"When it came to the 2011 Red Sox [team stats] bullpen, we were sold a false bill of goods. In spring training, the biggest question actually was whether closer Jonathan Papelbon [stats] would keep his job, a notion that seems ridiculous eight months later. The Red Sox supposedly were blessed with an embarrassment of riches, from Bobby Jenks to Dan Wheeler to Daniel Bard.

The reality proved far different. Papelbon was one of the few certainties, even he ended up blowing two huge games down the stretch, including the season finale in Baltimore.

Bard was a disappointment in April, an All-Star through August, and an unmitigated disaster in September. Jenks got hurt and never contributed. Wheeler was pretty good after a bad six weeks, but almost never got a chance to pitch in a meaningful game, and then when he finally did, he allowed a walkoff homer."