Red Sox Pitching Could Cost Season
by Marisa Ingemi on Mar 10, 2011 6:57 PM EST
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The Red Sox have had one of their best offseasons in their history, we know that. Highlighted by Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, the Boston offense is expected to be the best in the league.
And rightfully so. They are also getting back Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia from injury, yet they were still second in the American League in runs. If an offense with Daniel Nava can do that, this one certainly can.
But even with that going right in 2010, the Red Sox were left on the outside looking in. This was for one reason; pitching. While Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz were Cy Young finalists, the disappointing seasons from Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka overshadowed it.
And while this was a major problem, even worse was the bullpen. Even star closer Jonathan Papelbon had an ERA over .400. Behind him were the struggles of Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez. Well now two thirds of that problem is gone, and they have been replaced by Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler, two much better options.
But those better options also have their risks. Jenks is coming off the worst season of his career, albeit a lot of BABIP was to blame. Dan Wheeler has had a good few years, but we have all seen him at his worst as well. While they look like better options on paper, do not be shocked if this is still a problem.
What really worries me is the rotation. I think we can all assume Jon Lester will be, well, Jon Lester. What after that? Buchholz no doubt had a great season. But could that just set us up for disappointment? I don't believe that, but don't be shocked.
I have also gave up on Matsuzaka, and rightfully so. With John Farrell out and Curt Young in, he could improve. But I don't think he is the pitcher we thought. Beckett is also a huge concern. We have no evidence he will ever bounce back. His numbers have all gone down hill since 2007. How can we be sure he will ever recreate that?
As for Lackey, I have more confidence. That was easily Lackey's worst season. Could it be from the AL East? Probably. And I doubt he will ever be the pitcher he was in the west. But he is not as bad as he pitched last year, and that will be proven this season.
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The rotation actually graded out as one of the better ones in baseball last year, amazingly enough.
The real problem was the bullpen, and there we’ve got so many options that even if Wheeler flares out or for some reason Jenks’ peripherals regress to his ERA instead of vice versa, then we actually have DECENT guys we can replace them with. Aceves, Reyes (depending on his opting out), Miller, and Doubront all strike me as much better pen options than the cavalcade of 40-year-olds and AAA lifers we had last year.
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USG
Exactly. Another huge problem was our defense.
With Cameron, Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Youkilis replaced by mostly below-average (some extremely below-average) defenders, our defense did not look good for much of the year.
THIS
Was huge.
Not only the defense, but selectively, during some concentrated periods, our offense took a huge hit when it was fielding names like Cash, Patterson, etc — in place of names like V-Mart, Pedroia, etc.
"We will take it easy, and walk on down our road at our pace with our focus ahead, and your focus on us." - Warrior Spirit, on what Celtics' Ubuntu is.
Here
I raise you a
http://www.fangraphs.com/teams.aspx?pos=all&stats=sta&lg=all&type=6&season=2010&month=0&season1=2010
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USG
by Ben Buchanan on Mar 11, 2011 12:33 AM EST up reply actions
And they should be better as a whole this year
Beckett and Lackey should regress toward their means, which should result in significant improvements in their outcomes. Buchholz should also regress toward his mean, which should result in good outcomes but not the “Cy Young finalist” numbers he put up last season. And the biggest problem with Dice-K is that he was brought in to be an ace but is really a back-of-the-rotation starter. If he can just pitch like he did last year, when he put up a 2.5 WAR, I think any team would be happy to have that from their #5 starter.
Buchholz sure has looked good so far this spring.
’Hopefully maybe he can avoid a regression and instead continue his progression!
"We will take it easy, and walk on down our road at our pace with our focus ahead, and your focus on us." - Warrior Spirit, on what Celtics' Ubuntu is.
This is the point I've been making a bit lately...
As we point to the poor defense and bullpen having a negative effect on Beckett, Lackey and Dice K (inherited runners scoring, extra outs, et al), and hope they regress to the mean with our new roster behind them… we also have to consider that Lester and Buchholz might also improve on their 2010 numbers for the very same reasons.
Not sure, because I haven’t done any looking, but I imagine Clay and Jon had a few inherited runners score when the bullpen couldn’t get the simple outs they were brought in for, and the same defense cost them at times too, I’m sure.
