It's highly unlikely that the Red Sox needed additional evidence to confirm this, but a rainy Patriots Day loss to the Los Angeles Angels served as a reminder that the development of young pitching is not always linear.
Often, as young pitchers progress, they are often detoured, taking two steps backward for every one step forward.
Case in point: Brayan Bello.
In the opinion of many evaluators, Bello has the potential to be the organization's best homegrown pitching prospect in a decade or more. But predicting timetables for that maturation, for completing that final step, is something that eludes even the most detail-oriented front office. No amount of data can accurately predict when the finished product will arrive.
Bello's spring has been complicated by some forearm soreness that he experienced in February. That slowed his buildup throughout spring training and led him to need three rehab starts after the team left Fort Myers as he methodically added arm strength.
Monday was his 2023 debut and a finer setting he could not have asked for: the annual Patriots Day celebration, coupled with a matchup against Shohei Ohtani.
That was the fantasy, anyway. The reality was far more harsh.
Rain delayed the game by an hour, making his pre-game routine a little more uncertain. And when the game began, Bello was not sharp. The Angels successfully sat on his sinker, and when he mislocated it a few times, he paid dearly. The big blow in the first was a three-run shot into the Monster Seats from Hunter Renfroe.
The first inning was harrowing -- nine Angels to the plate, 37 pitches thrown and four runs allowed.
The second inning wasn't much better. Consecutive singles to start and a one-out groundout produced another run. Then, when the rain returned and intensified in the top of the third, the tarp was rolled out and an 85-minute delay ensued. Bello's day -- nasty, brutish and short -- was over.
"I just feel a little bit frustrated with myself,'' admitted Bello, "but I know I'll be able to deliver as I know I can out there. I just need to keep working and be better for the next outing.''
Indeed, if Bello needed any confirmation that things can turn around in a hurry, he need look no further than the guy who replaced him after the delay. Kutter Crawford inherited a two-on, two-out mess in the top of the third, got Zack Neto to fly out and never looked back.
Crawford took it the rest of the way, giving the Red Sox nearly 6.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing exactly one hit the rest of the way. He didn't issue a walk and fanned five. His lone hiccup featured back-to-back errors on throws -- on a slow roller, another on a pickoff attempt -- that suggested perhaps Crawford had slept in when the Sox were going through PFP drills in Fort Myers.
Otherwise, he was virtually flawless.
''Huge,'' said Cora of Crawford's outing. "Stuff, great. Command, great. Efficient.''
Crawford did precisely what the Red Sox needed on the afternoon. Trailing 5-1 when play resumed, Crawford kept the Angels within striking distance the remainder of the game. The Sox got two back in the sixth and another in the ninth, but couldn't pull even.
It's worth noting that Crawford's 2023 debut was about as effective as Bello's Monday. Back on April 3, as part of the season's first homestand, Crawford was knocked around for seven runs in just four innings in a loss.
But he rebounded nicely in his next start, allowing just one run over five innings in a win over Detroit.
He was then caught in a roster crunch. The Red Sox needed a spot for the return of Garrett Whitlock and Crawford was optioned back to Worcester, where the Sox wanted him to continue to get stretched out as a starter.
Days later, however, fate -- in the form of some injuries -- required an arm that could provide length in the bullpen. Enter Crawford, who chipped in with three innings of one-run ball. Then came Monday, with 6.1 scoreless.
All tolled, Crawford has allowed one run over 9.1 innings.
How he fits in going forward is unclear. In the short-term, the Sox are going to a six-man rotation that doesn't include Crawford, but Monday was proof that he can contribute in other ways.
"It's kind of been a whirlwind,'' he acknowledged of the last week or so. "But I know at the end of the day, I know that there are decisions that need to be made with the roster and whatnot. But I know that no matter what my role is, I know I have one job to do and that's to go out there and fill the (strike) zone up and give my team the best chance to win.''
Crawford did that Monday. Bello, frankly, did not.
It happens, as the former could no doubt tell the latter, and it's all part of waiting for young pitching to stabilize.