Sox relief pitching thread

[kenmeister]

With the success of my starting pitching thread, I thought I'd create a thread focusing on our relievers. As of today, with Brandon Workman sent down to make room for Eovaldi, we have:

 

Matt Barnes - one of our most dependable relievers

Ryan Brasier - 8 very quality innings so far!

Heath Hembree - middle of the road

Brian Johnson - seems to excel more at starting, but he seems to be our only lefty in the pen (makes me wonder how Pomeranz would do as our lefty specialist instead)

Joe Kelly - After his opening day gaff, excelled for a while, now can't get anyone out

Craig Kimbrel - awesome!

Tyler Thornburg - Close your eyes and have someone tell you when the inning is over

Hector Velazquez - great long reliever

[FredLynn]

Johnson will be in the rotation soon; Pom has nothing.

Jury is still out on Thornburg...he might still be able to contribute.

And we need one more reliable setup guy and we are set for October

[mvp 78]

With the success of my starting pitching thread, I thought I'd create a thread focusing on our relievers. As of today, with Brandon Workman sent down to make room for Eovaldi, we have:

 

Matt Barnes - one of our most dependable relievers

Ryan Brasier - 8 very quality innings so far!

Heath Hembree - middle of the road

Brian Johnson - seems to excel more at starting, but he seems to be our only lefty in the pen (makes me wonder how Pomeranz would do as our lefty specialist instead)

Joe Kelly - After his opening day gaff, excelled for a while, now can't get anyone out

Craig Kimbrel - awesome!

Tyler Thornburg - Close your eyes and have someone tell you when the inning is over

Hector Velazquez - great long reliever

 

Sounds like a good pen to me.

[moonslav59]

Our pen has done a very good job for a couple of years, now.

 

Kimbrel has carried us by himself at times, but to me we have decent depth at the position and plenty of valuable 6th and 7th inning arms but too few top quality 8th inning guys.

 

Kimbrel and Barnes are it right now. Here's the long list of decent non 8th inning arms:

 

Kelly

Brasier

Thornburg

Workman

Hembree

Velazquez

Johnson or Pom

Eovaldi or Pom/Johnson

Scott

Poyner

Walden

Haley/ Buttrey

 

That's 12 guys for the last 6 slots, but no great 3rd or 4th man.

 

Edited July 27, 2018 by moonslav59

[kenmeister]

If Johnson moves to the rotation we are left without a lefty. Unless that's what Pomeranz ends up being good at.

[Spudboy]

Sounds like a good pen to me.

 

Because it is a good pen.

[cp176]

71 wins and the constant is the crying over our bullpen and our need for more starting pitching plus lots of other stuff. I think that it is important to try to get better but I am completely happy with this team but it is also evident that I have a problem with reality. Glad I do because I'm not ready to jump off any cliff anytime soon. Also, I don't even think about October baseball though until it gets here.

[oldtimer]

Our pen has done a very good job for a couple of years, now.

 

Kimbrel has carried us by himself at times, but to me we have decent depth at the position and plenty of valuable 6th and 7th inning arms but too few top quality 8th inning guys.

 

Kimbrel and Barnes are it right now. Here's the long list of decent non 8th inning arms:

 

Kelly

Brasier

Thornburg

Workman

Hembree

Velazquez

Johnson or Pom

Eovaldi or Pom/Johnson

Scott

Poyner

Walden

Haley/ Buttrey

 

That's 12 guys for the last 6 slots, but no great 3rd or 4th man.

 

 

Brasier has really been effective since joining the Sox. i don't think you could call Thornburg, Hembree or Kelly as reliable. The Sox do need one more high quality quassi-closer type. After watching Rodney, I would be concerned with his ability to get wild. He almost gave the game to us last night.

[notin]

Brasier has really been effective since joining the Sox. i don't think you could call Thornburg, Hembree or Kelly as reliable. The Sox do need one more high quality quassi-closer type. After watching Rodney, I would be concerned with his ability to get wild. He almost gave the game to us last night.

 

I think Hembree is a lot better than he was last year...

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

I still have faith that DD will acquire a LH reliever.

[notin]

The Cardinals DFA’d Greg Holland and Tyler Lyons.

 

Holland is having an interesting season with a career worst 7.92 K/9, a career worst 7.92 BB/9, and a career worst 7.92 ERA.

 

Lyons is basically doing nothing different than he has ever done except this year he is victimized by an insane .464 BABIP. Walks are up for him, but so are K’s.

 

Of the two, the lefty Lyons appears more likely to rebound quickly.,,

[Slasher9]

I’m about to play 792 in the pick 3 lottery....

[Spudboy]

I’m about to play 792 in the pick 3 lottery....

 

No s***.

[Kimmi]

Johnson will be in the rotation soon; Pom has nothing.

Jury is still out on Thornburg...he might still be able to contribute.

And we need one more reliable setup guy and we are set for October

 

Thornburg pitched well last night. There is hope.

[Kimmi]

Sounds like a good pen to me.

 

It's a good pen. It gets far more criticism than it deserves.

 

I would like to see another reliever added, which I think we will, but if Dombrowski does nothing else, I'm good with that as well.

[moonslav59]

The pen really doesn't "deserve" criticism. If anything they should be praised for "over performing". However, the pen needs a dependable set up/closer type pitcher.

 

Can someone we have now step into that role? Sure, but should we count on it?

 

I think not.

[vegasbob]

Perhaps last night was a sign that Tyler Thornburg is getting his sea legs in relief. It's a small sample but he looked good for that inning, as he should. Keep in mind this guy wasn't pitching at all for almost a year and a half, like the TJ survivors. Cora is running him out there more frequently and Tyler may be better than a pickup. Particularly if he train his LH to throw also.

 

Pulling Barnes in the 8th is still a mystery, and Craig schooled Cora once again on why not to do that. 33 pitches from your elite closer shuts him down for another day or two.

[jung]

Perhaps last night was a sign that Tyler Thornburg is getting his sea legs in relief. It's a small sample but he looked good for that inning, as he should. Keep in mind this guy wasn't pitching at all for almost a year and a half, like the TJ survivors. Cora is running him out there more frequently and Tyler may be better than a pickup. Particularly if he train his LH to throw also.

 

Pulling Barnes in the 8th is still a mystery, and Craig schooled Cora once again on why not to do that. 33 pitches from your elite closer shuts him down for another day or two.

 

Not to mention costing you the lead in the 9th inning

[Larry Cook]

Rumor has it that desperate dave is trying to finalize a deal for the Texas closer.

 

Of course Texas is probably wondering what is worth trading for from the dumpster fire we call a farm system.

 

The only way this makes sense is if the Texas closer has a history of arm troubles,

 

Desperate dave can gobble up sore armed relievers faster than most Yankees fan can post bail.

[harmony]

Rumor has it that desperate dave is trying to finalize a deal for the Texas closer.

 

Of course Texas is probably wondering what is worth trading for from the dumpster fire we call a farm system.

 

The only way this makes sense is if the Texas closer has a history of arm troubles,

 

Desperate dave can gobble up sore armed relievers faster than most Yankees fan can post bail.

https://weei.radio.com/blogs/rob-bradford/mlb-trade-rumors-source-says-red-sox-showing-interest-texas-closer-keone-kela