The Pen

[Bellhorn04]

The disappointing performance from the rotation was certainly not anticipated . The bullpen problems were very much expected . Or at least should have been . A strong, deep bullpen can , at least to some extent, compensate for a weak rotation. In any case , expecting to consistently get seven good innings from your starter is not realistic in today's game .

 

DD should have at least signed one proven reliever.

[moonslav59]

DD should have at least signed one proven reliever.

 

Had we signed Morton & Ottavino and not Eovaldi & Pearce, we'd probably be in the WC driver's seat, but I don't remember many people wanting Morton.

 

I do remember many of us talking about Ottavino.

 

Where would we be now had we signed Ottavino, instead of Pearce?

[Bellhorn04]

Had we signed Morton & Ottavino and not Eovaldi & Pearce, we'd probably be in the WC driver's seat, but I don't remember many people wanting Morton.

 

I do remember many of us talking about Ottavino.

 

Where would we be now had we signed Ottavino, instead of Pearce?

 

Hard to say, but maybe 2-3 games better. Also, it's possible that if we were in a better position at the deadline they would have made a further effort to bolster the pen.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Had we signed Morton & Ottavino and not Eovaldi & Pearce, we'd probably be in the WC driver's seat, but I don't remember many people wanting Morton.

 

I do remember many of us talking about Ottavino.

 

Where would we be now had we signed Ottavino, instead of Pearce?

 

Who's Pearce?

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

DD was signed as a GM to bring Boston a championship. He accomplished that, so I would give him a honeymoon this year. Next year the honeymoon is over.

[moonslav59]

Hard to say, but maybe 2-3 games better. Also, it's possible that if we were in a better position at the deadline they would have made a further effort to bolster the pen.

 

True, but had we signed Ottavino over Pearce, we'd have had no extra money at the deadline.

 

[moonslav59]

DD was signed as a GM to bring Boston a championship. He accomplished that, so I would give him a honeymoon this year. Next year the honeymoon is over.

 

If it were up to me, and the reset happens this winter. The honeymoon would be over, and DD would be replaced.

[dgalehouse]

It's usually going to be a problem when you blow 50% of your save opportunities. That is what our bullpen has done this season . Say what you will about the nuances of the save rule , it represents a game that goes into the win column. As the late , great Vince Lombardi said ; winning is kind of important. Or something like that .

[notin]

It's usually going to be a problem when you blow 50% of your save opportunities. That is what our bullpen has done this season . Say what you will about the nuances of the save rule , it represents a game that goes into the win column. As the late , great Vince Lombardi said ; winning is kind of important. Or something like that .

 

And that number could have been improved if DD paid any attention to the bullpen instead of losing both Kimbrel and Kelly and somehow concluding “Colten Brewer should be enough here.”

[dgalehouse]

And that number could have been improved if DD paid any attention to the bullpen instead of losing both Kimbrel and Kelly and somehow concluding “Colten Brewer should be enough here.”

 

Absolutely. No matter how big your payroll may be , you still have to spend the money wisely to cover the important areas . Or , you can hope to get lucky . Sometimes that works . Sometimes it doesn't.

[notin]

Absolutely. No matter how big your payroll may be , you still have to spend the money wisely to cover the important areas . Or , you can hope to get lucky . Sometimes that works . Sometimes it doesn't.

 

If you spend and it doesn’t work, that might be on the players. But if you don’t spend and it doesn’t work, that’s on you...

[moonslav59]

And that number could have been improved if DD paid any attention to the bullpen instead of losing both Kimbrel and Kelly and somehow concluding “Colten Brewer should be enough here.”

 

It was shocking he didn't at least load up on Colten Brewer types in hopes that 2 or 3 worked out.

 

It was hard to foresee Barnes reversing his streak of continuous improvement seasons. Workman made up for it, but all others sucked, except for Walden.

[Bellhorn04]

The crazy thing is, the pen has been great lately, outside the Brasier meltdown.

[Slasher9]

The crazy thing is, the pen has been great lately, outside the Brasier meltdown.

 

I thought they have been pretty good all season. I know I’m in the minority here (perhaps alone) but if we had - pick a bullpen instead of ours, NYY? - we would be pretty much exactly where we are in the standings at $50MM more in payroll....

[notin]

True, but had we signed Ottavino over Pearce, we'd have had no extra money at the deadline.

 

 

 

And then we wouldn’t have added who?

[notin]

The crazy thing is, the pen has been great lately, outside the Brasier meltdown.

 

The bullpen has been a pleasant surprise outside of Brasier. Josh Taylor is looking like a rare occurrence for the Sox where they deal away a nothing player (Deven Marrero) a get a very useful player in return. Like Ty Buttrey in reverse...

[Bellhorn04]

I thought they have been pretty good all season. I know I’m in the minority here (perhaps alone) but if we had - pick a bullpen instead of ours, NYY? - we would be pretty much exactly where we are in the standings at $50MM more in payroll....

 

Cora did a great job getting them ready for the season. ;)

[moonslav59]

One could argue the pen has over performed expectations 2 years in a row.

[Kimmi]

I thought they have been pretty good all season. I know I’m in the minority here (perhaps alone) but if we had - pick a bullpen instead of ours, NYY? - we would be pretty much exactly where we are in the standings at $50MM more in payroll....

 

If you look beyond save percentage, our pen has been pretty good all season. They have been very good recently. They have had to carry a workload much greater than expected, and if our starters had done their jobs, our save percentage would look a lot better. I'm sure of that.

 

While the pen does carry its share of the blame, they are not the reason that the team is where it is in the standings.