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Some Relief On The Way For BostonApril 11th, 2008
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A bullpen that has already seen its share of April struggles outside of Jonathan Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, and Manny Delcarmen (when not facing Frank Thomas, that is) will receive a much-needed boost when the Red Sox activate veteran reliever Mike Timlin (lacerated ring finger on his pitching hand) from the disabled list after finishing up a short rehab stint with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket this week.
Likely to return on Friday prior to the beginning of a weekend tilt against the Yankees, the 42-year-old Timlin completed his second and almost certainly final rehab appearance for the PawSox on Wednesday night by retiring the side in order on just ten pitches, seven for strikes.
Despite declining peripherals, a sinker that no longer seems to sink (as seen in his GB/FB rates), and a rough ‘06 campaign, the ageless wonder and master marksman (in more ways than one) provided stability in the Boston bullpen last season, posting a 139 ERA+ and a 1.08 WHIP while holding opponents to a .232 batting average.
In order to make room for the camouflage-fond Timlin, the Red Sox are expected to designate one of Bryan Corey, David Aardsma, or Javier Lopez for assignment, three relievers all out of options. But the decision may not be too hard following the recent outings of journeyman right-hander Corey, 34, who has allowed seven runs over four and one-third innings pitched (14.54 ERA) in six appearances this season.
And while Corey’s general ineffectiveness may end up costing him a spot in the pen, the tall right-handed throwing (and easy to alphabetize) Aardsma, a former Giants first-round pick (22nd overall) out of Rice University in 2003, has so far displayed swing-and-miss stuff with his mid-90s fastball and sharp-breaking slider.
Of course, the 26-year-old Aardsma, acquired by Boston late this past off-season in a trade with the White Sox, exhibited similar early season success last year with Chicago when he put up a 1.31 ERA over 20 and two-thirds innings pitched, striking out 26 in the process, before ultimately bottoming out by late-May (perhaps partly due to overuse as he was on a 80+ innings pace) and later finding himself pitching for the Charlotte Knights in Triple-A.
But this flash of brilliance, to go along with Aardsma’s high strikeout rates at both the major and minor league level, intrigued Theo Epstein and his baseball ops people enough to take a flier on him, hoping his potential would finally pan out. And yes, that’s a hope previously shared by Aardsma’s former teams, which was left unfulfilled.
First debuting with San Francisco in 2004 before being dealt to the Cubs and then to the South Side of Chicago prior to last year, Aardsma’s spotty command (over five walks per nine) coupled with a touch of the gopherball-itis has, in previous seasons, plagued his ability to remain a consistent reliever in the major leagues.
Still, there’s no questioning his power arm and premium stuff. Perhaps after gaining more mound maturity last year and with a full season under the tutelage of Red Sox pitching guru John Farrell this year, Aardsma can finally legitimize his first-round pedigree as member of the Red Sox.
And as for the aforementioned Lopez, the resident LOOGY in the Boston bullpen, it’s safe to say that Terry Francona’s binky will remain safe and sound for the long haul, even in spite of the fact that lefties batted .293 off him a season ago.
We can get into a great tangential debate about the actual value of having a LOOGY (I believe, more often than not, you’re wasting a roster spot for essentially 40 or so sparse innings), but in the case of Lopez, he is as much a left-handed specialist as Lisa ‘Left-Eye’ Lopes—and she’s hasn’t been chasing waterfalls, or anything for that matter, going on six years now.
Lopez’ presence on the roster screams of the need to just have someone even though said someone can’t carry out the lone job he’s being asked to do. That’s why every aspiring pitcher and their Wookiee should learn to throw left-handed, because even if you’re mediocre, your chances of finding a spot in a major league pen increase exponentially.
To me, it’s the type of by-the-book bullpen construction and managing that inspires zero ingenuity, going down as just another one of the myopic approaches spread throughout a lot of old-school baseball thinking, such as speed being one of the main requisites for a lead-off hitter, or the restrictive nature of limiting a closer’s duty to only the last three or so outs of a game, or the fallacy of sacrificing outs for bases in the most traditional bunting circumstances.
But hey, don’t get me wrong—there’s most certainly room in the pen for the George Sherills, Damaso Martes, and Jamie Walkers of the baseball world. It’s just that Lopez, despite a pretty ERA in ‘07, isn’t even sniffing the same stratosphere as those guys.
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April 11th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
[...] Hometown 9 wrote an interesting post today on Some Relief On The Way For BostonHere’s a quick excerpt … pread throughout a lot of old-school baseball thinking, such as speed being one of the main requisites for a lead-off hitter, or the restrictive nature of limiting a…But hey, don’t get me wrong—there’s most certainly room in the pen for the George Sherills, Damaso Martes, and Jamie Walkers of the baseball world….But this flash of brilliance, to go along with Aardsma’s high strikeout rates at both the major and minor league level, intrigued Theo Epstein and his baseball o… [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
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