March 20, 2015: Need for Relief

No, I’m not talking about my 7-9 record for the Thursday games in the tourney.  Just. Brutal.  It could have been worse of course… although I’ve already lost 4 of my Sweet 16, I have all of my Elite 8 left, which is where the real points are made.  At the rate I’m going, one of those guys is next…

We talked about the starters for both the Cubs and Sox; now it’s time to turn to the bullpens.  Last year they were polar opposites.  The Cubs bullpen was surprisingly good; they had some good relief pitching from multiple guys, and may have even found a closer.  Meanwhile, the Sox bullpen was an absolute train wreck; and that’s not an exaggeration just because I’m a Cubs fan.  The Sox bullpen cost them more games than anything last year, and if they actually managed to turn them around through their awesome off season, they could see a big jump in their win total.  Did they pull it off?

David Robertson was the big splash.  He is slated to be the closer for the Sox; he’s getting paid like one.  He did very well last year in replacing a legend out in the Bronx.  That’s one year of success as a closer, but that’s all we have to go on for most of the bullpen guys we’ll be talking about.  The Sox HAD to do something, and I think this was a solid move.  They could put that Addison Reed trade behind them, and turn the 9th over to Robertson for the foreseeable future.  How will he fare with his new team and with his new contract?  The answer to that can swing a club’s win total.

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The Cubs bullpen was one of the pleasant surprises in the last of the rebuilding years.  Hector Rondon was very good as closer.  I still won’t draft him in my fantasy baseball league…  Let’s see him do it again.  (By the way, I MUST have Cubs on my fantasy team, but to have a Cubs closer is like death… I had Marmol for many years)  Pedro Strop and Neil Ramirez were the other guys who pitched great.  Yeah, they each had their moments, but overall, they were rock solid.  Heck, Justin Grimm wasn’t half bad either.  That’s all righties so far….  Add in the signing of Jason Motte and the potential move to the bullpen of good old Edwin Jackson, that’s two more righties.  Who will be our left handed guy out of the pen?  Drake Britton is penciled in now… I didn’t even know who he was.  I thought they were going to move Wada to the pen… that may be smart, considering we at least know something about him.  The lack of left handed guys in the pen is a weakness.

I gave the slight edge to the Sox with the starting pitching, and I think I’ll have to do the same here; yeah, I’m man enough to say it.  The Cubs pen did have a good year last year, I’m just not 100% sold yet.  The Sox made major improvements, but at the same time, they haven’t done anything for the Sox yet.  Bullpens are becoming more and more important, with the pitch count restrictions for starters, and the fact that the closer ONLY pitches the 9th.  We’ve both seen what bad bullpens and closers can do to your season.  I don’t want to see that this year.  I hope we’re not looking for the need for relief from our current bullpens.  The difference between a .500 season and a wild card team may lie with these guys.  I don’t envy their jobs, but they’re getting paid… So in the words of Thibs…. DO YOUR JOB!