Sox Mid-Season Report Cards: Bullpen.

by Allen Chace on Jul 10, 2007 12:38 PM EDT in Open Thread

Closer, Jonathan Papelbon.
To say that Paps has met the expectations of RSN head-on and met most/all of them is probably an understatement. Yes, he's already been hung with two losses, but his WHIP is still below 1, and he's struck out almost 13 per 9 IP. He's the real deal kids, though I'd like to see him lower his walks. A
Uber-setup man, Hideki Okajima.
I admit, and you all should too, that I kind of thought Okajima was being brought to the States in the unofficial capacity of Matsuzaka-buddy. He's been as good or better than Paps, with a .831 WHIP and 37 Ks in 43 1/3. Suggestion to Don Orsillo: No more "You've been Dice-Kd." Only announce the strikeouts from this guy. "You've been OK'd" sounds awesome in my head right now. A+
Super-Violent Delivery, Plus DL Time!, Brendan Donnelly.
He's provided great numbers as the "7th inning guy" and some memorable quotes. His numbers are a lot like his 2004 season in Anaheim, and he'll be just fine for us with those. Still worried about the delivery, as well as return time. B+
Hometown Hero!, Manny Delcarmen.
"Little" Manny has been good in his limited time with the Sox, and I'm ready to see more. We should probably be prepared for him to start allowing more hits (only 5 in 10 2/3), however. I, but coming along nicely.
Less Walks Please. Otherwise, Thanks For All The Groundballs!, Javier Lopez.
J-Lo has been most of what the FO hoped J.C. Romero (only appearance in this post) would be. He's actually been tougher on RHHs than LHHs, which kind of goes against all conventional wisdom and his own career history. Prediction: He'll get better against LHHs in the second half, but be a bit more exposed to RHHs who lift the ball well. B
The Long (Un) Forgotten, Kyle Snyder.
I've been a fan of Snydes since he came over, and I think we all remember that ridiculous relief appearance against the Indians last season. His problem is a too-common one for our pitchers, walks. The curve has been on display, but I think he's been hesitant to place his fastball anywhere near the zone, since it's nowhere near what it was while he was still a prospect. B
Not-the-Closer, Joel Pineiro.
Even after I breathed a sigh of relief at the news of Paps' return to the pen, I thought Pineiro could contribute to the group. He's been awful most of the season, with a 1.615 WHIP and balls made of something less than steel. He still gets props from me for defending Alex Cora, however. D-
He's BACK! And Not Ridiculously Awful Lately, Mike Timlin.
Look. Timlin. I'll admit, we in RSN might've sounded the death knell on your career a little early. Late in a close game, I still want you in line behind Donnelly, Okajima, Delcarmen, and Papelbon. However, you've given us a few good outings lately, and if you're willing to take 6th/7th inning duties, I think we can be friends again. C
In Case Of Emergency, Break Glass, PawSox.
We've got some options in the event of emergency. One might wonder why Travis Hughes wasn't given a callup already: 0.99 WHIP, 42 Ks in 46 2/3. I'd like to see Craig Breslow get a shot, with 50 Ks in 43 2/3 against 12 BB. Remember Brian Corey? He's also been pretty good for our AAA team, 41 Ks in 44 and a 1.20 WHIP. E-Mart has even been adjusting lately, limiting his hits enough to get to the same 1.20 WHIP Corey is sporting. Regardless of handedness, I'd go with Breslow, Hughes, E-Mart, and Corey in that order if we need (a) call-up(s). B+

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Re: Sox Mid-Season Report Cards: Bullpen.

I couldn't help but notice that on the Boston Globe website 10,000+ readers polled and graded the team "B" so far this year. Really people, what the fuck is up with that? This team has the best record in the majors. The best. Not second best or third...first place and the biggest lead over their division rivals of any division leader, by a significant margin. 10 games people, 10. The next best division position going into the All-star break belongs to the Brewers with 4 and a half. Complacency is for MFY fans, I agree, but pessimism should no longer be our domain. Leave that to Cubs fans. They've earned it more than we have now. Oh yeah, since this post is about the Bullpen I'd like to say for my money they've been the difference this year. On nearly every team in Baseball the bullpen is the weak link, the hardest part of the machine to keep oiled and tuned. But this year, more often than not, the last three innings belong to the Red Sox. Hats off guys!

