Who will be the sox lefty in the pen?

[TheRivernator]

Now that Embree is out of both the yankees and the sox system and now that Myers is a yankee, who becomes the sox go to lefty reliever in the pen. DiNardo is the most likely candidate, but I dont think he is projected to be a matchup lefty and I dont think having what amounts to a rookie in the pen is the best idea for a late inning, pressure packed spot. The Yankees did not have a good lefty in the pen over the last few yrs and it hurt them, and they even had guys who were right handed but were good vs lefties. Those are not the types to make the matchups late in the game. So I wonder, with the slew of starting pitching on the sox, who will be the sox likely target from the left side?...

[KeepTheFaith1229]

Dinardo.

[jsinger121]

dinardo even if he is better at getting righties out....you don't really need a lefty to win. the angels have never had one and i don't believe the marlins had one either. all you need is pitchers that get hitters out. who cares what side they pitch from.

[ksushi]

Dinardo has been around awhile, I've seen him in pressure in 04 when he came in everyday and he did fine then. He actually put Matsui Arod and Sheff down 123 in 04 with I think two K's and a ground out. I loved that. That will always stick with me when I think about lenny. Hes good. People are down on him because he isnt a big name and they dont know a lot about him so they assume he isn't good. He's got a sick groundball to flyball ration and hes a good pitcher.

 

Lester this season and be what Papelbon was last season and he will give us that charge again and help us out a lot.

[TheRivernator]

dinardo even if he is better at getting righties out....you don't really need a lefty to win. the angels have never had one and i don't believe the marlins had one either. all you need is pitchers that get hitters out. who cares what side they pitch from.

 

It is an important position nonetheless. Those 2 teams didnt have to go through the yankees 19 times over the long haul of a regular season. Do you have any idea how s***** it was to watch us not have a guy who couldnt get Papi or Nixon out in the late innings? I know having a lefty in the pen doesnt guarantee that, but it sure as hell makes the job easier. I think you'll see how valuable Myers was when you play against us and you dont have an answer for Cano, Damon, Giambi, or Matsui when the game is on the line. DiNardo has the stuff, but he may be more of a starter than a reliever and he is a little green for the high pressure situations....

[jsinger121]

nixon doesn't hit lefties anyways and ortiz can hit any pitching....i don't think ortiz will be scared of myers....he doesn't overpower anyone.

[riverside sluggers]

DiNardo is projected to be the only lefty. But a go-to guy to get lefties out can be...

 

Riske in 05 held lefties to a .213 batting avg, career wise it stands at .205

 

EDIT: Unlike Myers he can be kept in the game when there is a righty, those batters hit just .205 this past season against him

[ksushi]

Cano doesn't scare me yet, he will in 3 years. I think Tavarez, Timlin, Seanez and Riske are all good answers for the other guys. Myers is a great asset for the yankees and he is such a good pitcher, I really wish the sox brought him back BUT having a lefty is overrated and not absolutley necessary.

[The Monster is my Mom]

I agree that the loss of Myers will be significant for the Sox and he will definitely help the Yanks against the Sox's lefty hitters.

[jsinger121]

myers is a 1 batter pitcher and the redsox have 2 lefties who would even hit myers and they don't even hit close to each other in the batting order.

[TheRivernator]

Numbers vs Lefties

 

Ortiz .263BA .804OPS vs .312BA 1.065OPS against righties

Nixon .224BA .639OPS vs .288BA .847OPS vs righties

 

Myers and Villone will help here

 

For the yankees

Damon .327BA .814OPS vs lefties and actually lower vs righties

Matsui again much better vs lefties surprisingly

 

but Giambi .882 vs 1.021 L/R and Cano .824/.662 L/R. That is quite a disparity, and a lefty could certainly help, but not as much as I thought. I didnt know Damon was that good vs lefties and righties....

[riverside sluggers]

Jonathan Papelbon is another Sox right reliever who has proven thus far to get lefties out, a surprising .190 clip

[ksushi]

This lefty righty split stuff is really overrated.

[MANNYHOF24]

Jonathan Papelbon is another Sox right reliever who has proven thus far to get lefties out, a surprising .190 clip

 

If papelbon is out of the bullpen this year, which i will maintain my postion and say its a bad idea, he could be a dominating force, i would just rather see it for 200 innings. Also If foulke is healthy, thats a big if, Papelbon has to be in the rotation, because we have 3 proven set up guys already. Papelbon=closer, or starter period.

[MANNYHOF24]

This lefty righty split stuff is really overrated.

 

How is it overrated, BA i one stat you cant really argue with. Lefties only hit Paps 1.9-10 times, thats damn good if you ask me.

