50 replies to this topic

[trekfan55]

From Speier:

– Mark Melancon delivered another perfect inning in which he struck out a batter and got two groundball outs. He’s now 12 scoreless appearances into his time in Pawtucket, having struck out 20 and walked none.

The guy is easily overmatching AAA batters at this point, so he's gotta get called up soon. Maybe they have a specific date in mind in order to avoid him becoming a super 2 but I wonder who's going down for him, right now (and who would have thought this?) the bullpen does not really have a weak link and most pitchers have to be exposed to waivers. Then again, that must also be part of the reason they haven't called him up yet.

[OnWisc]

From Speier:



The guy is easily overmatching AAA batters at this point, so he's gotta get called up soon. Maybe they have a specific date in mind in order to avoid him becoming a super 2 but I wonder who's going down for him, right now (and who would have thought this?) the bullpen does not really have a weak link and most pitchers have to be exposed to waivers. Then again, that must also be part of the reason they haven't called him up yet.

I think that's it. You could also look at the fact both Tazawa and Mortensen were in AAA while Thomas remained on the active roster as supporting the fact that management is more interested in maintaining access to bullpen depth than in maximizing the talent on the 25-man. As long as the guys in MLB perform well enough, there may be no reason to sacrifice the depth by DFA'ing someone just to replace him with another reliever with only marginally more upside. Melancon, Tazawa and Mortensen will likely all be back sooner or later- whether due to injury or due to another player going the Justin Thomas route (Albers and Atchison both have certain peripherals that scream 'unsustainable'). As long as the pen keeps performing, I'm fine with this. But if we end up punting a couple games because a couple of the fringe relievers start to regress, then it'll become a concern if better options remained stashed in AAA.

Edited by OnWisc, 16 May 2012 - 10:47 AM.

[JimBoSox9]

The Sox are not the Nationals - I find it very hard to believe they would let arb clock gains stop them from calling up a guy who could contribute. That's way beyond sending a guy down because he has options remaining, almost bush league. It seems more likely that the reason Melancon is still in AAA is that there isn't anyone to replace with him in the pen (which is asonishing). Aceves, Padilla, and Hill are locks. Atchison in in beast mode. Albers is more of an established guy and has been effective. Miller has 2 hits, 0 runs, and 5 Ks in 5 IP. Usage patterns suggest that Morales is Bobby's most favored LHP in the pen (although Hill looks to be passing him sooner rather than later). I suspect Melancon has a better-than-even chance to be better than any of the last four guys, but it's a tough thing to send a guy down who is pitching well.

[TomRicardo]

The Sox are not the Nationals - I find it very hard to believe they would let arb clock gains stop them from calling up a guy who could contribute. That's way beyond sending a guy down because he has options remaining, almost bush league. It seems more likely that the reason Melancon is still in AAA is that there isn't anyone to replace with him in the pen (which is asonishing). Aceves, Padilla, and Hill are locks. Atchison in in beast mode. Albers is more of an established guy and has been effective. Miller has 2 hits, 0 runs, and 5 Ks in 5 IP. Usage patterns suggest that Morales is Bobby's most favored LHP in the pen (although Hill looks to be passing him sooner rather than later). I suspect Melancon has a better-than-even chance to be better than any of the last four guys, but it's a tough thing to send a guy down who is pitching well.

Cherington has the exact same horrible holding onto fungible pitching assets fetish that Epstein had. It is reason the bullpen has been weak for years here.

[Pumpsie]

I know it's easy to criticize this strategy now, but I'm guessing we all might be thankful about this come September. An injury is always just a pitch away for any of these guys, plus trade value is being built up by the currently successful BP pitchers.

