Here’s the statistics to date for the relievers vying for jobs in the Boston bullpen:
| Pitcher | ERA | IP | H | ER | BB | K |
| Craig Breslow |
0.00 |
2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bryan Corey | 0.00 | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Nick DeBarr (Rule 5) | 0.00 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Manny Delcarmen | 16.88 | 2.2 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Brendan Donnelly | 12.27 | 3.2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| Devern Hansack | 4.91 | 3.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Craig Hansen | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Javier Lopez | 0.00 | 3.2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hideki Okajima | 2.70 | 3.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Joel Pineiro | 8.31 | 4.1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| J.C. Romero | 0.00 | 3.2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Kyle Snyder | 4.15 | 4.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Julian Tavarez | 4.76 | 5.2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Mike Timlin | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Terry Francona has said that he plans to go with 12 pitchers to start the season right out of the gate. With five starting pitchers, that leaves seven spots in the bullpen.
The LOCKS:
Mike Timlin: Timlin has been shut down for the next week with back pain. As someone who has routinely dealt with back pain since June 2004 and will have to deal with it for the rest of my life, this back pain could have awesome ramifications for his effectiveness and career.
Joel Pineiro: He’s getting comfortable with his arm-slot and has slowly been improving.
Brendan Donnelly: I still think he’s the front runner for the closer’s job.
Hideki Okajima: A nice surprise so far, many people have been saying he could be our best reliever.
Julian Tavarez: Joel Pineiro gave up a hit in one inning of work, but the runner was cut down stealing, while Julian Tavarez got five outs after throwing just one warm-up pitch upon entering the game. “Never seen that before,” Francona said. “He continues to amaze me.” – Boston Globe.
That leaves eight people for two spots. The frontrunners:
Bryan Corey, who is shutting down the competition, and
Kyle Snyder, who is out of options and fortunately pitching impressively.
Keeping in mind that Kyle Snyder could be traded and/or Mike Timlin may miss the start of the season, here’s the pecking order as realistically (that’s the key word, otherwise Breslow would be at the top) as I see it:
J.C. Romero
Javier Lopez
Manny Delcarmen
Devern Hansack
Craig Hansen
Craig Breslow
Nick DeBarr
The results of the Craig Hansen poll were overwhelming, and in a good way. I voted for the vast majority. Here are the results:
How should we treat Craig Hansen?
* Tough love. He’s ready to pitch in the majors, do it!
1% of all votes
* Baby him. Too much talent to waste, let him progress as he is.
8% of all votes
* Make it clear he is pitching for a spot, bad back or not.
8% of all votes
* Send him to AAA, let him get some stability under him. Don’t rush him all over the place.
83% of all votes
As always, new poll!