Group effort helped save a long day

June 23, 2008|Nick Cafardo

Jim Leyland said it best back in spring training.

"You're not going to win a pennant unless you have a good bullpen," said the Tigers manager. "Simple as that."

It's simple to say, but not so simple to put together a solid, reliable corps of relievers.

Which is why the Red Sox had one of those bittersweet days at the ballpark yesterday.

Jonathan Papelbon extended the game four innings when he blew a 3-2 Red Sox lead in the ninth. And thanks to a base-running blunder by the Cardinals, who had a go-ahead run gunned down at the plate in the top of the 13th, the Red Sox won it, 5-3, in the bottom of the inning on Kevin Youkilis's two-run walkoff home run.

Boston's bullpen is normally not this taxed, but when Daisuke Matsuzaka lasted only one-plus innings Saturday, it was clear it would be a long weekend for the relievers.

Which is why relievers were packing a lot of ice after the game. Though teammates say they are still "shocked" when Papelbon blows a save, it's happened four times this season, one more than all of last season.

Reason for concern? Well, it all depends on how you look at it. When you couple Papelbon's blown saves and the struggles of set-up man Hideki Okajima, the concerns are clear. On the positive side, young righthanders Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen provided clutch performances yesterday.

Okajima didn't allow a run in 1 2/3 innings and ultimately, that's all that matters. However, he allowed four hits and a walk to the 10 batters he faced. He's allowed 11 hits and five runs in his last 5 1/3 innings spanning six games. He is no longer the lights-out setup man he was a year ago.

The Sox put Mike Timlin on the disabled list with tendinitis in his knee Saturday, though the veteran righthander has struggled mightily this season - 17 earned runs and 29 hits in 21 2/3 innings.

Bullpens are tough to manage. They're good one year, not so good the next. You can pack your bullpen with veterans the way Milwaukee did and sometimes it doesn't work out. You can go with kids and sooner or later you'll see their inexperience. So the Red Sox, who assembled a very good bullpen last year, are trying to expand the roles of their young pitchers while hoping Papelbon and Okajima can return to their form of 2007.

While the Red Sox might be the deepest team in baseball, they do not have an endless well of relievers. Trading for bullpen help is tricky as the Sox found out with Eric Gagné last season. Relievers who normally become available are from teams who have not pitched in pressure situations during the season. Sometimes thrusting them into a pressure-packed situation can bring disastrous results. Therefore building the confidence of your young guns is the best way to go.