Craig Hansen

[Tek4pres]

Stamina could also be a factor. We must remember that he's looked great so far, but he's been in the organization less than a year. It is much less important for him to be in Boston throwing gas in April than it is for him to be throwing well in October. Plus, it'd be great to have him in the bullpen in Boston, but he won't get the opportunity to close and be in the pressure situations that we eventually want him in with Foulke in the pen (and I'd say that Papelbon and Timlin are options 1A and 1B for the set up/back up closer roles).

[example1]

Stamina could also be a factor. We must remember that he's looked great so far, but he's been in the organization less than a year. It is much less important for him to be in Boston throwing gas in April than it is for him to be throwing well in October. Plus, it'd be great to have him in the bullpen in Boston, but he won't get the opportunity to close and be in the pressure situations that we eventually want him in with Foulke in the pen (and I'd say that Papelbon and Timlin are options 1A and 1B for the set up/back up closer roles).

 

Is closing in pawtucket any more pressure filled than pitching in the 7th at Fenway? I don't think so.

[CrespoBlows]

Why should Hansen be up right now? The Red Sox have two fairly competent bullpen guys in Riske and Seanez. You guys are saying the Red Sox should swallow three million dollars so the young guy gets a chance. Throw this into the equation. Delcarmen is unable to throw strikes and has to go back to AAA ball, Hansen shows he isn't ready either. Where do the Red Sox go for backups? Do they continue to allow Hansen and Delcarmen to get bombed, or pick off the scrap heaps of other teams? (a la 2005)

 

If Riske and Seanez struggle two months into the season, they can be released or traded, so Hansen and Delcarmen can step in, fresh from two months at AAA ball.

 

Besides, when the hell did everyone get their degrees in ESP? Riske and Seanez are coming off tremendous years. What makes everyone sure that they are going to fail?

[jsinger121]

Riske for one is not coming off a tremendous season. His numbers might look decent on paper but those numbers are deceiving. He never pitched in a tight game last year as Eric Wedge completely lost faith in him. He was more of a guy that came in early in the game than late when the situation was tighter. Riske will be given a short leash at the beginning of the season.

[CrespoBlows]

Riske for one is not coming off a tremendous season. His numbers might look decent on paper but those numbers are deceiving. He never pitched in a tight game last year as Eric Wedge completely lost faith in him. He was more of a guy that came in early in the game than late when the situation was tighter. Riske will be given a short leash at the beginning of the season.

 

Who said anything about being clutch?

 

Riske won't have to pitch in tight games, he can be extremely effective in eating innings, and posting a low ERA. If we can get a repeat of his '05 numbers that's fine with me.

[jsinger121]

Who said anything about being clutch?

 

Riske won't have to pitch in tight games, he can be extremely effective in eating innings, and posting a low ERA. If we can get a repeat of his '05 numbers that's fine with me.

 

In this town everything is clutch. If you can't pitch in a big spot then you really don't deserve to be on the team. If Riske pitches anything like he did in spring training he won't last 3 weeks.

[ORS]

Riske for one is not coming off a tremendous season. His numbers might look decent on paper but those numbers are deceiving. He never pitched in a tight game last year as Eric Wedge completely lost faith in him. He was more of a guy that came in early in the game than late when the situation was tighter. Riske will be given a short leash at the beginning of the season.

Wedge's use of Riske is his own problem. The guy had a good year. Just because the manager didn't use him in high-leverage spots doesn't mean he wasn't capable.

[a700hitter]

I would get rid of Seanez or Riske, preferably Seanez, but not both. He has shown a total inability to throw strikes. Plus, he was a bomb when he was with the Sox the last time. I don't care about his numbers in the inferior NL in the worst offensive division in baseball. This guy did not find himself at age 36/37. We would be deluding ourselves if we were to believe that. He stinks. Cut him loose. Riske has shown some ability to get lefties out in the AL, so keep him for now. Bring Hansen or Del Carmen north. I give Hansen the edge as he has shown better command.

[CrespoBlows]

Lester can't throw strikes this spring, let's cut him too. I have no idea why you'd consider cutting Seanez until he shows he can't do it in the majors.

