Bullpen 2017

BaseballJones

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Price has missed 2 months and will be coming back with very limited rehab time. Even if he is "healthy" at the start of the playoffs, that doesn't mean he is "ready." And even if he looks ready, pitchers coming back from long layoffs go through a dead arm period after a couple outings. He'd be prone to that in the middle of the playoffs. I think it is questionable whether he can be anything more than a LOOGY who can't pitch back to back days. That isn't very valuable.
I guess I'm trusting that they'd conclude that he could help them. Neither you nor I know what's really going on with him.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Per pretty much all the beat reporters on Twitter, Price has been activated from the DL. Seems like that indicates he's very close to making appearances in games (otherwise why bother to do it now?). Which might also indicate they've seen enough to know they won't be able to build him up to starter pitch counts so he's headed for the pen, where he can have a more immediate impact.
 

RedOctober3829

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Per pretty much all the beat reporters on Twitter, Price has been activated from the DL. Seems like that indicates he's very close to making appearances in games (otherwise why bother to do it now?). Which might also indicate they've seen enough to know they won't be able to build him up to starter pitch counts so he's headed for the pen, where he can have a more immediate impact.
The tweets I saw indicated he'd be available starting on Sunday and he's only going to start an inning.
 

AB in DC

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Is Barnes toast?

In the last thirty days (9 appearances plus a DL stint) he's given up 13 hits (inc. 3 HR) in just 5 2/3 innings. Still, 9 K : 1 BB means he must have something left, but at this point I wonder if he'll even make the playoff roster..
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Is Barnes toast?

In the last thirty days (9 appearances plus a DL stint) he's given up 13 hits (inc. 3 HR) in just 5 2/3 innings. Still, 9 K : 1 BB means he must have something left, but at this point I wonder if he'll even make the playoff roster..
I wouldn't trust Barnes right now at all. One of the last guys out of the bullpen, IMO, and definitely NOT on the playoff roster, if I had my way. Too bad, because he has a ton of talent and, at times, unhittable stuff.
 

Schnerres

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Someone have bullpen stats for each player used in august, in september and combined?

Would help to get a clear picture about relievers, or at least more than personal opinions.
 

simplicio

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Fangraphs can do a 30 day view, or individual months. I know you can get a more specific date range on individual player pages, couldn't find the option in the leaderboards.

Surprises: Maddox & Abad following Kimbrel on that 30 day leaderboard.
 

BaseballJones

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Aug-Sep numbers, each reliever:

Kimbrel: 19.1 ip, 1.86 era, 0.88 whip, 18.2 k/9, .501 ops
Reed: 18.2 ip, 4.34 era, 0.91 whip, 10.1 k/9, .659 ops
Barnes: 14.0 ip, 5.14 era, 1.50 whip, 10.9 k/9, .830 ops
Hembree: 10.0 ip, 3.60 era, 1.80 whip, 12.6 k/9, .841 ops
Kelly: 16.2 ip, 5.40 era, 1.32 whip, 9.2 k/9, .674 ops
Scott: 7.0 ip, 6.43 era, 1.00 whip, 11.6 k/9, .827 ops
Abad: 9.2 ip, 1.86 era, 1.14 whip, 10.2 k/9, .608 ops
Workman: 18.2 ip, 2.89 era, 1.12 whip, 9.2 k/9, .769 ops
Maddox: 8.1 ip, 0.00 era, 0.60 whip, 8.6 k/9, .305 ops
Boyer: 12.0 ip, 4.50 era, 1.17 whip, 7.5 k/9, .733 ops

Smith has just pitched a couple of innings so won't even bother putting his stats up.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Looks like Reed and Scott have been really unlucky and Hembree owns a luck box. With Reed, it's been 2 really bad games where his combined line was 0.1ip, 5 hits, 7 ER, 1bb/1k, 2 HRA.

I know you can't really "take those performances away" but if you did, he's at 18.1ip, 7h, 2er, 5bb/20k. 0.98 era, .65 WHIP.
 

AB in DC

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I'd hardly call 4 HR in 18 innings "unlucky" for Reed.

And Robby Scott is stiil rocking a .181 BABIP this year, so I'm not sure luck is his problem, either.
 

tims4wins

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Thanks. What jumps out to me was that his command seemed MUCH better in the 7th than in the 8th. He hung a couple sliders, and also bounced a couple.
 

nvalvo

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What jumps out to me is the E-Rod style fast changeup, second pitch to Plouffe.

