Red Sox: Five keys to a World Series championship in 2017
By Rick McNair
The bullpen puts out fires instead of starting them
The Red Sox survived the loss of closer Craig Kimbrel for several weeks. I wish I could survive a Kimbrel mixed bag appearance without the use of my portable defibrillator. Walks are my personal baseball albatross and Kimbrel is patient zero, but that said Kimbrel is still an élite closer.
The much-maligned Red Sox relief staff was just not that bad. I tend to perseverate on the occasional meltdown, but that is baseball. Overall Boston’s ‘pen was ranked sixth in the American League (fWAR 4.9) and second on road performance.
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Bullpens are notoriously inconsistent and fragile. Last season there were three significant slices removed at times during the season. The most debilitating were Carson Smith who is probably gone until June and both Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara who had down time and are now gone. The key replacement part Tyler Thornburg.
Thornburg certainly cost the team, but just a glance catches my attention – a WHIP of 0.94. Thornburg has the nasty habit of issuing walks (3.4 BB/9) but is stingy allowing hits (5.1 H/9). The right-handed Thornburg can also grab a K when necessary with a 12.1 K/9. Can he do it in the American League?
The hope around the campfire is a trio of right-handed fireballers will put the kibosh on any uprisings. For Boston’s ‘pen to stand out Matt Barnes, Heath Hembree, and Joe Kelly need to be solid as does any lefty they have stepping in.
The lefties are nothing that makes me put on my dancing shoes. Robby Scott and Robbie Ross appear to be in the average category – you can never have enough “Robbies.” Fernando Abad does not make any right-handed hitters quiver with fear, but he does instill fan fear in the populous when they see a BB/9 of 5.7. Roenis Elias hit four figures on his earned run average. Good luck.