Monday, November 13, 2017

Doug Fister's Surprisingly Positive 2017 Red Sox Season

(Getty Images)
Thanks to an excellent analysis by the website ViewFromTheBoxx.wordpress.com, the contribution of Doug Fister to the success of the 2017 Red Sox may be under-appreciated. As the site points out, seven of fifteen times Fister took the hill for The Carmine Hose, he delivered a quality start. Moreover, in a particularly hot streak (basically the critical August and September stretch), Fister posted a 2.79 ERA over 48.1 innings pitched. Over that same span, he delivered five of his seven quality starts. Now, there were stretches of the season (he was acquired in mid-May) that Fister was pretty awful. But, all things considered, his contributions made a big difference in Boston capturing the AL East crown. Do these facts justify re-signing now-free-agent Fister to a short-term, incentive-laden deal? Depending upon what the other 5th starter choices are—maybe.