The trade deadline has come and gone and dozens of players are still getting used to new uniforms. Now that all the midsummer pomp and circumstance (draft, All-Star Game, trade deadline, etc.) is in the rearview mirror, it's time to focus on the actual baseball being played on the field. We're in the dog days of August now.
Soon, the postseason and award races will really heat up. Here now are three things going on across the league that are worth keeping an eye on the rest of the season. Much like the Red Sox as a team, it has been a tale of two seasons for right-hander Brayan Bello.
The 27-year-old opened the season as Boston's No. 5 starter, pitched terribly, then got demoted to Triple-A in June. He came back up just before the All-Star break and has been working as a bulk reliever since, and he's been terrific. On Monday night, he allowed one run in 4 ⅓ innings.
"It's been great," interim manager Chad Tracy said about Bello after Monday's game (via MLB.com). "I think obviously it was well documented how the beginning of the year went for him. The frustrations and that he believes he's a starter.
But he's in a really good place as far as accepting the role and knowing that he's not only accepting the role, but he's going out there and helping us win in that role, and that's a good place for him to be." Bello's splits are drastic. As a starter, he has a 10.35 ERA with hideous under-the-hood numbers (7.34 FIP and 8.44 expected ERA) in 35 ⅔ innings. That's 35 ⅔ innings in eight starts, or 4.5 innings per start.
As a reliever, Bello has pitched to a 0.85 ERA in 52 ⅔ innings in 11 games (4.8 innings per game). The under-the-hood numbers are way better as well (2.19 ERA and 3.33 xERA). There is not one single reason Bello has been more effective as a bulk reliever than as a traditional starter.
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