Watching this new Red Sox team over the first three weeks of the season, most of our first-place success has to be contributed to pitching. While Kevin Youkilis has been a pleasant surprise filling in the leadoff role for injured Coco Crisp and David Ortiz is continuing his beastly success that took off during the 2003 season, the offense tends to flutter in certain games. The core of the team begins at the top of the rotation with aces Curt Schilling (4-0) and Josh Beckett (3-0). Tim Wakefield, while 1-2, has pitched pretty well.
And then there?s the new hero in Boston, Jonathan Papelbon, who takes his eight save and 0.00 ERA into Cleveland on Tuesday. We all know Papelbon?s role in the Boston bullpen after separating himself as the dependable closer, but what about the rest of the bullpen? At some points this group seems dramatically shaky like Friday night with the Rudy Seanez Disaster, while sometimes it seems lights-out and tops in baseball in terms of depth and firepower. Let?s look into each player and their appropriate roles in the bullpen from this point on (listen up, Tito):
Keith Foulke- 0-1, 3.55 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, .190 BAA, 10 K/2 BB, 1 HLD, 0 BS
The former anchor of the Red Sox bullpen has pitched like a new man in 2006. During games like today against Toronto (1.2 IP, 0 H, 3 K) and that first Saturday vs. Baltimore (1.0 IP, 0 H), Foulke has his location mastered, changeup controlled, and flashbacks of the dependable 2004 closer return. The one loss in Foulke?s resume came on Friday undeservedly, where Foulke was the victim of a horrendous umpire call and Rudy Seanez?s batting-practice fastball. While Foulke has not perfect by any means, he?s kept his temper intact on the mound and has not blown up for one of his five run, two inning meltdowns.
Mike Timlin- 2-0, 2.25 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, .333 BAA, 4 K/4 BB, 4 HLD, 2 BS
Don?t let the ERA and record fool you, Mike Timlin will continue to be Shaky Mike Timlin. The solid veteran is still one of my favorite players, will contribute to the team in any manner and usually gets the job done, but he?s still a mess to watch on the mound sometimes. Those fastballs look straight, the curveballs can hang, and the Green Monster can act as a brutal enemy to Timlin. The step-in closer from 2005 has started the year on a rampant pace, but has slowed down as of late. Opponents are hitting well off Timlin, and he sometimes has trouble holding games down. Other times he can look like a top setup reliever.
As you can see, Keith Foulke and Mike Timlin can be very shaky and also very effective. This is trend that repeats throughout baseball with setup men, but is exemplified beautifully on the Red Sox (to our dismay). As of now, I would rotate the two in setup situations before Papelbon, using Keith Foulke in roles where he is inheriting runners. We all know how awful Timlin is when he comes in games with runners on base. If hell should arise, Papelbon has the arm to use for five outs (of course, judging by Friday night, Francona would never realize this).
Julian Tavarez- 0-0, 5.40 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, .350 BAA, 2 K/0 BB, 0 HLD, 0 BS
Hothead Julian hasn?t seen that much action this season with his ten-game suspension from the outset. While some loyal readers may disagree, I feel Tavarez can really succeed in Boston. The last two years in St. Louis, Tavarez has served as the setup man to Jason Isringhausen:
2004- 7-4, 2.38 ERA, 19 HLD, 4 SV, 2 BS, 48 K/19 BB in 64.1 IP
2005- 2-3, 3.43 ERA, 32 HLD, 4 SV, 2 BS, 47 K/19 BB in 66.2 IP
And this was with the Cardinals, not the Rockies. Tavarez knows how to pitch in big cities over the course of the season in a setup role, so how hard can it be to take a step back in Boston? Tavarez is playing with relatively no pressure early. He has time to get accustomed to his new position in the bullpen and thrive there with his nasty and sometimes dominating pitches. The number one factor that worries me about Tavarez is his pitching in pressure situations, which may prove difficult to solve.
Rudy Seanez- 0-0, 7.71 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, .355 BAA, 8 K/3 BB, 0 HLD, 0 BS
Seanez has been a complete and total disaster for the Red Sox this season. Proudly playing the role of Alan Embree in 2005 (and of himself in 2003), Seanez enjoys delivering his ineffective fastball in spots where opposing batters can rip the seams off of it. He also likes to wear his jersey terribly high in terms of the structure of his body and has a habit of walking like the Incredible Hulk that he is. In other words, let the prospects flow!
Here’s how I see the bullpen shaping out:
Closer- Papelbon
Setup man to start innings/7th- Mike Timlin
Setup man w/runners/8th- Keith Foulke
Middle reliever- Julian Tavarez (Riske too, when he returns)
Release- Rudy Seanez
Prospect option- ???
Here are the prospect bullpen options:
Craig Hansen**: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.0 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 8 K
Manny Delcarmen*: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 10.0 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 10 K
Edgar Martinez**: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 13 K
Cla Meredith*: 0-0, 2.45 ERA, 11.0 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 12 K
Jermaine Van Buren***: 0-0, 1.28 ERA, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 7 K
*= AAA Pawtucket
**= AA Portland
***= AAA + Red Sox
It looks like Hansen will spend more time in the minors and get the call around September, while Delcarmen was just called up today. Martinez is also in contention to join the club this season with Hansen. Cla Meredith got needed experience last year, but he may not be ready. Jermaine Van Buren pitched well in his appearance against Toronto this week, but was immediately sent down.
So I ask everyone, who should get the call to the bigs early this season? Who should we keep until the rosters expand? And are there any starters (Lester, Alvarez) that we should move to the bullpen temporarily or even give a start to?
