A lot of stupid things have happened this season, but we've officially reached the peak. Steven Wright will miss his next start after jamming his shoulder diving into second as he ran the bases as a pinch-runner in Sunday's loss to the Dodgers. Clay Buchholz will get the start in his stead.
Alright, this? This is a fireable offense.
We've seen the Red Sox take a couple serious hits due to players dealing with unfamiliar roles in recent years, with Hanley Ramirez and Blake Swihart crashing into the wall in foul territory and ruining their seasons in 2015 and 2016 respectively. But at least in those situations the Sox were trying to fill a starting role. Here? Here they wanted a pinch-runner for David Ortiz but didn't really have the bench depth to give him one. So they turned to a pitcher.
This, in itself, is not the absolute worst idea in the world. What is the worst idea in the world is taking one of the most productive members of a rotation that's just barely pulling itself together and throwing him into that situation. Fernando Abad was set to take Price's spot on the mound in the next inning, why not send him in to run? Send Buchholz or Ross or anyone but one of the most important guys on the roster who has no business running the bases.
But no, out went Wright, down went Wright, and now out will go Buchholz to start a game in August. God help us all.
Oh, and just to cut off the conspiracy theories before they spread to the comments: Farrell has openly said the Red Sox would consider trying to avoid throwing Wright in the heat and humidity, and it was largely considered a decent idea. If this was what they were aiming for, they would just say as much, rather than making up a story that looks just horrible. It would be pointless and make even less sense than using Wright as a pinch-runner in the first place.