Five-Minute Musings: Jenks, Paps, Greinke, Wheeler, and Hall

I know I have been terrible at updating this week... in my defense, it's finals AND I'm trying to pack up my whole room because I'm going abroad next semester. But I do have five free minutes this fine morning, which I will use to debrief the last week in Red Sox Nation (scope expanded due to the offseason).

1. Bobby Jenks to the Red Sox. The bullpen sure looks a hell of a lot better than it did before this signing, as we now harbor three power lefties, all potential closers. Jenks is a solid player, even if his ERA was up pretty high last season (4.44), and he provides much needed security in a bullpen that was a bigger hindrance to the Sox than the injuries last season. (I know, you don't believe me - but we lost too many games as a direct result of a faulty 'pen.) Jenks' career line can be found here at baseball-reference.

2. The status of Jonathan Papelbon. Everyone is freaking out, talking about how this trade means Paps is on the trading block, that we can't possibly keep three possible closers in the bullpen, and that somehow this is some great catastrophe. Calm. Down. Paps was always on the block for this year, because he will be a free agent next offseason. Cinco-ocho has been boasting about how he wants to "set the market for closers" for years now, and Theo never had any intention of paying him. If the presence of Jenks means we can get some impact talent for Paps (now or at the deadline) beyond the draft picks if we let him walk as a FA, I can support that. It's a smart move, and Theo knows what he's doing.

3. Zack Greinke to the Brewers. This is fantastic news for the Red Sox, as it means that a great pitcher is (a) not going to New York, Tampa, or another division rival, and (b) that he'll be in the National League. Honestly, if Greinke had ended up in New York, I wouldn't have been too worried, as his struggle with anxiety would not have boded well in a high-pressure place like the Bronx. However, this is the second time in a week that one of the game's premier pitchers jumped ship from the AL to the NL. Though the Sox play both the Phils and Brewers in interleague this season, I'll take it... the fewer top-tier pitchers my boys have to face, the better.

4. Dan Wheeler signs a one-year deal. The Rhode Island native professes to be thrilled that he'll be playing in Boston next season, even though he's making the switch from our division rival, the Rays. At least he'll have some familiar faces around, what with Carl Crawford (for whom Wheeler had nothing but praise), and the fact that his family still lives in the Ocean State. Wheeler has a 3.84 ERA in his career, and will most likely take the role of primary middle-innings guy in the bullpen.

5. Bill Hall is headed to Houston. Yes, Brad Mills (former Red Sox bench coach, and close friend of Terry Francona's) will finally get to enjoy the Bill Hall experience. Hall will be the club's starting second-baseman. I understand that, as a rule, a starter is more valuable than a sub, but the Red Sox would have been completely lost last season without Hall's super-utility abilities. The man played seven out of the nine positions (everything but first base and catcher), including a flawless inning pitched, and you just know he could have (and would have) played first base if he had been asked. Hall was a classy guy, always willing to fill in where he was needed, and I'm glad he's getting the chance to start if that's what he wants.


That's all for today, folks, but I am heading home for winter break tomorrow, so posting should be much more consistent for the next month or so. As always, thanks for reading!

What's wrong with this picture?

Bill Hall was the only Red Sox hitter to record a 1-2-3 inning last night, in the ninth. Hall managed to hit 89 MPH on the radar gun, and was a rare bright spot for the Sox.

I know what's wrong, here: HALL IS A POSITION PLAYER!

Come on, boys... these are the Kansas City Royals, the punching bag of the American League: the Royals are 21-28 (only the Orioles, Mariners, and Indians are worse). For the last two nights, two Sox starters in a row (both coming off spectacular outings) imploded before our eyes. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield turned in less than satisfactory starts, and while they are the least dependable of the Sox arms, they both need to get their game faces on.

After all of Wakefield's intimations that he deserves to start (for the record, I think he does), he's not doing much to convince anyone that he should keep his roster spot once Josh Beckett gets off the DL. As for Daisuke? Well, I gave you my opinion the other day, and he's another one who has butted heads with Sox management. To the floundering righties: time to put your money where your mouth is. Do better next time.

Tonight, we'll be treated to two young stars: Clay Buchholz and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, Zack Grienke.

