2023 Bullpen
- Thread starter Rovin Romine
- Start date
I'd say the bullpen usage worked just fine on Wednesday and Thursday, yes? That was the intention - hope the scrubs could come through in one game in exchange for a "sure thing" in the next two games. Oddly, it's exactly what Cora DIDN'T do in the third Seattle game, but that's been discussed to death already.
As long as they're not scoring *and* are short on starters going deep, there are going to be at least a couple of games a week where an expendable is going to be depended on in higher leverage than anyone really wants to see. Absent a big game with the bats, and given Sale's leash, tonight is going to be one of those nights.
Bullpen really starting to look legit.
View: https://twitter.com/EdHand89/status/1690798357516550144
Houck probably bumps Llovera soon, too.
View: https://twitter.com/EdHand89/status/1690798357516550144
Houck probably bumps Llovera soon, too.
My memory of Winck last season was a guy who topped out at like 93 with the fastball. Now he is hitting 99? That's amazing.
I'm still worried he will lose effectiveness from all the innings. He leads AL relievers with 63 relief innings so far. Hopefully he can keep it going, he has been immense for this team.
I'm still worried he will lose effectiveness from all the innings. He leads AL relievers with 63 relief innings so far. Hopefully he can keep it going, he has been immense for this team.
Yeah, I’ve been a skeptic of Winckowski but man he’s been huge- especially the past month. There’s been several times this season where it looked like his effectiveness and stuff was waning….and damn, he’s come back even stronger each time.
Winckowski’s usage has reminded me of Proctor too. Not sure it’s comparable but something to look at.
Through Aug 14, 2006, Proctor was at 58 G, 73.1 IP.
Through Aug 14, Winckowski is at 42 G, 63 IP.
Winck is not especially near the MLB lead in games but third in reliever IP (less than 2 innings from the top).
Luckily, Winckowski is a pretty big guy.
Those were mostly starter innings. Reliever innings, especially high leverage innings mixed with back-to-back days, tend to hit harder even in short bursts. I would imagine with the right pacing and monitoring, he should be good for 80-85 innings without any ill effects. I think we're at the point, at least for the remainder of this season, where we shouldn't be looking at Winckowski as a guy who can cover multiple innings at a time (basically the Pivetta/Crawford/Whitlock category). He's firmly in the 20-25 pitch maximum category with Schreiber, Martin, and Jansen now.
Bullpen was lights out last night for 4.2 innings, and (not to pat myself on the back) I think a big reason for that besides the individual performances is that Cora knows he can use Whitlock for multiple innings today, so he can get guys into the game, get their work and their one inning, and not have to worry about saving anyone for today. A stud multi-inning reliever is such a weapon that it makes all the other pitchers around him more effective because he provides an innings cushion.
Not having to schedule multiple multi inning guys 2 out of every five games will also free them up to be used as needed.
And that's reasonable, IIRC that's what they were doing with him last year while he was in the bullpen.
I noticed Henley has converted 18 consecutive save opportunities. On the season, the Sox lead the majors in lack of blown saves, only 10 on the season for a save percentage of 78%. Toronto is second at 76%, LAD third at 70% and every other team below 70%. The 2022 Sox had only a 57% save percentage.
It will be interesting how Cora handles the pen tonight. Hopefully Paxton gives them 6. I doubt they want Whitlock to go more than 1 after going 2 on Sunday. Kenley probably gets the 9th if there is a save situation. So, I guess Whitlock gets the higher leverage of the 7th and 8th (like Martin last night). That leaves an inning to account for with Schreiber, Bernardino and Winck all used last night. I guess it comes down to score and situation, but I’d love to get Winck some rest where it can be found. If Paxton can’t go 6, Murphy should be fresh to give some bulk innings.
The ERAs (not the only important number, especially for relievers, but still...important) for the relievers in last night's game:
Bernadino: 2.72
Schreiber: 3.08
Martin: 1.34
Winckowski: 2.81
Jansen: 2.90
I mean....that's pretty nice. And that's not even including Murphy (2.94) and Whitlock (career 2.20 era as a reliever).
Bernadino: 2.72
Schreiber: 3.08
Martin: 1.34
Winckowski: 2.81
Jansen: 2.90
I mean....that's pretty nice. And that's not even including Murphy (2.94) and Whitlock (career 2.20 era as a reliever).
Martin should be able to give them an inning tonight if needed. He only threw 10 pitches last night, and has worked:
Aug 1 - 8 pitches
Aug 2 - DNP
Aug 3 - DNP
Aug 4 - DNP
Aug 5 - 16 pitches
Aug 6 - DNP
Aug 7 - 13 pitches
Aug 8 - DNP
Aug 9 - 11 pitches
Aug 10 - 10 pitches
Aug 11 - DNP
Aug 12 - DNP
Aug 13 - 20 pitches
Aug 14 - DNP
Aug 15 - 10 pitches
So 30 total pitches in the last 5 days. Pretty sure he can go tonight.