I’m hoping Clay ends up improving on 2010, Jon wins the Cy Young and the other three do enough for us to run away with the AL East.
Ahhhh… spring. Hope springs eternal!!
I'm prediciting
That Clay will actually post better numbers across the board yet have a higher ERA. Better FIP, better K/9 rate, etc.
In essence he will be a better pitcher yet have a higher number by which the majority of the baseball population will grade him on.
Depth
…is the most important thing we have this year, especially when it comes to the bullpen. Last year we had no backups.
No need to worry yet...
If you really look at it this way, it pans out well. Our major concern in the AL East is the Yankees. As of now the Yankees have one ace, and 4 crapshoots. In my opinion the offenses of the Sox and Yankees are a wash, with a slight edge to the Red Sox, and the pitching (even in a worst case scenario) will be an edge to the Red Sox.
We can assume that Lester will be lester, that Buchholz will at least be a mid to high 3 ERA and wins in the teens with a relatively low WHIP. Lackey is looking very good and should improve on last year in the East, so I see him and Buchholz averaging out. The big difference maker will be Beckett. It’s already an almost forgone conclusion that Dice-K will blow, and with a solid 1, 2, 3 combo there has to be bounce back from Beckett.
Also, come on… a bullpen with 3 serviceable closers? I’m not too worried there. With a backup of Wheeler, Reyes, and whoever else (Hopefully Aceves) I think that the bullpen is actually an excellent strength.
ANDREW MILLER 2012 #5 STARTER. That would be nice to see. Adios Dice-BB.
by GroundRuleTriple90 on Mar 10, 2011 7:24 PM EST reply actions
I am always worried about the MFYs, but the Rays could be a problem..
The MFYs still have a very deadly line up. If Teixiera bounces back, it could be a huge headache for any starting pitcher. The MFYs starting pitching is a huge black hole after Hughes. Their bullpen may not be great outside of Soriano and Rivera, but against the Red Sox, they will put those two in from the seventh inning onward if need be. However, as all baseball teams have holes in the team on the field, the MFYs could have some serious ones that could wreck their season.
The Rays have been stripped from 2010, the bullpen is not a vaunted anymore, they lost Garza, even though he didn’t have the same year as he did in 2008. Soriano is with the enemy. They still have Longoria, BJ Upton could bounce back, not having Peña around is probably better for the Rays than relying on him. Damon can still hit.. Manny may not hit as a 1.2 OPS terror he once was, but he can still drive pitchers batty, as Damon can do.
One thing the Rays will notice is how spoiled they were having Crawford as the LF, and Damon is a horrible replacement in the field.
The Rays could have the right combo to be a serious threat, Hellickson could be a very good pitcher, and if Shields pitches so-so, they could be in the hunt, if Price and Hellickson pitch well..
I really think the Rays’ downfall is Farnsworth. He wasn’t a good relief pitcher, now he is closer, and he can’t cut it as a closer in the AL East.
I would worry about the Jays and their hitting, but they had a worse bullpen than the Sox last year, so I just see them being interesting but not a threat.
I think the Rays could be surprising, but they still have too many unknowns. They are going to miss Soriano.
"That was easily Lackey's worse season"
Well at least not by WAR standards
He was the 31st ranked pitcher by WAR and his 4.0 was better than 2003, 2008 and 2009. His FIP at 3.85 was a bit higher than his younger seasons but not off his average. And all this came after coming off of an injury and facing more AL East
He’s a very good 3rd starter by all advanced metrics
Beckett is the key – if he is anywhere close to his average then we are in great shape
Dice-K
actually provided 2.5 WAR from the 5th slot in the rotation. One could argue that on any day he’s the best 5th starter in baseball considering his stuff
The only thing is...
He’s been paid as a first starter…… I think the rotation will be fine in the top 2 slots, lackey will be solid, and daisuke will be himself. If Beckett is his old self we’re in for a real treat.
by GroundRuleTriple90 on Mar 11, 2011 12:35 AM EST up reply actions
But we are the Red Sox
we can pay the 5th starter like a first starter.
