With spring training now in full swing, I'm busily preparing for the upcoming season by going through my own personal preseason checklist. This mainly consists of renewing memberships to Baseball Reference, MLBTV, and purchasing the Major League season package from iScore Sports . There was one other item I noticed on my list from last March that also required a financial commitment - bullpen help.
Sadly, there's nothing I can do on a monetary level to ease anyone's mind with the current state of the Red Sox bullpen. Having said this, I can't say that I'm really surprised that no moves have been made yet either. When you look at this through the lens of Red Sox management, they are playing with house money. Put yourself in their position - your team just set a franchise record for wins and won the second most games ever by any franchise in the history of the game. I know the optics are not pleasing when you see numbers like below going into yesterday's game against the Tigers.
Sadly, there's nothing I can do on a monetary level to ease anyone's mind with the current state of the Red Sox bullpen. Having said this, I can't say that I'm really surprised that no moves have been made yet either. When you look at this through the lens of Red Sox management, they are playing with house money. Put yourself in their position - your team just set a franchise record for wins and won the second most games ever by any franchise in the history of the game. I know the optics are not pleasing when you see numbers like below going into yesterday's game against the Tigers.
Nevertheless, "Dealer Dave Dombrowski" is not really obliged to exceed the luxury tax on a closer. I know people on Twitter are crying for the return of Craig Kimbrel, but that ain't happening, folks. For me, the writing was on the wall for him when Chris Sale trotted out of that bullpen in Los Angeles amidst a raucous staccato of cheers from the Red Sox bullpen corps to lock down Boston's fourth world championship in fifteen years. Actually, if you go by the numbers above, the squad needs much more than Kimbrel, but why get your shorts in a bunch over spring training? Yeah, it looks bad but we could recount many slow starts in past springs that really never amounted to a hill of beans after the teams began playing for real. For me, I get a little more uneasy when I see other-worldly spring numbers from an unexpected source (insert Grady Sizemore), and then you get bupkis when the club heads north.Competition in Red Sox pen:— Jason Mastrodonato (@JMastrodonato) March 10, 2019
Barnes: 1 IP, 4 ER
Thornburg: 4 IP, 7 ER
Workman: 5 IP, 4 ER
Velazquez: 6.2 IP, 8 ER
Johnson: 3.1 IP, 4 ER
Brewer: 5 IP, 4 ER
Poyner: 6 IP, 2 ER
Walden: 7 IP, 1 ER
Mejia: 3 IP, 2 ER
41 IP, 36 ER
Brasier & Hembree have yet to pitch
Wright suspended
With the current state of bullpens around the majors, it seems there is beginning to be a shift in focus. More guys with more stuff and velo than ever before are jogging through those open bullpen gates. Clubs are now starting to wake up and realize the importance of the ninth inning specialist doesn't really add up. Alex Cora has even hinted that Boston may mix and match at the end of the game on the winning side which has some locals running for the Tobin Bridge. Some are quick to point out that Boston tried something like this back in 2003 and are bemoaning the fact that it didn't work then so why should it work now.Chris Sale striking out Manny Machado to end the World Series...— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) October 29, 2018
Could there be a more perfect ending? pic.twitter.com/G8ZKBbUNWN
Well, for one, there is more talent available. I already mentioned that some of the stuff these guys feature in today's relief corps is downright filthy. Now, it still will cost you some money, and some of the guys listed above having shitty springs may not be the answer, but there is time to evaluate this. Using a combination of Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes may not seem sexy right now, but both pitchers have proven they can dominate for stretches. More importantly, I see the key moving forward is to when you use your best guy.
Secondly, the value of the save is starting to be questioned now, and I am so glad to see this. It's hard to fathom at times that the learned people in these MLB analytical departments providing clubs with all this new data on spin rate, shifts, and launch angle can't convince management to get their heads out of their asses on the subject of the save. The emphasis on this grossly overrated stat has given rise to exorbitant demands like Kimbrel wanting 100 million for six years in the offseason. As Eck would say, that's a lot of iron, especially for a guy who had 17 one run saves out of the 42 he notched in 2018 then shit the bed in the playoffs. In a study over the course of 7 decades, teams leading by 2 runs in the ninth inning won 93.7 percent of the time while a three-run cushion offers a 97.5 percent winning rate as founded by Project Retrosheet founder Dave Smith. Twenty-five of Kimbrel's saves fell into these latter two categories.
I know it seems part of this post could be viewed as a bashing of Craig Kimbrel, but that isn't my intent. Would I like to have him back? Of course! Craig was a huge part in the Red Sox championship run. He is a certain hall of famer and a supreme shutdown specialist that any club would be pleased to have. He's just trying to cash in like every other player in their prime. The problem Craig has is that he's trying to do this based on a somewhat dubious statistic. There may be some growing pains until the Boston brass figures things out with the back end of the pen, but with another ring ceremony coming up in April, the time seems ripe for patience and experimentation whether we like it or not.
Closing Thoughts
- A super sky point to Nick Cafardo, a well-known and respected writer for the Boston Globe, whose untimely death this spring left many shocked and deeply saddened. Nick suffered through many disappointments with all of us in the earlier years when the Red Sox were unable to win the big games. It is comforting that he got the opportunity to witness the finest stretch of baseball ever from this franchise, culminating with the greatest season of all time. Rest easy, Nick.
- Under the heading FWIW, I think the Red Sox should keep Blake Swihart and unload Sandy Leon. More upside with regards to versatility and offense with Blake on board.
- Once again this season, I will be providing summaries and statistics of the homestands and road trips for the regular season. Make sure to check in when the season begins on my Twitter feed. Until then, enjoy seeing the regulars get more work in as we draw nearer to Opening Day and bask in the statistics below from the 2018 postseason leaders.
