When Brendan Donnelly was placed on the DL on June 17th, a critical void was left in the Red Sox bullpen. Jonathan Papelbon was still a rock at the end of the line. Hideki Okajima was still baffling hitters with his “oki” (changeup). But the Sox were left without one of their key relievers — what Mike Timlin used to be — and there was cause for concern about the stability of the Donnelly-less bullpen. Now it appears that Donnelly might miss significantly more time than expected, with recurring forearm tightness forcing him to visit Dr. Lewis Yocum on Tuesday — visits to Dr. Yocum seldom end well. And yet, we’re far less concerned than we were back in mid-June, thanks to Manny Delcarmen.
Manny Delcarmen was recalled from Pawtucket on the same day that Donnelly went on the disabled list, and Terry Francona promptly proclaimed that the Sox “would be comfortable using [Delcarmen] in any situation”. Sure enough, a day after his callup, Trampoline was on the mound in mopup duty at Turner Field, with the Sox down 8-4 in the 8th inning. He pitched a perfect inning, and Tito’s confidence in him grew.
Four days later, Delcarmen was in the game in the seventh inning of a tight (2-1) contest against the Padres, tasked with stranding a runner left on by Javier Lopez, and getting two outs of his own. No problem; eight pitches later, Mike Cameron and Michael Barrett were riding the pine, after popping-out and lining-out, respectively.
Since recording his first hold on that Friday night at Petco, Manny Delcarmen has been a key cog in the Sox bullpen. Tasked with stranding runners and pitching in tight games, Trampoline has succeeded nearly every time he’s toed the rubber — a two-run blemish in Seattle showing only that he’s actually human. Overall, Delcarmen has allowed just six hits and four walks in 13.2 innings of work (0.73 WHIP), en route to a 1.32 ERA and .136 BAA. He’s amassed those numbers thanks to growing confidence in his 97-mph heater and his buckling curveball, which have made many a hitter look foolish (13 strikeouts) this season.
If the Boston-native continues to pitch this effectively, the terrific trio of Delcarmen-Okajima-Papelbon will allow the Sox to “shorten” ballgames in which they have the lead. Delcarmen could provide for the Sox what Scot Shields provides for the Halols, thus giving the Sox’s opponents a formidable obstacle to overcome in their quest to come from behind. Such a trio could prove especially valuable in the postseason.
With Manny Ramirez sputtering a bit at the plate, there’s a possibility that Manny Delcarmen is the best Manny on the Sox these days. Here’s hoping both of them play their best during the second half, and into October.
–Daniel Rathman (Baseballistic)
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