How Red Sox compare to 1998 New York Yankees, 2001 Seattle Mariners

6 of 7

CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 15: Closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates after the final out against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on August 15, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Red Sox defeated the Indians 3-2. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Bullpen

1998 New York Yankees
Pos	Name	ERA	G	IP	ERA+	WHIP	SO/W
CL	Mariano Rivera	1.91	54	61.1	233	1.06	2.12
RP	Mike Stanton	5.47	67	79	81	1.228	2.65
RP	Jeff Nelson	3.79	45	40.1	118	1.636	1.59
RP	Graeme Lloyd	1.67	50	37.2	267	0.85	3.33
RP	Darren Holmes	3.33	34	51.1	134	1.305	2.21
RP	Mike Buddie	5.62	24	41.2	79	1.416	1.54
2001 Seattle Mariners
Pos	Name	ERA	G	IP	ERA+	WHIP	SO/W
CL	Kazuhiro Sasaki	3.24	69	66.2	128	0.885	5.64
RP	Arthur Rhodes	1.72	71	68	241	0.853	6.92
RP	Jose Paniagua	4.36	60	66	95	1.47	1.21
RP	Jeff Nelson	2.76	69	65.1	150	1.133	2.0
RP	Norm Charlton	3.02	44	47.2	138	0.986	4.36
RP	Ryan Franklin	3.56	38	78.1	116	1.277	2.5
2018 Boston Red Sox
Pos	Name	ERA	G	IP	ERA+	WHIP	SO/W
CL	Craig Kimbrel	2.52	50	50	174	1.04	3.3
RP	Hector Velazquez	2.77	35	61.2	158	1.378	2.12
RP	Matt Barnes	2.60	51	52	169	1.135	3.12
RP	Joe Kelly	4.29	54	50.1	102	1.272	2.0
RP	Heath Hembree	3.86	51	49	114	1.367	2.78
SP/RP	Steven Wright	3.38	10	40	130	1.25	1.55

I will start by reiterating that I am assuming Pomeranz is the odd man out when E-Rod returns.

It’s interesting that the narrative around the Red Sox this season has been that their bullpen is their biggest weakness. Craig Kimbrel has not been nearly as good as he was in a historically great campaign last season but he’s still 74% better than league average. Matt Barnes and Hector Velazquez (even if he looks very lucky) have also been elite this season.

Yes, the bullpen did a bad job last night, but Pomeranz just shouldn’t be pitching. They are the only unit here without a below average reliever (from the six we’d expect the Sox to keep in the pen when everyone’s healthy) and their back end looks as solid as those of both of these other pens.

The Yankees bullpen largely revolved around Mariano Rivera with the only other truly great reliever that season being Graeme Lloyd who only tossed 37.2 innings. Their bullpen also featured two pitchers with ERAs over 5.00. The ’98 Yankees were world beaters, but not necessarily because of their relief pitching.

The Mariners had Arthur Rhodes in the midst of an utterly fantastic season, but their pen also featured Jeff Nelson, Norm Charlton, and Kazuhiro Sasaki as true weapons. Ryan Franklin was also very solid and ate up a good amount of innings. The 2001 Mariners topped these two teams in nearly every category listed above and had a solid edge over the 2018 Sox and 1998 Yanks.

Home/Red Sox News