’Pen writes new story
Whole staff’s sacrifice a winning formula
LOS ANGELES — Two things happened Saturday night that pretty much sum up why the Red Sox were able to clinch their fourth World Series title since 2004 last night.
First: During Game 4, Game 3 relief horse Nathan Eovaldi (six innings, 97 pitches) and Game 3 starter Rick Porcello (4-2/3 innings, 61 pitches) both trotted out to the bullpen to be available.
Second: Game 3 Dodgers relievers Pedro Baez (two innings, 26 pitches) and Julio Urias (one inning, 11 pitches) were unavailable.
I’m sure there were legitimate reasons why Baez and Urias were not options for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. But I’m also sure the sacrifices of Eovaldi and Porcello are what has made Sox manager Alex Cora’s allin philosophy such a winning one this month.
Without a fully stocked and always-ready bullpen at his disposal, there’s no telling how this October would have played out.
Cora explained what happened once and only once this October.
“We got information from the medical staff and the analytical staff about our relievers – red, yellow and green,” Cora said. “That was the only time we got the card, actually. They sent it, and I saw one of the guys he was red and red, which means that he was very red. And I actually stayed away from him at that point, and it almost cost us the game. I don’t remember who he was. And the next day I told them, ‘Do not send me the card, please, because it’s the playoffs, you know?’ You make decisions, you’ve got to take care of them, obviously, but if you tell them that you’re down, I can’t even imagine their reaction.
“So we’ve been doing a good job with that, staying away from the card, and just asking them what they want to do. You’ve got guys showing up here at 11 a.m., getting treatment and trying to get ready to bounce back and perform.”
For what seemed like the 100th time, Cora said before Game 5, “Everybody’s available,” including Game 6 scheduled starter Chris Sale, who recorded the last three outs to secure his first ring.
Even to say Sale could be used last night was not just some sort of bravado.
“We know where we’re at,” Cora said. “We know who we’re playing, and we mapped this out to be covered and (have Sale be) 100 percent if the series extends. So we’ve got to be very, very careful the way we use him. It has to be almost perfect, but he’ll be ready.”
Cora explained that part of the around-the-clock availability of the relievers is by design.
“With the bullpen, we felt that we were going to be OK going into October,” Cora said. “We had the luxury of resting guys, change their usage in September because of our lead in the division. And obviously we felt that we were going to have the best record in baseball to have home-field advantage.
“And we start (Ryan) Brasier, we didn’t abuse him in September. Barnes gets hurt, which at the end it really benefited him. We knew we were going to have an extra arm in every game in October.”
For the many, like myself, who thought the Red Sox bullpen was the soft underbelly that would be exposed in the playoffs, two things happened that made us wrong. One is the chance to rest relievers more in September helped lead to an uptick in results. The other is less tangible. It has to do with attitude, an outgrowth of the character of the players on the roster and the chemistry within the clubhouse.
“The players, they make it happen,” Cora said. “Their willingness to do the things that they’re doing right now. I don’t know if you guys noticed, Nate, he went to the bullpen yesterday. Rick was in the bullpen yesterday. Like I said, it doesn’t mean that they’re going to pitch, but at least they’re showing that they’re willing to do whatever it takes for us to win a World Series.
“And when you see that and you guys don’t know the whole story, obviously, but ... we gathered everything, the information, and then we make decisions. And I feel that with the group we have, why not go all in, because we know we’re going to be able to bounce back, we’re going to be covered. A lot of people thought that we were short pitching-wise (Saturday), and we never felt that way . ... It’s a cool feel. It’s a cool feel.”
It’s also the feel of a team that wins a lot, especially in October.