Go ahead, continue to soak in all the numbers and analytics. They have their purpose.
That certainly would have been the case when perusing the box score of the Red Sox' 2-1, Game 2 win over the Blue Jays Saturday in the teams' doubleheader at Roger Centre.
Tanner Houck: He pitched 3 2/3 innings, striking out six while allowing one run. In 25 2/3 innings this season, the righty has fanned 36 while pitching to a 2.45 ERA.
"He seems like he’s under control, doesn't show emotion," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora of Houck. "The other day in the sim game in Detroit on Monday. I was standing behind the turtle and it’s just legs, elbows, shoulders, then the baseball. The ball cuts and sinks and he has the slider. He’s a good one. He’s going to help us the rest of the season. This kid is at one point we’re going to -- we talk about him the whole season that he’s going to help us and today he helped us. The next time it’s his turn, he’ll be ready to post."
Garrett Whitlock: His two shutout innings allowed for just two hits and three strikeouts. The righty's ERA now stands at 1.17 ERA with the Red Sox boasting a 22-10 record in games he has pitched.
But, we at the Live BP Show (that being myself and Steve Perrault) like to default to something much more valuable than raw numbers.
We call it: VAR. Vibes Above Replacement.
In other words, which player give off the best vibes, the kind which actually makes you believe something good is going to happen.
Right now, Houck and Whitlock may very well be leading the team in VAR. They have become perhaps Cora's most potent weapons.
Now it's just a matter of figuring out the sweet spot of where, when and how to use them.
The easy answer for Houck is to simply keep building up his innings while showing more willingness to dip his toes in the third-time-through-the-lineup pool. He has faced just five big league batters for a third time in a game.
He has the mentality, and despite still only dabbling in that third pitch - (he threw the split-finger fastball just two times) - the fastball and slider are so electric it would seem Houck has plenty to keep hitters uncomfortable more than just a couple of times.
"For me, no, I plan on going the entire seven innings," he said. "That’s the goal every time out there, go out there and attack, go as deep into the game as I can, put the team in the best chance to win."
Whitlock's role is a bit more undefined.
The easy answer to explain what the Rule 5 pick has evolved into is that he has become the Red Sox' most valuable multi-inning reliever. Whitlock currently has thrown the ninth-most innings and 15th-most pitches of any MLB reliever.
There is certainly value to that existence, as Saturday revealed once again.
But will it be worth introducing Whitlock to the primary piece of that eighth-inning bridge leading to closer Matt Barnes? He has pitched in the eighth or ninth a total of 17 times, allowing one run in 16 innings. Nineteen of his games have come in high leverage situations, with opponents managing just a .146 batting average in such situations.
While the Red Sox continue to try and figure out how to jump-start their stars, while patching what is a growing list or roster holes, they can rest assured that these two pitchers are an enormous part of the solution ... in whatever manner they might be used.
At this point, it makes no difference that they are rookies. They are really, really good, which is all that matters heading into the season's stretch drive.
