Bullpen Concerns

[TheKilo]

Originally Posted by One Red Seat

MDC keeps spitting the bit every time it's offered. They need to get Hansen back up as soon the 10 days pass and see what they've got there. MDC is looking more and more like a middle of the game reliever, and not an end game option.

I will say this in his defense last night. It made absolutely no sense to pitch MDC to Lind. I know JHB posted his power pitcher splits in the game thread, but he's got a pretty strong LH/RH split too, and Oki is just a better pitcher. I think the stronger power pitcher split is negated by the quality of pitchers involved. Oki hadn't thrown since 4/24, so he was well rested. When your usual 8th inning guy hasn't had work in 5 days, give him the ball to start the inning in a 1-run game. I'm pretty sure the intent was to buy an inning's worth of outs from MDC and not pitch Papelbon on consecutive days, but it almost blew up in his face, and luckily, Oki was able to shake off the rust and get the job done after coming in without his full warm-up.

This is why the move made sense. The Jays had 891 coming up.

Believe it or not, I'm surprised by how quick the hook was. It seemed like they had a plan going...let him pitch until he allowed a baserunner. Unfortunately, it happened on the 2nd pitch.

Okajima didn't look so hot last night to start either. If not for a great play by Moss, we could have been looking at an Okajima loss.

[redsoxrules]

Originally Posted by TheKilo

.



Okajima didn't look so hot last night to start either. .

yes he did

[One Red Seat]

MDC = Meatball Deluxe Central

[TheKilo]

Originally Posted by redsoxrules

yes he did

You mean when he gave up the double and the sac fly Moss made a great play on?

[redsoxrules]

Originally Posted by TheKilo

You mean when he gave up the double and the sac fly Moss made a great play on?

and then struck out eck and rolen and did not give up an earned run if he would of started the inning the red sox would of held the 1-0 lead . you cant expect him to save every base runner from scoring that were allready on base or to go 1-2-3 every time

[TheKilo]

Originally Posted by redsoxrules

and then struck out eck and rolen and did not give up an earned run if he would of started the inning the red sox would of held the 1-0 lead . you cant expect him to save every base runner from scoring that were allready on base or to go 1-2-3 every time

He did allow the runner to score, though, and it's not like the bases were loaded or anything. It was man on first, no one out.

What would you be saying if Brandon Moss didn't make that catch?

[Sweet Chin Music33]

Originally Posted by One Red Seat

MDC = Meatball Deluxe Central

Hes really been awful. Im not mad about it, just disappointed.....just kind of shake my head and say, I just dont get it....

Im starting to think that maybe last year he was just a polished turd, and this year hes just a turd....thats probably a little too far....its just a joke, just a joke before someone jumps on the quote.

Okijima cant go through the whole season bailing guys out and throwing multiple innings, he will wear out again.

Theyve got to make a decision about him though.......he cant continue pitching this badly and expect to see meaningful innings. I think he should be given a few garbage innings to try and fix whatever is going on with him.

I guess the Hansen callup is the immediate reaction of the ballclub to see if maybe, just maybe he can provide just a little of what a setup guy should do from the right side.

I really want him to succeed being a Boston kid and all.......come on MDC, wake up and pull through.

[Jayhawk Bill]

Manny Delcarmen's xFIP, by year:

Year	xFIP
2005	4.59
2006	4.04
2007	4.07
2008	3.95

That looks like very consistent pitching once the effect of fielders is removed. The trouble, of course, is that xFIP can hide two things that can raise ERA: either a decrease in ground balls (an increase in fly balls is captured, but ground balls are captured only indirectly) or an increase in line drives. Let's check:

Year	LD%	GB%
2005	16.7	62.5
2006	25.7	44.6
2007	17.0	44.6
2008	12.8	59.0

Looking at the peripherals, MDC should be having his best season. The biggest missing element is home runs: MDC has allowed two fly ball home runs despite allowing only 12 fly balls all season. A contributing factor is that 34.8% of his ground balls in play have been allowed through for hits and that 100% of his line drives in play have become hits, both figures about a third too high. Boston's only given MDC a .632 DER--any pitcher can look bad with that support.

The HR/FB rate will return to around 11-12% with time, not 16.7%, and the DER allowed should rise to around .700, maybe better if MDC can keep avoiding line drives.

