The case to send Bailey down to the PawSox
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Andrew Bailey has been bad of late, to put it mildly. Today, he gave up two hits after recording just one out before John Farrell went to Andrew Miller. If he had left Bailey in, we would have lost the game in the 7th inning. I don't know if it's a lack of confidence, just a rough spell, or if his mechanics are off. Only he and Farrell know for certain what is causing Bailey to struggle. I think he needs to go down to Pawtucket to start building up his stuff and his confidence because Bailey doesn't have either right now. Sending him down will take some of the pressure off and allow Bailey to clear his head. I'm not going to go back and remind people of the bad moments he's had recently, because I'm sure no one wants to be reminded of the blown saves he's had this year.
Now I'm sure the next question people will be asking is who to bring up in place of Bailey, if the organization does the smart thing and sends him down for a stint. Jose De La Torre is an option, as he has been up for a brief period, and I think he would be a good option as a middle reliever. But that doesn't solve the closer problem. We could also bring a consistent closer in place of Bailey. Just a quick reminder, though, that bringing in relievers at the deadline hasn't always worked. Anyone remember Eric Gagne? Yeah, that's what I thought. As much as I like Koji Uehara, I don't think he's the answer to our closer problems, but neither is Bailey. Some other options include Andrew Miller, but he showed that he doesn't quite have the stuff to close. But for now, Koji Uehara is our closer, so hopefully that will work out.
Tweet me @ConorJF1016 with your thoughts on whether Bailey should go down and/or who should close or leave a comment below.
Conor Frederick
Contributing Writer
Now I'm sure the next question people will be asking is who to bring up in place of Bailey, if the organization does the smart thing and sends him down for a stint. Jose De La Torre is an option, as he has been up for a brief period, and I think he would be a good option as a middle reliever. But that doesn't solve the closer problem. We could also bring a consistent closer in place of Bailey. Just a quick reminder, though, that bringing in relievers at the deadline hasn't always worked. Anyone remember Eric Gagne? Yeah, that's what I thought. As much as I like Koji Uehara, I don't think he's the answer to our closer problems, but neither is Bailey. Some other options include Andrew Miller, but he showed that he doesn't quite have the stuff to close. But for now, Koji Uehara is our closer, so hopefully that will work out.
Tweet me @ConorJF1016 with your thoughts on whether Bailey should go down and/or who should close or leave a comment below.
Conor Frederick
Contributing Writer