[OnWisc]

The Sox are not the Nationals - I find it very hard to believe they would let arb clock gains stop them from calling up a guy who could contribute. That's way beyond sending a guy down because he has options remaining, almost bush league. It seems more likely that the reason Melancon is still in AAA is that there isn't anyone to replace with him in the pen (which is asonishing). Aceves, Padilla, and Hill are locks. Atchison in in beast mode. Albers is more of an established guy and has been effective. Miller has 2 hits, 0 runs, and 5 Ks in 5 IP. Usage patterns suggest that Morales is Bobby's most favored LHP in the pen (although Hill looks to be passing him sooner rather than later). I suspect Melancon has a better-than-even chance to be better than any of the last four guys, but it's a tough thing to send a guy down who is pitching well.

Justin Thomas had the advantage of having an option remaining, so it's not apples to apples, but if he got claimed, then there's no guarantee the Sox are getting any of the other bullpen arms through waivers. Based on Albers' and Atchison's numbers so far, you may just be blowing the pullback option or saying goodbye. Granted, we may be playing with house money with that pair at this point, and a few bad outings may mean they'd get through waivers or that the Sox wouldn't bother to rescind. But right now, I don't think it's a matter of just sending someone down. And I agree it has nothing to do with the arb clock.

[mikeford]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Atchison is on his last option year and wouldn't be exposed to waivers if they sent him to the Bucket

[SoxScout]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Atchison is on his last option year and wouldn't be exposed to waivers if they sent him to the Bucket

2007, 2010, 2011

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Atchison is on his last option year and wouldn't be exposed to waivers if they sent him to the Bucket

Atchison's last option year was used last year, but even then, he had to pass through optional assignment waivers to be sent down. Atch would have to be DFA to move him off the big league roster at this point.

[Toe Nash]

The bullpen has been pitching pretty well for nearly 4 weeks. I don't have a problem with holding onto relievers and letting Melancon wait for someone to get hurt (or otherwise begin to suck), or maybe a trade, especially if it extends his arbitration clock.

[SoxScout]

especially if it extends his arbitration clock.

It doesn't, it only prevents him from being a super 2 and saving a few dollars.

Edited by SoxScout, 16 May 2012 - 02:03 PM.

[Papelbon's Poutine]

It doesn't, it only prevents him from being a super 2 and saving a few dollars.

Wouldn't it then gain the Sox another year of control? I think that's more important than the actual dollar figure.

[Bowlerman9]

Wouldn't it then gain the Sox another year of control? I think that's more important than the actual dollar figure.

No, Super 2's go to arb 4 times instead of 3. Doesnt give the Sox an extra year of control.

[OnWisc]

Wouldn't it then gain the Sox another year of control? I think that's more important than the actual dollar figure.

No. You just get four years of arb and two of pre arb vs the usual three and three.

EDIT: Nevermind. Redundant post.

Edited by OnWisc, 16 May 2012 - 02:10 PM.

[Buzzkill Pauley]

It doesn't, it only prevents him from being a super 2 and saving a few dollars.

Per B-Ref, Melancon only had 1.139 years of service time before the season started.

Using the MLB-standard 172-day service time clock, that 0.139 is 24 days. So I believe the Sox gained an extra year of club control by pitching Melancon in Pawtucket from April 18 through this past Sunday. Activation on May 13 would have meant 25 days off the AST clock, meaning if he were called up today he'd still finish this year with less than 2.000 years AST.

It looks like the Sox will retain six years of club control for Melancon -- from 2011-2016, his being arbitration-eligible for 4 years starting in 2013.


Of course, as always, my math could be wrong.

[edit -- Melancon was optioned on 4/18 rather than the 20th.]

Edited by Buzzkill Pauley, 16 May 2012 - 02:40 PM.

[Papelbon's Poutine]

Per B-Ref, Melancon only had 1.139 years of service time before the season started.

Using the MLB-standard 172-day service time clock, that 0.139 is 24 days. So I believe the Sox gained an extra year of club control by pitching Melancon in Pawtucket from April 18 through this past Sunday. Activation on May 13 would have meant 25 days off the AST clock, meaning if he were called up today he'd still finish this year with less than 2.000 years AST.

It looks like the Sox will retain six years of club control for Melancon -- from 2011-2016, his being arbitration-eligible for 4 years starting in 2013.


Of course, as always, my math could be wrong.

