Now That's a Top of the Rotation!

I know we're only a couple of weeks into the 2013 baseball season, but man have the starters at the top of the Red Sox rotation given fans a lot to be hopeful about!  Let's look at how Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz have fared after 3 starts a piece:

Jon Lester is cruising right along, with a 2-0 record with an impressive 1.42 ERA.  In 19 innings pitched he's allowed just 15 hits and 3 total earned runs.  His strikeout-to-walk-ratio is an impressive 6:1 (18 Ks, just 3 walks).  He once again looks like a legitimate left-handed ace.

If Jon's numbers are considered impressive, then Clay Buchholz has been mind-blowing.  He's a perfect 3-0, and in 22 innings has allowed just a single earned run for a miniscule 0.41 ERA!  In yesterday's effort he took a no-hitter into the 8th inning and struck out a career high 11 batters.

I think it's certainly interesting to debate just how much of this success can be attributed to new manager John Farrell.  I tend to be skeptical about a manager's impact on their starting pitching rotation, but with John's history as a Red Sox pitching coach with both of these guys you can't help but assume there's a tie-in there.

All I know is, I hope Jon and Clay can keep it up!  How about you, if you're a Red Sox fan how much impact, if any, do you think Farrell has had on these two guys in 2013?  Even if you're not a Sox fan, how much weight do you put on the manager when it comes to the performance of his starting rotation?