Bullpen Leverage and Maikel Cleto

[southsider2k5]

Let's face it. You cannot trade Addison Reed and have no closer in waiting and expect anything but this to happen. It was a boneheaded decision to trade Reed with NOTHING left over. How this team is flirting with .500 is amazing with this bullpen. And if the rotation loses Sale ... wow, the bullpen is going to be needed A LOT. The bullpen has sucked for years now but at least the Sox have always had a closer.

 

Yes you can. A closer on a rebuilding team is a complete waste, especially when said closer gets you a potential starting 3B for the next six years. It doesn't really matter what the bullpen does this year in terms of rebuilding.

[greg775]

Hahn traded a reliever for a guy who has high upside and could be in the starting lineup for 6 years. It was not a bad trade.

 

I contend it's an awful trade because he had nobody waiting in the wings to close. I guess the answer to that is the Sox don't care about this season at all, blah blah blah. You've got to have a closer candidate and they made no attempt to find one to replace Reed. And Nate Jones is not the answer. If they thought he was ... Wow.

[hogan873]

Let's face it. You cannot trade Addison Reed and have no closer in waiting and expect anything but this to happen. It was a boneheaded decision to trade Reed with NOTHING left over. How this team is flirting with .500 is amazing with this bullpen. And if the rotation loses Sale ... wow, the bullpen is going to be needed A LOT. The bullpen has sucked for years now but at least the Sox have always had a closer.

What?

 

The closer has been a role the Sox have struggled with for years. It seems like they get a good year out of one guy, then said guy comes in the next year and sucks.

 

Reed was traded for a reason. The need for a long term fix at 3rd base was something that had to be taken care of. Time will tell with Davidson, but it was the right trade to make.

[hogan873]

I contend it's an awful trade because he had nobody waiting in the wings to close. I guess the answer to that is the Sox don't care about this season at all, blah blah blah. You've got to have a closer candidate and they made no attempt to find one to replace Reed. And Nate Jones is not the answer. If they thought he was ... Wow.

Sigh. Nate Jones is hurt. Let's wait until he comes back healthy before deciding he can't close.

[southsider2k5]

I contend it's an awful trade because he had nobody waiting in the wings to close. I guess the answer to that is the Sox don't care about this season at all, blah blah blah. You've got to have a closer candidate and they made no attempt to find one to replace Reed. And Nate Jones is not the answer. If they thought he was ... Wow.

 

Having a closer on this team is like having a car alarm on an 82 Chevette.

[greg775]

Yes you can. A closer on a rebuilding team is a complete waste, especially when said closer gets you a potential starting 3B for the next six years. It doesn't really matter what the bullpen does this year in terms of rebuilding.

 

Then why is Adam Dunn on this team? Why is Konerko? Why is Beckham? Why is Lexi? These are not guys who will be a part of the future?

My point is in this s***ty division, there's no reason to give away your only possible closer when all it takes is flirting with .500 then catching lightning in September to win the patsy division. This bullpen is so bad it is laughable. Is it even a good AAA bullpen? Seriously.

Edited April 24, 2014 by greg775

[Balta1701]

What?

 

The closer has been a role the Sox have struggled with for years. It seems like they get a good year out of one guy, then said guy comes in the next year and sucks.

 

Reed was traded for a reason. The need for a long term fix at 3rd base was something that had to be taken care of. Time will tell with Davidson, but it was the right trade to make.

What you write is simply not abnormal in baseball. There is literally 1 team in MLB who came into 2014 with the same projected closer as 2011. Only 8 teams have the same projected closer as 2012. And that's before injuries!

[greg775]

What you write is simply not abnormal in baseball. There is literally 1 team in MLB who came into 2014 with the same projected closer as 2011. Only 8 teams have the same projected closer as 2012. And that's before injuries!

 

If our projected closer was Jones, that is just not right. Bad baseball minds making that call IMO.

[southsider2k5]

Then why is Adam Dunn on this team? Why is Konerko? Why is Beckham? Why is Lexi? These are not guys who will be a part of the future?

My point is in this s***ty division, there's no reason to give away your only possible closer when all it takes is flirting with .500 then catching lightning in September to win the patsy division. This bullpen is so bad it is laughable. Is it even a good AAA bullpen? Seriously.

 

Did any of those guys render an offer of a 6 year positional starter in a trade?

[greg775]

Did any of those guys render an offer of a 6 year positional starter in a trade?

 

I guess if Davidson is a George Brett phenom the pains of this year will be worth it.

[Balta1701]

I guess if Davidson is a George Brett phenom the pains of this year will be worth it.

That's the whole ****ing point of this season.

[greg775]

That's the whole ****ing point of this season.

 

It shouldn't be. Not in this pathetic division. It was winnable with Reed IMO.

[southsider2k5]

I guess if Davidson is a George Brett phenom the pains of this year will be worth it.

 

If Davidson is Joe Crede the trade was worth it.

[southsider2k5]

It shouldn't be. Not in this pathetic division. It was winnable with Reed IMO.

 

No.

 

No, man.

 

s***, no, man.

 

I believe you'd get your ass kicked sayin' something like that, man.

[hogan873]

Then why is Adam Dunn on this team? Why is Konerko? Why is Beckham? Why is Lexi? These are not guys who will be a part of the future?

