Both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are finding out that their high paid free agent signings for set up men aren’t working out as planned. So far this season, both have been a complete bust. Bobby Jenks has a 7.36 ERA and Rafael Soriano even worse, with an ERA of 7.84. Last night Soriano blew another lead when he served up a two run homer to Paul Konerko in the eighth inning, the blast that ultimately wound up winning the game for the Chicago White Sox. First, I did my dance of joy with the latest Yankee choke. Then I begin to wonder, what the hell is going on here? Why are these two men struggling so badly? Is it the new environment or is it the simple fact that they don’t know how to set up? Better yet, maybe they just don’t want to be setup men at all and they are not giving it their all?
I know that may sound bizarre but, maybe its true. They say pitchers need to have a certain mentality to close out games. Maybe the same holds true for today’s set up men? The last six to nine outs of any game seem to be the hardest to get. That’s why teams are desperately seeking a pitcher that can come in the 7th or 8th inning to shut things down. Both look lost and ill prepared coming into a game. You would have thought going into the season the Sox and Yankees had the best back ends of a bullpen in all of baseball. That’s simply not the case.
So, what should these two teams do? Both are saying the same thing. They haven’t lost confidence and they are going to let them fight thru their difficulties. This is a major problem. How long are they going to let them struggle thru it? How many games is each team willing to sacrifice?
The Sox are fortunate enough to have a Daniel Bard come in to set up Jonathan Papelbon. But, the reason they signed Jenks was because Papelbon was in the last year of his contract and they were seeking his replacement. What are the Sox going to do as the trade deadline comes near? Unless a last minute miracle happens, Papelbon appears to be heading for free agency at the end of the year. Too bad, he is finally looking like the Papelbon of old. Are you confident today that Daniel Bard is your closer and Bobby Jenks the set up man of the future? I’m certainly not. What about the Yankees, do you think they want Joba Chamberlain as their only option before Mariano Rivera? No way!!! Not that head case.
So here we sit, not even a month into the season. The two powerhouses of the AL East with bullpens limping along. Maybe its no big deal and I am making a mountain out of a mole hill. I just find it odd that both Jenks and Soriano are shells of their former selves. Then again, neither have played in a fishbowl like Fenway or the Bronx and maybe they just aren’t cut out for it. Not everyone is. Don’t be surprised to see Jenks, Papelbon or Soriano traded after the All Star break. In fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if two out of the three were traded.
Why do you think both of these pitchers are struggling so badly?
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