Probably a good idea with MDC out & where we are in the rotation.

We may be needing relievers.

Was he in Pawtucket all of last year? How did he do?

Last year was a 'meh' year for him. He had a 3.86 ERA & a WHIP of 1.75.

But this year he's worked on his mechanics & by some accounts has gotten back to why he was so highly thought of when he was drafted. "They say" his velocity is back up in the mid-90's and his slider is nasty again. In 12.1 IP this year he hasn't allowed an earned run and has a WHIP of only 0.56.

We'll see if he's ready.

EDIT: Berg said it better than me. With a nice fancy box too!

He pretty much sucked last year, but in the meantime he has had surgery to fix his sleep apnea and returned to his old mechanics. So far this year:



Yeah, I'd say that's pretty good.

edit: MrNE beat me to it, but my stats are pretty. Whooo-hooo!

I see the word "meh" used around here a lot, what the heck does it mean and where did it come from?

Well, that makes me feel a bit better about the bullpen. I guess we'll just be short a position player until Lowell is back.

I'm not geting too excited yet, it's only been 12 1/3 innings. He looked really good in the minors in '05 & '06 before getting shelled in the majors.

Just like it sounds. "meh"

Sort of a dismissive proclamation, a la the sarcastic use of "whoopie."



He didn't look THIS good in either '05 in very limited mL action (he pitched in college that year, remember), and not even close to this good in '06 (WHIP of 1.39 in Pawtucket).Don't get me wrong; I'm pretty sure he'll give up a run here and there, but I see every reason to be optimistic about Hansen.

I think Hansen has, among other things, learned to control his emotions. Last year, I covered a PawSox game when both he and MDC got lit up. In the locker room afterwards, MDC calmly explained what happened out there. Hansen, who had stalked off the field when yanked, was still angry and not very approachable. He just seemed very frustrated last year, for a lot of easily explainable reasons.

A few weeks later, Manny got his chance with Boston. Sometimes it isn't just about the numbers in Pawtucket. It's also about whether the player is mentally ready to make the jump.

This year, Hansen has been much calmer. Maybe he's getting more sleep. Certainly his command of the strike zone is better and his stuff is still nasty.

If Pauley went down and Hansen took his spot, whose spot did Dusty Brown take?

edit: nevermind, apparently Varitek is better and Dusty is staying in Pawtucket

Yeah, well we already have a Dusty (sort of), who's staying. Brown needs to get another nickname.

After the coaching staff had him alter his delivery when he first arrived in the Boston organization for health and longevity reasons, Hansen has reverted back to his short arm delivery that he used at St. John. His line thus far at Pawtucket is outstanding.

Link

Wow, hadnt heard they went back to the old mechanics. That seems way more important than the sleep apnea stuff.

This could be major for our bullpen if he's close to what he was that first year...

I was surprised too as it sounds like he did it on his own. Apparently the short arm delivery has brought life back to his slider.

Kind of good news - bad news. The good news: he's pitching much better. The bad news: he's using a delivery that may be hazardous to his pitching health. Gotta do what you gotta do I guess, and, at least, that delivery won't kill him.

I'd rather have him effective with a violent pitching motion than ineffective with a smooth delivery. I'm excited to see how he does with this opportunity. I don't know how much of a chance he will get but at least some low leverage innings to start.

Is he getting optioned right back down for Masterson? I havent heard anything, but when I saw him come in tonight I figured that's probably the plan.


EDIT: He is already on his way back to the Bucket, czar posted it in the other thread:




http://www.redsoxnation.net/forums/index.p...st&p=774009

meh

His slider is definitely back to where it was advertised to be when we first signed him - he threw a couple where guys had no chance at all.

Really, other than the HR, he looked quite good out there. If not for the error, he would have gotten 2 innings in.

I know they need to juggle players around, but I'm kind of shocked to see him go. That fastball was lively (and accurate) and the slider served two different purposes. Crazy stuff here, he uses one at a higher speed to drop out of the zone (gun hit 90mph on one of them) and then takes a bit off and throws it higher in the zone to get more of a sharp curveball action out of it. That is just plain nasty.

Even the HR he gave up came on a pitch that started at his target, but the movement brought it over the plate and a hitter like Kotchman isn't going to miss that. I hope we seem him again soon and he sticks here for good.

Last night Hansen looked good through one inning, but kinda fell apart in the second. He had flashes that impressed me (hitting 97, nasty slider) but also threw one in the dirt that Tek had to save & walked the bases loaded.


PS - should we change the name of this thread?

In an absolutely shocking development, one of the ESPN guys made a good point last night. Hansen's slider is NASTY...but it doesn't end up in the strike zone. Once hitters realize this, they can just not swing at anything they don't immediately pick up as a fastball. I think there are 2 adjustments CH needs to make.
1) Start the slider right at a RHB's shoulder, & let it break over the plate once in awhile.
2) Get ahead early. That slider is gonna be a lot more effective in an 0-2 count than in a 3-0 count.

All that being said, if sure looked like blowing the easy play to first bothered him. From what I've seen, he should stay up for awhile.

It was Orel Hershiser , about the only national baseball guy I actually like. He knows his stuff and he doesn't talk down to you. He explains a pitch like he is talking to a baseball fan.

He was right on. Hansen does not have to paint any corners with that pitch. If it is starts out in the zone, the hitter is toast. They showed the graphic from one pitch that went from the top of the zone to the bottom. As he stated, the ball just has to have movement on the last 15 feet because the hitter is already committed. Get him throwing that pitch right, and sorry to say, MDC may be gone.

I wonder of Hersheiser saw his first outing this season. Hansen was taking a little off of his slider and using it as a curve to break into the zone for a high strike. His slider is obviously is out pitch, but people said the same thing about laying off K-Rod's slider, Jenks' curve, and Joba offspeed stuff and they get by fine. Hansen's stuff is supposed to be that good, especially when his slider is working. The fact that he can throw it for strikes (maybe he just didn't feature it that way last night), but also make if disappear out of the zone shows that he can mix it up nicely. I think he should take a look at more than just last night's outing before making that assumption about how hitters will adjust. I'm not saying I know more about pitching than him, but I've watched enough of Hansen to know that he can, when it is working, take a bit off the slider for a nasty strike in the zone.

People still havent adjusted to KRod... and Im not sure he's ever thrown that thing for a strike.

I really like Hershiser, well, about as much as I can't stand Steve Phillips. Unfortunately, you usually get them together. Hershiser was the pitching coach for the Rangers for a few years. Even he couldn't do much good there. I hope John Farrell has pointed out to Hansen what everyone else knows: the thing is so nasty, aim it right down the middle and watch them flail away at it.

I don't know. They haven't adjusted to the point that the guy is no longer one of the elite closers, by any means. His WHIP, ERA, and K rate have all generally trended in the wrong direction over the course of his career, though. Of course, the wrong direction still left him slightly above 12 K/9 last year. But he does get into stretches now and then when his slider isn't fooling anybody, and then he starts to either walk everybody (see: 2007 All Star Game...he had nothing in that game) or give up 500 foot bombs.