Masterson could end up being the impact arm the Sox need in the bullpen ahead of Papelbon (maybe Papelbon circa 2005), but they need more help than that. I guess the easiest solution is just for Delcarmen, Okajima, Hansen and the lot to just pitch better. But outside of that happening, what potential additions may be out there?

I doubt Theo is going to be willing to trade any of his prime prospects for a middle reliever, and impact relievers have gained so much value over the last couple years that they rarely become available, and when they do the asking price is too high. The Gagne trade last year probably illustrates that best: Theo won't want to make the same mistake and looking back they gave up way too much.

But that doesn't mean there aren't guys out there who can have an impact down the stretch without costing a lot. Even though JC Romero went the other way last year, he cost Philly nothing and was one of the best relievers in the game during the second half and playoffs. HE could have pitched for the Sox but because they had so many arms and so many other guys with options they chose to release Romero even though he pitched respectably when called upon and had a quality track history.

So, my question would be "Who will this year's JC Romero be?" A guy who either gets released or is available because of a numbers crunch and not performance and would not require giving up a top 10 prospect?

Borowski has been released by Cleveland. He is not very good but he couldn't cost anything to sign to a minor league deal and see how he does in AAA. He is a guy if effective you could use to close some games and allow Tito to use Papelbon more in 7th or 8th inning "relief ace" situations...

I don't think there is a reliever available right now that is likely to be worth the price it will take in prospects to acquire.

Ouch, Borowski. He's 37 and looks washed up. His stuff has been nothing for two years now. I don't think the Red Sox would waste anything, even a spot at Pawtucket on him.

Okajima and Lopez are both shaky, IMO.
I'd be targeting lefties.... Fuentes, Marte, Mahay, etc...

All good targets, but if it takes someone who'd be just as capable from within plus more to acquire then how is it possibly worth it. I can't see any of those teams giving up those players for anything less than Lowrie or Bowden plus another prospect. I think Masterson, maybe Bowden, and whatever else we have in AAA might be just as capable.

Now, if Marte or Mahay get DFAd, then I'd sign them in a millisecond. No chance Fuentes gets DFAd, tho, and i doubt the other two do either. It's going to have to be somebody in an overcrowded bullpen or somebody with little value right now that has just been underachieving or has the peripherals and not the common numbers that facilitates their release.

This will not happen. As interesting as the "use the best reliever in the most high leverage situation, regardless of inning" theory is, the Sox will not allow Papelbon to pitch the 7th because Javier Lopez walked the bases loaded, and then bring out Joe Borowski to try to nail down the 9th inning.

At best, Borowski would be a lukewarm arm for the 6th and 7th innings.

Julian Tavarez.

No, I'm NOT kidding!

Who has better numbers / experience?

(For his price, I mean)

The FO released him, so maybe there's more than numbers, but he's been a good relief pitcher.

Bartolo Colon is an interesting option for short man / setup.

(Again, for the price)

I believe Tavarez recently signed with the Braves.

Honestly, I don't think we're going to get much help from outside the organization. It's up to Masterson to come up and pitch well enough to bump everybody else down one on the depth chart, leaving Delcarmen, Aardsma, and Hansen* to share the 6th and 7th innings, Lopez to be Lopez (he's actually been fairly effective overall, in spite of the recent slump), and Okajima to get himself straightened out and throwing that splitter into the dirt again, instead of just over the plate. The current bullpen issue doesn't seem to be due to a lack of talent or ability (except maybe Timlin, who might be done (again)), just a combination of one guy coming back to reality (Okajima) and four guys who go through stretches of being hopelessly wild (Delcarmen, Hansen, Aardsma, and Lopez) but who seem to have the stuff to succeed. I think that all we can do is hope that Masterson is better than most of them, and that the starting pitchers go deep enough into games that enough of the 4 wild guys are available for any given inning to be able to bail each other out.

*Assuming that Timlin goes when Masterson returns. It could be Hansen going down instead, in which case Aardsma becomes more important and Timlin is presumably still the last man out of the pen.

My prediction is that at somepoint in the not to distant future either Lopez or Timlin will be DFA'd, unless Lopez has options left. You can't have two "junk innings" guys in a bullpen and expect it to be successful.

Fuentes would be an interesting guy ... but the cost would be too high most likely ...

