Referendum on John Farrell

[mvp 78]

I respect your opinion, and I've called for Farrell's head earlier this year myself. But in this case I can't fault him. If you have to treat your closer like a china doll he's not much use to you.

 

Maybe he shouldn't have been the closer then. At this point, Koji is a china doll.

[SoxnCycles]

I respect your opinion, and I've called for Farrell's head earlier this year myself. But in this case I can't fault him. If you have to treat your closer like a china doll he's not much use to you.

 

Agreed.

That's probably the reason for the trade for Ziegler.

You use Koji as you have to use him. If it does work, for whatever reason, you put Ziegler in there.

 

As for last night, I wouldn't be surprised if Koji told Farrell he wanted a little work.

[mvp 78]

Agreed.

That's probably the reason for the trade for Ziegler.

You use Koji as you have to use him. If it does work, for whatever reason, you put Ziegler in there.

 

As for last night, I wouldn't be surprised if Koji told Farrell he wanted a little work.

 

Farrell basically said in the postgame interview "4 run leads don't last in this ballpark, that's why we brought him in." I don't think it was a request from Koji.

 

Koji's innings should have been managed better this year knowing that he is 41 and has injury concerns. Farrell just threw him out there as much as possible because he's panicked about his job and doesn't see the bigger picture.

[User Name]

9 days of little work does precious little to negate the wear and tear of early and often overusing a 41-year-old guy.

[mvp 78]

9 days of little work does precious little to negate the wear and tear of early and often overusing a 41-year-old guy.

 

Was on pace for his most appearances ever.

[SoxnCycles]

Was on pace for his most appearances ever.

 

The entire pen was overused, thanks to lousy starting pitching.

[mvp 78]

The entire pen was overused, thanks to lousy starting pitching.

 

That is true, but Koji was leading the team in appearances by a lot. Barnes is the only other guy above 30 appearances that isn't on the DL.

[Kimmi]

I have no problem with Farrell using Koji in this instance. While winning the game was probably fairly safe, getting this home stand off to a good start was important. The injury makes the decision look like a bad one, but IMO, there was nothing wrong with it.

 

Can you imagine the outcry if someone else were put in and he blew the game when Koji was available?

[Bellhorn04]

I have no problem with Farrell using Koji in this instance. While winning the game was probably fairly safe, getting this home stand off to a good start was important. The injury makes the decision look like a bad one, but IMO, there was nothing wrong with it.

 

Can you imagine the outcry if someone else were put in and he blew the game when Koji was available?

 

Yes I can.

[a700hitter]

4-0 game-- no reason to use him unless he needed the work.

[mvp 78]

I have no problem with Farrell using Koji in this instance. While winning the game was probably fairly safe, getting this home stand off to a good start was important. The injury makes the decision look like a bad one, but IMO, there was nothing wrong with it.

 

Can you imagine the outcry if someone else were put in and he blew the game when Koji was available?

 

There's nothing wrong with overusing a 41 year old bullpen arm?

[Bellhorn04]

4-0 game-- no reason to use him unless he needed the work.

 

4 runs is hardly a safe lead at Fenway.

[Bellhorn04]

There's nothing wrong with overusing a 41 year old bullpen arm?

 

Maybe the real issue was re-signing him for 2 years and 18 million.

[mvp 78]

4 runs is hardly a safe lead at Fenway.

 

That's how you burn through a bullpen.

[mvp 78]

Maybe the real issue was re-signing him for 2 years and 18 million.

 

He's a good value, you just have to manage his innings better. He's not a workhorse you can trot out there whenever you are in a close game.

 

Maybe the Carson Smith injury really forced the Sox into a tough spot, but you need to give some other pitchers the chance to have high leverage innings (Ross, Hembree, Barnes, etc.). You can't keep throwing the same 2-3 guys out there every day.

[a700hitter]

4 runs is hardly a safe lead at Fenway.

Their top 3 hitters were coming up. Even if each went deep, we are still ahead and after those three, there lineup is very weak. There was no reason to go to Koji with a 4 run lead unless he needed work.

[Bellhorn04]

Maybe the Carson Smith injury really forced the Sox into a tough spot, but you need to give some other pitchers the chance to have high leverage innings (Ross, Hembree, Barnes, etc.). You can't keep throwing the same 2-3 guys out there every day.

 

That's exactly what's been happening. Ross and Barnes have been pitching high leverage innings recently.

[Bellhorn04]

Their top 3 hitters were coming up. Even if each went deep, we are still ahead and after those three, there lineup is very weak. There was no reason to go to Koji with a 4 run lead unless he needed work.

 

It's very, very common to use the closer in a 4 run game. Tito did it with Papelbon all the time. He obviously felt it was the way to go.

[a700hitter]

Koji had worked on Friday and Saturday. He didn't need the work.

[Bellhorn04]

Koji had worked on Friday and Saturday. He didn't need the work.

 

It wasn't about needing work. It was about winning the game.

[a700hitter]

It's very, very common to use the closer in a 4 run game. Tito did it with Papelbon all the time. He obviously felt it was the way to go.

Papelbon was not 41 years old. Plus there have been times where Koji has been a little worn out this season already.

[mvp 78]

It's very, very common to use the closer in a 4 run game. Tito did it with Papelbon all the time. He obviously felt it was the way to go.

 

I'd do it with Kimbrel, just not with Koji. Age is a factor here.

[a700hitter]

It wasn't about needing work. It was about winning the game.

I would have felt secure handing the ball to Barnes who had worked in only 1 of the prior 3 games.

[a700hitter]

15 Day DL for Koji Edited July 20, 2016 by a700hitter

[Dojji]

No reason to believe that Koji's injury is directly related to use. it was not one of the muscles or joints that you'd expect a worn out pitcher to experience problems in (such as the pitching shoulder, lat or knee). I think people rushing to blame Farrell for Koji's injury are getting ahead of themselves.

[mvp 78]

No reason to believe that Koji's injury is directly related to use. it was not one of the muscles or joints that you'd expect a worn out pitcher to experience problems in (such as the pitching shoulder, lat or knee). I think people rushing to blame Farrell for Koji's injury are getting ahead of themselves.

 

So people that saw him breaking down ahead of time and pointed out the Koji was being overworked were wrong and there was nothing to be concerned about even though he suffered an in game injury? Got it.

[Bellhorn04]

So people that saw him breaking down ahead of time and pointed out the Koji was being overworked were wrong and there was nothing to be concerned about even though he suffered an in game injury? Got it.

 

Please explain how you can attribute this injury to overwork when he had thrown 21 pitches in 9 days and looked great when he did pitch.

[mvp 78]

When you are an older pitcher, you are more likely to get hurt while pitching. So pitch him less.

[Kimmi]

There's nothing wrong with overusing a 41 year old bullpen arm?

 

Despite the workload from earlier in the season, Koji was rested and available to pitch.

[User Name]

No reason to believe that Koji's injury is directly related to use. it was not one of the muscles or joints that you'd expect a worn out pitcher to experience problems in (such as the pitching shoulder, lat or knee). I think people rushing to blame Farrell for Koji's injury are getting ahead of themselves.

 

You have never, ever thrown a baseball from a pitcher's mound have you?