Category: Baseball
Derek Holland, Jeff Niemann and Spot Starting
by Eno Sarris //
The tale of two starters owned in about half of all fantasy leagues ends with a discussion on strategy. Derek Holland and Jeff Niemann may not be very similar in terms of their physical stature or the quality of their stuff, but the two pitchers have similar statistical profiles. Putting them in a position to succeed is very important to getting the best results from these two young starters.
Neither Holland nor Niemann have great swing-and-miss stuff right now. The average swinging strike rate in the major leagues is 8.6% this year, and Holland (7.2%) and Niemann (8.1%) fall short of that number. Their strikeout rates (6.84 K/9 and 7.14 K/9 respectively) reflect this reality. In the future, Holland has more upside, perhaps, as his 94 MPH fastball is three ticks faster than Niemann’s, and his four-pitch mix has gotten better whiffs in the past. But, right now, both of these guys lack the strikeout punch of an elite pitcher.
None of the rest of their rates are elite either. Holland has average control (3.07 BB/9, 3.11 BB/9 is average), gets groundballs at a slightly above-average rate (47.3% GBs, 44% is average), and has had slightly below-average luck (.310 BABIP, 70.3% LOB, averages are .292 and 72.4% this year). For the most part, Niemann’s story is the same. He has an average ground-ball rate (44.1%), and slightly above-average luck (.277 BABIP, 76.7% LOB). Right now, he’s showing an elite walk rate (2.11 BB/9), but he’s been limited to 98 1/3 innings this year and his career rate is much closer to average (2.90 BB/9).
If their luck stats regress towards the mean like they should, both of these pitchers are mid-to-high threes ERA pitchers. Even if one is 6′ 9″ and is nicknamed the Big Nyquil because of his slow pace and sleepy stuff, and the other is 6′ 2″ and has a suprising 94 MPH fastball coming from his left hand, there are similarities here.
By all accounts, if a 3.6+ ERA is above-average in real-life baseball, it is average in your regular mixed fantasy league. So you have two pitchers that have the upside to give you average production and the downside to actually hurt your ERA. How do you best use two dudes like this?
By putting them on your bench and using them in good matchups.
Holland has been a better pitcher on the road, showing better control and better results. Avoid Arlington, where he has a 5.32 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP, and he’s suddenly a much better pitcher. Niemann doesn’t have much of a home/road split, but he does face juggernaut offenses in Boston, Toronto and New York. Avoiding those teams would be the safe way to go. You mitigate your risk, and you improve the downside portion of the ledger.
If you have the flexibility to use a starter half of the time, you’ll get half of an above-average starter out of each of these two dudes by picking your starts well. Many fantasy teams make the mistake of holding too many bench position players. These players only contribute one or two starts a week to your team. Instead, your bench should be made up of pitchers like Holland and Niemann: pitchers that can easily be put in a position to succeed.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Nova, Constanza, Carp, Betancourt, and Encarnacion
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Ivan Nova, SP, Yankees
If you’re wondering how a 24-year-old hurler on the Yankees can have an 11-4 record and 3.85 ERA and still find himself on the waiver wire, I have your answer. Just check out the 1.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Nova has had some things go his way this season such as solid run support and an uncanny ability to escape jams. Regardless, Nova has won seven straight decisions and has allowed as many as four runs just twice in his last eight starts. As long as you can deal without the K’s and a pretty high WHIP, Nova is not a bad pickup.
Jose Constanza, OF, Braves
If you’re curious why the Braves are suddenly sitting mega prospect and their everyday right-fielder Jason Heyward, there are two reasons. The first is that Heyward is struggling with just a .219 average and 30 RBI. The other reason is that the little-known and late-blooming Jose Constanza is hitting .382 with 13 runs scored. The 27-year-old is a speedster with little to no power. He swiped 23 bags with a .312 average before the call to the Majors this season. Constanza is nothing more than a hot bat who is stealing at bats away from the future of the franchise. Then again, we may have said the same thing about Jeff Francouer back in the day.