[edit -- Melancon was optioned on 4/18 rather than the 20th.]

This was what I meant. Anyone have a definitive on it?

[OnWisc]

Per B-Ref, Melancon only had 1.139 years of service time before the season started.

Using the MLB-standard 172-day service time clock, that 0.139 is 24 days. So I believe the Sox gained an extra year of club control by pitching Melancon in Pawtucket from April 18 through this past Sunday. Activation on May 13 would have meant 25 days off the AST clock, meaning if he were called up today he'd still finish this year with less than 2.000 years AST.

It looks like the Sox will retain six years of club control for Melancon -- from 2011-2016, his being arbitration-eligible for 4 years starting in 2013.


Of course, as always, my math could be wrong.

[edit -- Melancon was optioned on 4/18 rather than the 20th.]

I may be way off on this, but for some reason I feel like the B-Ref service time number following the decimal is days. So 1.139 is a year and 139 days. I've yet to see anyone who's service time didn't start with x.0 or x.1.

EDIT: For example, BR lists Lawrie's service time (as of 1/12) as .055, which would put his days at about 9-10. I think instead it means he was up for 55 days.

Edited by OnWisc, 16 May 2012 - 02:57 PM.

[Bowlerman9]

I may be way off on this, but for some reason I feel like the B-Ref service time number following the decimal is days. So 1.139 is a year and 139 days.

This is correct. Mark Melancon has 1 year, 139 days. The Sox will not gain an extra year of his services by keeping him in the minors, unless it's for the remainder of 2012.

[Buzzkill Pauley]

This is correct. Mark Melancon has 1 year, 139 days. The Sox will not gain an extra year of his services by keeping him in the minors, unless it's for the remainder of 2012.

Then I stand corrected -- he'd need to be down there until September, and that (hopefully) isn't happening.

[stevman17]

I know it's easy to criticize this strategy now, but I'm guessing we all might be thankful about this come September. An injury is always just a pitch away for any of these guys, plus trade value is being built up by the currently successful BP pitchers.

This. Someone(s) in the pen or the rotation is guaranteed to get hurt, pitchers will be shuffled around, and the situation will work itself out. Saving bullpen depth is a great strategy to insure that we won't be trading Xander and Ranaudo for Brian Fuentes or the like.

[Toe Nash]

It doesn't, it only prevents him from being a super 2 and saving a few dollars.

That's what I meant. Aren't we talking in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more?)? The difference between Melancon and Albers for four weeks is probably worth that.

[JakeRae]

This. Someone(s) in the pen or the rotation is guaranteed to get hurt, pitchers will be shuffled around, and the situation will work itself out. Saving bullpen depth is a great strategy to insure that we won't be trading Xander and Ranaudo for Brian Fuentes or the like.

I agree. We need optionable bullpen depth. But, we don't need this much. Melancon, Tazawa, and Mortensen are all in AAA. Wilson is not on the 40-man yet but could be added and has a full slate of options. Bailey is due back in August. Calling up both Melancon and Tazawa and DFAing both Albers and Atchison makes little sense. Performing one of those actions makes a ton of sense. Albers is a career 4.59 FIP pitcher who has a 4.58 FIP this year and a history of underperforming his FIP. His ERA is luck and we should be trading him while there is a chance some other team might buy into the illusion that he has turned the corner and bringing Melancon back up. Melancon could very well be the best healthy relief pitcher in the organization and should not be wasting bullets in AAA now that he is back on track.

Edit: Numbers are from when I looked this up a day or two ago and have changed since then. He is 4.36 for this year and 4.57 for his career right now.

Edited by JakeRae, 16 May 2012 - 04:22 PM.

[Buzzkill Pauley]

Melancon could very well be the best healthy relief pitcher in the organization and should not be wasting bullets in AAA now that he is back on track.

I agree about Melancon, but think Morales or Padilla should be the one to go instead of Albers.

Neither one is significantly better than Albers at this point, but each is probably more individually valuable on the trade market. Morales because he throws port-side; Padilla because he's got both starter and closer experience.

