Is the Red Sox bullpen going to be a season-long problem?
Debate the answer with Chad Finn and Boston sports fans at The Sports Q.
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Yeah, yeah, I know it’s early, small sample, etc. But worst fears about John Farrell and this bullpen are already coming true. They don’t have a lot talent out there. And what talent they do have will be mishandled by the manager. This is going to be a season-long problem, isn’t it? – Paul G.
I got this question after the third game of the season, when Farrell made a couple of supposedly questionable moves. He brought in Robby Scott to face Tyler Collins, knowing that Tigers manager Brad Ausmus would probably sent up righty Mikie Mahtook to hit. He did, and Mahtook doubled in the tying run.
Sorry, can’t fault Farrell for that one. Mahtook hit .195 in 185 at-bats for the Rays last season. The pitcher didn’t do his job.
More dubious, I suppose, is the decision to stick with Joe Kelly, who replaced Scott after Matook’s double and walked James McCann to load the bases, then walked rookie JaCoby Jones to plate what would be the winning run. Kelly is exasperating. He throws 100 miles an hour with an occasional wipeout slider, and yet he pitches like he’s entirely dependent on guile. He’s what Nuke LaLoosh would have been if he’d never absorbed Crash Davis’s life lessons.
But again, I’m not sure how this is Farrell’s fault. Sure, he could have brought in Craig Kimbrel. But Kimbrel was horrible when called upon to pitch more than an inning last year. And really, that would have felt like a panic move three games into the season. The Sox need to figure out whether Kelly, Heath Hembree, Matt Barnes, and even Ben Taylor can be dependable contributors. This was an opportunity for them to prove they could. It’s a bummer they lost that game, but Farrell handled that one reasonably.
Now, if this continues, they’ve got a problem. Dave Dombrowski’s track record of building bullpens is spotty at best. And I wish they had re-signed Koji Uehara. But it’s too early to determine that it’s a problem. What they really need is for some of these hard-throwing pitchers to start doing their job.
What do you guys say? Will the Sox bullpen straighten itself out? Or is it going to be a season-long tribute to John Wasdin out there? Have at it in the comments.
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