Mike Carp, 1B, Mariners
While top prospect Justin Smoak has dealt with his ups and downs and most recently a broken nose, Mike Carp has shined bright with a .320 average, four home runs, and 24 RBI in 38 games. Carp was acquired by the Mariners for closer JJ Putz a few years back from the Mets. He blasted 29 home runs at Triple-A last season, but hit just .257. This year, he blasted 21 home runs in 66 games while hitting .343. In other words, Carp has earned a serious look in the Big Leagues, and at 25-years old, he will get his chance for the remainder of the season. Feel free to take a look in fantasy leagues, though as is the case for any hitter that plays half of his games in Safeco, the odds are against him.
Edwin Encarnacion, 3B, Blue Jays
Try explaining this, in his first 70 games, Edwin Encarnacion reached base at a rate of 28%. Since the All-Star break, Encarnacion has reached base 47% of the time. What gives? Well, we always knew that the Blue Jays slugger was one of the streakiest hitters in baseball. He also has a knack for big second halves. The 28-year-old corner infielder is also playing for his career now that mega prospect Brett Lawrie has been called up. The good news is that he remains young enough for the Blue Jays to provide him with regular at bats. So Encarnacion will have his opportunity to win over a spot for next season’s club. As far as potential, Encarnacion has plenty of it. He blasted 26 home runs back in 2008 and 21 last season in just 332 at bats.
Rafael Betancourt, RP, Rockies
Finally some noise from the closer report, the 36-year-old Rafael Betancourt will take over for the recently injury Huston Street. The last time that Betancourt allowed an earned run was July 6th, just before the All-Star break. Betancourt has nailed down one save over the last week and his 58:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season ranks amongst the best in baseball. Street will likely return at the end of the month, but if he’s out longer than that and the Rockies continue to struggle, you have to think to Rex Brothers, who at 24-years old is supposed to be the closer of the future, will get some save opportunities.
Mets Hang In There Thanks to Duda and Hope
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It seems like the baseball world is just waiting for the Mets to finally fly its white flag. It is clear that at 19 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and more than 10 games behind the Braves for the Wild Card, there is no real shot at making the postseason. Nonetheless, the Mets have played extremely well on the road, keeping them within .500 through 117 games into the season.
The tide may have finally turned in recent days. The Mets fell twice to the last-place Padres at home and will now have to take on the first place Diamondbacks on the road this weekend.
It’s also the way that the Mets have fallen that hurts the most. On Wednesday, a well-pitched game by Jon Niese was wasted thanks in large part to shoddy defensive by 21-year-old shortstop Ruben Tejada. The only reason Tejada was even in the field was the most recent hamstring injury to star shortstop Jose Reyes.
One positive that Mets fans can focus on is the continued success of rookie Lucas Duda. The 6’4, 254 lbs. slugger drove in four RBI in the four-game series with seven hits. Though his season statistics are solid with three home runs, three triples, 12 doubles, and a .279 average through 62 games, his teammate Justin Turner tells us that we have not seen anything yet. “When he gets into a hot streak, the ball just sails over the fence in bunches,” said Turner, who played with Duda in the Minor Leagues.
Despite the fun name and slugger’s role, Duda is soft-spoken and modest, though his confidence shines through, “It will come.” he says. “The more comfortable I get the better I’ll perform.” Duda has good reason to be confident. He is hitting .348 since the All-Star break with three home runs and a .427 OBP.
While Duda is playing first base in place of the injured Ike Davis, his future home for the Mets will likely be in the outfield. After all, the Mets have no shortage of first basemen with both Davis and Daniel Murphy both posting big numbers before each landed on the DL with season-ending injuries.
As usual, it is anything but easy to be a Mets fan. However, there is some good news as the season crawls to an end. Both Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda look like keepers, though finding a position for each will be a challenge. Jose Reyes seems happy to be with the Mets and could end up extending this off-season in a long-term deal. Jason Bay has progressed a bit from his early struggles, and even Justin Turner may be a short-term fix at second base.
The Mets still have plenty of issues to sort out. They could use another big arm in the rotation even while assuming Johan Santana returns as a front of the rotation hurler. Bobby Parnell does not look like a closer. Then there is the gaping hole in centerfield that Angel Pagan has not been able to fill this season.
For those who prefer the glass half full, consider that the Mets have lost their first baseman and their backup first baseman to injuries. David Wright and Jose Reyes have both spent weeks on the disabled list. Johan Santana has not thrown a single pitch for the Mets this season. Jason Bay and Angel Pagan are having down seasons. The team traded away its best all-around hitter and its ace closer, and yet they sit just one game under .500. In other words, for Mets fans there is just enough positive to still believe.