SO glad Greinke isn't in the AL East.

At first glance, this matchup favors the Royals, but Greinke is coming off a terrible start: 3 1/3 innings pitched, 7 earned runs (8 runs overall), and just one strikeout, all in interleague play against the Rockies (25-23). Here's hoping Buchholz continues to impress!

The Individual or the Team?

I recently had the following question posed to me: Which is more important, the individual or the group?

Now, being who I am, I immediately thought of baseball. On teams with a high payroll and an expectation of success, it is considered uncouth to emphasize personal achievements, yet on teams with a recent tradition of failure, personal goals are all that players have to hope for, considering it might be their ticket out of the mediocre scene, via free agency.

For example, Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett is entering a contract year, yet every time someone asks about his status or his goals, he reiterates that it's not about him, but about the team. When asked who the number one pitcher was for the Sox this year, Jon Lester answered, "Well, we all are. You guys can label us whatever you want, but in my mind it takes five starters to win a championship."

"You're more important." "No, YOU'RE more important."

The company line for most big market teams is the same way. When Dustin Pedroia won the 2008 AL MVP award, he was disappointed, because his team finished short of where it had in 2007: they were runners up to the AL Pennant, rather than World Series Champions, and it just wasn't good enough for the Sox second baseman.

On the other hand, in Kansas City, Zack Greinke just won the AL Cy Young award, and the Royals celebrated the his individual achievement. On a team where winning just isn't in the cards, individuals make a huge difference: the Royals sell more tickets on days when Greinke pitches, while the Red Sox will sell out no matter who is playing, be it Beckett, Lester, or even someone like Michael Bowden.

Yet somehow, they can't even sell out Greinke's starts...

The same principle exists in society as a whole: those who are more privileged have the luxury of worrying about the big picture, while those from lower tax brackets must think of mundane personal things, like where they'll get the money to pay the bills. Is this fair? Not really. And anyway, who ever said life (or baseball) had to be fair?

Congratulations, Zack!

Earlier today I posted the following statement on Twitter:

"If Zack Greinke doesn't win the AL Cy Young, I'm going to punch Joba Chamberlain in the face."

I wouldn't really punch Joba in the face (mostly due to logistical difficulties), but I would have been pretty upset. The fact that Greinke was recognized with this award means that the BBWAA is finally recognizing that W-L% is not the be-all end-all of pitching greatness.

Greinke's 2009 stat line looked like this:

16-8 record, 26 quality starts, 229.1 IP, 2.16 ERA

For what it's worth, I think Greinke's story is MUCH more inspiring than Josh Hamilton's. Sure, Hamilton overcame his drug addiction to become a feared hitter in the big leagues and put on a show at the 2008 HR Derby, but who decided to take drugs in the first place? I don't mean to belittle Hamilton's struggles, I only want to shed some light on what Greinke went through to get where he is today.

Two years ago, the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner was planning to quit baseball and never look back. He was suffering from crippling depression and anxiety, and had put together a pretty bad season. He had electric stuff, but his makeup was literally crushing him. Luckily, he decided to stay in the game, allowing thousands of fans to watch him dominate this year, and most likely for the foreseeable future.

Luckily for the Red Sox, they only faced Greinke once this year, and it was a brutal night in Kansas City for the visitors. The game lasted just over two and a half hours, because Greinke was brilliant: he allowed just two hits in six innings (to Pedey and VMart), while keeping the game scoreless. For once, he got both the run support and bullben support he needed, as the Royals scored five runs off of Paul Byrd, and the bullpen game up just one.

I was torn before that game. I wanted the Red Sox to win, as I always do, but I was hoping it could come due to some unearned runs, or perhaps at the expense of the bullpen. After all, it was September 22, Sabathia had a chance to get to twenty wins, and I wanted to make sure that Greinke would get that Cy Young plaque.

These guys lost more than a few games for Zack... of course, the bats didn't help out much, either.

We lost the game, but it gave Zack another win (and we went to the playoffs anyway, albeit briefly) in his quest for the award. Royals fans haven't had much to celebrate lately (though the new stadium looks great), so I hope they're enjoying this victory as much as I am: the best pitcher won, and that's how it should be.