Of course, the starters that were KO'd in 3 of the last 5 games were the 3, 4 and 5 starters.The starters have been knocked out early in 3 of the last 5 games, so the bullpen is pitching a lot of innings lately. Luckily it's September and we have lots of arms out there so the main guys aren't too drained.
chicken and egg, but I wonder if either Rodriguez or Pomerantz gets any more rope in July to turn 2IP, Xruns into 5 or 6 Ip, X runs (while risking 3IP X+3 runs).The starters have been knocked out early in 3 of the last 5 games, so the bullpen is pitching a lot of innings lately. Luckily it's September and we have lots of arms out there so the main guys aren't too drained.
I think that is a very good assumption. Unlikely they get such fast hooks before rosters are expanded.chicken and egg, but I wonder if either Rodriguez or Pomerantz gets any more rope in July to turn 2IP, Xruns into 5 or 6 Ip, X runs (while risking 3IP X+3 runs).
Is the splitter working? On the radio call they were saying it looked terrible and he was getting away with pitches.Still throwing 92-93, and not 94-96, but that ought to be enough if the splitter is working. I think he has to make peace with the slower fastball. I wonder if the loss of velocity impacts the confidence in the splitter.
I think it was inconsistent at best. I dont know enough about pitching to know if it's all about arm speed, or something related to that which causes velocity drop, or whether its more a matter of commitment/confidence, since you are throwing a pitch that is virtually guaranteed (relatively speaking) to get pasted if it doesn't drop.Is the splitter working? On the radio call they were saying it looked terrible and he was getting away with pitches.
Yeah, they were saying a tired arm wreaks havoc on it. Which makes total sense, given what we know about late season Taz.I think it was inconsistent at best. I dont know enough about pitching to know if it's all about arm speed, or something related to that which causes velocity drop, or whether its more a matter of commitment/confidence, since you are throwing a pitch that is virtually guaranteed (relatively speaking) to get pasted if it doesn't drop.
With the rest of humanity?Some days he can, some days he can't. Fits right in.
Your LOOGY needs a lot better command.Abad, asucks.
Well, not exactly. But he needs to never face any right handed batters again. He is a true LOOGY, cast from the mold. Straight from the factory.
Kelly on Thursday looked horrible.This is why Kelly is in his current role this season with Tazawa, Hembree, and Noe. Overall they are doing a great job in games we're trailing in eating those early and middle innings to give our offense a chance. That doesn't mean that any of them should be thrust into higher leverage roles when there is no reason why Farrell should have confidence in them at this point in the season. We have better options who have had more success in those roles this year.
Chris Young pinch hit for Benitendi. Yankees brought in Parker to pitch to him and he subsequently hit Young in the head. Only then did Betances come in.If I remember correctly, Benitendi stayed home on a curve in a piece of excellent hitting for a single. And Hanley was looking fastball all the way. He swung for the fences on one slider that broke hard away and would have been a ball. Then Betances threw him an actual fastball and he crushed it.
By default they were likely going to improve on what was a dismal August. The guys were not THAT bad when you looked at all the peripherals. The return of Koji in the 8th inning has been a huge stabilizer. It allows Farrell to play matchups in the 7th or earlier with Ross/Zeigler/Barnes/Kelly etc. Hembree and Robby Scott have pitched in with the recent implosion from the back end of the rotation. Kimbrel had his most impresssive outing of the year yesterday, and even Taz looked better. A tremendous collective effort, what a difference a couple of weeks can make.The bullpen thus far in September (assuming I'm reading the splits on baseball-reference right)
42.1 innings, 5 ER (1.06 ERA), 29 hits, 16 BB, 55 K's, 3 HR, 1.06 WHIP, 11.7 K/9
My memory for this stuff is not 100%, but I believe I was thinking of Ortiz's at-bat vs. Betances where PitchFX has him singling on a curve. I remember thinking it was a professional PA showing good patience to wait for the curve and drive it. Less impressive perhaps from Papi than the new kid, but still a fun inning to watch.Chris Young pinch hit for Benitendi. Yankees brought in Parker to pitch to him and he subsequently hit Young in the head. Only then did Betances come in.
And it appeared that Sanchez called for a slider on the home run pitch to Hanley.
Farrell has a tough job both getting us to a divisional title against stiff opposition and giving guys opportunities to answer some of these questions all at once.Mookie out there would make any bullpen look good, but a 2.62 FIP in September is remarkable.
And a lot of that is due to folks who were in Pawtucket before this month. Which means the team has a lot of interesting decisions to make for the playoff roster. Robby Scott over Abad seems likely, but I'd like to see him get some more innings to make sure he's for real. Joe Kelly has a 2.35 FIP as a reliever, but he gives up a lot of hard-hit balls (which won't always be aimed directly at his glove) -- his SIERA is worse than Tazawa's. And do we trust Tazawa again after 4 clean September innings?