Philadelphia Phillies Report with Jimmy Rollins and Dominic Brown
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Phillies Report:
Phillies Pitching
The Phillies are running away with the best record in baseball with a comfortable 8.5 game lead, and the lone reason for their success has been pitching. This certainly isn’t a surprising story for a team that offered four aces to open the season with Chase Utley on the disabled list.
However, things have not sailed as smoothly for the rotation as we originally expected. For starters, Roy Oswalt is enduring a tough season, recently spending nearly two months on the disabled list. His record stands at just 4-7 with a 3.84 ERA and horrendous 1.41 WHIP. The team has also had Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, and Jose Contreras spend time on the disabled list. To put that in perspective, those were the top three expected closers coming into the season.
Considering the Phillies lack of offense and injury issues, this is by no means the team’s full potential. The fact that they still have put together an 8.5 game lead in the division says that the post-season could be a walk in the park for the Phillies.
Jimmy Rollins
The 32-year-old veteran Jimmy Rollins is neither as good as he was in 2007, when he earned the MVP with a career-high 30 home runs, nor as bad as he was last season when he batted .243. Rollins is somewhere in between with a .266 average, 71 runs, 13 home runs, and 26 steals.
Rollins has managed to stay away from the injury-bug this season, and he is significantly better at reaching base with a .340 OBP. In the field, Rollins is making a case for the Gold Glove award with just five errors, resulting in a stellar .989 fielding percentage.
If the Phillies are able to win the World Series and Rollins performs at a high level, considering he will likely enter next season just 100 hits shy of 2000 hits for his career, the conversation can begin about whether the Phillies shortstop will one day find himself in the Hall of Fame.
Dominic Brown (replaced by Hunter Pence)
It was certainly a difficult season for Phillies top prospect Dominic Brown. First sidelined with a broken hand, Brown hit just .246 with five home runs and three steals before returning to the Minor Leagues after the Phillies acquired Hunter Pence.
The good news for Brown is that the franchise has by no means lost hope in the 23-year-old phenom. The Phillies went to great lengths to keep him on the roster after the trade deadline, likely passing on Carlos Beltran in order to do so.
Some good news with Brown’s statistics is that even though he is struggling when it comes to his batting average, he is not getting outmatched at the plate. This is suggested by his healthy ratio of 25 walks to 34 strikeouts, as well as his 16 extra base hits in 183 at bats. Brown will certainly return to the Phillies in September, and when he does he will likely steal at bats from John Mayberry and Ben Francisco.
Top 3 in the Rotation for Playoffs
The Phillies have a problem on their hands, but it isn’t a bad one. The playoffs are quickly approaching for the first place franchise and the big question is who will start in a seven game series.
The obvious answers are Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay. The problem is that Cole Hamels is another fairly obvious starter. That means the veteran Roy Oswalt will have to pitch from the ‘pen, if at all. The same holds true for Kyle Kendrick and Vance Worley, two of the more impressive young pitchers in the league this season.
The Phillies do also have the option of going four-deep in the rotation for the post-season, but my guess is that with the season on the line they will want Halladay and Lee with the ball in their hands as much as possible.
Again, this problem is far off and injuries can end up answering the question, but for now the Phillies have a delightful problem on their hands.
Has Hideki Matsui Gone Godzilla Again?
by Eno Sarris //
Since the All-Star game, the 37-year-old Hideki Matsui has gone Godzilla on the American League. His .430/.474/.686 line since the break has been as awesome as his .209/.290/.327 work before the break was poor. He has five home runs in 22 games since the break, and had six home runs in 76 games to start the year. Has he found the fountain of youth?
Arbitrary end points are rough. They emphasize a player’s production in a small sample over a random period of time. But obviously Matsui is playing better recently. How could we separate a luck-baced swing from a true resurgence that showed a real change in approach? Mostly, we’ll have to diagnose what was going wrong in the first half compared to the larger sample of his entire career, and then we can see if he’s corrected those things since the break.
