"Ol' Faithful"
While the Cardinals stand on the verge of giving the Tiger’s Cinderella story 2006 season anything but a fairy tale ending, the Red Sox have been quietly milling about in the shadows, working up pie charts and sketching up graphs in hopes of seeing just what it was that went so wrong for them this year. One would think that would mean cutting ties with some of ‘06’s most notable underperformers, but the Red Sox surprised all (sort of) when they announced that Mike Timlin, will return to the bullpen for the team in 2007.
Timlin, whose 4.36 ERA was nearly double that of what he posted in 2005, will be 41 years old, and has shown a significant decline in his effectiveness against AL east competition. However, he will also take a significant pay cut as he has signed on for $2.8 million for 2007, nearly a cool million less than the $3.5 he earned in his injury shortened ’06 campaign.
This will most likely be Timlin’s final season, as he is only 39 appearances away from the 1000 appearance mark, and this seems more like the Sox rewarding a loyal soldier than putting much faith in what the bullpen’s reigning elder statesman will accomplish next year. This signing is also a relatively inexpensive move that will guarantee at least a mildly effective middle relief person, as it is extremely doubtful that Theo Epstein intends on using Timlin in the setup role he’s occupied since 2003. That role will either be filled by one of the many young arms auditioned last season, or, less likely, filled with a free agent signing or trade.
There’s such a premium on quality arms, both starting and relief, that this signing makes sense. While not nearly as effective as year’s passed, Timlin is certainly a more viable option than many of the alternatives that will be on the market.
When asked about who would serve as the team’s closer in 2007, Epstein stated that, were the season to start today, Keith Foulke would fill the role. Of course, Foulke is only under contract until approximately one day after the current World Series concludes, and must either exercise his own option or have the team pick up theirs (which is highly unlikely). If Foulke is to be taken at his word, he may even retire. This would certainly mean that the Red Sox would have to address the void with either a trade or free agent signing, and, as said before, the current crop of free agents is thin, save for risky, big-money veterans like the oft-injured Eric Gagne.
Stay tuned as November rolls around! The winter meetings are right around the corner. Will the Sox make a splash?
While the Cardinals stand on the verge of giving the Tiger’s Cinderella story 2006 season anything but a fairy tale ending, the Red Sox have been quietly milling about in the shadows, working up pie charts and sketching up graphs in hopes of seeing just what it was that went so wrong for them this year. One would think that would mean cutting ties with some of ‘06’s most notable underperformers, but the Red Sox surprised all (sort of) when they announced that Mike Timlin, will return to the bullpen for the team in 2007.
