Here are the key members of the pen who have made the 25-man roster to start the season as of early reports Friday:
1.) Jonathan Papelbon -- The 29-year-old explosive closer who is the real energy of the Sox pen posted a 1.85 ERA in 2009 with 38 saves and 76 strikeouts.
Paps caught a little flack after blowing the big game 7 save agaist the Angels last postseason, the first postseason run allowed and loss for his overall dominant five-year-career. His critics are ill-advised to doubt the Papster though, as one of the most successful young closers ever.
Papelbon is the breed of guy that a season ending blown save of that measure is only fuel for his next slew of outings in 2010. According to a January ESPN report the Mississippi native has a running video of the loss and himself walking off the mound in defeat while his competitors celebrate on a loop on the TV in his personal offseason weight room.
All I gotta say is 'haters beware' my friends.
2.) Daniel Bard -- The saying "good things come in pairs" couldn't be more true than with the Sox 1-2-punch in the pen. Think of Bard as a younger clone of Papelbon or an apprentice to the throne.
The 6'4'' righty has triple-digit heat and a stone-cold, mature approach (similar to that of, oh, I dunno...Mariano Rivera). Oh yeah, and he's 24.
In his first season in the majors in '09 he pitched in 49 games with a 3.65 ERA, 63 strikeouts and a 2-2 record after being called up from Pawtuckett.
The key thing for Bard will be to perfect his secondary pitch, a mid-80s slider with some real bite. Papelbon also started with heat and a slider and since has perfected his cut-fastball and added a deceptive splitter.
If things go well, Bard will be used as the primary setup man for Paps all season, and I expect great things from this young talent. A player to watch for sure.
3.) Ramon Ramirez -- The 28-year-old Dominican righty acquired in the Coco Crisp deal last year was a real diamond in the rough pickup for the Sox pen. Last season he posted a 2.84 ERA with 52 K's for the Sox, and was a more than welcome trade as Crisp (like Manny) was a problem and needed to be dealt.
4.) Hideki Okajima -- The 34-year-old Japanese lefty is coming off a 3.39 ERA, 53 strikeout 2009 season as a key in the pen.
His irregular delivery and effectiveness versus left-handed hitters has been a big lift for the Sox middle relief in the past. In fact he came through in the clutch for the Sox in their opener against the Yankees on Easter, collecting the win after a poor start from Josh Beckett.
5.) Manny Delcarmen – Talk about a guy with some serious upside who just hasn't figured it out yet. This 28-year-old righty can throw mid-90's heat and has an effective curveball when he's on top of his game, but mental walls such as focus and control have hurt this young talent's rise the last two years.
Manny-D put up a less than impressive 4.53 ERA and 44 strikeouts in '09, but hopefully with some more maturing under his belt and the help of a stellar pitching coach staff this guy can become the weapon he was intended to be.
6.) Scott Atchison -- This 34-year-old veteran reliever spent a fair amount of years with both the Mariners and Giants before pitching the last 2 seasons in Japan.
Terry Francona told MLB.com that he felt Atchison was underrated, had plenty left in the bottle and was quite a key veteran acquisition for the Sox pen.
7.) Scott Schoeneweis -- The Sox have a number of players with compelling stories and Scott is no exception. After his wife died a few years back, Schoeneweis battled depression for the better part of 2 years and missed both seasons with the Brewers for that reason.
The 36-year-old pitcher will play a huge role for the Sox as their second left-handed reliever and he's taking a second shot at his life in baseball and the Sox were happy to give Scott that chance at redemption. After some great spring traning outings, I've got a good feeling about this guy.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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