We know that power is highly correlated with fly balls. You have to get them up to get them out, as the saying goes. In Matsuis’ three most powerful seasons, his ground ball to fly ball ratio was .997. In his three least powerful seasons, that ratio zoomed up to 1.64. This year, in one of his worst power seasons, he has hit 1.25 ground balls per fly ball. So we’ll want to look at that ratio to see if he’s hitting more fly balls this second half.
Matsui also has a .283 BABIP right now, compared to a career .302 BABIP. So we might have been seeing a BABIP regression since the break. We’ll check for that, but that sort of swing would be less exciting, as it would just mean that most of his recent work was more dinks and dunks falling in.
In the first three months of the season, Matsui averaged a .237 BABIP. Since then, he’s had about a .360 BABIP. In the first three months, he was hitting about 1.26 ground balls per fly ball. In the last month-plus, that ratio has been 1.33. So basically his last month-plus of torrid play has been majorly luck-aided, because he hasn’t changed his approach when it comes to hitting fly balls.
Godzilla is a year older and hitting more ground balls than he did last year. He’s also in a tougher home park. Look at his full-year stats right now and decide if they are interesting. Matsui is much more likely to give you numbers on that scale than the numbers he’s put up for the last month-plus. He’s no longer a city-slayer.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Alert: Lawrie, Lowrie, Young, and Giaviotella
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Brett Lawrie, 2B, Blue Jays
Exciting times in Toronto right now as the top prospect, Brett Lawrie, a Canadian himself, has finally made his Major League debut. In three games, Lawrie has racked up five hits including his first home run on Sunday in a 7-2 win over the Orioles. Just 21-years old, Lawrie is the real deal. He had 18 home runs with a .353 average at Triple-A after racking up 16 triples and 30 steals at Double-A last season. Acquired for Shaun Marcum in the off-season, Lawrie is a definite pick up, and likely a keeper in all fantasy leagues.
Jed Lowrie, SS, Red Sox
A personal favorite of mine early in the season, Jed Lowrie’s production slipped a great deal before missing a few months because of a shoulder injury. Now when he returns things won’t be any easier, as the Red Sox have acquired Mike Aviles and Marco Scutaro has played very well recently. Nonetheless, Lowrie does deliver a great deal of position eligibility and he does have some pop to his bat. I would only pick him up if you’re looking for depth as Lowrie will be relegated to part-time duties for the remainder of the season.
Eric Young, 2B, Rockies
We talk about him every few months because of the crazy potential he offers, and while he has yet to stick as an everyday player, the 26-year-old Eric Young is getting another shot and so far so good. Riding a seven game hit streak, Young has raised his batting average from .212 to .245. He has five steals over his last nine games and has been scoring runs as well. The Rockies are committed to Dexter Fowler and Eric Young at the top of the lineup, kind of like the Marlins old championship team that had Edgar Renteria and Luis Castillo. We’ll see if this works out for them, as there is little power in this combo with Young delivering just two extra base hits the entire season.
Johnny Giaviotella, 2B, Royals
This is the reason the Royal did away with Mike Aviles. Giaviotella is a former second round pick out of New Orleans who is off to a fine start in the Big Leagues with five hits including a home run through his first three games of his career. Giaviotella is the type of player who can offer a little bit of everything. He compares well to Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick. Giaviotella had nine home runs with nine steals at Triple-A this season, and most impressive was his .338 average and a .390 on base percentage. The future is now for the Royals, and Giaviotella is certainly a player worth picking up if in need of some middle infield help.
Is Neftali Feliz’ Job In Danger?
By Eriq Gardner //
Texas Rangers pitcher Neftali Feliz loses his job. No, let’s try this again: Texas Rangers closer Neftali Feliz placed on the 15-day DL. OK, one more time: In stunner, Texas Rangers demote Neftali Feliz to the minor leagues.
None of these events have yet happened, of course, but after the Rangers flame-thrower imploded in the ninth inning on Saturday night, allowing three runs and blowing his sixth save of the season, all of these scenarios are indeed imaginable. Especially, now that the Rangers’ bullpen have fresh new ninth-inning options in Mike Adams and Koji Uehara.
Frankly, it’s hard to make a case that Feliz doesn’t belong in the minor leagues right now.
Forget the ERA and the save conversion rate.
Instead, check out the dwindling strikeout rate — 9.22 K/9 in 2010, 6.21 K/9 in 2011. And take head of the increasing walk rate — 2.34 BB/9 in 2010, 4.29 BB in 2011.
