When Butchie was little one of my favorite books to read to him before bed was Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (don’t Judge me, have you ever read Grimm’s Fairy tails? that stuff will send a kid screaming into the night) but I digress.  One of the best quotes from this amazing book is

“Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.”

This is exactly what Ben Cherington has done preparing the Sox bullpen for this season. Handing New Bullpen coach Dana Levangie what maybe the best job in the organization

Boston’s pen was a lone bright spot for most of 2012, and the second year Sox GM wasn’t going to sit on his laurels and hope that it could repeat a season where it was called on to early and too often. He has built on a strong foundation and this season’s back end is deep diverse and veteran.  There is nothing these guys haven’t seen a situation that they can’t handle a work load they shouldn’t be able to shoulder

After Andrew Bailey got hurt last year during spring training all hell broke loose who would close who would be left to set up, should the Bard experiment be scrapped? Enter Joel Hanrahan.  

With the two times all star Hanrahan on board the oft injured Bailey gets pushed into a set up roll. This surprise move might save the Sox season and give them a chance to compete for a wild card.  The hard throwing righty’s numbers were up in 2012 but that could be attributed to a lack of use in the second half, he still saved 38 and struck out more than a batter per inning. If you read me often you know unlike hitters I love when pitchers change leagues.

This will hopefully take the pressure off Bailey at least to start the season. After pitching only fifteen innings (most of them badly) he should be rested and ready. And with the demands of closing not weighing on him he can just worry about pitching and not proving anything.

Koji Uehara :  while the Tigers Phillies and Orioles contemplated signing the 37 year old The Sox got the job done with a one year deal, what a steal ! After coming to the states just 4 seasons ago Koji has put up some startling numbers. In 211 big league innings The Japanese import has struck out 231 batters and walked a mere 29 !! I could toss FIP, XFIP, Siera-Tango-Bingo metric numbers at you to back up my joy but, you could care less. You trust me. Don’t you?

This is a pitchers pitcher. His numbers per nine stack up with the best starters in baseball.  

Wonder why Scott Atchison isn’t in a Sox Uniform this season? Two words, Junichi Tazawa.

When Atchison went down last year Tazawa came up and came up big, looking more like the hurler the sox scouted and signed back in 2009. this kid has battled back from Tommy John and now has the brass doing double takes at the radar gun, 95-96-97 mph are the norm for the right hander, couple those numbers with a splitter I think he sold his soul for and it could get down right demonic for anyone at the plate in the seventh or eighth inning. If it wasn’t for the Bard debacle of last year I would be wondering why he wasn’t being put into the rotation.

Speaking of Bard:  where does he fit into this pen, where is his velocity, where is his cutter? Where does the Sox coaching staff start in putting this kids pieces back together?  I don’t have the answers yet. For me it’s a wait and see scenario. Let’s hope Daniel Bard isn’t Cherington’s Grimm Fairy Tale.

Need to sit a lefty down with men on first and third? Craig Breslow is getting the ball, need someone to come in and save you in the 5th and get you to the 7th when Lackey is being Lackey? The lefty can do that too, toss in innings eater Franklin Morales and a starter’s bad day can turn into kids smiling on Yawkey way. I don’t love a lot about this team yet, I can’t look at it like Butchie does with his nine year old eyes. But I like what I see out there in right field waiting for Farrell’s call