The biggest bullpen news of the week may be the fact that the Red Sox will use Clay Buchholtz in relief. This does not affect the end of the Red Sox pen of course, as Jonathan Papelbon remains one of baseball’s best closers.
The end of the
Our Barking Dogs own both C.J. Wilson and Joaquin Benoit and the question of which pitcher to play is a twice-weekly part of our team meeting. Benoit closed out the Royals 3-run win last night, spotting C.J. Wilson who had a rough go of it his last three outings.
I have said a couple of times in the past that C.J. is working with the help of a very favorable .252 BHIP% and 78.2% strand percentage, and that things were going to catch up to him. They haven’t yet, to a major degree anyway, as he has converted 11- of -11 chances, but his last three outings may have given the Royals the reasons to start working Benoit into the mix more.
Benoit is the better reliever of the two, he is right-handed, and the Royals could preempt a meltdown here by allowing him his earned share of the save opps. Benoit is also a prime candidate for the primary job in ‘08 and wasting this potential break-in time seems unwise.
Joaquin has had a rough 2.1 IP in September (7.71 ERA but a .143 OBA) but he is coming off a 3-0-1 August without allowing a run in 16 IP with 22 Ks. C.J. is getting the opps right now, but in the end, Benoit is the better bet of the two.
Brad Lidge’s balky knee has thrust Chad Qualls into the closer picture in
This injury will probably be a factor in
Likewise, Casey Janssen, who closed out the Jays win on September 2nd has emerged as the second option in
Nothing much else to report elsewhere … Akinori Otsuka says he will make a decision whether to undergo offseason surgery on his elbow, probably before the end of the season. There does not seem to be a surgical scenario that makes him healthy by spring training, meaning that he will likely enter the spring as a free agent. Doctors have not gone so far as to recommend surgery so it is unclear what specific procedures are within his options. It is more likely he will miss the first half of 2008. He was transferred to the 60-day DL yesterday but that does not change his eligibility status. He can still pitch after September 15th. Otsuka could throw some innings before the end of the year, but it remains to be seen if they will have fantasy impact … Eric Gagne (shoulder tendonitis) will throw a side session today. There is little chance that he would be available by the end of the week however … Brett Myers gave up 3 runs in 1.1 IP of work yesterday to help Tom Gordon blow an 8-2 Phillies lead. The phrase that keeps running through my mind is “It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”