Worse yet, is Feliz’ dismal (yet, lucky) performance against right-handed batters this season. On the surface, he’s holding right-handed batters to a .222 batting average, which seems pretty good, until one considers his strikeout rate versus righties (3.03) and walk rate versus righties (7.13) amounts to a “luck neutralized” ERA against righties somewhere between 5.3 and 6.7. Somewhere out there, Barry Zito is blushing.
So what’s the problem?
There’s been a lot of theories bandied about, including over-usage dating back to the Rangers’ “starter” experiment this spring, hidden injuries, mental problems, or simple bad luck.
Here’s our interpretation of the data:
The problem doesn’t seem to be velocity-related as his fastball still averages around 96 MPH, about where he was at last season. Nor bad luck, as he’s actually be on the fortunate end of things, considering his .242 batting-average-on-balls-in-play this season.
Instead, Feliz looks to have lost command (or confidence) of pitch location. The batters he faces swing less at Feliz pitches. As a result, Feliz is getting behind in counts, leading the pitcher to groove his heater down the middle of the plate instead of at the corners. His top fastball remains a tough pitch for batters to make great contact, but even weak contact — enough of it — will eventually get the ball into defensive gaps.
In short, he’s still a good pitcher whose immense talent is helping him overperform his peripherals, but he can’t be a great pitcher again until he regains that confidence and command. And right now, the ninth inning seems like a poor forum for that to happen.
The Rangers organization is a pretty smart one. They’ll see this soon enough. Adjust course accordingly.
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Vance Worley, Kyle Kendrick Have No Ks
by Eno Sarris //
It’s always tempting to pick up the back-end starters on a juggernaut team. Their offense and bullpen should help them a little closer to wins than similar starters on bad teams. Even if you shouldn’t chase wins, these two facts are mostly unassailable. The problem is that if a starter doesn’t have real underlying skills, they won’t pitch well enough to get the win anyway.
Kyle Kendrick is getting starts for the Philadelphia Phillies and has a 3.14 ERA. Vance Worley looks like he’ll get starts for the Phillies all year and has a 2.33 ERA. Neither pitcher has the type of skills to continue that work.
Kendrick first, because he’s easiest. He’s only striking out 4.02 batters per nine, which is well below the 7.03 league average. In fact, it would be the third-worst in baseball if he qualified for the ERA title. If you’re living in that space, you need to have elite skills in other areas to make it work. Kendricks’ 2.78 walks per nine are good, but only a little better than the 3.13 league BB/9. Lastly, Kendrick has a slightly above-average ground-ball rate (47.9%, average is 44%). But recent research by Matt Swartz has shown that an elite ground ball rate (60%) is exponentially better than a good ground-ball rate (50%) and so on. So slightly above average is only slightly useful. Call Kendrick slightly useful at best.
Speaking ill of the Vanimal might release the hordes, but Worley is also a good story that might not last long. His strikeout rate (6.98 K/9) is closer to league average, but there’s a hidden flaw in using that stat. If you look at his swinging strike rate, which is more reliable 77 innings in than his per-at-bat results, he has a well-below average number (5.8%, average is 8.5%). To put this in focus, Kendrick has a 5.4% swSTR%. One strikes out four per nine, and one strikes out seven per nine. Expect those two numbers to move towards each other.
As Worley’s strikeout rate drops, the rest of his package will look a lot less interesting. His walk rate (3.14 BB/9) is league average and his ground-ball rate (40.5%) is below league average. Once the ball is put into the air, Worley has been lucky to allow so few home runs (4.8% home runs per fly ball, 10% is league average). His luck on balls in play is excellent right now, too (.242 BABIP). He’s even stranding more runners than average (78.6% LOB, 70% is league average). Most likely, he’ll start striking people out less as the league gets used to his repertoire. Once that happens, the added contact will help players get more dinks and dunks to raise the BABIP. Once more players get on base, they’ll score on those dinks and dunks and added home runs. All of this will inflate the ERA. Call him lucky if he puts up better than a four ERA going forward.
Use Worley and Kendrick in spot starts if you must. Just don’t count on their luck to continue. Trade either if someone offers you.. anything of value.