And Dice-K isnt actually paid like an ace, he is more paid like decent number 3 pitcher and he would be that on alot of teams, especially in the NL.
))<>((
by German Red Sox Fan on Mar 11, 2011 3:47 AM EST up reply actions
Really?
Dice-K’s contract is 6-years/$52 million. That’s an average of $8.67 million. Top starters make at least twice times as much.
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
by Drugs Delaney on Mar 11, 2011 7:17 AM EST up reply actions
Exactly
Paying for pitching can be very expensive. Sometimes you have to overpay to get what you want. Look at how much we’re paying Lackey and Beckett. If Dice-K is being paid like a first starter, I can’t imagine what those two contracts are thought of as.
by South Coast Ghost on Mar 11, 2011 8:46 AM EST up reply actions
well I think the discrepency is
some people look at it as if he was paid $17.3 million/year instead. Which is, of course, not true, but there’s certainly arguments to be made, in a league where all merchandise revenue is shared, that the first $51 million could have been spent elsewhere.
Yeah...
that was my argument. I think we could pull PR in Japan in plenty of ways other than Daisuke. I look at it as 8.67 million a year and then 50 million BLOWN. If we didn’t have the posting fees, then I wouldn’t be so irked about the total cost.
Remember, just because we CAN afford a buttload of money, doesn’t mean we should spend it like that… I also think nearly nine million for a number five is a bit much. If he panned out to be a solid #2, or #3 pitcher then I would be singing a different tune.
To south coast ghost, Lackey was a workhorse stud and it’s far too early to pass judgement on him. Beckett gave us some incredible years and a world series title and was also one of the nastiest pitchers in baseball for a few years. I think his contract is justified, and that Lackey is slightly overpaid, but will pan out well.
by GroundRuleTriple90 on Mar 11, 2011 3:45 PM EST up reply actions
Regarding Beckett and Lackey
The fact that Beckett gave the Sox some "incredible years," a WS title, and "was one of the nastiest pitchers in baseball for a few years" is irrelevant when discussing his current contract. All of the things you described, GroundRuleTriple90, happened under his old contract. It’s stupid to pay a premium for past performance. The same holds true for Lackey, whose peripherals were declining before the Sox overpaid for him. Neither contract will be "justified" until each pitcher proves that he is worth the money the Sox are currently paying.
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
by Drugs Delaney on Mar 11, 2011 4:30 PM EST up reply actions
So instead you should pay...
50 million and 9 million a year to a starter who hasn’t proven himself at all? I didn’t disagree that they need to prove themselves but I did think that they deserve more faith then Daisuke. Lackey was overpaid as well, but he’s far more serviceable than Matsuzaka. How many 200 IP seasons has Daisuke had in his 4 years? (1, and in that year he hit 204 innings with a 4.40 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP) How many has Lackey had in his 9 years? (5, and a career ERA of 3.89, and his career WHIP equalling Dice-K’s best year) Lackey has plenty of reason for optimism. He may not be worth his contract but he’s a solid #3 starter. In fact, Lackey’s year last year looks a lot like Dice-K’s rookie year, so if anything there’s no reason to pass judgement on Lackey’s contract after one year of work.
As for Beckett he was injured last year. How can you discount a pitcher who is hurt? The guy got hurt a little over a month after his contract. Give him time. If he doesn’t come back to form, it was a waste. As of now he’s someone who’s coming off an injury. Pedroia got hurt, but he’s not all of a sudden a worry to anyone here when it comes to production. I don’t understand how Daisuke’s contract can be justified in anyway other than PR considering his four year MLB body of work, whereas the other two have performed well in the MLB for multiple years. Daisuke is a solid #5 starter, but he is in no way worth a 50 million dollar brunch. That’s more than the 4 year, 5 year, and 6 year contracts for Youk, Lester, and Pedroia individually. Talking to Daisuke, and the marketing that came with it, is worth 50 million? Give me a break.
by GroundRuleTriple90 on Mar 11, 2011 5:57 PM EST up reply actions
As a business investment,
which is the only way you can look at the $50+MM posting fee you are upset about, it was actually one of the shrewdest moves of the ownership group’s tenure. This relatively small international investment gave the Sox:
1. an opportunity for parity among MLB teams in all of Asia, a market that dwarfs that of the USA in terms of size, passion, and the purchase of all things baseball; a presence which was previously dominated by the Dodgers, Mariners, Yankees.
