Boston Red Sox Bullpen: What if They Fail?

Heading into spring training it is easy to say that the one issue that the Red Sox are not going to have to address this year is their relief pitching. The team made several moves this year in order to put to rest any doubts that the team will struggle from the middle of the sixth inning until number 58 steps onto the field.

As it stands the Sox have five proven arms to fill in that role in Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Javier Lopez, Ramon Ramirez, and Takashi Saito. As every other sports writer praises the bullpen, does anyone stop and wonder “what if they fail?” This article will be a player by player breakdown of the chances for successes for the five listed above.  

Manny Delcarmen- 2008 stats, 3.27 era, 74.1 inning pitched, 72 strike outs. Singer Kate Perry’s song “hot and cold” could have been written for Manny. As most Red Sox fans know, Delcarmen has electric stuff.

The problem is sometimes he tends to blow a transformer in a big way. What is needed from the right hander is consistency. Over all, Delcarmen is likely to perform well, but if he does start to falter, do not be surprised if he is benched for some of his other teammates.

Hideki Okajima- 2008 3w, 2l, 2.61 era, 60 innings pitched. Okajima is catalyst to success for this team. When he is able to perform well, the team is able to perform well. He struggled in the role of the teams set up man last year, and could very well have a been a deciding factor in why the Sox decided to pursue so many pitchers this off season.

Okajima is a key component to this teams relief, and if he goes down you are left with the untested Takashi Saito to fill his role.

Javier Lopez, 2008- 2.43 era, 59.1 innings, 22 walks. A solid pitcher when needed, he is usually used for his ability to get lefty’s out (.182 vs Left, .311 vs Right.) However, he does not seem to fair well under pressure in big game situations. Also with so much potential talent, it will be hard for Terry to consider keeping a guy on the staff who really is only good for one or two outs at best per game.

Realistically Lopez  probably will not be on the bench for long. There are simply too many options to try out, rather than stick with a lefty specialist.  

Ramon Ramirez- 2008 3w 2l, 2.64 era, 71 innings, 70 ks. This particular pitcher is somewhat of a mystery to most Sox fans. His stats say that he is a decent pitcher, with a high number of k’s, and an equally high number of walks (31). The only thing that could worry most fans is that he previously played for the very low pressure organization of Kansas City.

If he can handle the pressure, he’ll be a god send in the seventh, if not, just a bad deal for the valuable Coco Crisp. Time will tell whether this was a good investment for the Sox.

Takashi Saito- 4w, 4l, 45ings, 2.49 era. Saito could be a great deal for Boston. Everyone does seem to think that he should fit in well with the Japanese oriented staff. Because he will not likely be used as often as if he were a closer for another team, the 39 year old's arm should be well rested. At the same time, he Is 39, and is coming off of an injury plagued season. 

As everyone prepares for the Saito of old, we must also prepare ourselves for a potential washout. It may be his time to shine again, it may be his time to hang it up.

The Sox took many chances this off season by pursing this strategy of focusing on pitching. Realistically they should fair very well this season, granted some of the above players perform as necessary. Hypothetically if they do not, the picture is not very spectacular to look at.

Although the Sox do have other options for relief in Justin Masterson, Michael Bowden, and up and coming star Daniel Bard, it is not likely that you will see all of them in that role. You can expect one or more of the Sox pitchers to be traded away to addresses other issues, such as a big bat. And the Sox would most likely like to integrate them into their starting rotation as well.

After this season the Sox are left with three definite starters in Lester, Matsuzaka, and Beckett. So cross your fingers, and lets prepare for some great inter-division baseball.