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Waiver Wire Trade Targets: Guerrero, Rodriguez, Soriano, Zambrano, and Lee
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The Major League trade deadline may have passed, but that does not mean that players can no longer be traded this season. Instead, the waiver wire process will shortly begin and there will be more players on the move. Typically the players on the move have bad contracts, which allows them to surpass the waiver process or a team will claim a player and a trade will be negotiated. Here’s a look at five players who will likely be on the move:
Vladimir Guerrero, DH, Orioles– This potential hall of famer is riding a 6-game hit streak, batting a respectable .284 with 9 home runs. He leads the league in chase rate (swinging at pitches out of the strike zone) and his numbers are way down across the board, but he has playoff experience and could help a team down the stretch as a hired bat. It would not surprise me to see him rejoin one of his past two teams: the Rangers or the Angels. The Yankees also could make a move for their former nemesis by putting him in the DH slot, though this is unlikely with Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez now healthy to support Jorge Posada. The White Sox would be the dark horse considering they are not getting anything out of Adam Dunn.
Wandy Rodriguez, SP, Astros– An underrated strikeout artist, it’s been another fine season for Wandy Rodriguez. A 32-year-old hurler, this southpaw is durable and could be a solid third starter for a playoff contender. He always has an ERA under four and he was involved in some trade chatter with the Yankees just a few weeks ago. If a playoff contender suffers an injury in the starting rotation, Rodriguez could be the first player targeted.
Alfonso Soriano, OF, Cubs– At 35 years old, Soriano’s best days are in the past, but he does have four home runs over his last four games and now 19 dingers on the season. His OBP is disgraceful at .283, and he leads the league in chase rate. With his awful contract, he will clear waivers, and at that point could end up getting traded if the Cubs are willing to eat some of his contract in a swap of bad contracts. It would be interesting to see him reunite with the Yankees, or join a team desperate for outfield production such as the Tigers or Braves.
Carlos Zambrano, SP, Cubs– Another bad contract on the Cubs, Zambrano does have 8 wins and is riding three quality starts. He does have ace ability, which we saw that as recently as the end of last season. So a team desperate for a third starter may want to consider the Cubs volatile hurler, though they would have to be willing to take on a few years of potential mayhem. The Yankees, White Sox, and Tigers are potential landing grounds.
Carlos Lee, OF, Astros– The veteran slugger is 0 for his last 19, dropping his average to .267, but he does have 60 RBI and 41 extra base hits on the season. The same teams that will go after Soriano will also consider this 25-year-old. The only question is whether he will veto a move considering his 10/5 rights. Known as El Caballo, Lee is a rancher who wants to stay close to his home in Texas.
Trade Deadline Fantasy Analysis: Pitchers
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Koji Uehara to the Rangers
Statistically he is one of the best pitchers in baseball with a stellar 1.69 ERA and even better 0.69 WHIP. In other words it’s rare that someone reaches base and even rarer that someone scores against Uehara. The bad news for his fantasy managers is that he will remain in the setup role while playing in a much more hitter-friendly stadium. Not a major impact, but not one for the better either.
Mike Adams to the Rangers
A lot of fantasy managers picked Adams up in a speculative move with hopes that he would close should Heath Bell get traded. As it turns out, it’s Adams who got traded while Bell stays in San Diego. Adams has been dominant this season with a 1.12 ERA, but again this is a pitcher moving from one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks to a dangerous ballpark. I would drop him since he will remain in middle relief.
Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians
This is a monster move by the Rockies and they scooped up a lot of young talents. What it comes down to is two things. First of all, Is Ubaldo more like the pitcher from last year when he almost won the Cy Young, or this season when his record is 6-9. The second part is whether Ubaldo will thrive now that he is out of Coors. At 27 years old, the Indians believe the gamble was worth taking since they are in need of an ace. I like the chances of this one working out for them as Jimenez boasts a 3.38 ERA and 1.08 WHIP on the road this season.
Erik Bedard to the Red Sox
The Red Sox were not able to come to terms for Rich Harden, so they settled for the next best injury-prone Canadian. Bedard, like Harden, has all of the talent in the world. However, the big question is whether he will be healthy enough for a playoff run. Just 31 years old, Bedard has pitched better on the road this season to the tune of a 2.16 ERA. On the other hand, for his career Bedard boasts a 6.99 ERA at Fenway.
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