Can the Sox fix the bullpen?, It may be the best place to find extra wins in 2013 Options

[caulfield12]

Thornton's just not consistently reliable enough for his money. When you thought who's reliable in the 2nd half, it was pretty limited to Jones and Veal.

Veal was perfect for almost the entire season (I think Fielder finally dinged him) at the lowest possible salary.

Of course, we all know what happened with Cotts/Politte. Or Dotel and Linebrink (overpaying), on the other side.

You have to worry about Reed coming in as the closer, there's no doubt.

Jones was erratic but showed potential and has the stuff. Reed's stuff was a bit lacking, for whatever reason.


Fathom pointed this out pretty consistently throughout the 2nd half of the season, although there seemed to be more of a sense that Ventura was mismanaging the pen as much as they were failing...a little bit of both probably.

I know that I highlighted the blown saves statistic quite frequently.


If there's any team in the majors that we should be trying to emulate, it's the TB Rays, not the Orioles.

They (the Orioles) were the "comeback kids," but those bullpen numbers and runs scored/runs against numbers won't hold up year to year. They had incredible numbers in one run games, extra innings, etc.

Or just look at the Tigers' bullpen from 2012 vs. Valverde's dominance the prior year. He's gone from 49/49 to the least popular pitcher on the entire roster, maybe the least popular player overall. Not easy to do in just one season.

This post has been edited by caulfield12: Nov 9, 2012 -> 07:03 PM

[Dick Allen]

Thornton's just not consistently reliable enough for his money. When you thought who's reliable in the 2nd half, it was pretty limited to Jones and Veal.

Veal was perfect for almost the entire season (I think Fielder finally dinged him) at the lowest possible salary.

Of course, we all know what happened with Cotts/Politte. Or Dotel and Linebrink (overpaying), on the other side.

You have to worry about Reed coming in as the closer, there's no doubt.

Jones was erratic but showed potential and has the stuff. Reed's stuff was a bit lacking, for whatever reason.


Fathom pointed this out pretty consistently throughout the 2nd half of the season, although there seemed to be more of a sense that Ventura was mismanaging the pen as much as they were failing...a little bit of both probably.

I know that I highlighted the blown saves statistic quite frequently.


If there's any team in the majors that we should be trying to emulate, it's the TB Rays, not the Orioles.

They (the Orioles) were the "comeback kids," but those bullpen numbers and runs scored/runs against numbers won't hold up year to year. They had incredible numbers in one run games, extra innings, etc.

Or just look at the Tigers' bullpen from 2012 vs. Valverde's dominance the prior year. He's gone from 49/49 to the least popular pitcher on the entire roster, maybe the least popular player overall. Not easy to do in just one season.

You also highlighted how much Nate Jones sucked in 2012 quite frequently. As for Thornton, if a guy who appears in 74 games, has a 3.46 ERA, and has an over 3 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio is the biggest problem with your bullpen, there is nothing to fix.

[YASNY]

You also highlighted how much Nate Jones sucked in 2012 quite frequently. As for Thornton, if a guy who appears in 74 games, has a 3.46 ERA, and has an over 3 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio is the biggest problem with your bullpen, there is nothing to fix.

^ This! ... Thornton, however, is a valuable trade chip (I hate to demean people that way but it is what it is) which I think should be explored.