You can take the boy outta Boston, but you can't take the Boston outta the boy.

by B Cap on Jul 10, 2007 6:23 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Sox Mid-Season Report Cards: Bullpen.

people have short term memories. we just swept by detroit. we've played .500 ball since june.

add 2 and 2 together and its easy to see why people would think that way (not that i agree with it)

by Tippecanoe on Jul 10, 2007 7:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Sox Mid-Season Report Cards: Bullpen.

I gave them a B in that very poll, and I stand by it. With our 3 and 4 hitters playing below their level, and with our SS hitting .190, and with our new "stud" RF having 6 homers, I don't see us as deserving an A. We're only 3 games better than last year's pace (I think I read that somewhere today, please correct me if I'm wrong), and that didn't turn out too well. We have a double digit lead because the other teams in our division have been crap, not because we've been totally dominant as a team.

Just my two cents. Keep the change.

by tommy.otm on Jul 10, 2007 8:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Sox Mid-Season Report Cards: Bullpen.

Well I'm too lazy to bring all the facts to bear, but I'd say call the Al East a crap division is a little premature. Also, we've played and dominated a lot of good teams. Yes June and the beginning of July wasn't that great, but we're in a position that we can afford to move sidways during our offensive slump. A couple of things to, I hope, give us all a little hope for the end of the season:

1: We will get Schilling back - he's been inconsistent, but a clutch player and brings real drive and heart to the team (unlike say Manny, who seems to have a "bad" attitude.)
Also, the likes of Jon Lester, et al wait in the wings should things go wrong and we could do worse.)

Batting slumps come and go. When we were hitting well at the beginning of the season the Sox were the dominant team that everyone thought they would be. Yeah, Lugo's gotta go (I think at this point) but even Youk has had bad days recently and THAT will not last forever. Even Papi and Manny are slow going. I think we can say that last year will not repeat itself...there are too many things in the background going right. Which brings me to my last point...
We have THE best pitching staff in the Majors. We can win games win only 1 run and have done that type of thing WAY more than average this year. It's also a complete staff...which allows for much greater "come from behind" potential.

Anyway, I see a lot of reasons to be optimistic. No team is without weak points, but I see a lot of reasons that RSN can look forward to the post season.

Cheers, B Cap

You can take the boy outta Boston, but you can't take the Boston outta the boy.

by B Cap on Jul 11, 2007 5:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: Sox Mid-Season Report Cards: Bullpen.

I see lots of reason to be optimistic too. And I see lots of room for improvement from Manny, Papi, Lugo, Drew, and Coco. It's hard for me to give an A when 5/9ths of the lineup has underperformed.

Just my two cents. Keep the change.

by tommy.otm on Jul 11, 2007 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Sox Mid-Season Report Cards: Bullpen.

hmm, maybe that's the confusion, are we grading them on how good the team is or how good the team has been performing (i.e. they've clearly been underperforming lately with a lot of bats that will undoubtingly pick back up, I would say the team deserves an A, but if were grading their performance then yeah, maybe a A is a little high)

by Realistic on Jul 11, 2007 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Sox Mid-Season Report Cards: Bullpen.

I agree, maybe there are two different ways of looking at this. This is my thinking - How many players this year are earning an A? Youk, Pedroia, Lowell, Beckett, Paps, Okajima, maybe Matsuzaka. That's six or seven out of 25. How many Cs or below are there? Drew, Coco, Tavarez, Schilling, Manny (based on expected performance), and Lugo (F). I think that brings the overall GPA down to a B.

Just my two cents. Keep the change.

by tommy.otm on Jul 11, 2007 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions