The Red Sox say they will allow rookie starting pitcher Clay Buchholz to hone his skills in the major leagues this season, but expect him to approach his job with maturity and keep his right arm in tiptop shape.

Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

Early-season hiccups and lineup changes don’t bother the Boston Red Sox.

Just because rookie sensations Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz haven’t exploded onto the scene in the very early stages of this season like they did for the Red Sox late last season doesn’t mean management is worried.

Sure, expectations are extremely high for both since they made significant contributions last fall. And, Red Sox management is expecting both to experience their share of lumps, which is only natural.

“We’re trying to manage those expectations a little bit,” said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein. “And our expectations internally might not be quite as high as people externally. It’s something we’ll have to deal with.”

If, for some reason, that doesn’t seem realistic coming from a major-league GM, all anyone would have to do is look back to April of last season. Then-rookie Dustin Pedroia had a horrendous first month after he earned the starting job at second base. He hit a lowly .182, and most were calling for management to make a change.

The Red Sox didn’t.

Time and again manager Terry Francona said Pedroia would be fine, and he was. He was a big reason why the Red Sox enjoyed a World Series title in 2007, while earning the Rookie of the Year award in the process.

The Red Sox will have that same sort of patience with Ellsbury and Buchholz.

Boston doesn’t want to be the type of organization to worry about making the tough decision. If something needs to be done, management does it. Case in point: Coco Crisp was struggling offensively during the postseason last October, so the decision was made to insert Ellsbury into center field. Not only did the rookie sensation ignite the lineup, but he also proved to be a valuable commodity on so many different levels, both on and off the field.

Ellsbury and Buchholz became overnight success stories. Women love them and kids adore them.

After his postseason heroics, Ellsbury hired super agent Scott Boras. With a no-hitter in only his second big-league start, Buchholz went out and hooked up with a Penthouse Pet. “If someone’s total baseball viewing experience was the 2007 Red Sox, they would probably have a little bit of a warped view of young players because it doesn’t really happen too frequently where guys come up in August and all of a sudden they’re going 4-for-5 in a World Series game and riding off into the sunset,” said Epstein. “Development isn’t a linear thing and there are real struggles that can affect an entire team if you rely on a lot of young players the way we are.”

Epstein was quick to point out there has been, and will be, ups and downs for the short term, having such young talent involved. But for the long term, it’s the right thing to do.

Buchholz learned that quickly last September. Only a couple of weeks removed from his Sept. 1 no-no against the Orioles, the Red Sox shut down the talented right-hander for the remainder of the season due to arm-strength issues. There was also speculation the organization was worried about his off-field habits and that’s why he wasn’t around as a non-roster player for the World Series.

“We sat down last fall and had a very important heart-to-heart talk with him about what we expect from him,” said Francona. “We just didn’t assume he would show up and be ready to go. We told him exactly what we expected because if we don’t do that we’re wrong. We don’t want to have any more talks with Clay about not being able to finish the season. That’s all part of learning. I’m not blaming him, that’s our responsibility.”

Ellsbury, who hit .360 with four doubles, four RBI and eight runs scored in 11 postseason games, was given the star-studded treatment during the offseason. He arrived in Fort Myers clearly bigger and stronger.

Because there was so much talk about the Red Sox trading Crisp, it almost seemed like the club was handing Ellsbury the center-field job, which he definitely earned with his contributions last season. Management was also hoping for a little bit of competition this spring, but Crisp was hampered by a groin injury during camp.

There’s no question Ellsbury makes things happen when he’s in the lineup because of his natural ability and blazing speed. But, the 24-year-old still needs to hone those skills.

“He still has a lot of development left,” said Epstein. “The biggest thing for him is taking his BP swing into games. If you look in BP he’s now developed a real classic swing with natural loft and backspin. The ball jumps off his bat and carries. In a game, he sometimes doesn’t quite have that same approach. He can be late or cut his swing off a little bit. That’s the natural evolution of any young hitter is to take good BP swing into a game against different kinds of pitchers.”

Epstein knows it takes certain players longer to figure it out, and even though Ellsbury is still learning, the GM doesn’t think it’ll take that long.

“He’s got a great combination of athleticism and aptitude,” Epstein said. “It will happen with him, it’s just a matter of when. I think he can be a good player even before he makes that adjustment, he just won’t drive the ball consistently. Once he takes that swing into the game, he’ll really start to drive the ball consistently. Then he’ll take his game to another level.”

One of the most comfortable aspects for the Red Sox as they began spring training this season was that they have their entire World Series lineup back. That’s almost unheard of in professional sports, especially baseball.

Epstein didn’t have to go out and sign a big-name free agent because the character in the clubhouse, along with the success of the young talent in the organization equals a winning combination for Boston, which should last for seasons to come.

The nucleus is intact no matter how early in the season it is.

jmcdonal@projo.com