2. the crown jewel. Daisuke was baseball royalty at the time of the posting fee, and the Sox bold ‘$50M statement’ was well received, absolutely stuffing the MFY by making them look like pikers, and bringing considerable face to the organization. This high status has been re-inforced with Okajima, Tazawa, Saito, the desire of Kawakami to pitch with the Sox, as well as Lin, Chang, Chiang & others.
3. 33W in the first two years, plus a lights out Oki, both contributing to the ’07 WS. All this despite trying to force Daisuke into the American mold and using up Oki. There are 3 sides to every story.
4. arguably one of the best #5’s in baseball who is, in fact, earning less than a whole lot of starters with lesser talent and similar stats.
That said, if he doesn’t turn it around by April, he could wind up in Pawtucket or the NL or the DL while some combination of a stretched out Wakefield, Acevas, Doubront, Miller take that #5 slot, which could be pretty good all right. However, I’m hoping he gets it together and pitches like he’s in the WBC.
On your last part
He can pitch like absolute crap and he’ll still be our 5th starter going into the season. It’ll only be regular season struggles to do anything with his standing, and as we’ve seen, Tito gives a very long leash to his veterans (see Ortiz, David 2009-2010).
"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.
It's important to say
that the initial fee of $50 million did not go to Dice-K, but rather to his team in Japan.
The cost to the Red Sox is not the same as the pay to Dice-K.
I think Daisuke was paid to be a strikeout artist..
I don’t know if he was paid to be a first starter, but he was paid to be a top tier starter. With Lester, Buchholz, Wakefield as more as back end starters
Daisuke still has some interesting stuff, but I think the problem with the AL East compare to the World Baseball Classic, a starting pitcher isn’t going to get a third strike on a junk ball or an off speed pitch outside the plate. One has to throw a called third strike to get MFY or a Sox player out.
He is obviously talented, but he can’t pitch as he pitched in Japan or in the WBC. His strikeouts in Japan and at the WBC was his selling point.
Dice-K
is the only one I am truly worried about. He has not had a decent outing in Spring Training yet, and while one could argue it is only Spring Training, we are just seeing a preview for the season. We need to move on from Dice-K, somehow, someday
Wittkowski
I never care about ST results, good or bad
They’re meaningless, and have no bearing on regular season results.
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
by Drugs Delaney on Mar 11, 2011 11:19 AM EST up reply actions
I remember Tuffy Rhodes
one spring a decade or so ago, he absolutely hammered the ball, started the season in the outfield for the Cubbies and hit 3 homers in his first game. Went on to hit a grand total of 5 more for the season, bat 0.238, got traded the next year and then never played again.
His first outing was quite good.
He was spotting his fastball really well. Last couple times he looked like he had no command at all, even his fastball.
Still, not something to worry about yet.
Beckett is the only one I'm worried about
Dice-K is what he is.
Beckett isn’t the pitcher he thinks he is. He’s not an ace and until the Sox and the media own up to that, he’ll continue to struggle.
I'm a little confused about why that matters
you think he’ll pitch better if he decides he is a worse pitcher?
"Could" sounds too probable
Of all departments, maybe pitching is the weakest link, but even then, it isn’t a particularly weak link. I’d bet there are 25 other teams who would gladly trade us their entire pitching staff for ours. From rotation to bullpen, we are strong from top to bottom. Sure, Buchholz may regress, but we should also expect stronger outings from Lackey and Beckett to pick up the slack. Dice, well, he’ll be Dice, take absolutely nothing from his game yesterday.
Our bullpen is ridiculously improved, Papelbon, Jenks and Bard at the top with a TON of depth signed to major and minor league deals.
Look at the rest of this team:
1B depth: Gonzo, Youk, Lowrie, Scoot, Ortiz
2B depth: Pedey, Lowrie, Scoot
SS depth: Lowrie, Scoot
3B depth: Youk, Lowrie, Scoot
OF depth: Crawford, Drew, Ellsbury, Cameron, McDonald, Kalish
C “depth”: Salty, Tek
Catcher is our only real weak point, at every position we have major league caliber players backing up potential or guaranteed all-stars.