I dont really think we need to do anything, as long as Clay sticks in the rotation

Paps, Oki, MDC, Masterson, etc should be sufficient IMO

Another reason that makes the cost for Fuentes or someone like him too high is that not just Masterson could become a playoff bullpen arm. Clay was seriously considered for the playoff pen last year before they shut him down. He could do that, and I think Colon could, too. Those guys are better options than probably anybody but Fuentes.

That makes Dice-K, Beckett and Lester postseason starters and Wake if they need him.

I do think Buchholz could be used out of the bullpen during the playoffs, but given the fragile nature of his shoulder I doubt that Colon would be able to perform in that role.

In Septemeber our farm will have some good arms to use as well. If Oki gets right and Timlin has his 9th life we will be in good shape IMO. July 31st should be interesting to see what Theo is thinking. If the Braves dump, Gonzo or Soriano might be useful.

There was a lot of buzz around Daniel Bard earlier in the year when he was flat out dominating A ball, and now in AA his bumbers dipped, but are still impressive...he may get some time during Sept. Callups, but him contributing at the ML level this year is probably a pipe dream.

Chris Smith has the best numbers of anyone in Pawtucket, but he didn't really do anything when he was up here. I guess it's a crapshoot when you bring up AAA pitchers....I'd like to see Hunter Jones get a chance to play LOOGY if Lopez ever gets DFAd.

Charlie Zink is having a great year, but the two concerns are first that he's a starter, and secondly Varitek might not be able to catch him effectively in games he comes into(though he mixes pitches a lot more than Wakefield does). I wouldn't want to see Zink in relief in a game Wakefield started either.

Let's hope Masterson provides some consistency for the Sox Bullpen for the second half. The BP is like a box o' chocolates.

I'd like to see the team make a play for Damaso Marte, if only so I can sleep easy at night. Our bullpen is rather shaky, though I do think Masterson could provide a good boost when the time is necessary. With that said, you can never have enough pitching so I'd definitely advocate a move for Marte.

I don't think Fuentes is an option, however, since I read on MLBTR that he's a "West Coast guy" and that he wants to remain a closer. I am assuming Paps will be our closer for life, so trading for Fuentes and then having him bolt once his deal expires would be a serious waste of prospects.

Fuentes is lined up to be an A type FA meaning the Red Sox will get two first rounders back. I don't know who the Red Sox could give up at this point, but if it's a Josh Reddick type of prospect than I can sleep easy at night.

Fuentes is a 'left coast guy' so he won't come play in Boston for 3 months, giving him a great chance at winning a world series and still allowing him to become a free agent after the season? Yeah, I guess I can see that. It's all about Cali, baby.

I don't really get all the love for Fuentes. He is a lefty for sure, but he has an ERA of 3.50 in the NL. For reference, Lopez has a 2.19. Obviously for their careers Fuentes is a better pitcher, but than how about Hideki Okajima who is posting a 2.87 ERA while his K/BB and K/9 ratios are almost identical. It must be ignorance, so I have to ask, why is he going to command a high price from a club and mertit this much enthusiasm?

Jon Rauch is who the Sox should target.

Being discussed over at SoSH but a potential target is Damaso Marte....



http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8342254...Home-Run-Derby-

I would try to see if I could pry both Marte and Bay away from Pittsburg. Bay would serve as a long term Manny replacement and I would give him 2 starts a week in LF (Manny 1 day off and 1 day at DH), 1 start in CF and 1 start in RF. (This would only work if Crisp is traded somewhere).

Of course Marte/Bay would cost more in terms of prospects then Marte on his own, but I think its worth it.

I like both guys also.
but I imagine the price would be pretty high.

If the Sox could pull off a deal for both of them I would assume that Crisp would be included in the deal along with a substantial amount of money to cover his contract.

You know how the Red Sox could fix the bullpen?

RELEASING MIKE TIMLIN!!!

Oh my God, the man is useless.

That was actually Timlin's first bad outing in quite a while. Getting rid of Hansen first was the right move. Sucking without allowing walks is generally preferable to sucking while allowing walks. As long as Timlin is the last or next to last (depending on whether or not Aardsma is really recovered from his injury issues) guy out of the bullpen, he's not going to hurt too much. Up 8-1 in the 8th is exactly the time that he should be pitching, particularly after the rest of the bullpen torched themselves (with some help from Charlie Zink) the night before.

He's still useless, though.

That's true, but the problem was that he was supposed to finish the game (or at least get the last 2 outs of the 8th inning!) so that the Sox wouldn't have to use Lopez, Masterson, and warm up Papelbon. The guy can't even mop up.