 

Seanez last year posted a 3.82 K/BB ratio (sounds like good control), and a 12.5 K/9 ratio. Plus, when Seanez is on, he's nearly unhittable. Here's a blurb about Seanez over at ESPN

 

Seanez still can run the fastball up there at 96 MPH, down a tick from his best of a few years ago but still formidable. Strangely, though, Seanez often pitches backwards, trying to trick hitters with his slider and change instead of going right at them. Still, he dominates righties and holds his own against lefties. He does a better job than most short relievers at controlling the running game. He's a decent fielder, despite a history of back problems.

 

So you want to cut a guy who's coming off two pretty solid seasons for an unproven rookie? If Seanez or Riske don't cut it, then Hansen can come in. But, why rush Hansen right now? You're not factoring in the potential pitfalls of a whole season. What if you cut Seanez and Riske, but Timlin is hurt, or what if Foulke goes down? We need as much depth as possible, it wouldn't be wise to cut at that.

[ksushi]

His velocity was way down this spring, I think that if its true the Sox want to keep only one of Riske or Seanez like reported, then you keep riske. He hasn't had a good spring either, but some guys just don't play well in the spring, but you don't lose ten mph off your fastball on just a bad day. Thats scary.

[CrespoBlows]

That was his first spring training outing. He was recently throwing 91 mph against the Twins. He should be OK come opening day.

[a700hitter]

Lester can't throw strikes this spring, let's cut him too. I have no idea why you'd consider cutting Seanez until he shows he can't do it in the majors.

 

Seanez last year posted a 3.82 K/BB ratio (sounds like good control), and a 12.5 K/9 ratio. Plus, when Seanez is on, he's nearly unhittable.

Do you always need to be so nasty and sarcastic? Can you ever just disagree in a civil fashion? My point about Seanez is that his numbers at San Diego are are inflated and not reliable, because he pitched in the worst offensive division in baseball in an offensively inferior NL. I don't believe that he found something in his mid-30's. That just doesn't happen with a power pitcher. Plus, his AL stats are horrible. Hansen is 22 and has been successful at every level ball. He has yet to give up a run in ST. He has great poise and confidence. He deserves to be with the big team. There's no reason to let him waste his bullets in the minors. He's better right now than Seanez.

[ORS]

Do you always need to be so nasty and sarcastic? Can you ever just disagree in a civil fashion? My point about Seanez is that his numbers at San Diego are are inflated and not reliable, because he pitched in the worst offensive division in baseball in an offensively inferior NL. I don't believe that he found something in his mid-30's. That just doesn't happen with a power pitcher. Plus, his AL stats are horrible. Hansen is 22 and has been successful at every level ball. He has yet to give up a run in ST. He has great poise and confidence. He deserves to be with the big team. There's no reason to let him waste his bullets in the minors. He's better right now than Seanez.

Luckily for us, they have stats that consider the league and park where a player plays. One of these is ERA+, which compares the pitcher's ERA to the league average ERA. The league average ERA is adjusted for the park factors of the pitcher's home park.

 

Out of 75 relievers in the NL that were pitching well enough to get 40 or more relief innings, Seanez' ERA+ was 22nd best in the NL at 143 (Billy Wagner was the best with an ERA+ of 300, but only 7 pitchers were 200 or higher). I know 22nd place isn't anything to jump for joy about, but you need to consider the role Seanez will be filling for the Sox. He's not going to be closing. He's not the setup guy. He's the setup guy's, setup guy. That's 6th and 7th inning territory.

 

Here's a list of 2005 AL comparables (135-155 ERA+, 40+ IP)

 

Rafael Betancourt

Fernando Rodney

Andrew Sisco

Scot Shields

Kiko Calero

Julio Mateo

Danys Baez

Jason Frasor

 

That's not a bad list of guys for middle relief, which is exactly what Rudy's role would be on this team. Yeah, I think he needs to be watched and released if he isn't performing. But, I don't see the point of cutting him before the season starts. I know you think he'll tank because he didn't perform well in Boston before, but keep something in mind, he only pitched 8.2 innings during his time in Boston. Let's keep that in perspective when saying he was a failure in Boston.

[riverside sluggers]

Hansen has upped his scoreless streak to 9.2 innings this spring

Sidetrack: Seanez has now thrown 3 scoreless innings since the last time he allowed a run.

 

EDIT: Make that 10.2 scoreless innings for Hansen as he shuts the door down to get the save

[ksushi]

Hansen was absolutely sick today. That slider to Burrell was quite manly. I don't know, I might be lobbying for a call up very soon.