BTW, here's Martin's performance this year on the second of back-to-back days:
Apr 2 - 1.0 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 0 k
Apr 10 - 1.0 ip, 1 h, 1 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 0 k
Jun 1 - 1.0 ip, 2 h, 1 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 0 k
Jun 30 - 0.1 ip, 0 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 1 k
Jul 6 - 0.2 ip, 0 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 0 k
TOT - 4 ip, 4 h, 2 r, 2 er, 0 bb, 1 k, 4.50 era, 1.00 whip
So very small sample size of course, but he's been more effective when NOT going back-to-back days, for whatever that's worth.
Aug 1 - 8 pitches
Aug 2 - DNP
Aug 3 - DNP
Aug 4 - DNP
Aug 5 - 16 pitches
Aug 6 - DNP
Aug 7 - 13 pitches
Aug 8 - DNP
Aug 9 - 11 pitches
Aug 10 - 10 pitches
Aug 11 - DNP
Aug 12 - DNP
Aug 13 - 20 pitches
Aug 14 - DNP
Aug 15 - 10 pitches
So 30 total pitches in the last 5 days. Pretty sure he can go tonight.
BTW, here's Martin's performance this year on the second of back-to-back days:
Apr 2 - 1.0 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 0 k
Apr 10 - 1.0 ip, 1 h, 1 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 0 k
Jun 1 - 1.0 ip, 2 h, 1 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 0 k
Jun 30 - 0.1 ip, 0 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 1 k
Jul 6 - 0.2 ip, 0 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 0 k
TOT - 4 ip, 4 h, 2 r, 2 er, 0 bb, 1 k, 4.50 era, 1.00 whip
So very small sample size of course, but he's been more effective when NOT going back-to-back days, for whatever that's worth.
Gordon might be a another comp.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gordoto01.shtml
Starter in '96 with 215 innings, then 182 in '97. Converted to amped up relief relief pitching in '98, and threw 80 innings, over 73 appearances. Which basically broke him.
'99 and '00 could have looked very different with a healthy Flash in the pen.
And the first 2 of them were before he went on the DL; the last two less than a full inning. I think the small sample size is reflective of intentional decision-making. It's better now, but the bullpen was a real tightrope for awhile. Resisting the temptation to run the good guys into the ground can't be easy.
Sadly, as a reliever he was more a Flash in the pan.
The big thing is rest in between appearances. Starters can go 200+ innings because they have 4-5 days off in between outings. If you can give your multi-inning relievers 2-3 days off in between outings, then the total number of innings don't matter as much.
That would seem to make sense and seems to be the conventional wisdom.
Just curious (and not asking for a cite per se) - do you know if has this ever been studied?
So in the two weeks of August in which Chris Martin has thrown 88 pitches, he's made roughly $600k, or almost $7k per pitch*. Pretty sweet.
Of course, if I was one of the best in the world at my profession, I'd expect similar compensation for every meeting attended or call summary writeup.
* For anyone doing the math, I rounded up.
Welp. It was a fine plan to have him well rested and all, but the plan goes awry when Whitlock completely melts down.
Hopefully he will get back into form soon, because they need him effective. Quickly.
Hopefully he will get back into form soon, because they need him effective. Quickly.
That's on you, SJH. You willed Whitlock into the bullpen, and look what happened!
Kidding. You're no more responsible than the guy in West Rox who washed his lucky Manny jersey when we were on a winning streak.
Zack Weiss is 31 & has mostly been in AAA this year. 6.03 ERA, 5.30 xFIP. In 37.1 innings, 50 strikeouts & 24 walks. He has a .396 BABIP so there's probably a better pitcher in there if he cuts down on the walks.
View: https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1695163023344722033
& it's not like Kluber was providing a lot of value on the 40-man.
View: https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1695163023344722033
& it's not like Kluber was providing a lot of value on the 40-man.
Zack Kelly could still possibly come back. But there's still chaff on the 40-man anyway (Garza).
View: https://twitter.com/BostonStrong_34/status/1691559125790966112
View: https://twitter.com/zack_kelly/status/1686856652966785024
Chris Murphy back, Bernardino to 7-day Covid list. Murphy didn't pitch for Worcester, so he should be well rested. Last pitched 8/21.
View: https://twitter.com/IanMBrowne/status/1695832275122802865
View: https://twitter.com/IanMBrowne/status/1695832460674658393
View: https://twitter.com/IanMBrowne/status/1695832275122802865
View: https://twitter.com/IanMBrowne/status/1695832460674658393
Didn't see the game tonight but reading the game thread, Whitlock was not available tonight? He's pitched once in five days, twice in ten. 3 2/3 innings since August 18. What is he doing in the roster if he can't pitch more frequently than that?
He's on the X days after after pitching X innings plan. So 2 days off after pitching not quite 2 innings (40 pitches) on the 26th.
The problem is that pretty much everyone in the bullpen is on that plan (except maybe Martin/Jansen, and they're one-inning guys only).