There have been a lot of rumors this year about the Sox getting rid of Papelbon and putting Bard in as the closer. I am totally against this, and I think Theo agrees with me...
“Having two really good pitchers is better than one,” Epstein said. “Sometimes you don’t want to overcomplicate things.”
That statement basically says everything I wanted to say. I know Papelbon is having the worst year of his career, and I don't think he will be much better next season, but he is still better then 95% of relievers in the MLB. On top of that Papelbon is going into his last year of arbitration, so the Sox should keep him for 1 more year. In my opinion the Sox should start the year with Papelbon as the closer, and then if they lose any confidence they should put Bard in with Papelbon in the setup role. There is no chance he will tank the season, since it will be the first time he is in line for a large contract, so the Sox are basically in the win-win situation.
I think of this situation like I see the whole Ortiz option for next year. Get what you can out of them for next year, because they are better then most of the free agents, and then move on after 2011. I can tell you now you are going to see a lot fo changes to this roster before the 2012 season begins.
No comments:
Post a Comment