Does Eduardo Rodriguez deserve a spot over Barnes in a five games series is the big question to me? I'd say yes in a 7 game to have an emergency long man, but meh, in a short series. He needs at least a QS or two to give him a chance IMO.Let's call a spade a spade: the bullpen has been legit since Scott, Kelly, and Koji have (re)joined it. Keep it simple and run with what's working. At this point, it's probably Barnes and Abad that get left off the playoff roster unless we see something in the next two weeks to change that.
I would think the decisions are between Scott and Abad as LOOGY, Kelly and Barnes as RH when a K is needed, and Buchholz and Wright as long man. I don't think you need both of any of those pairings.Too early to tell. We can only predict. These are the guys who'll need to audition for placement:
Wright (long relief, starter, or out)
Pomeranz (starter, or out)
Buchholz (starter - in lieu of Pomeranz/Rodriguez, or long relief)
Rodriguez (starter, or out)
Scott (relief, or out)
Tazawa (relief, assuming two of Scott, Barnes or Wright are out of the pen - or out)
Barnes (reliever, assuming two of Scott, Tazawa, Wright are out of the pen - or out)
Or, to make the discussion easier:
Price
Porcello
Rodriguez (Buchholz / Wright)
Pomerantz (Buchholz / Wright)
Buchholz
Scott (Tazawa)
Wright (Barnes)
Kelly
Ross
Ziegler
Uehara
Kimbrel
This assumes 13 pitchers...12 if Pomeranz or Rodriguez are left off the roster.
It assumes Wright is possibly in the equation.
I see Clay making the roster regardless, due to his ability to start or come out of the pen - particularly if Wright is off the roster.
Both Rodriguez and Pomerantz need to justify a role....as does a healthy Wright.
So many variables...
Maybe the bullpen was horribly overworked before 9.1. and now that there are a bunch of extra guys, people are getting their stuff back because they have a couple of days between outings?The bullpen thus far in September (assuming I'm reading the splits on baseball-reference right)
42.1 innings, 5 ER (1.06 ERA), 29 hits, 16 BB, 55 K's, 3 HR, 1.06 WHIP, 11.7 K/9
It really is amazing how much vintage Koji changes the calculus of the entire bullpenKoji being back for real really puts a lot of the dominoes in place.
Thats how I saw it. Bury Baltimore and Toronto already lost. And he still has every-other-day Koji available to close tonight if he wants to stay away from Kimbrel.I think it was a case of going for the throat by Playoff Farrell. He hoped to get through the ninth with just Scott, but as soon as there was a baserunner he brought in Kimbrel to snuff the O's out before they could get anything going. And given that Kimbrel only threw 5 pitches, after 14 the night before, he may still be available if necessary today. Same with Ziegler who threw 12 total pitches between the two games. I imagine Farrell will try to avoid them if he can, but I don't think it will be an avoid them at all costs situation.
Millenial group-think.I also assume the fact that Koji is back, and back big, means Farrell is comfortable with him closing tonight. I was surprised when it happened but ended up liking the move and looking at is as a step on the throat move.
Edit:Wow lots of quick responses that say pretty much the same thing, oh well.
But man....wouldn't it be just sooooooo sweet to win tonight and go 8 in a row against Baltimore and New York?Stepping on the throat last night makes tonight a house money game. If they want to avoid Kimbrel and Ziegler, they can.
Of course. But you manage to break your opponent in that situation and not give them any change at momentum. Play it soft last night, give them a chance to rally, and they're playing for a split tonight, Take no chances, just like in the playoffs.But man....wouldn't it be just sooooooo sweet to win tonight and go 8 in a row against Baltimore and New York?
Keep in mind how many days off there are in the playoffs. Pretty much every reliever could pitch every game. They may not need as many as you think. We definitely want to keep a long man out there to let Farrell use a quick hook for a struggling starter though.I'm certain the AL playoffs dictate a deeper pen and lighter bench.
The Red Sox have a long man in either Buchholz, Pomeranz or (maybe) Wright. They don't need Hembree.
I'm confident that Scott makes the team to give them two lefties in the pen. I also think Barnes is right on the cusp, since Farrell seems to go to him so often. Given the choice between Barnes and Kelly (in an 8-man pen) Kelly wins out. So it comes down to Tazawa vs. Barnes and the 4th starter / long reliever a choice between Pomeranz and Buchholz, both of whom make the roster.
Kimbrel
Koji
Ziegler
Ross
Kelly
Scott
Tazawa or Barnes
Buchholz or Pomeranz (one a starter, the other a reliever)
Exactly. If you let Baltimore back into that game and they somehow win? The momentum they'd gain would be huge and they'd head into a series vs ARI feeling a lot better about themselves. They've got Ross, Taz, Kelly and Koji available tonight (and hopefully they only need to use the last one). Now? They're scrambling to avoid a sweep. I think Farrell absolutely made the right call. Step on their throats.Of course. But you manage to break your opponent in that situation and not give them any change at momentum. Play it soft last night, give them a chance to rally, and they're playing for a split tonight, Take no chances, just like in the playoffs.
They've been resting guys already - Papi, Pedey and Hanley (and Shaw, if he counts) have all gotten a night off over the last 4 games.At the rate the Sox are going right now, they could have the division locked up by the end of the weekend, giving them a whole week to rest key guys as needed.