That’s Why They Are Where They Are
We traded for Beckett. We moved Papelbon to the bullpen. We beat the Texas Rangers 2-1 in the final game of a three game series.
Beckett battled all game to finish after 7 solid innings. He surrendered only 1 run and struck out 5. As is often the case with power pitchers, they have many foul balls, and that lead to a high pitch count that had its effect on yanking Josh after 7 innings.
Timlin came in to pitch the 8th, but it was far from pretty. A wild pitch, a jam on the bases, and Manny throwing to home (ala Mike Lowell relay) to get Texiara at the plate.
Low and behold, Jon Papelbon entered in the 9th, not Foulke, to get the save. Simply put: Papelbon was dominatant.
What kind of indication can we take from Foulke not pitching the 9th? Probably a lot of reservation from Tito. Of course, Timlin was far from brilliant — but that’s why we have depth in the pen now.
Last year, dare I say, we probably lose the game 4-2.