[OnWisc]

I agree. We need optionable bullpen depth. But, we don't need this much. Melancon, Tazawa, and Mortensen are all in AAA. Wilson is not on the 40-man yet but could be added and has a full slate of options. Bailey is due back in August. Calling up both Melancon and Tazawa and DFAing both Albers and Atchison makes little sense. Performing one of those actions makes a ton of sense. Albers is a career 4.59 FIP pitcher who has a 4.58 FIP this year and a history of underperforming his FIP. His ERA is luck and we should be trading him while there is a chance some other team might buy into the illusion that he has turned the corner and bringing Melancon back up. Melancon could very well be the best healthy relief pitcher in the organization and should not be wasting bullets in AAA now that he is back on track.

Edit: Numbers are from when I looked this up a day or two ago and have changed since then. He is 4.36 for this year and 4.57 for his career right now.

Albers BABIP currently stands at .182, well below the .300+ he's notched almost every other season (.253 in 2008 being the exception). I don't think any team in going to buy into that illusion.

That figure will almost certainly regress and Albers will turn back into a pumpkin. Atchinson is to a large extent in the same boat with his BABIP and 90-something% strand rate. But until there are signs that is happening, I'm okay with how management is handling this. That said, I wish I had more confidence that once the inevitable reversal comes, Ben will be quick to DFA or DL the offending party and get one of the three up here.

An added plus with Melancon's performance is that if the wheels start to come off any of the fringe guys currently on the active roster, Ben'll be more pressed to make a move instead of continuing to hoard the most arms possible.

[JakeRae]

I agree about Melancon, but think Morales or Padilla should be the one to go instead of Albers.

Neither one is significantly better than Albers at this point, but each is probably more individually valuable on the trade market. Morales because he throws port-side; Padilla because he's got both starter and closer experience.

I disagree on Padilla. While his career line is similar to Albers, his transition to the bullpen has shown the expected boost to his peripherals. We're working with an extremely small sample size for Padilla as a reliever, but the early results make him worth hanging on to.

Morales is of a very similar quality to Albers. But, he's underperforming rather than overperforming his peripherals and the organization has no left-handed bullpen depth outside of the 3 guys currently active. Morales is the 2nd or 3rd best LH reliever in the organization. Albers is likely 7th on that list for RH relievers (excluding Bailey and Jenks). And, while I'm not really concerned with the value that comes back so much as creating roster space for superior talent, Albers is never going to look more appealing to other teams than he does right now. Morales has performed like the fungible player he is.

[Eric Van]

I believe they have enough depth to trade Albers (or Padilla) for an interesting C+ sort of prospect (a la CBM or Celestino), meanwhile upgrading the pen via Melancon. They should do it ASAP.

Why Padilla rather than Atchison as a second possibility?

Padilla is making $1.5M and will be a FA. Atchison is making $0.5 and has three years left of control. Padilla has the slightly better SIERA, 2.67 to 2.82, but FIP is more predictive than SIERA and Atchison has a big edge there, 2.57 to 3.49. I don't know on what planet you'd rather have Padilla in the organization.

Padilla and Atchison are actually 1-2 in WPA*, and Albers has less impressive metrics (4.36 FIP, 3.61 SIERA), so Albers, who has a year of control left after this one, is clearly the guy you look to trade first. But maybe someone wants Padilla as a starter, so you have to see what you might be able to get for each of them.

*Because FIP and SIERA will include any slow hooks during blowouts, in either direction (let alone the complete "taking it for the team"), you do want to look at WPA and factor it in (I used to convert it to an ERA and count it as 10%). Most of pitching variation versus leverage is random, but not all.

[JakeRae]

I know I was guilty of this as well as several others, but Atchison is not one of the guys who's roster space is up for grabs. He has a career 3.72 ERA, 3.87 FIP, and 3.79 xFIP. He's outperforming all of those by substantial margins this year. While Albers performance is likely luck-based and there is no reason to think Morales is anything other than a borderline replacement level player, Atchison looks like he could be a legitimate asset in the pen and is very much worth holding on to both for this year and the future.

