Last year's Red Sox bullpen was one of the most frightening bullpens in history. And not because it was particularly good really. No, last year's Red Sox bullpen was frightening because of the presence of Vicente Padilla and Alfredo Aceves. To say that they were a little bit unhinged is a massive understatement. Both pitchers were well-known for some rather unsavory characteristics.
Padilla made some waves when he made some comments about the Yankees' Mark Teixeira. To put it bluntly, Padilla made comments about Teixeira being better off playing a woman's sport. Padilla was one of the more consistent arms out of the bullpen, appearing in 56 games and finishing with a 4-1 record and a 4.50 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 50 innings. He only walked 15. Padilla was known for occasional use of the eephus pitch. Padilla is headed to Japan for 2013.
Aceves came into the season as one of Boston's better options as a setup man. He loosened up in Spring to possibly become a starter but when Andrew Bailey went down with an injury, Aceves was turned into the closer. He definitely had the confidence to be a good closer, but he did not always have the best results. Aceves finished the year at 2-10 with a 5.36 ERA. He did save 25 games though. He struggled down the stretch, but had been having a decent season early on. He will likely return to a setup and swing man role in 2013.
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