Boston's Set-Up men

[fremontbuck]

Who is the set-up man in Boston this year?

Is it Scott Williamson?

thanks

[Ron Badger]

The Sox have several good ones. S.Williamson, A.Embree, M.Timlin, and R.Mendoza.

[fremontbuck]

Let me clarify my question.....

Thank you for the post ron.

I should have said who will most likely get the most holds in Boston?

[oulevon]

The Sox have several good ones. S.Williamson, A.Embree, M.Timlin, and R.Mendoza.

Mendoza??? Please don't talk about the double-agent. He was absolutely terrible last year. It'll be interesting to see if Willamson is still on the roster opening day. As far as holds, Timlin was money from September on last year. He's had 37 holds over the last 2 years while Embree has had 32. Those 2 are your best bets from the Red Sox. IF Williamson is in the bullpen then he figures to get some holds too.

[LBJackal]

All of them except Mendoza should be decent for holds. Especially Embree because he's a lefty and will get a lot of .1 IP holds, which limit the chance of giving up runs. Timlin and Embree would be who I'd target from Boston.

A guy you'll want to have for holds is Guillermo Mota. Quantrill isn't going to steal all of Mota's holds this year, and he's a very good pitcher who's setting up a closer who gets 50+ saves per year.

He'll probably go fairly un-noticed because he only had 13 holds last year, but his ERA was under 2 and his WHIP was under 1. He also had 99 strikeouts.

[TheFatman]

He was absolutely terrible last year. It'll be interesting to see if Willamson is still on the roster opening day.

Excerpt from mlb.com regarding Williamson:
"Theo and I had a long talk. I talked with Terry Francona as well. I talked to my wife and my agent. I came to the realization that what I wanted most was to win, and the best opportunity to do that is Boston," Williamson said. "Sure I was disappointed at first (about not closing). But Foulke is a premier closer. To have someone like that on our team, it can only help us win."

Williamson will now have a chance to get settled in Boston, something that was hard to do when he was acquired late last July from the Reds just after the birth of his son.

That was a hectic period of time for Williamson. Getting traded from the only Major League home you've ever known is stressful enough. But Williamson underwent that transformation as his wife Lisa was in and out of the hospital because of post-pregnancy complications.

And a few weeks later, his son Scott Reese -- the couple's first child -- wound up in the hospital and underwent a spinal tap.

Needless to say, the unsettled family life had a negative impact on Williamson (0-1, 6.20 in 24 outings) when he took the mound for his new team.

But things have a way of working themselves out. His son was released from the hospital with a clean bill of health and his wife stopped experiencing high blood pressure.

At that point, Williamson needed a few days to process everything that had transpired over a whirlwind couple of months. Once he did, thanks in large part to lengthy chats with pitching coach Tony Cloninger and Epstein, it was time for the playoffs.

"I had some issues there with my family and getting traded," said Williamson, who has had a peaceful offseason. "My wife was in and out of the hospital. My son had the spinal tap. I felt like I couldn't be there for my wife and son. It was tough to go out there and pitch. I never really had that happen to me before. It was all kind of new and hitting me in the face at one time. Tony Cloninger and Theo really put me over the hump, and got me to where I was in the playoffs."

[trevisc]

great read. That explains his blow up last year I guess