[Pumpsie]

I think it's fair to reason that this discussion we're having here is going on at 1 Fenway as well and Cherington has already discussed most of these trade possibilties with a number of clubs. The only question is WHICH reliever to trade and WHEN. And that's why Ben gets the big bucks. We'll see what he does.

Meanwhile, the pen is going gangbusters and no one seems to want to be the guy who has a really bad day. Sometimes it's good that ballplaeyrs know that there are other players nipping at their heels if they slump. I guess you just try to stay right here with this scenario until something becomes clear. No need to make a move until you have to. But you need to do your homework and be ready to make a trade quick when the opportunity presents itself. That seems to be where we are with the bullpen right now.

[Buzzkill Pauley]

I certainly agree on Atchison -- he may look like a 48-year old gym teacher, his splits vs. LHP are clearly worrisome, and he's not going to hit 95 mph. But he's still the closest thing the Sox have right now to Tampa-Bay-Era Dan Wheeler.

Albers, Padilla and Morales all seem fungible to me, which is why I'd probably base my decision on what can be acquired in return. Were it up to me.

FWIW, I still see both Doubront and Bard ending up in the pen by August/September as a function of their respective (unspoken) innings-limit. With those two, Melancon, Tazawa, Mortensen and especially Bailey all in the second-half mix, the bullpen could probably absorb the loss of all three above names without skipping a beat.

[Eric Van]

Three LHR is a luxury they probably don't need (Hill has been pitching mopup the last week), but deciding which two to keep is not easy, as long as Andrew Miller keeps doing his Andrew Miller OMG! imitation.

As others have mentioned, you have 3 LHR for 2 or 3 spots, and 7 RHR for 3 or 4. Hang on to all three LHR and evaluate further, until Dice-K forces another roster move (should everyone be healthy at once).

[JakeRae]

I think it's fair to reason that this discussion we're having here is going on at 1 Fenway as well and Cherington has already discussed most of these trade possibilties with a number of clubs. The only question is WHICH reliever to trade and WHEN. And that's why Ben gets the big bucks. We'll see what he does.

Meanwhile, the pen is going gangbusters and no one seems to want to be the guy who has a really bad day. Sometimes it's good that ballplaeyrs know that there are other players nipping at their heels if they slump. I guess you just try to stay right here with this scenario until something becomes clear. No need to make a move until you have to. But you need to do your homework and be ready to make a trade quick when the opportunity presents itself. That seems to be where we are with the bullpen right now.

To reiterate, the guy who this thread is about is quite possibly the best healthy reliever in the organization. There is every reason to make this move ASAP as the sooner you do it, the sooner you upgrade the overall quality of the MLB roster.

As for EV's comments on LHR. I absolutely agree that you don't need three. But, I think they want to have two active LHR and that means having someone in AAA that could be called up in addition to two active LHR. Given that they lack an optionable LHR, they are stuck keeping all 3 on the MLB roster for now. This is especially true considering the self-destruction capacity of Andrew Miller.

[Buzzkill Pauley]

As for EV's comments on LHR. I absolutely agree that you don't need three. But, I think they want to have two active LHR and that means having someone in AAA that could be called up in addition to two active LHR. Given that they lack an optionable LHR, they are stuck keeping all 3 on the MLB roster for now. This is especially true considering the self-destruction capacity of Andrew Miller.

Chris Hernandez should eventually be added into the LHR mix, but it's probably still too early in the season to count on him even as a LOOGY.

The lack of LHP in the upper minors is certainly a good argument against trading Morales.

[Plympton91]

I certainly agree on Atchison -- he may look like a 48-year old gym teacher, his splits vs. LHP are clearly worrisome, and he's not going to hit 95 mph. But he's still the closest thing the Sox have right now to Tampa-Bay-Era Dan Wheeler.

