He doesn't throw super hard and has a full arsenal of pitches. He doesn't seem to be getting by with any kind of trickery that can be quickly figured out. He looks like someone who could be valuable in a swing role for a while.Valdez looks like the real deal? To be fair, I have never actually watched him pitch. Hopefully we can identify at least one guy that can be a part of our bullpen the next few years.
He's been trending down for awhile.Get something for him that the team thinks might the next Brasier, because I think this Brasier has peaked.I thought 2 games ago Brasier was headed for the glue factory, but he's shown signs he's worth keeping around.
Brasier was great in 2018, and was fine in 2019 through July 5, when his line stood at 3.16 era, 1.11 whip, and 8.0 k/9.He's been trending down for awhile.Get something for him that the team thinks might the next Brasier, because I think this Brasier has peaked.
That is an amazing stat.Zack Godley is the first Red Sox starting pitcher this year other than Eovaldi or Perez to record an out in the 5th inning.
View: https://twitter.com/IanMBrowne/status/1300992699206688770Next man up, Mike Kickham (who the f***ck is he?). Don't see the upside of throwing a 31 year old guy out there who's never done much.
Sunk cost. If the starting rotation was Sale, E-Rod, Eovaldi, Perez, and X (Johnson?), they'd probably be in the hunt with a bullpen of Barnes, Osich, Workman, Godley, Darwin, etc. They could have traded for a missing piece in a regular year, and there would be normal MiL games to maybe develop an arm or two. Easier to convert a two pitch MiL starter and put them in the pen, if you really have to. (Plus you *might* have had regular players like Benni, more ready for the season. if the normal schedule was in place.)I know its a crazy time and Sale and Erod are hurt (and really, is that an excuse? - pitchers get hurt all the time), but the pitching staff this year is just pathetic. Its like they didn't even try to put together a staff. They're just pulling in guys off the street now.
A trait many of us share with him.View: https://twitter.com/IanMBrowne/status/1300992699206688770
Hasn’t pitched in an MLB game in 6 years!
What is the point to this? I figure you do this sort of thing w/a 31 year old guy only if the guy came up with a gimmick pitch (like Wakefield) or was someone who was lights out at some point but got sidetracked due to illness/injury/substance abuse and was now on the way back. He wasn't good 6 years ago, was he?View: https://twitter.com/IanMBrowne/status/1300992699206688770
Hasn’t pitched in an MLB game in 6 years!
The upside is in the draft position.Next man up, Mike Kickham (who the f***ck is he?). Don't see the upside of throwing a 31 year old guy out there who's never done much.
The irony that three of the guys on the second list are on the first list should say something as well. It's not like the Sox started the season planning to run shitty pitching out there. They and, I assume, we expected better out of Barnes, Hembree, Walden, and Brasier at least (of the bullpen crew) simply because they have been better as recently as last season. Two of the expected rotation have been on the IL all year and a third guy is currently there. It's been a perfect storm of suck between underperformance, injuries, and the pandemic limiting options. In March they had the makings of a serviceable pitching staff...not great, not shit, but somewhere in the middle. By late July, they didn't and had no real recourse to fix it. So they're steering into it and throwing all kinds of spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Maybe they stumble upon a couple more Valdezes by the end of the month.Here's the stats for the Sox' pitching staff of everyone who's appeared in just about 20% of the team's games (8 games). Prepare to avert your eyes.
Brice - 17 g, 6.35 era, 1.35 whip
Valdez - 14 g, 0.86 era, 1.29 whip
Brasier - 14 g, 4.61 era, 1.54 whip
Osich - 13 g, 5.74 era, 1.34 whip
Barnes - 13 g, 5.54 era, 1.62 whip
Brewer - 11 g, 5.61 era, 1.75 whip
Hembree - 11 g, 5.59 era, 1.24 whip
Weber - 9 g, 5.79 era, 1.46 whip
Walden - 9 g, 12.00 era, 2.44 whip
Springs - 8 g, 8.49 era, 1.80 whip
Just ONE guy with an era under 4.61. One. EIGHT guys with an era of 5.54 or higher. 8 out of 10. I mean...good god.
Now compare that to the 2018 team - just two years ago though it seems like an eternity - looking at pitchers who entered 27 or more games:
Kelly - 73 g, 4.39 era, 1.36 whip
Hembree - 67 g, 4.20 era, 1.33 whip
Kimbrel - 63 g, 2.73 era, 0.99 whip
Barnes - 62 g, 3.65 era, 1.27 whip
Velazquez - 47 g, 3.18 era, 1.45 whip
Workman - 43 g, 3.27 era, 1.21 whip
Johnson - 38 g, 4.17 era, 1.43 whip
Brasier - 34 g, 1.60 era, 0.77 whip
Porcello - 33 g, 4.28 era, 1.18 whip
Price - 30 g, 3.58 era, 1.14 whip
Sale - 27 g, 2.11 era, 0.86 whip
Rodriguez - 27 g, 3.82 era, 1.27 whip
I mean...night and day. Eight guys with an era of 3.82 or lower. Only four of the twelve had an era higher than 3.82. None with an era higher than 4.39. Every single one of these guys would have better numbers than EVERYONE on the current staff except Valdez.
For sure. I mean, a rotation of a healthy Sale, ERod, Eovaldi, Perez, and (insert name) is a pretty good rotation - you've got a true ace in Sale, a very solid pitcher in ERod, a legit #3 in Eovaldi, and Perez is fine as a #4 or #5. And in the bullpen, you'd start with Barnes, Brasier, and Workman, who have all performed very well for Boston in the past, and you'd also have Walden (3.43 era over his first two MLB seasons), Hernandez (showed legit promise as a reliever last year with a 3.95 era and 16.5 k/9), Hembree (3.86 era last year), and even Colten Brewer (who had a 4.12 era last year for Boston) was serviceable.The irony that three of the guys on the second list are on the first list should say something as well. It's not like the Sox started the season planning to run shitty pitching out there. They and, I assume, we expected better out of Barnes, Hembree, Walden, and Brasier at least (of the bullpen crew) simply because they have been better as recently as last season. Two of the expected rotation have been on the IL all year and a third guy is currently there. It's been a perfect storm of suck between underperformance, injuries, and the pandemic limiting options. In March they had the makings of a serviceable pitching staff...not great, not shit, but somewhere in the middle. By late July, they didn't and had no real recourse to fix it. So they're steering into it and throwing all kinds of spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Maybe they stumble upon a couple more Valdezes by the end of the month.
I'd agree with this - but as a practical/roster matter, who do they have on the backup squad to send into the valley of death?Eh, there's a fine line between "2020 is a sunk cost" and "not even attempting to throw competent pitching out there."
I think the responsibility for that is mostly found in Roenicke and the staff. Some blame has to fall on the individual athletes, but whatever the organization did to deal with the Covid season and the possibility of returning to play clearly didn't work as well as other team's approaches.and everyone else just frigging fell off the face of the earth in terms of performance. I've never seen anything like it.
That is incredible. Totally rooting for Robert so we can get more of Sara.
They also signed Collin McHugh and then he opted out of the season. He could have been a #4 or #5 starter, or at least a strong opener. When that much of your planned starting pitching goes down, you're going to be filling so many innings that you'll be using complete scrubs and running any good pitching you have into the ground.For sure. I mean, a rotation of a healthy Sale, ERod, Eovaldi, Perez, and (insert name) is a pretty good rotation - you've got a true ace in Sale, a very solid pitcher in ERod, a legit #3 in Eovaldi, and Perez is fine as a #4 or #5. And in the bullpen, you'd start with Barnes, Brasier, and Workman, who have all performed very well for Boston in the past, and you'd also have Walden (3.43 era over his first two MLB seasons), Hernandez (showed legit promise as a reliever last year with a 3.95 era and 16.5 k/9), Hembree (3.86 era last year), and even Colten Brewer (who had a 4.12 era last year for Boston) was serviceable.
That staff should have been pretty solid.
But.... Sale needed TJ surgery, ERod got Covid, Hernandez missed time, and everyone else just frigging fell off the face of the earth in terms of performance. I've never seen anything like it.
Yep...totally forgot about him. Their pitching staff should have been really solid this year, but literally everything fell apart for them - a combination of injuries, illness, and just a bottomless pit of sucky performances.They also signed Collin McHugh and then he opted out of the season. He could have been a #4 or #5 starter, or at least a strong opener. When that much of your planned starting pitching goes down, you're going to be filling so many innings that you'll be using complete scrubs and running any good pitching you have into the ground.
That is incredible. Totally rooting for Robert so we can get more of Sara.
That was well done! Go Robert (and Sara)That is incredible. Totally rooting for Robert so we can get more of Sara.
Just to make sure we have the narrative right, McHugh opted out because he wasn't quite healthy yet (from prior surgery), and he decided it was worth more to him to rehab at home with his family than get a check to rehab at the Alternate Site in Rhode Island. It sounded like there was mutual interest to bring him back for 2021, and I think that would be smart.They also signed Collin McHugh and then he opted out of the season. He could have been a #4 or #5 starter, or at least a strong opener. When that much of your planned starting pitching goes down, you're going to be filling so many innings that you'll be using complete scrubs and running any good pitching you have into the ground.
I'm giving the team the benefit of the doubt that they thought he would contribute this year before the pandemic, even if it was just a delayed start. Otherwise I don't think they would have signed him. That he didn't play at all seems to be another situation outside of their control that contributes to this crap-tastic pitching display.Just to make sure we have the narrative right, McHugh opted out because he wasn't quite healthy yet (from prior surgery), and he decided it was worth more to him to rehab at home with his family than get a check to rehab at the Alternate Site in Rhode Island. It sounded like there was mutual interest to bring him back for 2021, and I think that would be smart.
All I'm saying is that his opt-out decision came after he got to Summer Camp, threw a bullpen, and they decided he was still a couple months out from pitching competitively. I don't want anyone to conclude that McHugh let down the Sox in any way.I'm giving the team the benefit of the doubt that they thought he would contribute this year before the pandemic, even if it was just a delayed start. Otherwise I don't think they would have signed him. That he didn't play at all seems to be another situation outside of their control that contributes to this crap-tastic pitching display.
I think we should be careful about overreacting to 20 innings of a guy in his late 20s who has had some pretty significant problems with walks throughout his minor league career. The last time the Sox fielded a team this bad, some people wanted to hand a starting job to someone who was apparently named Pedro Ciriaco. Who?Maybe one of the bright spots of this year is discovering that Valdez can be a pretty solid arm for 2021 and beyond.
Agreed. And who knows how his rehab might have been different in a "normal" season where he's consistently working out with the team or at their facilities, as opposed to where ever he may have been working during the shutdown. He was someone I was optimistic about in March, even if he wasn't going to be ready until May or June. Just another bummer that was entirely out of the team's control.All I'm saying is that his opt-out decision came after he got to Summer Camp, threw a bullpen, and they decided he was still a couple months out from pitching competitively. I don't want anyone to conclude that McHugh let down the Sox in any way.