Thanks to everyone who wrote in to point out that I overlooked Manny Delcarmen (2.05/44.0/1.652) in the Red Sox bullpen plans for the postseason in my preview yesterday. I’m going to attribute it to “human error,” but that would presuppose that I am human. Perhaps it was his lack of decisions that made me forgot to put him on the list. He made 44 appearances without one and has now appeared in 104 major league game and garnered two wins and a save. This is nothing like a record and, as relievers continue to be used more and more, it will seem even less odd in the years to come. (My latest vote for a record that could soon look very soft: Mike Marshall’s 106 appearances in 1974.)
In any event, Delcarmen ranked third on the team in WXRL behind Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima and will be relied upon in the bridge work required to get from the starters to them. He appears to be equally effective against hitters on both sides of the plate (.167 BA against lefties, .194 against righties), although his K/BB ratios differ greatly between the two: 10/11 vs. left and 7/30 against right. Boston has also added Jon Lester (4.57/63.0/1.1 SNLVAR) in favor of the injured Tim Wakefield. Lester will fill the bill as go-to innings eater in case one of the front three gets off to an ugly start and needs be yanked early.
The Red Sox have also activated a third catcher, Kevin Cash (.111/.242/.148/.151/-3.4). Cash has had an amazingly consistent major league career. He’s what we would call a “Serial Coffee Drinker” in that he gets called up almost every year for at least part of the season. Since we’re dealing with small sample sizes with guys like this, they usually have a .333 batting average tossed in the mix. Not Cash. He nails sub-.200 every time: .143/.142/.193/.161/.111. Move over Bill Bergen. You’d think he’d hit .200 by accident one of these times, but no. Be sure to check out David Laurila’s Unfiltered post. He has more on both Cash and Wakefield.
The Angels announced this morning that outfielder Nathan Haynes (.267/.313/.311/.221/-1.7) would be added to the postseason roster. Haynes is rookie who just turned 28 a month ago and who was up and down Angels this year. He’ll be on hand for defensive replacement work and light pinch-running duties. For Haynes, it’s been a long trip to get to this place. He was a top Angels outfield prospect at one time but injuries derailed him and he very nearly retired at one point. One hopes for his sake he at least gets into a game. Haynes and Cash are the kinds of player who could do something memorable in the postseason and then never appear in the majors again.
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