Lopez is in good situation

February 15, 2009|Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist

FORT MYERS, Fla. - They called him "One-Third Henry," but by today's standards, Bill Henry was a workhorse.

Not until his ninth season in the majors, at age 34, did the man who was the first reliever associated with the concept of the "situational lefty" have more games than innings pitched.

We live in a far different baseball era. Henry's time was the 1950s and '60s. Well into the '70s and early '80s, teams operated with nine- or 10-man staffs, and all relievers were expected to log multiple innings. Now, 11 and even 12-man staffs are universal and every team has someone, usually a southpaw, who isn't put off by continually facing one or two batters before heading in for the nice hot shower.

Around here, that man answers to the name Javier Lopez.

Javier Lopez can safely go about his business without being bothered. People in Boston know the name, and they sure know the image.

"He's that sidewinding guy, right?"

Yes, he is. Javy Lopez, not to be confused with the slugging Atlanta catcher of the same name (who had a brief stint in '06 that allowed the Red Sox to lead the league in Javy Lopezes), comes at you from pretty far down under. Let's just say you don't need a scorecard or binoculars to know who's warming up in the bullpen.

But on a team of stars and near-stars and international stars, Javier Lopez has a low profile.

"That's no problem for me," he says. "I have a low profile, and I'm fine with that. I see what it's like for guys like Papi, Youk, Pap, and Dustin, and I kind like my anonymity."

He has had an interesting couple of years. Two years ago, he didn't fit the idea of "situational lefty" at all. Lefthanded hitters batted .293 with an OPS of .805. So how did he keep his job?

He did it by getting the righties out; that's how. In 2007, righthanded hitters batted .176 with an OPS of .561 against Javier Lopez.

Then came 2008 and what we saw was a different Javier Lopez altogether. This time, righthanded batters roughed him up a bit, hitting .311 with an OPS of .818. But he was appropriately stingy to those southpaw hitters, holding lefties to a batting average of .182 and an OPS of .587.

Is it time for him to put it all together? Pitching coach John Farrell thinks so.

"Javier Lopez is a guy who has continued to evolve and improve," Farrell declares. "He's a very intelligent guy."

Hey, Javier Lopez a University of Virginia grad. That's not exactly a mail-order degree, you know?

READER COMMENTS »

View reader comments » Comment on this story »