He starts him with a sweeping backfoot slider with a ton of lateral break (1:11), and then goes back with a change at the same velocity but almost the same amount of fade (1:16)! Both swinging strikes.
 

sean1562

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how likely do you think it is that, if carson is over this injury and performs to what his talent level seems to be next year, we let kimbrel walk and promote him to the closer role? of course it all depends on next season, but do we think that is in the back of the FO's mind?

what do you guys think? should we sign kimbrel to a long term deal if he keeps this up next season? obviously relievers are volatile, but he does seem like he is a bar above the rest. Andrew Miller has been dominant through age 32, why not Kimbrel? Would we be comfortable with a chapman level deal for kimbrel?
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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how likely do you think it is that, if carson is over this injury and performs to what his talent level seems to be next year, we let kimbrel walk and promote him to the closer role? of course it all depends on next season, but do we think that is in the back of the FO's mind?

what do you guys think? should we sign kimbrel to a long term deal if he keeps this up next season? obviously relievers are volatile, but he does seem like he is a bar above the rest. Andrew Miller has been dominant through age 32, why not Kimbrel? Would we be comfortable with a chapman level deal for kimbrel?
I'm fine with waiting until after next year to decide on Kimbrel, regardless of what Smith looks like over the next 14 months. See how Kimbrel looks with another year of wear and tear as well as what the market will look like. I mean, no sense in signing him now to what might be an above market deal next winter.

I'm wary of over-committing to Kimbrel (or any other hard thrower like him) because I think flame-throwing relievers have a shelf-life. Just look at Chapman this year. He's regained the closer spot now, but most of this season he's seemed a bit worn down. At some point, either his body breaks down or the velocity wanes. Either way, is that what you want to pay top dollar for?
 

sean1562

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There is 0.0% chance the Sox don't exercise his option for 2018. Beyond that no decisionsneed to be made for quite some time
sorry for being unclear. i understand they will definitely exercise his 2018 option(as they should) just thinking ahead to next offseason and long term bullpen construction. Kimbrel would definitely be the cream of the FA RP crop (David Robertson, Andrew Miller and Greg Holland the next three after him) so I would imagine he may command a deal of 20 mil a year, at least. I suppose it just depends on whether we think Kimbrel can be dominant through his mid-30s. If he has a season like this season next year, I may lean towards supporting a big deal, depending on how Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg look.

Going into the playoffs this year, with the possibility of an effective Price and Smith out of the BP, I am fairly confident in our ability to hold leads late in the game.
 

joe dokes

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sorry for being unclear. i understand they will definitely exercise his 2018 option(as they should) just thinking ahead to next offseason and long term bullpen construction. Kimbrel would definitely be the cream of the FA RP crop (David Robertson, Andrew Miller and Greg Holland) so I would imagine he may command a deal of 20 mil a year, at least. RPs def have a shelf life, but I suppose it just depends on whether we think Kimbrel can be dominant through his mid-30s. If he has a season like this season next year, I may lean towards supporting a big deal, depending on how Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg look.
Relief pitching being as volatile as it is, projecting even one year out is something of a fools errand.
 

Minneapolis Millers

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So Price might be available to close tonight. Any chance we see Kimbrel used in the relief ace/Andrew Miller role during the playoffs with Price closing games out? Kimbrel can get warmed faster and come in mid-inning... Just wondering aloud.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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So Price might be available to close tonight. Any chance we see Kimbrel used in the relief ace/Andrew Miller role during the playoffs with Price closing games out? Kimbrel can get warmed faster and come in mid-inning... Just wondering aloud.
Not a chance.

Talk of Price closing tonight is only because both Kimbrel and Reed are unavailable, and they want to get Price two innings if they can. The only way to do that might be having him pitch the 8th and 9th.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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I can see Kimrell coming in for 4 or 5 outs in the playoffs, but only in the 8th inning. He's too good at shutting the other team down and no one else has shown they can do that consistently and over an extended time.
 

richgedman'sghost

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Lose, the dude's name is Kimbrel, with one L at the end. Think of it this way: Kimbrel does not have many "L"s this year...I mean after 2 years the least you can do is get his name correct. He has been pitching brilliantly this year, knock on wood.
 