It's interesting that we have all come to this conclusion early in 2012, but last August and September, as the season imploded, he ptiched 3 innings in August and 12 innings in September and October. That's a pretty big indictment of the ability of Theo and Tito to manage a pitching staff. They used a lot of pitchers last fall that were worse than Scott Atchison, often in situations where a solid 2 inning stint could have mattered a lot.

It seems to me that a key difference is a big drop in his walk rate last year and this relative to his previous big-league stints. Maybe too small a sample size to matter yet, but if that improvement is real then I have to think his advanced metrics look better than his career projections would assume.

The downside is that he's 36, so the decline phase could begin at any time, with or without any reversion.

That said, I agree with the consensus here. Be looking to trade Albers. With Melancon, Tazawa, Mortensen, and Wilson behind him, there's not a reason to have an inferior pitcher in the bullpen anymore. Keep the three lefthanders. Morales is a nice weapon to have in the 6th inning against a key lefty. Hill has such a high upside that you can't let him go anywhere. Miller has shown enough that a conversion to relief and a simplification of his repetoire might bring out some dominance, especially against lefties.

[The Gray Eagle]

Per SOSH, Fat Albers supposedly added a cutter around midseason 2010 when he was still with Baltimore.

Since then, he's thrown 112.1 innings in the AL East, with a 4.14 ERA, 100 K and 45 BB. Not great, but despite the walks and even counting his horrible late season of 2012, that is a useful reliever that you don't want to just give away. In fact, if you move that guy from the AL East to the NL Central, he probably puts up numbers at least as good as what Melancon put up going in the other direction, IMO.

I don't think we need to hurry to get rid of Albers right now to make room for Melancon-- the organization is better off with control of both of them than just one of them. I doubt either will be really good in the long run, but both should be decent.

Albers doesn't appear to be, um, a paragon of fitness, so he will probably get worse later in the year, like he did last year. But so far he is doing the job. Sure if some other team wants to give you something useful for him then you absolutely need to think about moving him. But that's different than just cutting him and letting him go for nothing.

Despite my skepticism when we signed him, I think the post-July 2010 Matt Albers has shown that he's a significantly better pitcher than the really useless pre-July 2010 Matt Albers. He's not that good, but considering the context of his pitching in the toughest division in baseball in recent years, he's really not that bad either. He's not someone you just cut to make room for a guy who might not be that much better.

Also, given the organization needs, Wilson should be moved back to Pawtucket's rotation now. With Melancon, Mortenson and Tazawa on the shuttle as relievers, he is not likely going to be able to help our bullpen this year. We're better off with him stretching back out as a starter and being our #7 starting pitcher than being our #11 reliever. It's better for him to throw more innings this year, and he can always go back to relieving if needed, but it takes time to go from relieving to starting.

Edited by The Gray Eagle, 16 May 2012 - 11:44 PM.

[trekfan55]

Bumping. His numbers are still very good, even though there is no candidate from the current bullpen that I think the Sox should sacrifice.

– For just the second time in his Triple-A stint, Mark Melancon permitted a run. However, the run scored in his second inning of work (the first time since May 2 he’s gone more than one inning), and the rally came on the strength of two singles (one of the infield variety) and a fielder’s choice. He’s given up only two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 75 plate appearances while striking out 26 and walking three batters in 18 2/3 innings.

Speier

[Rudy Pemberton]

If there's a way to get a AAA 2b / ss, better than Ciriaco, for Albers or Morales, I think it's a move worth considering. The emergence of Miller and health of Hill makes Morales expendable; and I'd expect Melancon to outperform Albers the rest of the way.

[lexrageorge]

Albers is expendable and fungible. Not sure why the FO loves him so much.

[bosockboy]

St. Louis needs relief help.....Tyler Greene would be a nice get as Pedroia insurance.

[Plympton91]

I wonder if we could trade Mark Melancon for Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland.

[AB in DC]

Cafardo:

You hear some Red Sox fans say their team has no heart.

They’ve got the wrong body part.

In amassing a 43-43 record, what’s been missing are shoulders, elbows, thumbs, and legs.