I have to rant a bit about last night. Lester was at 108 pitches in the 8th with 1 out & 2 on and out comes Tito. Now, who in the bullpen, other than Paps, is a better pitcher than Lester? Nobody I see.

The door to the clown car opens & here comes Timlin (with runners on base ) and there goes the HR, now 8-4. Lopez gets his man but now Paps is up.

Now, if a pitcher can't get out of jam like this in the 8th, how's he supposed to do it in, say, the 5th?

Lester had 6 runs to trade for 2 outs instead the manager plays La Russa Roulette with the bullpen.

It's not just the Sox, every team does this now but it still makes me crazy. Guess I'm of the Goose Gossage School of Relief Pitching.

I feel better now and I'm going to lunch!

Chris smith was recalled today to save the pen. This should help.

Gared, I wish Smith was the answer, but the Jays blistered him. If the Sox had a solid pen they should have a few games lead on the Rays at this point. With the state of the pen and the injuries to Drew, Lowell and Papi it may be very optimisitic to believe they'll win the WC.

Smith just doesnt look like he has major league stuff to me. He's a very mediocre option.

Remember in 2002 the Atlanta Braves had an awesome bullpen they made out of popsicle sticks and hot glue?

In 2002 the Braves had:

Albie Lopez (Journeyman)

Kerry Ligtenberg (Decent career reliever.)

Tim Spooneybarger (Rookie who was out of baseball within two years due to two TJ surgeries.)

Darren Holmes (Veteran reliever who's 2002 ERA was almost 3 runs lower than his career ERA.)

Kevin Gryboski (28 year old rookie.)

Chris Hammond (36 year old left hander who had never had much success turned in 76 innings for a 0.95 ERA.)

Mike Remlinger (Decent career reliever.)

John Smoltz (The only real legit threat in the bullpen, a Hall of Famer.)

I mean the Braves found lightning in a bottle no less than 6 times in one offseason. Wouldn't it be nice if the Red Sox could save a guy from the scrap heap and get some productive innings? Cot's says that Kiko Calero is a free agent, or 41 year old Rheal Cormier, Steve Kline, Akinori Otsuka, Bob Wickman, Jay Witasick... any of these guys have anything left in the tank?

5, It would be great if the Sox could make such a pickup, but it's late in the day and one reliever no matter how good might be meaningless to the overall success of this season. The bullpen must wakekup this morning reborn as a group of strikeout artists and groundball magicians. In other words it would take a minor miracle to steady the pen and get even more consistent starts from the rotation.

The last week of August is upon us. It is time for all hands on deck. A championship team has to start playing like one at some point in the season after June and that team appears to be stationed in Tampa. Carlos Pena is unconcious and is the Rays answer to Papi of 2007 vintage. The Sox are the walking wounded and they are shell shocked.

The Rays and Jays are a good bet to keep the Sox out of the playoffs. The Red Sox wouldn't have made the playoffs with Manny and neither of them will be there in October. I hope the Sox prove I am wrong, but if you don't play like the best team then you aren't.

Yeah, I know no one is gonna just ride in on a white steed and just fix our season, but sometimes shaking things up a little can get things going.

We need another brawl game or something.

[The Red Sox lead the WC race by 0.5 games for a reason. Everyone is so down on the Sox and it's sickening. Does anyone actually believe that the Twins or White Sox are a much better team than the Red Sox? The Red Sox are limping right now, but I would still go to war with their current roster as opposed to the other two teams.

How many WC teams have won the WS? You don't have to "play like the best team" in order to win the WS. It's called winning enough games to get in than getting hot at the right time. The Rockies last year sure as hell played like the best team that's ever taken the field in '07. Should I mention the 2001 Seattle Mariners?

2, my judgement is based on what I see watching the games rather than basing my expectations for the Sox on emotion. If a team doesn't turn it on very soon it does not get turned on. A wild card team doesn't usually win the WS based on one hot month and 5 lousy ones. I don't want to argue with you anymore. Its very clear you look for something to argue about every time when you see my post. Words don't win anything. Performance does. The Sox need to perform right now this minute immently or they don't get to October.

It was more of an out lash to everyone who keeps saying the Sox won't make the playoffs. They are a better team than the Twins and White Sox. Again, going back to the Rockies example, they played poorly all year until they got hot at the right time. Plus, lets not forget the Sox are on the road and will get 20 of their last 29 at home (including a 7 game stretch to close out the season).

