Revamping the Red Sox Bullpen to match rotation’s growth

An analytical and statistical justification for revamping the Red Sox Bullpen and creating a juggernaut to close out victories.

The Red Sox Achilles’ heel, the supposed feeble link in their foundation that would preclude their participation in the postseason, was allocated to their starting rotation. As the starting rotation appears to have finally figured things out and is performing up to its lofty potential, there endure legitimate trepidations regarding that portion of the pitching staff that does not start games, but performs a similarly important role.

Red Sox fans should be confident in the manner with which the starting rotation has asserted itself over the past 15 days. In fact, since August 1, Red Sox starters possess a record of five wins accompanied by three defeats, while possessing the lowest earned run average in the American League at 2.81.

The rotation has pitched dazzlingly over the last 15 days and has become the strength of the pitching staff. Unfortunately, the bullpen has had its share of hiccups over said period and it has become increasingly clear that certain members of this bullpen have performed so tragically atrocious that their insertion into meaningful games could only be characterized as unfair to the rest of the ball club.

First, upon perusal of the following table, one can see how much better the starting rotation has pitched over the past 15 days:

The percentage of “Quality Starts” has increased prominently, the ERA and FIP values have dropped precipitously, while the Walk Rate has decreased and the Strikeout Rate has increased.

Next: Bullpen Issues