David Ortiz, Adrian Gonzalez, Mike Aviles, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kelly Shoppach, Dustin Pedroia, Cody Ross, Will Middlebrooks, Daniel Nava, Ryan Sweeney, Nick Punto, Jon Lester, Franklin Morales, Felix Doubront, Alfredo Aceves, Aaron Cook, Scott Atchison, Vicente Padilla, Andrew Miller, and Matt Albers have plenty of heart.

Other than recent call-ups/acquisitions (Gomez, Ciriaco, Lillibidge, Germano), the only players on the 25-man roster that Cafardo leaves off his "heart" list are Josh Beckett and Mark Melancon. Beckett is hardly surprising, of course, but if Melancon has been a slacker or a clubhouse cancer, I've missed it. Though it might explain why Melancon stayed in AAA so long or why he's been mostly relegated to mop-up roles since his return.

Edited by AB in DC, 12 July 2012 - 02:02 PM.

[Toe Nash]

Cafardo:




Other than recent call-ups/acquisitions (Gomez, Ciriaco, Lillibidge, Germano), the only players on the 25-man roster that Cafardo leaves off his "heart" list are Josh Beckett and Mark Melancon. Beckett is hardly surprising, of course, but if Melancon has been a slacker or a clubhouse cancer, I've missed it. Though it might explain why Melancon stayed in AAA so long or why he's been mostly relegated to mop-up roles since his return.

I think he probably just forgot about him.

[Dogman2]

I think he probably just forgot about him.

I'm guessing he doesn't know who he is because Valentine and Ricciardi never talked about him within earshot of Cafardo.

[Dick Pole Upside]

He also omitted Buchholz, Matsuzaka, Ellsbury, and Crawford... they are far more notable than Melancon. An oversight, imo, from a sloppy, lazy, whiny writer.

[JohntheBaptist]

I'm more than happy to ascribe stupidity to this person in explanation of a lot of things, but something about that clunky-long list says he did it on purpose.

I can't overstate how little I care what he means, why they don't have "heart" or whatever, just a thought. You write out that list of names to force the person reading it to look for who you skipped.

[502 to Right]

An oversight, imo, from a sloppy, lazy, whiny writer.

Cafardo has never been lazy in punishing the media buffet.

[Lose Remerswaal]

Could be another reason Cafardo left out Melancon.

Globe sports section "Red Sox stats" include a guy named Stewart (I assume, Zach), and not Melanson. I haven't seen a transaction, but maybe Cafardo was going off of that for his roster?

[NDame616]

Since we bumped it when he was doing well in AAA, I thought it only made sense to bring up his most recent struggles.

After being promoted, he was a beast:
in 14 games (16.1 innings) he gave up 1 run and 8 hits for a nifty .55 ERA.
In his last 4 games, he's given up runs in 3 of them and has an ERS north of 22.

He walked more people (3) in his last 4 games than he did in his previous 14 (2)

Before he was demoted, we gave him 4 games which were stinkers, and now he's at 3 of 4.

Where do we go from here? Back to AAA? Or was yesterday too high leverage of a situation (even though we were down by 3, it was still a game till he came in) and we should just put him in mop up duty from here on out?

[czar]

In Melancon's defense, he does have a > 0.500 BABIP against over the last 4 games.

The walks are more concerning, but when you are talking about 3, you are really at the epitome of small sample size.

His xFIP since he came back is ~3.65, which is better than a lot of bullpen guys over that time (Aceves included). Unless the Sox know something is specifically wrong with him, sending him down to AAA after 3 bad outings seems like an effort in futility.

[Super Nomario]

As of last Saturday my wife and I have a newborn. For those of you who haven't experienced the magical process of childrearing, the first few days they poop a black tar-like substance called meconium, which I kept inadvertently calling "Melancon." This seems appropriate.

[Harry Hooper]

SSS alert: In 8 career appearances, he has now essentially pitched one game (9.1 IP) in the Bronx for an ERA of 10.61, a WHIP of 2.143, an OPS against of 1.050, and a SO/BB ratio of 0.86.