[ORS]

He looked a bit shaky his first two batters faced in the 8th when he 4-pitch walked the first batter and then got lucky on the hanging slider that was GIDP. Normally those types of mistakes go for extra bases. That said, he looked nasty in the 9th. He threw 3 really good sliders to Burrell, one getting the reverse K. A failed drag bunt attempt. Then another nasty slider that produced a weak grounder for the 6-3. With his slider and the sink on his FB, he's going to get a lot of weak grounders in the IF. I like that. Anyone read anything about him experimenting with a 2-seamer? He threw a couple of pitches that had good down and in movement to RH batters. Was that his new change-up?

[a700hitter]

Hansen was absolutely sick today. That slider to Burrell was quite manly. I don't know, I might be lobbying for a call up very soon.

It's hard to send him down if he doesn't get touched all spring. That was a filthy slider to Burrell.

[jsinger121]

It's hard to send him down if he doesn't get touched all spring. That was a filthy slider to Burrell.

 

Its not when you have options left and still could use some seasoning.

[a700hitter]

Its not when you have options left and still could use some seasoning.

It's hard to make the argument that he needs seasoning when he hasn't been touched all spring. I give him the nod right now over Riske, Seanez and Del Carmen. IMO, Papelbon is not that much ahead of him right now. Without additional seasoning, he is easily the 5th best guy out of the Pen, with nowhere to go but up. I would bring him north and let him learn and get seasoned by watching veterans like Timlin and Foulke. Timlin would love to take the kid uder his wing. I don't think he has anything to learn at AAA.

[jsinger121]

Hansen has been pitching against mostly other teams scrub hitters. When he comes in the game in spring training he is usually facing guys not likely to make a teams roster. He definitely could use some more seasoning in the minors and with him having options he likely is going to pawtucket.

[a700hitter]

Hansen has been pitching against mostly other teams scrub hitters. When he comes in the game in spring training he is usually facing guys not likely to make a teams roster. He definitely could use some more seasoning in the minors and with him having options he likely is going to pawtucket.

For the most part, Seanez has been facing the same scrubs as he has faced few starters, neither has has Riske, yet they have not had good results. Riske has been hit very hard and Seanez has had terrible command and allowed a ton of base runners. Hansen is ML ready. As a 5th option out of the pen, he is some talent to trot to the mound. Riske and Seanez are journeymen. The kid Hansen is a budding star who has already surpassed them.

[ksushi]

He looked a bit shaky his first two batters faced in the 8th when he 4-pitch walked the first batter and then got lucky on the hanging slider that was GIDP. Normally those types of mistakes go for extra bases. That said, he looked nasty in the 9th. He threw 3 really good sliders to Burrell, one getting the reverse K. A failed drag bunt attempt. Then another nasty slider that produced a weak grounder for the 6-3. With his slider and the sink on his FB, he's going to get a lot of weak grounders in the IF. I like that. Anyone read anything about him experimenting with a 2-seamer? He threw a couple of pitches that had good down and in movement to RH batters. Was that his new change-up?

 

Hansen has always thrown a good sinking two seam. He isn't fastball slider only. His sinker has always been a nasty pitch. Peter Gammons raved about his sinker when he was drafted, saying that will be the pitch that will make him a great 2 inning closer. Its good, hansen is a machine.

 

I agree its hard to send a guy down when he is this good, but take Wily Mo for example. Wily Mo's options were used up when he was 20 and he could use some minor league seasoning. The more a guy can learn, the better they can get. The Sox know it, so I understand why these kids get sent down. Obviously Papelbon doesn't need the seasoning at this point, but guys like Lester, Hansen and DelCarmen could use the AAA experience. If they keep Hansen down until the All-Star break no matter what, I'll be fine with that. My problem will come if our bullpen is coughing up leads in august and still no call up. That said, I think our bullpen is deep enough to afford the luxury of keeping a young machine like Hansen down for one more season or half of a season. We've got him for five more years after this one, no rush.

[Tek4pres]

I agree its hard to send a guy down when he is this good, but take Wily Mo for example. Wily Mo's options were used up when he was 20 and he could use some minor league seasoning.

