Sale for Closer

[bosoxmal]

During last night's gamr (vs Yankees, Saturday) one announcer asked the other, :what do you think the Red Sox most urgent need is." After a pause, the other said, "a lock-down closer". Now, that's as close as I can come to verbatim.

 

I thought (as I have ventruerd hee in this forum for some time0. "They already have one and he's 1-7 as a starter." Sale has not neec the lock down starter he was until September of last year,.

 

Time to admit it. And WHAT A CLOSER HE MIGHT BECOME!.

[Jasonbay44]

Great idea. I’m sure he’ll have tons of save opportunities with Hector Velazquez and Ryan Weber taking the starts that would’ve gone to Chris Sale. It’s also a bonus that Sale is signed cheaply for an average salary of $29 million a year.

[bkzwhitestrican]

Truly awful idea. But I would not object to the Sox doing it.

[MADSTORK]

Post Season Absolutely

 

Regular Season, You Posters say Im nuts!

[Swiharts Ghost]

Sale is fine not vintage great but fine

[notin]

Maybe we’d have back those two games we lost i the ninth. But we’d probably have lost the 3 wins in Sale starts. Unless Ryan Weber can pull off miracles facing everyone else’s ace with no run support...

[Maxbialystock]

During last night's gamr (vs Yankees, Saturday) one announcer asked the other, :what do you think the Red Sox most urgent need is." After a pause, the other said, "a lock-down closer". Now, that's as close as I can come to verbatim.

 

I thought (as I have ventruerd hee in this forum for some time0. "They already have one and he's 1-7 as a starter." Sale has not neec the lock down starter he was until September of last year,.

 

Time to admit it. And WHAT A CLOSER HE MIGHT BECOME!.

 

Vehemently, I mean vehemently disagree with both points. First and foremost, the Sox starters do not routinely go more than 6 innings, which means the bullpen needs to handle 3 innings per game, not 1. What makes the Yankees bullpen so good this year isn't Soriano, but the other guys who precede him. Last night they shut the Sox down for 4 innings before the "lock down closer" even made an appearance. Secondly, we need Sale to start and eat some innings, not show up in the 9th in hopes that the bullpen, now under extra stress with Sale no longer starting, has somehow managed to hold the Sox lead.

 

Yes, absolutely, the two losses to the Guardians were because the bullpen failed, and in the second game it was because Brasier who couldn't hold that 3 run lead in the 9th. But guess what? when you look at the box score, you see Walden had an uncommonly bad 8th, which forced Cora to use Barnes to keep the Sox ahead for the 9th. And Barnes did in fact stop the bleeding with 2 outs and no more runs. I suspect Barnes would have pitched the 9th too if the Sox hadn't scored 2 more in the 8th to get that 3 run lead.

 

I might add that the rotation's regular failures to go at least 6 innings have put extra pressure on the bullpen. That started in March, but hasn't really gone away. Before the rainout Thursday at Yankee stadium, the Sox had played 13 games without a break, and in two of those games Price and Velazquez, botgh starters, combined for one stinking inning, 3 outs.

[moonslav59]

Sale as closer would be the worst possible move I can think of.

[YastrzemskI]

It’s unbelievable what this team has turned us into. We are now entertaining have Chris save games or trading him outright. That about says it all. Yet Cora recently said that the pen has been doing a great job this season.