 

Sorry bout the double post

[ksushi]

Its overrated because in any given game I'll take a good pitcher who can get guys out over any left or right handed splits you've got on paper.

[guapo34]

How is it overrated, BA i one stat you cant really argue with. Lefties only hit Paps 1.9-10 times, thats damn good if you ask me.

 

Sorry bout the double post

 

You're making a judgement on his ability to get lefties out based on 58 at bats. I like pappelbon a lot, and the important thing to do is to look at numbers against righties/lefties for the pitcher, and not just hand what they release the ball with, but you also can't make judgements with a sample size of 58 at bats.

[Ray10]

I'd go with Dinardo as the Lefty in the pen. I like what he has to offer and I think he's going to be very good in the very near future.

[riverside sluggers]

True DiNardo will be the lefty in the pen, but will be used more in middle relief/long innings. Just discussing who gets lefties out the best, DiNardo currently stands at a .296 batting avg against lefties.

[elsrbueno]

DiNardo's got to be the favorite, but I've had this feeling all offseason that Abe Alvarez will give Lenny a run for that spot.

 

Craig Breslow (acquired recently) probably has a spot, and it could be a matter of time before Jon Lester gets a chance. The Red Sox may do with Lester what they did with Papelbon-- get his feet wet in the bullpen-- although using him as a lefty specialist probably is a waste of his ability.

 

I agree ksushi-- If we have a righty who gets lefties out (Riske), why do we need a lefty to get lefty's out?

[Plumpamania]

Cano doesn't scare me yet, he will in 3 years.

 

 

:wtf: A little off topic here. Robinson Cano will never ever scare me. And let me tell you why:

 

.277/.329/.424/.753

 

Never showed that he has any plate discipline. Sure he's got some pretty good pop in his bat, and will likely continue to develop that, but I don't think he's ever going to be anything more than average. He is very young but until he starts to show any apparent increases in his plate discipline I will never think of him as projecting to be good.

 

David Wright at that age had incredible plate discipline, Andy Marte, Kevin Youkilis are all good examples of good plate discpline. Unless you want to call Cano the next Tejada or Guerrero, I wouldn't put much more on this player than a lesser Alfonso Soriano, which I'll take to face anyday.

 

Plus in his minor league career 135BB/260K and his MLB season, 19BB/83K. Again no plate discipline. Cano has little leather too.

 

No reason to be afraid of this kid.

[riverside sluggers]

with respect to yankee fans on here, Cano reminds me as the 2nd coming of Soriano, except for the excessive amount of Ks. Just my opinion while I was tracking his debut season. I give him his due and is one of the players of the Yankees I feel no need to boo at.

 

He can hit for power, got him pegged for 20-25 HRs

But lacks plate discipline & and currently uses the same type of glove Alfonso uses

[TheRivernator]

with respect to yankee fans on here, Cano reminds me as the 2nd coming of Soriano, except for the excessive amount of Ks. Just my opinion while I was tracking his debut season. I give him his due and is one of the players of the Yankees I feel no need to boo at.

 

He can hit for power, got him pegged for 20-25 HRs

But lacks plate discipline & and currently uses the same type of glove Alfonso uses

 

I'll take soriano numbers out of our 2b. Cano seems to have better contact skills but weaker power skills and actually a better eye (then again it doesnt have to be good). Cano will be a good one.....

[ORS]

I'll think more of Cano if he's able to approach .330 OBP with league average BABIP. He exceeded league average BABIP by .023 points last year. Adjusted for league average on balls in play, he went .277/.299/.439/.738.

[TheRivernator]

I'll think more of Cano if he's able to approach .330 OBP with league average BABIP. He exceeded league average BABIP by .023 points last year. Adjusted for league average on balls in play, he went .277/.299/.439/.738.

 

At 22, the sky is the limit for the kid. I like him and hope he is a yankee for a long time to come....

[Plumpamania]

At 22, the sky is the limit for the kid. I like him and hope he is a yankee for a long time to come....

 

 

If he learns plate discipline...

[jsinger121]

If he learns plate discipline...

 

and thats a big if.

[TheRivernator]

If he learns plate discipline...

 

he doesnt need plate discipline as much as he does to improve on his power. For his position, he is already an elite.....

[KeepTheFaith1229]

he doesnt need plate discipline as much as he does to improve on his power.

 

Is this George Steinbrenner...?

[ORS]

he doesnt need plate discipline as much as he does to improve on his power. For his position, he is already an elite.....

Easy killer, you might want to drink a little less of that Yankee cool-aid. A .320 OBP and a weak glove do not get you considered as elite.