This team is going to be incredible to watch.
"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.
Agreed
Although, I’d note that the Sox’ defense on the left side of the IF, CF, and C are a worry. Also, Gonzalez is a downgrade from Youk at 1B.
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
by Drugs Delaney on Mar 11, 2011 4:32 PM EST up reply actions
I wouldn't say "worry"
I’ve battled with guys who think Youk is going to be a great defensive 3B, I think average is more the word. Both Scoot and Lowrie are average defenders at short. Ellsbury, we’ll see how that goes and Salty, well catcher defense is always hard to define but at Beyond the Box Score, he’s come out about even as well. Adrian also is about average/slightly above depending on the year. I don’t think that these guys are going to cost us any runs, but I don’t think they’ll save many either. We have also however, massively improved our left field defense from the year before, it’s possible Ellsbury will be better in Center with two good defenders on either side. And Scoot and Lowrie healthy should undoubtedly be better than Scoot and Lowrie injured or fatigued as they were last year.
"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.
and oh god our second base defense should be better
Ells also doesn’t grade out as a bad defender at center, slightly below average at worst, and pretty good at best. Should be a big step up from the -17.9 UZR we tossed out there last year.
I think last year we thought our defense was going to be stellar except for catcher, which didn’t work out because of injuries. This year, it looks like we should be pretty evenly at least right around average in every position.
It’s almost got me interested enough to write up a piece comparing this season’s projections against what we actually got at each position last year, a total measure of change for a club that has changed quite a bit since last season.
"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.
I'd do it if you don't.
Though not for a while. Finals and such.
Just did it.
I start a new job next week, I desperately needed something to do today, this worked well.
"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.
The Sox’s batting line up is awesome..
It is going to be a problem for most AL teams and the MFYs pitchers that don’t by the name of Sabathia. There is power, there is speed. It is too southpaw laden, but Tito could mix and match against Sabathia and other soutpaws
I see the two big problems for the Sox, with the closer the big question mark, and if Beckett or Daisuke can pitch so-so to okay. We need three good pitchers to be in playoff contention, or two good pitchers and two so-so pitchers in Lackey and Beckett. If Lester and Buchholz crumbled in mid season, it is going more difficult for playoff contention, and the line up will have to carry more of the burden to win games.
Red Sox bull pen pitching.
Follow me on twitter
"Feet on the ground eyes to the sky" - Landry Fields said this to me
MARCH MADNESS - SYRACUSE
it's possible it could, as relievers can be volatile
but I’m not terribly concerned about a pen with Papelbon, Jenks, and Bard- plus some solid extras. I’ll give you that the Yankees pen probably looks better, but the Sox one is pretty excellent looking- plus it probably has a better chance of staying healthy than one headlined by Mo and Soriano.
Not to mention that our rotation should cover far more of the innings than the MFYs
In terms of ERA, our starting staff could be nearly as questionable as the Yankees’, but one area we should definitely have an advantage on is innings pitched. Behind our bona fide ace, we have three guys who should be workhorses (assuming health) in Buchholz, Beckett, and Lackey. Even if they end up putting up middling ERAs in the 4.50 range, the fact that they can be counted on to pitch a ton of innings is HUGE for our bullpen.
IOW, the Yankees may have a better bullpen overall, but it’s a bullpen that’s going to be ground into a fine paste over the course of the season as starter after starter fails to get past the sixth inning.
I am concern about Papelbon...
Given he doesn’t have the command or confidence in his fastball as he once did, and his pitching role. If his WHIP climbs or stays at 2010 level, it is going to be trouble.
Do you honestly believe
that the White Sox had the best starting pitching in baseball last year?
I get war, but at some point you have to ask if the numbers are the same as reality. Does anybody believe the White Sox had a better starting rotation than the Giants last year? 17 teams had fewer earned runs allowed than the White Sox. Yes – they play in a hitters ballpark, but I don’t believe their starting pitching was in the top 5.
