Manny Delcarmen isn’t a happy man as he leaves a recent game.
Man oh Manny
Delcarmen struggling through early stages of ’08 season
By the numbers
For Delcarmen this season, his strikeouts numbers are strikingly similar to season’s past, but his WHIP (1.70), batting average against (.314) and slugging percentage against (.549) are all much higher than his career norms, and indicate his pitches are catching too much of the middle of the plate.
JH/METRO
MLB. After he dropped 10 pounds and appeared ready for a prominent role in the Boston bullpen, Sox right-hander Manny Delcarmen was the toast of spring training
The added responsibility was to possibly include taking some reps at closer when Jonathan Papelbon needed a break, but the early season optimism and confident chatter around the Hyde Park native has cooled considerably.
Location has long been the biggest bugaboo for Delcarmen, and it seems to again be one of the culprits — along with the flu bug and the insane April travel schedule that had Delcarmen promising he was never going back to Japan earlier this season — behind the bloated 7.30 ERA after his first 16 appearances.
“It seems like every time he makes a mistake now, he doesn’t repeat a pitch and somebody puts a good swing on it,” said Sox manager Terry Francona on the heels of another unsatisfying performance from the hard-throwing righty on Sunday. “We could pitch him in the fifth of a blowout game and leave him out there, which would probably be good for him.”
Whatever the case, the bullpen’s inability to find a right-handed setup solution has put undue stress on Hideki Okajima and Papelbon — a situation that could have long-range ramifications if it isn’t addressed now.
The Sox aren’t likely to stop searching for a suitable arm to fill the setup slot, and 24-year-old righty Craig Hansen’s second call-up from Triple-A Pawtucket isn’t a coincidence. Hansen was impressive in racking up three strikeouts during a 1 2/3 inning stint against the Angels last month, and the former first round pick has been lights out in the minors.
“He’s a lot more compact with his release and his mechanics and that’s really allowed him to work down in the strike zone with his fastball and slider much more consistently,” said Sox Director of Player Development Mike Hazen. “There’s a consistency and a command to that slider now, and he’s got two Major League weapons when it’s working with the fastball.”
