The Red Sox want a greater model of Matt Barnes, and he is aware of it.
After one other poor outing as a part of one other Red Sox bullpen meltdown of their 10-5 loss to the Angels on Wednesday, Barnes’ ERA is at 8.64 in 10 appearances this season. He didn’t disguise from his struggles.
“I’ve been terrible,” Barnes stated. “Let’s just call a spade a spade, right? So I gotta figure my (expletive) out. We’re going to get there. I’m working on it every day and feeling better every day. I know the results are terrible, but we’re not going to stop. It’s definitely frustrating.”
Red Sox supervisor Alex Cora has been hoping Barnes can regain the shape to reclaim his position because the group’s nearer after his disastrous second half in 2021, however it doesn’t appear to be the veteran has made important progress.
On Wednesday, it unraveled shortly on him. The Red Sox had already taken their seventh blown save of the season after blowing a ninth-inning lead when Cora summoned Barnes for the tenth, and he really had an opportunity to pitch a clear inning after two fast outs. But Taylor Ward crushed Barnes’ 94.5-mph fastball to left for the go-ahead two-run homer, and that opened the floodgates for the Angels.
Barnes’ fastball nonetheless isn’t the place he needs it. It averaged 93.5 mph on Wednesday, And to make issues extra irritating, he felt like he discovered one thing whereas taking part in catch earlier than his newest outing. But it clearly didn’t translate to the sport.
“That’s the most frustrating part,” Barnes stated. “I was just playing catch today and I felt something click, and I was like, ‘Oh, that felt really good.’ It’s easy to say it feels good when I’m playing catch at 75-80 percent without a slope and hitters and things like that. I can’t get on the mound and start thinking about what I’m trying to do mechanically. I have to go out there and try and do my best to compete. But it’s definitely frustrating. We’re going to keep working. But a lot of this falls on me. I’m just not being good.”
Barnes is probably going blaming himself for the bullpen’s issues as a result of he is aware of his struggles since final season have put them in a tough place, and with no trusted nearer. After a stellar first half in 2021 that made him a first-time All-Star and earned him a two-year extension, he’s suffered a shocking fall. In 28 common season appearances for the reason that begin of final August, Barnes has produced a 9.00 ERA.
“You have to keep working with him, that’s the bottom line,” Cora stated. “He threw some good breaking balls. The fastball is not there. It’s not a lack of work. He’s doing everything possible to get his mechanics where he’s supposed to be. (Pitching coaches) Bushy (Dave Bush) and Walk (Kevin Walker), they’re locked in with him. There are some good days and some days where the fastball is not there, but we just have to keep working on it.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com
