Results tagged ‘ Andrew Bailey ’
Who’s Closing?
DSC_0150 (Photo credit: RedSoxNetwork.com)
Tonight’s 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays has created a bit of stir. It seemed like the pen was working as it has been for the past few weeks with Tazawa finishing off the seventh and Uehara pitching the eighth. Then things got interesting when everyone saw Joel Hanrahan warming up to pitch the ninth rather than Andrew Bailey. This caused mass confusion as everyone searched for answers, and at first they found none. Hanrahan would come on to close out the game and after giving up a hit to start off the inning, he got a pop out and a double play to get him out of the inning. Following the game it was revealed that Bailey was suffering from bicep soreness, the same injury that landed John Lackey on the DL the last time the Sox were in Toronto. It appears he injury is minor, but you can never know for sure. Hopefully he can avoid a DL stint, but if he does avoid it who is the closer?
Joel Hanrahan was brought to Boston to be a closer. Unfortunately for him, things haven’t gone so smoothly. He’s given up 7 runs in 6.2 innings posting a 9.45 ERA with 4 strikeouts and 5 walks. He has converted 4 saves in 5 attempts though, so he was come through when needed most of the time. He was also sidelined with a hamstring injury, which he believes was the source of his pitching woes. I hope that’s true because if Hanrahan pitches anywhere near the way he did while “injured” I have no faith in him going forward. He did pass his first real test since coming back, but it was a little shaky, but it’s steps in the right direction. If he wants to ever be able to fully take back his closer role from Bailey, he’ll need to return to his 2011 form. 2011 was his breakout year where he saved a career best 40 games with a 1.83 ERA in 68.2 innings allowing just 14 earned runs all year. He also posted the lowest BB/9 of career, 2.1, and his lowest WHIP, 1.049. The following year he lost a lot of the control that made him the dominant reliever that he was in 2011 with his BB/9 sky rocketing to 5.2. We are starting to see that here so far this year as it seems as if sometimes his command will disappear for a couple pitches and then suddenly return. This volatile pitching isn’t what you want in the ninth with the game on the line because you need to be able to come up with a big pitch at any given time, but he can’t command his pitches he could find himself loading up the bases pretty quickly. Overall though, Hanrahan hasn’t been completely awful. He’s made the pitches when he’s needed to (most of the time) and has carried himself well through this whole mess.
Andrew Bailey was also brought here to close, but after an injury plagued season and less than stellar performances in his few appearances, it appeared as if Andrew Bailey would never get a chance to close in Boston again. Luckily, for him, the man tasked with closing out games hit the DL and allowed him to show Red Sox Nation he’s still a viable closer. Unfortunately Hanrahan has returned and Bailey has found himself injured and his stint as closer may be short lived, but is Bailey the better choice. The former Rookie of the Year compiled 3 solid years for the Oakland A’s striking out 174 batters in 174 innings while posting a 2.07 ERA with 75 saves. What I like about Bailey being the strikeout machine that he is, is that he doesn’t rely on the hitter not to square up his pitch, but he relies on his swing and miss stuff. That’s the best way to stop a team, because if they can’t hit than there’s nothing they can do. Bailey has pitched well this year picking up 5 saves in 6 attempts and in his only blown save he was able to tightrope out of tough spot and ended up picking up the win. All in all, when he’s Bailey could be one of, if not the, best reliever in the game.
Overall looking at both of them I think it’s a no-brainer, Andrew Bailey should be the Red Sox closer. He’s not only been the better pitcher this year, but has shown that he has a much more consistent track record. I have much more trust in Bailey right now than I do in Hanrahan so I believe that’s the direction the Sox’s should go. What’s your opinion?
Related articles
- Joel Hanrahan’s Injury Continues to Linger in Back of Closer’s Mind, Creating ‘Frustrating’ Situation (nesn.com)
- BoSox take series from Blue Jays, win 20th game (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)
- Red Sox activate Joel Hanrahan, but will he resume closing? (hardballtalk.nbcsports.com)
Bailey Activated; Shoppach Tradded
Today the Sox made a couple of roster moves. First the Red Sox traded Kelly Shoppach to the New York Mets for a player to be named later. Afterwards they activated Andrew Bailey from the disabled list which takes the roster spot vacated by Shoppach.
With Lavarnway now on the team Shoppach became expendable, so getting some value for him is good. Now getting Bailey back is huge. He’s been very successful as a late inning reliever in Oakland and maybe he can bring some of that to Boston. He’ll start out as a set up man filling in for Vicente Padilla, but they’ll likely ease him into the closer role.