 

I think that the Wily Mo case is a bit different since I don't even project Hansen to be in the same stratosphere, and since we've seen with Lou Merloni (and Lou redux, Youk) just how many options a player has before he has to be kept in the big leagues. But your point is well taken.

 

Some here will reject the seasoning argument, but I think that it will be good to see Hansen fail first before we decide if he is ready for primetime. And he will eventually fai and give up five runs in an inning. If Derek Lowe taught us anything, it's that there are some people who can't turn it around if things start going bad. We've seen him react to success, but let's see him react to failure before we decide on his major league makeup. Going down to Pawtucket will probably be seen by Hansen as a failure in itself. I think there's something worthwhile in telling a kid like Craig Hansen, "No, you aren't good enough to be a major league pitcher yet."

 

 

I'm also in favor of keeping him in Pawtucket until later in the year because it means that he'll be something that most other teams hitters haven't seen before down the final stretch of the season, but eventually professional hitters will come up with plans on how to hit him and he'll have to adapt. I have no doubt he will adapt, but sometimes those adaptations can take a while to implement. Pushing his call up until late summer might push that period when hitters start seeing the ball really well off of him into next spring rather than July

[jsinger121]

Hansen has been optioned to Pawtucket along with Manny Delcarmen

 

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060328&content_id=1365353&vkey=pr_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos

[ksushi]

 

 

I'm also in favor of keeping him in Pawtucket until later in the year because it means that he'll be something that most other teams hitters haven't seen before down the final stretch of the season, but eventually professional hitters will come up with plans on how to hit him and he'll have to adapt. I have no doubt he will adapt, but sometimes those adaptations can take a while to implement. Pushing his call up until late summer might push that period when hitters start seeing the ball really well off of him into next spring rather than July

 

THIS is an amazing point. I hadn't even thought of that. Keeping him down, and bringing him up for the playoffs (k-rod in 02 style) does give the Sox an edge going into september and october. I am of the opinion that the sox are a playoff team, and i definetly think this club is built specifically for october with the defense and the pitching they are putting out there (exception: fat boy. I hate david wells, sorry off topic) Having Hansen come up gives the sox a secret weapon of sorts which i think is so valuable.

[Cityofchampions33]

THIS is an amazing point. I hadn't even thought of that. Keeping him down, and bringing him up for the playoffs (k-rod in 02 style) does give the Sox an edge going into september and october. I am of the opinion that the sox are a playoff team, and i definetly think this club is built specifically for october with the defense and the pitching they are putting out there (exception: fat boy. I hate david wells, sorry off topic) Having Hansen come up gives the sox a secret weapon of sorts which i think is so valuable.

 

I agree, even going though much scrutiny, the Sox have quietly built what could be an october-wrecking machine. i eman who would you rather have going into the playoffs (esp. a 3 game series) but Schilling, Beckett, and Wells(if he pitches like old times, clutch n all)/Wake? I mean, find me a better built rotation that gives out big-game presence, experience, and hunger for the W? The defense is a humungous factor, vastly improved INF and also playoff experience at 3b, 2b, and SS. Also, if all goes well in the bullpen we could have a ChiSox run with a complete team all around. Last but not least we have the killer line-up that could potentially hit more Hrs then the 3 previous AL leading lineups.

 

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, many of these key parts will stay for years to come

[riverside sluggers]

per rotoworld

 

Craig Hansen struck out three in two perfect innings of relief for Double-A Portland on Thursday.

The Red Sox decided to start Hansen at Double-A so he could be used in a less traditional fashion. If he was closing at Pawtucket, he'd likely throw an inning at a time and get less of a chance to work on his changeup. He'll likely pitch two or three innings per appearance for Portland.

[Cityofchampions33]

If he gets a wicked good (anything decent) changeup he will be the nastiest closer in the future.

[CrespoBlows]

Season Line: 8 IP 3 H 4 BB 8 K's

[jsinger121]

Hansen pitched again tonight

 

6th: groundout to 2B, E9, K swinging (changeup), K swinging (missed what kind of pitch)

7th: groundout to SS, popout to shallow left, K swinging (89 mph slider in the dirt)

 

2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 3 K

 

YTD: 10 IP 3 H 0 R 4 BB 11 K

 

Hansen sets the Sea Dogs record for consecutive scoreless innings.

 

Final line: 3.0 ip, 1h, 1er, 4k, 0bb.

 

He hit a batter and allowed a 2b.