Red Sox bullpen woes

Well, the Sox bullpen failed again tonight. Granted, Fossum didn't have a stellar start, but it's becoming an all-too-familiar sight for one or more members of the Committee to fail miserably.

I'm not against having a bullpen by committee. I think it's the personnel, not the system that will win or lose games for you.

Or maybe the Sox bullpen is just operating under an evil spell cast by a former closer -- I call it "The Curse of the Urbina."

[Wolf Hopper]

Most teams, if they have to go to their pen in the 5th inning, like the Sox did last night, are going to lose that game, no?

[Wolf Hopper]

Go further on it, compare the stats of the Yankees bullpen, to date, and the stats of the Redsox bullpen, to date:

Bosox - 8 games, 29.2 IP, 38 hits, 16 BB, and an ERA of 6.07

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/...seasonType =2

Yankees - 8 games, 16.2 IP, 25 hits, 7 BB, and ERA of 7.02

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/...seasonType =2

Both pens have been bad - Yankees have only lost one of those 8 games - - blown by the pen BTW - - - still, perhaps the issue is the Red Sox starting pitching or offense, just as much as it being a pen woe?

You're right. When you go to the pen early, bad things often happen. I was listening to local sports radio this morning and they had an interesting theory that scouts saw Ramiro Mendoza's sinker flattening out and staying high in the zone. That was the reason, they theorized, that Steinbrenner let him walk. If that's the case, then it's a big problem. The Sox saw Mendoza as a stalwart in the pen who could get the tough outs in the 6-8 innings and really stifle the opposition. Not this year, though.

It will be interesting to see if they have to overpay to bring in a Jose Jimenez or whomever once some teams start to sell and build for the future.

[SmedIndy]

Bringing in a Jiminez or Mike DesJean does nothing for the inherint problem of the pen. There's not one savior. It's a collective stink right now, but then it's also a small sample size.

Theo, et. al. won't panic because it's a long term strategy. Sometimes the Sox faithful need to understand the value of long-term building and not keep chasing the dragon.

[sweaver]

First off, remember those three little words: small sample size.

Second, from Wolf's figures you can see that even though the Yankee bullpen has been perhaps even less effective than the Sox', the Sox bullpen has pitched almost twice as many innings. That's a recipe for disaster, if the starters can't go 6 or 7 at least.

Third, the Bosox are doing something that hasn't been tried very much in the last 20 years, so let's give them some time to get the kinks out.

Good points, all. I actually am a big fan of the committee concept. Having lived through the "Curse of the Urbina" last year, I know an overrated, cheap-save closer when I see one.

I think things will straighten out soon enough. The problem is not to get into too big a hole, particularly when you're battling the Yankees within the division not to mention three teams out West for the wild card.

It's all about using the right pitcher at the right time. If the starters aren't averaging about 7 innings by the end of this month, then it's likely the problems will continue.

I do think, that most staffs, this one in particular, can use that one rubber-armed guy (Bob Stanley circa 1980) who can pitch a lot of games and a lot of innings and keep the other team bottled up while you dig back from a deficit. So far, I haven't seen that from anyone with the possible exception of the last couple of guys on the staff, Woodard and Lyon.

[gyb13]

Originally posted by Fenway Frank
I do think, that most staffs, this one in particular, can use that one rubber-armed guy (Bob Stanley circa 1980) who can pitch a lot of games and a lot of innings and keep the other team bottled up while you dig back from a deficit. So far, I haven't seen that from anyone with the possible exception of the last couple of guys on the staff, Woodard and Lyon.

you have him, but Wakefield is starting exclusively

You're right, to a point, GYB, about Wakefield. He is resilient, etc., but I don't think it's fair to use him in pressure-filled relief appearances. He can throw a beauty of a knuckler that fools the batter--as well as his own catcher--that leads to runners advancing or scoring. I like Wake as a starter, which gives him the space to work out of any jams he causes himself.

On a related topic, check out this article:

http://www.bostondirtdogs.com/Hench's%20Hardball%20Columns/Hardball%20Archives.htm

It's a humorous--and accurate--look at the Sox 'pen.

[hmrsf]

Too soon to tell.

Stick with the plan. Bullpen by committee until a leader grabs the job.

When starting pitching goes deeper, the pen will not be such a glaring issue.


Panicing people in April annoy me.

[gyb13]

Wakefield pitched 2 scoreless innings for the save today

[TimmyB]

Hmm... let Ramiro Medoza start and have Pedro come in for the save?

Right now this is considered a cameo appearance by Wakefield.

[KCBOOMER]

The Sox don't have much choice but to ride with the committee. I don't see anyone out there who is just going to "give" them a closer. Phone calls to Allard Baird are not permitted.

[SmedIndy]

Well, since guys like Borowski and Tim Worrell are piling up saves, it certainly shoots holes in the counter-arguement against the committee.

It's the execution, not the plan.

[LeGrandOrange]

The committee works in Chicago and San Francisco because the pitchers are familiar with each other. Both the Cubs and Giants have bullpens that have been around each other for a season and are changed fairly minimally(ish), and it's only slightly coincedental that with their closers out, the bullpens as a unit are stepping up and proving to be as good as they were with their stoppers.

Boston's pen struggles because the whole pen for the most part has been revamped. It's not very familiar with each other, and ends up struggling to a degree.

I'm just spouting theories that don't make sense here, but I'm fairly sure this is the reason the committee is not working in Boston.