sox enter the 2011 season with a presumably healthy rotation featuring Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka.