It's not that I try to argue with you, I argue with anyone on here who I don't share the same point of view with, kind of the point of a forum.

I gotta agree with you. There are lots of flawed teams this year and no super team like the Sox were last year. We got killed by injuries(Ortiz, Dice K, Beckett, Schilling, Buchholz, Lugo, Lowell twice) and bad luck(record compared to pyth that is, we have the best run differential in baseball) and ended up spotting the Rays a lead that may or may not hold up. The Sox have been very underrated all year. We have basically been the best team all year(again, best run differential). The bullpen is another part of this team that has been very underrated, too. There is a perception that it is terrible, when it is actually in the top half of bullpens by pretty much every measure.

I love that nobody is talking about the Sox right now. No one in the AL wants to see us in the playoffs, I assure you. If Beckett is healthy, I still consider us the favorite with Beckett-Lester-Matsuzaka-Wakefield in the playoff rotation.

If anyone here is even remotely fearful of the Angels, I'm disappointed in you.

We are 14-7 in August; people act like we are on some giant skid, and we have won 11 of 16 on the road. We're gonna be fine.

Alright:
Hunter Jones
Edgar Martinez
Danny Bard

Let's roll out one of these guys at a time and see how they handle the big stage. Whichever does the best, stays up, the others go back to palookaville.

I think we will probably see Jones in September. EMart has been starting, and his star has fallen quite a bit. I wouldnt be shocked to see him in Sept, but there isnt much reason to think he wont suck as bad as the current back end of the pen guys.

I said earlier in the year that I thought we could see Bard, but indications have been since that they dont want to mess with his head. Theyre so delighted he turned it around... it may be a bit much for him to debut this season.

Yeah, I think I'm in line with your thinkin Alskor, but with Bard...if they are sniffing the playoffs and they think he can help, I bet they forgeta bout the head and call the arm up!
E-Mart - I know they are throwing him as a starter, but he throws hard and has been an effective 1 inning guy in the past.

Carlos Pena is 'unconscious' and is the Rays answer to Papi of 2007? Are you serious? You've watched David Ortiz for the past six seasons and you actually believe this? If David Ortiz put up a line like Pena is putting up right now we would have Sox fans vaulting off the Tobin as we speak.

And what's the point of bringing up Manny? Who is talking about Manny in this thread? The man is gone, move on with your agenda and pick a new target (may I suggest Jason Varitek?).

You trotted out the same 'sky is falling' routine last August and the Sox won the world series. I pointed this out already. If you're going to continue to make these ridiculous claims I am going to start asking you to provide some sort of data to back your argument, which you seemingly (and conveniently) never want to do.

Now, back to the topic at hand....

I'd be very interested to see what Colon could offer for the bullpen in September and October. If he could come in for 2 innings and just bring his best stuff, that could be big. He was pitching decently as a starter and looked like he still had some good stuff, so I wonder if just being out there for a couple innings if he could reach back and be useful in that role. It seems to me that he is the logical choice for someone playoff-eligible to step in and contribute in a big way.

I'd be worried about him or Byrd for that matter getting up and down in the pen and how long it may take them to get ready. But, if they could do it, they could be a big help - Colon in September and/or Byrd in October in the same way. It just seems though that the more chances you give Colon to actually move his body, the greater chances of him hitting the DL again.

Agreed but not because of injury, but because of the difference between starting and relieving. I would rather see Colon start a game or have him know at least 30 minutes in advance of when he is coming in. For example if Daisuke has thrown 85 pitches through 4 innings and they tell Colon then that he is pitching the 6th and 7th innings.

The problem being you don't want to have to get him up and then not use him, and do you carry one guy just in case that happens? Unless he could go every couple of days, which who knows.

Of the three, I have to believe that Jones is the most likely to get an opportunity this year. Bard has the most upside, and he will pitch in the big leagues, but he's probably not ready yet.

Meanwhile, someone who might look good in the pen right now is Craig Breslow.

He does look good in the pen right now. Just happens to be Minnesota's pen.

Since joining the Twins at the end of May, he has a 2.08 ERA with a .189 BAA.

Bob Lobel is rolling over in his grave.

That's a pretty interesting idea. I wonder if Colon would agree to it...

Funny to imagine a playoff run with Colon in the pen and Lugo on the bench...