Some notes from Ben Cherington's pregame radio show:
• Regarding the recent struggles in the bullpen, Cherington said:
"First of all, so interesting with bullpens. There's a couple things to, I think, keep in mind with bullpens. One is I was reminded of something a wise person told me one time about bullpens, and it was something like the reference to the weather in places like Pittsburgh or other places in the Northeast. You don't like it, just wait, it'll change. That's a way of thinking about bullpens. It will change. The bullpens are more volatile, generally speaking, or more volatile part of the team than other parts of the team. So at some times, the best thing to do with the bullpen, that maybe isn't as consistent as we need it to be is simply to wait it out. Now, that said, clearly, we're not just sitting back and waiting for that to happen. There are things we can do about it. And the three things are what I mentioned earlier this week. One is the internal improvement. I believe that can and needs to happen through guys that are already here. We have guys on this team who are currently in the bullpen who are capable of pitching at a more consistent level. We know that. Some of that has to happen. The second thing is, there may be guys in the organization who are not currently in our bullpen who can contribute and get meaningful outs at some point. That may need to happen, and we need to be focused on that too. How do we develop that? And then the 3rd part gets back to what you said. Is there an opportunity to add externally? Well, the answer is, obviously, all was possibly, and, we're now into the part of the season where teams are talking to each other and feeling each other out and what are teams trying to do, what's available, what's not. So we're engaged, that's our job. We got to stay on those phone lines all the time. Trust me, if we found something or if we do, when and if we do find something, that we believe with confidence can help our team get better, period. Never mind what part, but in this case, typically the bullpen. We'll be ready to pounce on it. But we gotta do the work to find that. It's early in the season, and typically these trades don't happen this early. Which is why, generally speaking, more of our energy is focused on that, on those internal solutions early."
• Regarding Jared Jones, his rehab and what role he'll be in when he comes back, Cherington said he's getting closer and that he'll have at least one more rehab start after tonight's start at Class AA Altoona. Regarding his role: "We certainly believe he's a starting pitcher."
• Cherington said they knew right-handed pitcher Kyle Robinson out of Texas Tech when preparing for the year he was drafted.
• On Joey Bart, Cherington said Bart had a cut on his foot, which became infected. They said he's going to be fine in the long term, but will likely be out "weeks not days." Cherington added that they are looking forward to seeing how Endy Rodriguez takes advantage of the opportunity.
• On Ryan O'Hearn's prognosis: "It's on the moderate side, but it's not going to be a 10-day thing." Cherington insinuated it could be a "four-week thing."
THE ASYLUM
Some notes from Ben Cherington's pregame radio show:
• Regarding the recent struggles in the bullpen, Cherington said:
"First of all, so interesting with bullpens. There's a couple things to, I think, keep in mind with bullpens. One is I was reminded of something a wise person told me one time about bullpens, and it was something like the reference to the weather in places like Pittsburgh or other places in the Northeast. You don't like it, just wait, it'll change. That's a way of thinking about bullpens. It will change. The bullpens are more volatile, generally speaking, or more volatile part of the team than other parts of the team. So at some times, the best thing to do with the bullpen, that maybe isn't as consistent as we need it to be is simply to wait it out. Now, that said, clearly, we're not just sitting back and waiting for that to happen. There are things we can do about it. And the three things are what I mentioned earlier this week. One is the internal improvement. I believe that can and needs to happen through guys that are already here. We have guys on this team who are currently in the bullpen who are capable of pitching at a more consistent level. We know that. Some of that has to happen. The second thing is, there may be guys in the organization who are not currently in our bullpen who can contribute and get meaningful outs at some point. That may need to happen, and we need to be focused on that too. How do we develop that? And then the 3rd part gets back to what you said. Is there an opportunity to add externally? Well, the answer is, obviously, all was possibly, and, we're now into the part of the season where teams are talking to each other and feeling each other out and what are teams trying to do, what's available, what's not. So we're engaged, that's our job. We got to stay on those phone lines all the time. Trust me, if we found something or if we do, when and if we do find something, that we believe with confidence can help our team get better, period. Never mind what part, but in this case, typically the bullpen. We'll be ready to pounce on it. But we gotta do the work to find that. It's early in the season, and typically these trades don't happen this early. Which is why, generally speaking, more of our energy is focused on that, on those internal solutions early."
• Regarding Jared Jones, his rehab and what role he'll be in when he comes back, Cherington said he's getting closer and that he'll have at least one more rehab start after tonight's start at Class AA Altoona. Regarding his role: "We certainly believe he's a starting pitcher."
• Cherington said they knew right-handed pitcher Kyle Robinson out of Texas Tech when preparing for the year he was drafted.
• On Joey Bart, Cherington said Bart had a cut on his foot, which became infected. They said he's going to be fine in the long term, but will likely be out "weeks not days." Cherington added that they are looking forward to seeing how Endy Rodriguez takes advantage of the opportunity.
• On Ryan O'Hearn's prognosis: "It's on the moderate side, but it's not going to be a 10-day thing." Cherington insinuated it could be a "four-week thing."
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