My point is in this s***ty division, there's no reason to give away your only possible closer when all it takes is flirting with .500 then catching lightning in September to win the patsy division. This bullpen is so bad it is laughable. Is it even a good AAA bullpen? Seriously.

This is a terrible argument. The AL Central is not a s***ty division anymore. You have to know this. Detroit is a very good team. Cleveland is getting better every year. Even KC is getting better.

 

And to answer your question, yes, this bullpen would be good in AAA. There is a huge difference in hitting (and pitching for that matter) from AAA to the majors.

[Rowand44]

Greg you've talked in other threads about how you think this is a 90-95 loss team but here you say they can win the division if they had Reed. What?

[hogan873]

It shouldn't be. Not in this pathetic division. It was winnable with Reed IMO.

[witesoxfan]

It shouldn't be. Not in this pathetic division. It was winnable with Reed IMO.

 

Come on greg, not even you're this bad. You're straight up trolling with a comment like this.

[greg775]

Come on greg, not even you're this bad. You're straight up trolling with a comment like this.

 

I should stop now and wait for some board support. My take is the division sucks; Abreu and the lineup has been fantastic meaning this could be a .500 team. On paper with Sale, Q and Danks and an emerging Erik it's a fair to good rotation, especially for our division. But ... with a GIVE UP bullpen, the worst bullpen imaginable, .500 isn't possible. All it would take is hanging around .500 to .550 all year and we'd be in it.

That brings us to REED.

He would make a world of difference in the bullpen options though arguably the bullpen still "might" suck.

My position is not outlandish.

Edited April 24, 2014 by greg775

[witesoxfan]

I should stop now and wait for some board support. My take is the division sucks; Abreu and the lineup has been fantastic meaning this could be a .500 team. On paper with Sale, Q and Danks and an emerging Erik it's a fair to good rotation, especially for our division. But ... with a GIVE UP bullpen, the worst bullpen imaginable, .500 isn't possible. All it would take is hanging around .500 to .550 all year and we'd be in it.

That brings us to REED.

He would make a world of difference in the bullpen options though arguably the bullpen still "might" suck.

My position is not outlandish.

 

You're position is absolutely ludicrous. The bullpen is not going to go from hot garbage to lights out because of Addison Reed, and he's not even a great reliever either. He's a satisfactory closer.

[southsider2k5]

I should stop now and wait for some board support. My take is the division sucks; Abreu and the lineup has been fantastic meaning this could be a .500 team. On paper with Sale, Q and Danks and an emerging Erik it's a fair to good rotation, especially for our division. But ... with a GIVE UP bullpen, the worst bullpen imaginable, .500 isn't possible. All it would take is hanging around .500 to .550 all year and we'd be in it.

That brings us to REED.

He would make a world of difference in the bullpen options though arguably the bullpen still "might" suck.

My position is not outlandish.

 

 

Yes. You shouldn't post until at least five people support your position.

[hogan873]

I should stop now and wait for some board support. My take is the division sucks; Abreu and the lineup has been fantastic meaning this could be a .500 team. On paper with Sale, Q and Danks and an emerging Erik it's a fair to good rotation, especially for our division. But ... with a GIVE UP bullpen, the worst bullpen imaginable, .500 isn't possible. All it would take is hanging around .500 to .550 all year and we'd be in it.

That brings us to REED.

He would make a world of difference in the bullpen options though arguably the bullpen still "might" suck.

My position is not outlandish.

So he would make a world of difference, but the bullpen would still suck. Okay. With Reed, we wouldn't have a potential future 3rd baseman signed for six years. One guy in the bullpen doesn't make a difference. This is as bad as your arguments last year that having AJ would have saved the season.

[witesoxfan]

I should stop now and wait for some board support. My take is the division sucks; Abreu and the lineup has been fantastic meaning this could be a .500 team. On paper with Sale, Q and Danks and an emerging Erik it's a fair to good rotation, especially for our division. But ... with a GIVE UP bullpen, the worst bullpen imaginable, .500 isn't possible. All it would take is hanging around .500 to .550 all year and we'd be in it.

That brings us to REED.

He would make a world of difference in the bullpen options though arguably the bullpen still "might" suck.

My position is not outlandish.

 

Let's face it. It's a miracle the Sox are close to .500. Once the hitting cools off we're still a 90-95 loss team. The split was a nice miracle in Detroit. Like I said, a miracle.

 

Our only hope of remaining close to .500 is if Abreu, Viciedo and Dunn and Lexi rake all summer and Sale can pitch. Abreu is so good that might happen.

 

I mean, what's going on here greg? What is your position? That this team is good or this team is bad?

 

If you really believe that Addison Reed turns a 90-95 loss team into a contender, I strongly encourage you to seek medical attention because something is going on that shouldn't be going on.

[greg775]

Yes. You shouldn't post until at least five people support your position.

 

If Soxtalk had a voice function I could probably explain my position better.

[ILMOU]

Let's face it. You cannot trade Addison Reed and have no closer in waiting and expect anything but this to happen. It was a boneheaded decision to trade Reed with NOTHING left over. How this team is flirting with .500 is amazing with this bullpen. And if the rotation loses Sale ... wow, the bullpen is going to be needed A LOT. The bullpen has sucked for years now but at least the Sox have always had a closer.

The way Jones finished last year, he was a reasonable option as a placeholder, at least, and possibly better. He just hasn't been healthy, but it's still early.