Have Indigestion? The Red Sox Bullpen Won't Provide Relief

No Credentials is trying to make an effort to actually watch baseball this year. If I catch any part of a game this season, I’ll do my best to write up a paragraph or two about it. Here are some overboard comments about the piss-poor Red Sox bullpen.

            The Boston Red Sox only have 12 position players on the big league roster so they could have more options in the bullpen. In the bottom of the eighth on opening day, Vicente Padilla came trotting out of the bullpen to relieve Jon Lester. Read that sentence again. Now let me put that in italics and center it.

In the bottom of the eighth on opening day, Vicente Padilla came trotting out of the bullpen to relieve Jon Lester.

             For those of you that only follow Boston sports and generally ignore the national sports landscape, let me give you some valuable information… Vicente Padilla sucks. Of seven middle relief pitchers, it’s really sad that he was the first one chosen to pitch in a one-run ball game.

            Boston still has 161 games to go, but let me make a classic over-the-top-blogger proclamation. The bullpen is going to be the undoing of the 2012 Boston Red Sox. Alfredo Aceves is a great band-aid (middle-relief, spot starts), but he’s not a closer. Mark Melancon is well, Mark Melancon. I like Franklin Morales (the lefty specialist), but otherwise this bullpen is a mess. Expect plenty of more frustrating finishes for Boston until Andrew Bailey returns in July, and by that point, the AL East and wildcard (only one AL East team is getting a wild card spot. AL West will get the other one) will be out of reach.