Plympton91

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I'm kind of surprised thatbwith a 6 -0 lead going into the top of the 8th and 8-0 coming out of it, plus a day off on Thursday, that they didn't give Price the 8th and 9th innings on Wednesday. Seems like it would have been a perfectly timed low leverage opportunity.
 

joe dokes

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I'm kind of surprised thatbwith a 6 -0 lead going into the top of the 8th and 8-0 coming out of it, plus a day off on Thursday, that they didn't give Price the 8th and 9th innings on Wednesday. Seems like it would have been a perfectly timed low leverage opportunity.
I was a little, too. But there may be a "saving the bullets" mentality at work. Unlike Smith, he didn't miss 18 months. Price's one appearance showed that his command was reasonably intact. I still think there's a more than zero chance that he's TJ-bound as soon as the playoffs are over, and they are just trying to figure a way to finesse him through, threading the needle between being sharp and an elbowsplosion.

A simpler explanation is that he he didn't bounce back from that appearance quite as well as they'd hoped.

I think we can all envision all the possible scenarios here. Just guess at your favorite, as only "he's gearing up to start playoff games" has been eliminated.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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I'm kind of surprised thatbwith a 6 -0 lead going into the top of the 8th and 8-0 coming out of it, plus a day off on Thursday, that they didn't give Price the 8th and 9th innings on Wednesday. Seems like it would have been a perfectly timed low leverage opportunity.
I believe Shaughnessy said that in his article today. He also said it would have made sense to let Sale get #300 at Fenway in his next start. I couldn't disagree with that.
 

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I was a little, too. But there may be a "saving the bullets" mentality at work. Unlike Smith, he didn't miss 18 months. Price's one appearance showed that his command was reasonably intact. I still think there's a more than zero chance that he's TJ-bound as soon as the playoffs are over, and they are just trying to figure a way to finesse him through, threading the needle between being sharp and an elbowsplosion.

A simpler explanation is that he he didn't bounce back from that appearance quite as well as they'd hoped.

I think we can all envision all the possible scenarios here. Just guess at your favorite, as only "he's gearing up to start playoff games" has been eliminated.
I actually wonder if they're saving his bullets for higher leverage situations, as he is gearing up for high leverage playoff outings. I'm not sure the adrenaline is going to be the same in a 6-0 or 8-0 game.
 

Ramon AC

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What?
I believe Shaughnessy said that in his article today. He also said it would have made sense to let Sale get #300 at Fenway in his next start. I couldn't disagree with that.
Sox go 4-0 and MFY go 0-4, there is no next Sale start and he ends the season at 299.
 

ponch73

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Sox go 4-0 and MFY go 0-4, there is no next Sale start and he ends the season at 299.
You know that there's probably less than a 0.5% chance of that happening, right? That's probably less than the odds of Sale hurting himself in the 8th inning gunning for the 300th strikeout.
 

richgedman'sghost

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Sox go 4-0 and MFY go 0-4, there is no next Sale start and he ends the season at 299.
Even if the Sox go 4 and 0 and the Yanks go 0 and 4 wouldn't the Red Sox pitch Sale at least an inning or 2 before the end of the season? Otherwise he will not have pitched since Wednesday which means over a week off or closer to 2 weeks off depending on the situation.
 

Byrdbrain

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I was just writing essentially what gedman's ghost wrote. Even if that did happen(it won't), Sale would go out and throw 50ish pitches just to stay sharp. There is no chance he would be completely shut down.
 

BaseballJones

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Price has missed 2 months and will be coming back with very limited rehab time. Even if he is "healthy" at the start of the playoffs, that doesn't mean he is "ready." And even if he looks ready, pitchers coming back from long layoffs go through a dead arm period after a couple outings. He'd be prone to that in the middle of the playoffs. I think it is questionable whether he can be anything more than a LOOGY who can't pitch back to back days. That isn't very valuable.
Having seen him in two relief appearances now, how do you feel about Price in the playoff bullpen, P91? Are you still in wait-and-see mode for that possible dead arm period following a couple of outings? Where are you at in your assessment of Price?
 

Cesar Crespo

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including 1 inning today, Price is now at 5 games, 8.2ip, 4 hits, 3hits, 13k/2bb in MR. This is such a huge addition to the bullpen. On the flip side, not to encouraging an outing for Carson Smith.

Also, is there any way Maddox is one of the 25? They have a lot of choices to make when it comes to the bullpen for the playoffs.