After one of their toughest losses of the season, many began calling for changes to the Boston Red Sox’s bullpen. Alex Cora was not one of those people.
The Red Sox manager defended his relief pitchers in an appearance on WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria” Wednesday, emphasizing the importance of usage.
“It’s all about usage,” Cora said, as transcribed by WEEI. “We get a lot of information about these guys and where they are at. We have been using Barnes a lot the last few days. We get a chart before the game and know where they are at, guys we should stay away from and other guys we should use in a certain way. If it was only one out and an easy at-bat, well we move on, but there were three hitters there and we felt fine the way Brasier has been throwing the ball lately. He’s been good and it just didn’t work out.”
Cora also defended how the team has gone about closing games without Craig Kimbrel. Tuesday’s loss brought out the “we need a closer” crowd in droves, but the Sox manager stood strong, saying it doesn’t feel like they’re short an arm in the bullpen.
“It doesn’t feel that way in the dugout or in the clubhouse. It looks that way probably from the outside,” Cora told OMF. “The luxury that we have is our starters, they go six innings — six or seven. That is the beauty of our guys when they are going right. We mix and match and we have guys that we trust. There are a few guys that have to step up. Heath Hembree has been amazing in May. (Marcus) Walden, obviously, has been consistent.”
Whether it feels like it or not, the Red Sox’s bullpen has been very good over the last month, ranking amongst the American League’s best, and it’s clear Cora is confident in his group.