Padilla to the DL
Today the Red Sox announced that they placed Vicente Padilla on the DL and recalled Clayton Mortensen. The Red Sox said in a press release:
“The Boston Red Sox today placed right-handed pitcher Vicente Padilla on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to August 6) with right arm tightness and recalled right-handed pitcher Clayton Mortensen from Triple-A Pawtucket. Mortensen will be active for today’s game against the Rangers at Fenway Park.”
It’s a pretty big blow to the Sox, because Padilla has been a big part of their bullpen and they’ve lost a late inning reliever. Who will fill the eight inning role remains to be seen, but it may end up being Mark Melancon, who acquired to fill that role. Also Andrew Bailey could return very soon as he needs just three more rehab appearances before returning and his next two are scheduled for today and tomorrow.
Bailey Out; Aceves In
I know I’m slow to break the news but Andrew Bailey will be out recovering from UCL surgery on his thumb. He’s unsure how he injured it, but its believed that it happened when he colided with Alex Presley at first base in a game against the Pirates. Now the Sox are tasked with finding a replacement closer and they think they have it in Alfredo Aceves. Even though Ben Cherrington said he had confidence in Mark Melancon as a closer when he acquired him it seems to of changed.
I don’t Aceves is a closer type guy. He does his best when he’s pitching multiple innings rather than trying to lock down one inning. Melancon should be the obvious choice because of his past closer experiance with the Astros, but its clear there’s very little faith in him. In the end I think the Sox will end up using a closer by committe style in the ninth, where whose ever hot gets the ball. It might end up being the best idea due to all the talented, but not quite closer-like relievers in the pen.
Offseason Review
As I watch Jason Varitek retire it inspired me to get back to writing on my blog. Also as the month turns over it seems like a good time to an offseason review, so here it goes:
Subtractions:Jonathan Papelbon, J.D. Drew, Jed Lowrie, Hideki Okajima, Josh Reddick, Marco Scutaro, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, Kyle Weiland, and Dan Wheeler
The biggest loss was Jonathan Papelbon. He was force at the back of the pen, but when your biggest loss is you’ve had a good offseason in terms of losing guys. Lowrie and Scutaro hurt the Sox infield depth, but with three guys (Punto, Aviles, Iglesias) who can handle any position in the infield They should be fine. Drew, Reddick, and Wheeler won’t hurt at all considering they found better players to replace them. Kyle Weiland might be a huge loss or nothing at all, we have to wait and see. It’s sad to see Wakefield and Varitek go, but they weren’t going to be key players this so they aren’t huge losses at all. All in all this list could be much worse.
Additions
Andrew Bailey, Chris Carpenter, Aaron Cook, Mark Melancon, Clayton Mortensen, Ross Ohlendorf, Vincente Padilla, Nick Punto, Cody Ross, Kelly Shoppach, Carlos Silva, and Ryan Sweeney
I like who the Sox added this year. Bailey, Carpenter, Melancon, and maybe Mortensen will provide much needed help help in a weakened pen. Sweeney and Cody Ross will platoon in right. Punto will provide nice infield depth, or maybe even become the starting shortstop. Cook, Ohlendorf, Padilla, and Silva will all compete for a shot at the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation. Shoppach will be an alright backup to Saltalamacchia. Like I said before I like this group. A lot of them are hit or miss guys, but they can end up being key players down the stretch.
Grade: B
I’d give this offseason a B. They didn’t lose any real key players, and filled the necessary holes with good enough players, but nothing spectacular. Although none of the additions are sure things they could become huge players or huge failures. All in all nothing great, but nothing bad.
Sox Pick Up A Closer
Yesterday the Red Sox acquired Andrew Bailey from the Oakland A’s. The Sox gave up Josh Reddick, Miles Head, and Raul Alcantara for Ryan Sweeney and Andrew Bailey. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of Bailey, I like this deal. Reddick won’t be much more than a fourth outfielder despite what many fans believe. Head and Alcantara are both at least 3 years away from playing in the big leauges. Also Head isn’t projected to be much. He’s an undersized out of shape first baseman. Alcantara, is expected to be the real prize. He could become a top level reliever one day.
The reason I like this deal so much is not because of Bailey, but Sweeney. Ryan Sweeney is nothing more than an average corner outfielder, but what makes him special is power to the opposite field. He’s a terrible pull hitter, but he becomes great when he hits out to left field. He’s a lot like Adrian Gonzalez except Gonzalez has the ability to be a pull hitter. Sweeney will thrive at Fenway and is a fantastic throw in. Bailey on the other hand is a great closer. They’re questions about his health, but even when he’s not healthy he puts up great numbers. Overall this is great deal because of what they gave up for the two of them.
Tim Richer
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