Beleaguered bullpen full of believers

By Peter May, Globe Staff, 10/1/2003

It's the one unknown. It's been that way all season. But now, with the playoffs at hand and the scrutiny in overdrive, will the Red Sox' oft-maligned bullpen come through? Manager Grady Little can depend on his starters. He can depend on his hitters. As for his bullpen, well, that has been a season-long sad saga that still is unfolding with maddening inconsistency.

There no longer is the vaunted "Closer By Committee." That turned out to be "Closer By Catastrophe." Brandon Lyon, the Sox' titular closer in the first few months, was traded, reacquired after flunking a physical, and, at season's end, was not even a sure bet to make the playoff roster. Since the start of the season, the Sox have added four pitchers to the bullpen, including National League veterans Scott Sauerbeck and Scott Williamson, both of whom have struggled. Purported closer Byung Hyun Kim has pitched reasonably well of late, but in mid-September, he still had a much scarier ERA in closing situations (5.17) as opposed to regular relief appearances (1.11).

According to statistics unearthed by ESPN.com, of the last 10 World Series champions, eight have had bullpen ERAs below 4.00. And only two failed to convert 70 percent of their save opportunities. The Red Sox bullpen, with an ERA of 4.87 and a save percentage of 65.5, falls into the minority in both categories.

So does Little make his starters go wire to wire? No chance. The manager probably summed up the situation best when he said that going to the bullpen is a bit like fastening one's seat belt on an airplane in preparation for turbulence. Veteran reliever Todd Jones said simply, "It's like the punch line of a bad joke."

Pitching coach Dave Wallace summed it up this way: "My whole take on it -- and I'm happy to say it -- is we do bend. It's not perfect. We do bend, but we don't break a lot. That's a good thing. We have confidence in all those guys. Hopefully they have confidence in themselves."

The confidence issue is gigantic. Orioles Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer recalled Baltimore reliever Don Stanhouse, who was nicknamed "Full Pack" because his late-game style made manager Earl Weaver go through a full pack of cigarettes just watching Stanhouse try to close out a game. But Stanhouse usually got the save.

"Stanhouse never would throw a strike until he had to," Palmer recalled. "It wasn't that he didn't trust his stuff. He just figured he could make good pitches in the situations.

"In the case of Boston, does a leopard change its spots? I don't know. That's up to the guys in the bullpen. The playoffs are new territory. But this is an opportunity for the Boston bullpen to show that they're able to be up to snuff. It's kind of like living in Missouri, the Show Me State. Well, this is the time where they're going to have to show people that they're better than people's perception."

The players all know about perceptions and the seemingly impossible demands of Red Sox fans. They know that for every performance like last week's 8 2/3 shutout innings against Baltimore, they're going to have to answer for an implosion like the one a few nights earlier in Cleveland.

Kim is still an adventure; he was yanked 12 days ago after hitting two Indians with two outs in the ninth with the Red Sox leading, 2-0.

"I got announced [one game] and I was booed," said Sauerbeck. "I threw a first-pitch strike, I was cheered. I understand that. I'm a big boy.

"I told my wife that the only way to get me through my rough times is that everything happens for a reason. I know I'm getting my [butt] kicked for a reason -- and I firmly believe it's so I'll be able to appreciate what's going to happen coming up. I went through the darkest times.

"Getting your [butt] kicked doesn't feel good. People say it builds character. It doesn't build character. To me, it reveals the type of person you are. And I'm not going to fold."

Sauerbeck and Williamson have been the poster boys for the latest angst about the pen. Both had solid careers in the National League; Williamson was an All-Star in 1999 and Sauerbeck was pursued by the Sox and Yankees. Both, as Sauerbeck said, have been through rough times in Boston.

The hope was and is that Sauerbeck would be the guy to get the lefties out and that Williamson, who had experience as a closer in Cincinnati, would either replicate that role in Boston or serve as a setup man to Kim. But the pair's uneven outings have made them a risk no matter when they appear. Sauerbeck said he is working hard to recover his form and mechanics. "It would help a lot if I got my act together and you could count on me to get some outs," he said. "In my mind, if it came down to us winning the World Series, and all it took was for me to get my act together, I would bet on us."

Williamson said his pitching in Boston "is the worst I've done in my whole career" but he remains upbeat about the big picture.

"I was a part of a bullpen [in Cincinnati] that was the best in major league baseball in '99," Williamson said. "I see these guys and I don't see why we aren't the best in baseball. I'd take this bullpen over the one we had in '99. "I've seen Sauerbeck at his best and unfortunately Boston hasn't. I know he can do it. I've watched him for four or five years in Pittsburgh and I know what he's capable of doing, so I'm not worried about him."

Is he worried about himself?

"I don't think they are worried about me," Williamson said, referring to his teammates and bosses. "I think when it comes down to it, we'll get the job done.

"Everyone likes to get on this bullpen. It's the toughest job in baseball. I've started and relieved and, hands down, it's harder to relieve. You have a lot of pressure, another guy's game you're trying to protect. We're going to give up our hits and runs, but the fans have got to stay with us. The boos aren't helping the bullpen. We need people to stand beside us. You play a lot better and a lot more at ease with people behind you. You're going to have bad outings. It's baseball."

Kim, of course, was a successful closer for the world champion Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, although he always will be remembered for the two games he didn't close out in Yankee Stadium, giving up homers in both. But he seemed to be settling down as this season drew to a close and he has experience closing big games.

"We need him to pitch well," Tim Wakefield said. "He somehow figured out maybe something he was doing wrong. I'm not saying he was pitching bad before. But he's done some great jobs closing down games."

Hey, this wouldn't be Boston without concern about some aspect of the team. Jones, who has pitched in Houston, Detroit, Minnesota, and Colorado, said the concerns are legitimate, if a bit over the top.

"Anyone that comes in who's not 45 [Pedro Martinez] is going to pale in comparison," Jones said. "And once we give up a hit, it's `Here we go again, get your seat belt on,' whatever. The truth is that guys are going to give up hits and runs, and it's how you bounce back. We've got veteran pitchers and veteran pitchers are not going to be bothered by that."