Game 37: Beckett, Sox win one on the road

by Randy Booth on May 17, 2009 11:54 AM EDT in Game Stories

FINAL: Red Sox 5, Mariners 3

Why thank you, Josh Beckett. You finally put forth a pretty good performance.

It wasn't the best start this season by a Sox starter, but it was Beckett's best since Opening Day. He went seven full innings, surrendered four hits, three runs (two earned), walked three and struck out five while throwing 120 pitches. It was just what the Sox and their bullpen needed to grab a victory.

The offense was supplied by trifecta of J names: Jason Bay hit a two-run home run in the first inning, Jason Varitek did the same in the second inning and Jeff Bailey got off the schnide by hitting a solo shot in the 5th. The power was back -- at least for one night.

The bullpen picked up right where Beckett left off. With the tight score, Hideki Okajima worked the first two outs of the 8th and Ramon Ramirez finished it off by getting a groundball to end the inning. Jonathan Papelbon earned his AL-leading 10th save in a one-hit 9th inning.

See, this was the game that should have happened with Jon Lester on the mound the other night. Unlike Lester, Beckett held the lead and let the bullpen finish the job. We can't blame Lester completely for that loss, but in many ways these two games were very similar -- but one had a much better finish to it.

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I posted this at the end of last nights thread, but

it is better here.
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We won last night with a good team effort, but there was an invitation to disaster by our overly loyal or optimistic manager! Can you guess what it was?

Similarly to the night before, Francona almost ignored his strengths to the point of giving the game away. He left Beckett in with over 100 pitches, indeed up to 120 pitches. If this was the MFY, okay. However, we have the strongest bullpen in Baseball, so use your strengths. You can defend him/this, I guess , but the game Friday night was ours if we just used our strenghts. You cannot give these games away because the starter might be okay with 120 pitches or we might tire the bullopen. Horsecrap! A win is a win, and we have not only the strongest pen out there, we have the deepest. So what am I missing that out illustrious manager sees??

by NG on May 17, 2009 12:14 PM EDT reply actions

Problem is, NG, that we've been OVERUSING our strength.

We don’t want a bunch of flamethrowers who can barely reach 93 by August.

WBULTV - BDale TV Prod

by bdalebs on May 17, 2009 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions

If Lopez hadn't imploded

We’d have been in much better shape. However, because he couldn’t get himself straightened out, we had to call up our “ace in the hole” for the bullpen already. We don’t have too much of a margin for error remaining, and the best way to blow it is to overuse it now. (It’ll help when Masterson gets back into the rotation mix, too.)

When the starters can reliably get into the seventh inning, then Tito can worry about yanking them when the time is right. But right now, the Sox’s starting rotation isn’t getting the job done, and we need more innings out of them.

by lone1c on May 17, 2009 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm going to assume you meant...

(It’ll help when Masterson gets back from the rotation mix, too.)

Agreed. We can sacrifice a few wins now if it preserves the bullpen for the playoff run or the playoffs themselves.

WBULTV - BDale TV Prod

by bdalebs on May 17, 2009 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions

"We can sacrifice a few wins now if it preserves the bullpen "

What assumptions are included in such a statement. That the starters will go longer and win later in the season?? Why???

To me, a win is a win, and get them whenever you can. Why do you seem to feel the bullpen will be worn out from pitching from the 6th on and not the 7th inning on?? Again, we have a very deep bullpen! It is our strength, so use it. When a starter reaches 90-100 pitches, take the natural human tiring into reality and begin using your deep strength!

by NG on May 17, 2009 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions

There is an upper limit

Looking at the most used pitchers from last year, only five bullpen pitchers threw more than 80 innings and appeared in more than 72 games. So let’s reasonably use 80 innings as an upper bound.

Four innings per game is 648 innings over the course of a season. Over a seven-man bullpen, that’s an average of about 92.5 innings per pitcher. And with a closer who usually has a somewhat reduced workload, that means that several of your pitcher-spots would have a 100+ inning workload. That’s too much.

There is a certain point where you have to put the long-term health and effectiveness of your team over the need to win a particular game.

by lone1c on May 17, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions