The Pitching Staff Going Forward

[Dewey'sCannon]

Assuming that Sale is back this weekend as advertised, then either Pm or BJ is getting bumped from the rotation. If they both pitch about the same against Toronto this week, then I expect they will stick with Pom, based on his track record and upside. But if Pom sucks and BJ is appreciably better, I think it would be tough to send Johnson to the bullpen to keep Pom in the rotation. Not to say that they won't, but that'd be a tough call. I could see maybe giving Pom another tart or two to get straightened out, but if he's anything worse than league average my patience would be limited.

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

Assuming that Sale is back this weekend as advertised, then either Pm or BJ is getting bumped from the rotation. If they both pitch about the same against Toronto this week, then I expect they will stick with Pom, based on his track record and upside. But if Pom sucks and BJ is appreciably better, I think it would be tough to send Johnson to the bullpen to keep Pom in the rotation. Not to say that they won't, but that'd be a tough call. I could see maybe giving Pom another tart or two to get straightened out, but if he's anything worse than league average my patience would be limited.

His track record, though, includes elite performance as a reliever (career: 2.10 ERA, .543 OPS allowed in 59 appearances/64 innings), while Johnson's doesn't. And this is probably because Pom has one really good out pitch, while Johnson is more of a mix-it-up guy. So I'm inclined to think it should be the other way around: If Pom doesn't clearly outpitch Johnson, he's going to the bullpen.

 

[joe dokes]

His track record, though, includes elite performance as a reliever (career: 2.10 ERA, .543 OPS allowed in 59 appearances/64 innings), while Johnson's doesn't. And this is probably because Pom has one really good out pitch, while Johnson is more of a mix-it-up guy. So I'm inclined to think it should be the other way around: If Pom doesn't clearly outpitch Johnson, he's going to the bullpen.

But that relief track record included a 94+ fastball. I haven't seen anything to suggest that even in relief, he can get there.
At this point, he's Brian Johnson, with a slightly faster fastball, but with less experience and comfort with being Brian Johnson than the actual Brian Johnson.

I think they'll futz around a bit to make sure both are still on the team in case of emergency.

 

[NoXInNixon]

The advantage of the huge division lead is they can let lots of guys skip a start or two to preserve bullets for October. I don't think there will be any problem finding enough starts for those who need them.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Going forward, Pomeranz should be a long man/spot starter. He can't stay in the rotation.

 

[Remagellan]

Totally agree about Drew. You can’t have a guy that consistently burns that much of your pen every time he takes the mound. If a starter can’t manage 5-6 innings, he should be in the pen.

 

[Dewey'sCannon]

Drew certainly did not impress last night. He minimized the damage (with some help from Hembree) but could finish 5, and allowed way too many baserunners. If Johnson looks good tonight, I think he keeps the rotation spot. And if Pom can't cut down on the walks, I wouldn't even put him on the postseason roster.

 

[soxhop411]

August has been a terrible month for everyone in our rotation not named Price or Sale.

 

[Plympton91]

On that note I am really surprised they didn’t try to stretch out Wright. He could have pitched a start in Pawtucket today and gone 3 or 4. Then been ready to start Friday with Johnson piggybacking.

I’d like to see him and Scott get a lot of work in this month. Scott was absolutlely brilliant against lefties this year in AAA. I know there aren’t a lot of lefties, but it only takes 1 or 2 in a best of 5 to be the difference.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

On that note I am really surprised they didn’t try to stretch out Wright. He could have pitched a start in Pawtucket today and gone 3 or 4. Then been ready to start Friday with Johnson piggybacking.

I’d like to see him and Scott get a lot of work in this month. Scott was absolutlely brilliant against lefties this year in AAA. I know there aren’t a lot of lefties, but it only takes 1 or 2 in a best of 5 to be the difference.

Scott was absolutely brilliant this year in AAA, period. There were quite a few people on this board who gave up on him after just 2 appearances this season, calling last year a fluke or that the league has figured him out. Seemed a bit hasty. I hope he gets some innings too. He saw a huge jump in his K rate this year, although it did coincide with a huge spike in his bb rate too.

Going into 2018:
22.4% career K rate
7.5% career BB rate

This season
31.2% K rate
10.4% BB rate

It's 202 batters faced. That's 18 more strike outs and 6 more walks over his career rate. That seems like too big a number in a sample size of 202 to be just SSS and league trends but maybe it is.

To add context to to what you were saying though:
vs L .143/.260/.159 in 73 PA, .237 BAbip, 1 extra base hit. 1, in 73 PA. Wow.
vs R .242/.331/.352 in 150 PA, .351 BAbip.

He's definitely better vs L.

 

[Sandy Leon Trotsky]

I hope I’m not being game-thready here.... but I hope to hell that Pom is nowhere near the postseason roster. He’s clearly either not healthy or simply cooked

 

[joe dokes]

I hope I’m not being game-thready here.... but I hope to hell that Pom is nowhere near the postseason roster. He’s clearly either not healthy or simply cooked

I dont think that was ever anything more than a longshot that got longer with Wright's return.