Red Sox starters were 20th in the Major Leagues last year in earned runs allowed. They were 16th in WHIP – and by the way the Yankees had a lower WHIP than the Red Sox.
There are serious concerns with the RS starting rotation. I don’t think most of us think Buchholz is going to repeat last year, and there are serious questions about both Beckett and Dice-K. If Buchholz regresses, then the RS starting pitching may not be much better than the Yankees. Of course, the RS starters next year might be very, very good if Buchholz doesn’t regress much and Beckett regains his 2009 form.
WAR on Fangraphs is attempting to take luck out of the situation
using FIP. The idea is that while we will probably see Buchholz regressing closer to his FIP than he was last year, we’re also likely to see Beckett and Lackey improving to be closer to theirs. It’s not a perfect stat, but think of it this way- if FIP is reasonably accurate then we should certainly see pitchers’ WHIPs falling significantly this year simply due to improved defense over the majority of the field. There should be less balls falling, so less people on base. The Sox defense was quite bad last year- 21st by UZR and 28th by DRS- awful. Having Crawford, an actual center fielder, and a full year of Pedroia should have an absolutely massive effect on the ERAs and WHIPs of our rotation, because these stats are hugely dependent on not just the pitcher, but the fielders behind him.
I don’t think you’re necessarily wrong, in that there are question marks- but I do think that if we’re assuming Buchholz will regress closer to his predictive stats, we should also assume that Lackey, Beckett, and Dice-K will also be performing closer to their predictive stats.
Well duh
They have Buehrle...
"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.
Buehrle, Danks, Floyd, Jackson, Peavy
is probably the best 1-5 in the AL right now. Oakland has a better 1-3/4 and Detroit and Boston both have better 1/2 punches in Verlander/Scherzer and Lester/Buchholz, but the White Sox rotation as a whole is nasty.
I'm a 7 WAR player in bed.
Official Baker of Red Sox Nation
by TheLoneDavid on Mar 17, 2011 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions
I disagree
- the White Sox had a darn good rotation, maybe not at the Giants level, but very solid.
- I think Buchholz will actually be better this season
- Dice is fine if he repeats 2010, but he could actually be better
- all signs point to a better season by Lackey
- Becket, I agree, is the key
I don’t think the Giants are the same staff this year.
Cain has been having some problems in Spring Training. If Sanchez matches his potential, then it could be a very scary rotation.
If the Giants’ pitching is good this year, the only NL series to watch is SF versus Philadelphia.
Im not too worried about the Sox at all
with the exception of health.
The Sox offense should be awesome this year. Getting back Pedey and Youk, then adding Crawford and Agone is absolutely huge. Agone is what we have been missing since Manny left, which is a powerful, fearful, hitter in the middle of the lineup.
Add in the great depth in speed and a really really good bench. The Sox should score more runs than they did last year and they were one of the best offensive teams last year. I just think this offense will have more consistency.
As for the rotation, any one of our pitchers can put up a Cy Young caliber season. Granted Dice-K and Lackey have odds against them but they have the makeup to potentially do it. Outside of maybe 2 or 3 other teams who can say that?
The bullpen should be huge this year. To be able to finish approximately 60 games with Jenks, Bard, and Paps is a great great thing to have. Wheeler should be solid and I dont see any reason why there should be a huge dissappointment from him.
Outside of major injuries I have no worries at all.
I think the offense and the improved defense
will help the pitcher staff ALOT
And I wouldn't forget the fact that
having a pen they actually have some faith in should put less pressure on the starters
You mean
Tito won’t have to leave Lackey out for that extra 1/2 inning in the 7th or 8th that always seemed to kill what would have been a nice start last year?
"We will take it easy, and walk on down our road at our pace with our focus ahead, and your focus on us." - Warrior Spirit, on what Celtics' Ubuntu is.
Another great point added to what I said above...
… about inherited runners and defense helping Lackey, Beckett and Dice K. I think Jon got left out a little too long a few times last year, and the same for Clay – and a lot of that probably had to do with how poorly the bullpen had been performing.
I know a lot of folks are expecting Clay to regress to his mean… I’m not convinced that’s going to happen with a better bullpen, better defense, and a better all around team.
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