ALDS vs New York Yankees
| Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA ▼ |
OBP | SLG | OPS | SB |
| Brock Holt | 1 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .667 | 1.667 | 2.333 | 0 |
| J.D. Martinez | 4 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .357 | .421 | .571 | .992 | 0 |
| Mitch Moreland | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 0 |
| Steve Pearce | 4 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | .333 | .429 | .333 | .762 | 0 |
| Christian Vazquez | 3 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .333 | .400 | .667 | 1.067 | 0 |
| Ian Kinsler | 4 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | .308 | .357 | .462 | .819 | 1 |
| Xander Bogaerts | 4 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .294 | .316 | .471 | .786 | 0 |
| Andrew Benintendi | 4 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | .286 | .444 | .357 | .802 | 2 |
| Rafael Devers | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .286 | .286 | .286 | .571 | 1 |
| Mookie Betts | 4 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | .188 | .316 | .250 | .566 | 0 |
| Eduardo Nunez | 3 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .182 | .250 | .273 | .523 | 0 |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. | 4 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .167 | .333 | .250 | .583 | 1 |
| Sandy Leon | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Blake Swihart | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Totals | 62 | 140 | 27 | 39 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 26 | 18 | 29 | .279 | .358 | .429 | .787 | 5 |
| Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | G | GS ▼ |
ERA | W | L | SV | CG | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Nathan Eovaldi | 1 | 1 | 1.29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Rick Porcello | 2 | 1 | 1.59 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| David Price | 1 | 1 | 16.20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Chris Sale | 2 | 1 | 2.84 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Matt Barnes | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ryan Brasier | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Heath Hembree | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Joe Kelly | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Craig Kimbrel | 2 | 0 | 11.57 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | 2 | 0 | 10.13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Brandon Workman | 2 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals | 20 | 4 | 3.50 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 36.0 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 31 |
| Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | G | AB | R ▼ |
H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SB |
| Mookie Betts | 5 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .217 | .280 | .304 | .584 | 0 |
| Rafael Devers | 4 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 | .385 | .467 | .615 | 1.082 | 0 |
| Steve Pearce | 4 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | .214 | .353 | .500 | .853 | 0 |
| Andrew Benintendi | 5 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | .208 | .208 | .292 | .500 | 0 |
| J.D. Martinez | 5 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | .278 | .409 | .500 | .909 | 0 |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. | 5 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 3 | .200 | .400 | .667 | 1.067 | 0 |
| Mitch Moreland | 5 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .625 | .667 | 1.292 | 0 |
| Xander Bogaerts | 5 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | .263 | .364 | .316 | .679 | 0 |
| Ian Kinsler | 4 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .182 | .182 | .273 | .455 | 0 |
| Christian Vazquez | 5 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .154 | .154 | .231 | .385 | 0 |
| Brock Holt | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .111 | .273 | .111 | .384 | 0 |
| Sandy Leon | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Eduardo Nunez | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .200 | .333 | .200 | .533 | 0 |
| Totals | 84 | 172 | 29 | 40 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 27 | 20 | 38 | .233 | .327 | .384 | .710 | 0 |
| Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | G | GS ▼ |
ERA | W | L | SV | CG | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| David Price | 2 | 2 | 3.38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| Nathan Eovaldi | 2 | 1 | 2.45 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Rick Porcello | 2 | 1 | 7.20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Chris Sale | 1 | 1 | 4.50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Matt Barnes | 5 | 0 | 2.08 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Ryan Brasier | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Heath Hembree | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Joe Kelly | 3 | 0 | 3.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Craig Kimbrel | 3 | 0 | 4.50 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Brandon Workman | 1 | 0 | 108.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Totals | 26 | 5 | 4.00 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 45.0 | 37 | 21 | 20 | 25 | 43 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/12/2019.
| Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA ▼ |
OBP | SLG | OPS | SB |
| Sandy Leon | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .500 | .571 | .667 | 1.238 | 0 |
| Andrew Benintendi | 5 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .333 | .368 | .389 | .757 | 0 |
| Steve Pearce | 5 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 0 | .333 | .500 | 1.167 | 1.667 | 0 |
| Eduardo Nunez | 3 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .300 | .300 | .600 | .900 | 0 |
| J.D. Martinez | 5 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 | .278 | .381 | .500 | .881 | 0 |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. | 5 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .231 | .333 | .462 | .795 | 0 |
| Mookie Betts | 5 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | .217 | .308 | .391 | .699 | 1 |
| Rafael Devers | 5 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | .214 | .267 | .214 | .481 | 0 |
| Christian Vazquez | 4 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 | 0 |
| Brock Holt | 3 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .167 | .333 | .250 | .583 | 1 |
| Xander Bogaerts | 5 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | .136 | .240 | .182 | .422 | 0 |
| Mitch Moreland | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | .125 | .125 | .500 | .625 | 0 |
| Ian Kinsler | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .100 | .100 | .100 | .200 | 0 |
| Totals | 84 | 189 | 28 | 42 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 27 | 21 | 53 | .222 | .303 | .386 | .690 | 2 |
| Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | Play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | G | GS ▼ |
ERA | W | L | SV | CG | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| David Price | 3 | 2 | 1.98 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| Rick Porcello | 1 | 1 | 1.93 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | 3 | 1 | 5.68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| Chris Sale | 2 | 1 | 5.40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| Matt Barnes | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Ryan Brasier | 2 | 0 | 5.40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Nathan Eovaldi | 3 | 0 | 1.13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Heath Hembree | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Joe Kelly | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Craig Kimbrel | 4 | 0 | 4.15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals | 27 | 5 | 2.55 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 53.0 | 34 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 56 |
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