This isn't MDC's fault, IMO. I counsel patience.

[YAZMAN]

MDC threw hard and threw strikes yesterday. But he couldn't get anybody out, and threw 19 pitches facing 3 batters. Both hits he gave up were with two strikes after the hitter had seen his entire bag of tricks. You can work ahead all you want, but without an "out" pitch it's going to be tough for him to stay with the club long term.

[redsoxrules]

Originally Posted by TheKilo

He did allow the runner to score, though, and it's not like the bases were loaded or anything. It was man on first, no one out.

What would you be saying if Brandon Moss didn't make that catch?

yes the runner scored , but that wasent his runner , and moss did make the catch .
point is when you have a 1 run lead going to the 8th you dont bring up a strugging pitcher , you bring your set up man who has an ERA under 1 and is known to do the job

[Jayhawk Bill]

Originally Posted by YAZMAN

MDC threw hard and threw strikes yesterday. But he couldn't get anybody out, and threw 19 pitches facing 3 batters. Both hits he gave up were with two strikes after the hitter had seen his entire bag of tricks. You can work ahead all you want, but without an "out" pitch it's going to be tough for him to stay with the club long term.

The hits came on 97.7 mph and 95.5 mph fastballs. Most pitchers consider fastballs of that velocity "out pitches." It's tough to make good contact on such pitches as a batter.

Furthermore, in three batters MDC allowed a ground ball, a line drive and a fly ball in the park, in that order. The most likely outcome for that sequence of balls in play is "runner on first, two out." One of the least likely outcomes is "run scored, runner on third, one out." Part of the issue yesterday is the exact location to which balls were hit and where fielders were positioned. Over time MDC's luck with defensive support will even out, but right now he's getting screwed.

I see MDC as a guy who can pitch to a 4.00 ERA long-term from the bullpen if he maintains his current level of skill and talent. That's not closer quality, but it's certainly MLB-quality.

[YAZMAN]

Originally Posted by Jayhawk Bill

The hits came on 97.7 mph and 95.5 mph fastballs. Most pitchers consider fastballs of that velocity "out pitches." It's tough to make good contact on such pitches as a batter.

Furthermore, in three batters MDC allowed a ground ball, a line drive and a fly ball in the park, in that order. The most likely outcome for that sequence of balls in play is "runner on first, two out." One of the least likely outcomes is "run scored, runner on third, one out." Part of the issue yesterday is the exact location to which balls were hit and where fielders were positioned. Over time MDC's luck with defensive support will even out, but right now he's getting screwed.

I see MDC as a guy who can pitch to a 4.00 ERA long-term from the bullpen if he maintains his current level of skill and talent. That's not closer quality, but it's certainly MLB-quality.

I agree with what you are saying, and I like MDC. But at the game yeasterday it appeared as if his fastball must have been flat. He hit his spots early in the count, then got fouled off with pretty decent looking two-strike swings. The balls hit into play were solidly hit, almost like they were "sat on".

At the MLB level, even 95-97mph fastballs are going to get hit hard if they have no movement.

[Sweet Chin Music33]

Originally Posted by YAZMAN

I agree with what you are saying, and I like MDC. But at the game yeasterday it appeared as if his fastball must have been flat. He hit his spots early in the count, then got fouled off with pretty decent looking two-strike swings. The balls hit into play were solidly hit, almost like they were "sat on".

At the MLB level, even 95-97mph fastballs are going to get hit hard if they have no movement.

His fastball has always been kind of flat. The thing that makes him tick is his curveball. When he is right, he has a nasty 12-6 deuce. When hes wrong, his fastball gets tattooed all over the park.

Other pitchers can get away with less than stellar stuff. When MDC isnt on his game, and what I mean is falling behind in counts.....his fastball becomes the only pitch he can throw for strikes......and they get hit hard.

[Jayhawk Bill]

Our bullpen just got better: Bryan Corey has been traded to the Padres for cash and a PTBNL.

http://blogs.courant.com/redsox/2008...e-demoted.html

[CrespoBlows]

Originally Posted by Jayhawk Bill

Our bullpen just got better: Bryan Corey has been traded to the Padres for cash and a PTBNL.

http://blogs.courant.com/redsox/2008...e-demoted.html

Khali Greene.