Wells and Sox Bullpen have been a Joke

[Green Jets & Ham]

BUT THE JOKE IS ON BOSTON

Swapping Pedro for Wells and a horrible bullpen could spell Boston's demise

NY DAILY NEWS

By Roger Rubin

Just the idea of it should be enough to make the Yankees salivate.

On May 6, when the Bombers had bottomed out at 11-19, the archrival Red Sox were six games ahead of them in the standings and sitting pretty in second place. By the time the teams' three-game series begins Friday, the Yanks might be in front.

Another poor start by ex-Yankee David Wells and continued shoddy relief by the Boston bullpen last night moved the Sox one step closer to that reality.

Boston blew two leads and then Alan Embree surrendered a walk-off three-run homer to Reed Johnson to give the Blue Jays a 9-6 victory at Rogers Centre.

It was Johnson's second home run of the game. In the seventh he greeted reliever Mike Timlin with a two-run shot that put the Jays up 6-5. David Ortiz brought Boston even with a run-scoring single in the eighth.

The Red Sox remain in second place, but only 1-1/2 games ahead of the Yankees. Each team has two games before they hook up at the Stadium.

Wells, who turned 42 last Friday, allowed six runs in 6-1/3innings. He isn't making the Sox look good for letting Pedro Martinez get away. While the former Boston ace performs well for the Mets, Wells has just two wins and a 7.05 ERA

The stout southpaw has spent three weeks on the disabled list, and last night was his fifth poor outing in seven starts. He's also beginning to sound like he's doubting himself.

"I have to pitch better," Wells said. "I keep pitching like that and I don't expect to be around.

"It's getting more discouraging and more discouraging."

Wells is next slated to pitch the finale of the series against the Yankees on Sunday at the Stadium.

His poor showing actually looked like progress compared to his last outing. In his first start back from the disabled list, the punch-and-judy A's tagged him for seven runs on nine hits in 1-1/3 innings.

Last night, he held the Jays scoreless through the first three innings but then coughed up a 3-0 lead by allowing a two-run triple to Aaron Hill and a two-run homer to Gregg Zaun, who appeared in his first game since getting knocked unconscious in a second-base collision against the White Sox May 8

Wells actually left the game with a 5-4 lead after allowing a one-out single to John McDonald in the seventh, giving way to Timlin. Boston relievers are now 6-9 with a 5.58 ERA

[shawn306]

Ham,

Do you get the feeling that eventhough the Sox are 1 1/2 in front of the Yanks that they chasing them.

I'm tellin you they don't care about their fluke title. They just care about the Yankees.

[haggis]

You'll be hard pressed to find many in RSN that like or have hope for Wells. He just looks plain awful. You'll also be hard pressed to find many in RSN that liked or had hope for Wells at the time of the signing.

But what a bogus heading by the Daily News. How on earth did the Sox swap Pedro for Wells????? Did the Padres get Pedro? No, didn't think so. They tried to get Pedro but the bitch wanted too much ca$h. Ofcourse, far be it for the Daily News to say that Clement may be Pedro's replacement as Clement is pitching well and that won't make much sense to compare worth for worth. Or perhaps that Wade Miller is Pedro's replacement as it wouldn't make much sense to say one good pitcher was replaced by another good pitcher.

Wells does suck, and the bully ERA is made worse by Foulke's numbers. I think Foulke will rebound, but I think Wells is done. I'd be surprised if tubby made it to the end of the season.

[124]

Bring on the Sox!

[faba]

Wells was a big mistake by the Sox IMO.

Boston bullpen is shaky and not deep - which is common to practically every team in the majors though.

any body and every body is looking for some quality relief pitchers. That is why Danny Graves will be in high demand even with his terrible numbers

[haggis]

Wells was a big mistake by the Sox IMO.

Boston bullpen is shaky and not deep - which is common to practically every team in the majors though.

any body and every body is looking for some quality relief pitchers. That is why Danny Graves will be in high demand even with his terrible numbers

Yep. I've heard that the Giants are sniffing around for Graves. Good luck with that.

[PFSIKH]

I agree with the article to a point.

Pedro left for an extra year of cash, not because the Sox had secured Wells. All in all, replacing Pedro for Wells was a bad idea. I hated it when it happened and have not felt any better about it since.

My hopes is the bullpen will come around. It started slow last year, althouh Foulke was not this bad if I recall.

[shawn306]

I agree with the article to a point.

Pedro left for an extra year of cash, not because the Sox had secured Wells. All in all, replacing Pedro for Wells was a bad idea. I hated it when it happened and have not felt any better about it since.

My hopes is the bullpen will come around. It started slow last year, althouh Foulke was not this bad if I recall.

Foulke is usually one of the more consistant relivers you can find. I think though one year when he was with the Chi-Sox he had a good era despite blowing quite a number of games. (I'd have to look to remember but he was on one of my fantasy teams)

I think though comparing Wells and Pedro like SJ said is stupid. It wasn't like they were traded for each other.

For the Sox though they need either Wells to get his act together or Schilling to get back from the DL to contend for the World Series.

[Jetsfan80]

Ham,

Do you get the feeling that eventhough the Sox are 1 1/2 in front of the Yanks that they chasing them.

.....But they aren't. The Red Sox still have the upper hand. They are ahead in the standings and are the defending champs. The Yankees haven't won a title in 5 years and still have yet to get rid of the chokejob stigma.

Oh, and they still haven't proven they can beat the Red Sox consistently, either.

Then again, we all know the NY media is totally unbiased when discussing the Red Sox.

[LionelRichie]

wells is in albatross around the sox neck for the season. every fifth day they have no idea what they are going to get. reminds me of irabu a few years ago, or even kevin brown.

playoffs should be interesting: unit, moose, pavano, ?

vs.

schil, arroyo, clement, miller

don't be surprised to see clemens #2 come august

[Jet/BosoxFan]

For the record...I hate David Wells and I wouldnt mind if he never pitched in Boston again. I love the idea of incetive laden contracts however.

But please, dont look at this situation as Wells replacing Pedro. Pedro was our #2...Wells is a #3 at best...more likely a #4 or #5. When he was signed...everyone else got bumped up. And when Big Schill comes back, Fatass could easily be sent to the pen to become a lefty specialist...not that he would go quietly! But there would never be any talk of Petie going to the bullpen, he is a GD ace pitcher!

Either way, who gives a sh*t...get Wells the F outta my sight! He is old, he is a malcontent, and he is LONG SINCE past his prime...he belongs back on the Yankees

[shawn306]

.....But they aren't. The Red Sox still have the upper hand. They are ahead in the standings and are the defending champs. The Yankees haven't won a title in 5 years and still have yet to get rid of the chokejob stigma.

Oh, and they still haven't proven they can beat the Red Sox consistently, either.

Then again, we all know the NY media is totally unbiased when discussing the Red Sox.

No but the way Sox fans talk about the Yanks you would think they were.

Everything you say is true. (Although a split in the first two series doesn't really tell anything about this year yet)

The Yanks struggled early, the Sox are struggling now. Is a series in late May gonna decide who the better team is.

No.

The only way to decide that is in crunch time. Late September and October.