"It doesn’t look great" - Boston Red Sox manager worried by poor pitching performance, chaos in bullpen lingers ahead of the season
All eyes will be on the Boston Red Sox come Opening Day April 7, when they take on the New York Yankees to kick off the season, but manager of the Boston Red Sox Alex Cora has concerns about his bullpen. Throughout Spring Training, different Red Sox pitchers have struggled with getting up to regular-season speed and are underperforming their lofty expectations.
While some pitchers like Josh Taylor, who was the best relief pitcher in Boston for the 2021 season, are hampered by injuries, others are still struggling to fine-tune their mechanics. These issues with pitching motions are never easy to diagnose, let alone fix, but Alex Cora has championship pedigree and is confident he will have his Boston Red Sox ready for the regular season.
One such issue, a loss of velocity on the pitches from Matt Barnes, has hopefully been spotted, as reported by MPR radio on Twitter.
‘Something about his leg kick’: Alex Cora hopes Red Sox found mechanical issue causing Matt Barnes’s velocity problem dlvr.it/SMvNJq
"‘Something about his leg kick’: Alex Cora hopes Red Sox found mechanical issue causing Matt Barnes’s velocity problem" - @ MPR - Boston's Best Radio
The Boston Red Sox need to start fast in 2022
The American League East is shaping up to be the most competitive division in baseball. While early in the season and there will always be kinks to work out, the team that can sort themselves out first will have a big advantage over the rest of the division. The Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, and, of course, the New York Yankees will likely be swapping division leads throughout 2022. Starting with the lead would be a great morale boost.
The pitching staff has been suspect for the Red Sox over the last few years, with an AL seventh place total ERA of 4.26. If Alex Cora wants to lead his team back to the promised land, these pitching issues that have been cropping up in Spring Training need to be ironed out.
One pitcher Alex Cora hopes can have a breakout season in 2022 is Kutter Crawford. Crawford made the Opening Day roster this morning, as reported by Christopher Smith on Twitter.
Kutter Crawford has made Boston Red Sox Opening Day roster
Rich Hill will start the season in the Red Sox starting rotation. He’ll start Tuesday
"Kutter Crawford has made Boston Red Sox Opening Day roster" - @ Christopher Smith
The 2022 season will be thrilling for the AL East. If Alex Cora can build a strong pitching rotation, the Boston Red Sox can challenge for the division crown and perhaps for another world title as well.