Bullpen Key to Boston Red Sox Success in 2009

With a bullpen ERA of about 4.00 in 2008, the Red Sox finished right around the league average. However, they still won 95 games despite that and numerous injuries to key players.

Although their offseason wasn't nearly as overwhelming as the Yankees, they made several moves to upgrade the pitching staff, most notably the bullpen.

Takashi Saito is just one of the pickups made by the Red Sox in the offseason to shore up their relief corps, specifically the late-inning bridges to Jonathan Papelbon. Saito, along with several others, will be the key to just how well the Red Sox perform in the 2009 regular season and beyond.

Hideki Okajima was the setup man the Sox needed in 2007, and he helped them all the way to a World Series Championship. In 2008, he dropped off, allowing inherited runners to score with regularity to mask his 2.61 ERA. However, he bounced back in the postseason, allowing only two baserunners in 7.1 innings in the ALCS.

Justin Masterson, a home-grown product, took the reins as the setup man in the middle of 2008 and took that role all the way to the ALCS. His great fastball-sinker combination could eventually land him in the starting rotation, but as a reliever, that repertoire can be dominant.

Manny Delcarmen has another year of experience under his belt, and at 27, he still has yet to show the Red Sox his best capabilities as a pitcher. If his secondary pitches to his great fastball experience further improvement, Delcarmen could also dominate.

As part of the swap for Coco Crisp, Ramon Ramirez is another young reliever with the upside to be a top-notch setup man. Anything close to his 2008 numbers (2.64 ERA, 70 strikeouts in 73.1 innings) would make him a valuable addition to the pitching staff.

Saito could be the ultimate key to the solidity of the bullpen. The Red Sox' MO in Papelbon's tenure as closer is to limit his innings during the regular season so he won't burn out before the postseason. It worked wonders in 2007.

The problem was, there was nobody with enough closing experience to really take the reins on the nights Papelbon took off. Saito, if healthy, could be that person.

If he is half of what he was in three years with the Dodgers (1.95 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 245 strikeouts in 192.1 innings), Saito would be an outstanding signing. He, along with John Smoltz and Brad Penny, represent the Red Sox' low-risk, high-reward signings of the offseason.

If this bullpen can click like the Rays' did last season, they can take games over. The Red Sox starting pitching is deep enough to keep them in games late, and if the relievers dominate, they can shorten games.

If the revamped bullpen turns out to be one of the best in the game, they could be the best team in baseball, period.  The Yankees ignored their bullpen woes in the offseason, and the Rays may not achieve the dominance they did in 2009.

This could translate to the Red Sox having the best pitching staff in the best division in baseball. And that could possibly translate to a World Championship.