While I took a look at the Red Sox’ lineup and starting staff yesterday, I omitted what at this point appears to be its biggest weakness, the bullpen. While Keith Foulke, Alan Embree and Mike Timlin all return, each is a bit older and likely to regress a bit. Further, the Sox received about 90 quality innings last year from three guys that won’t be returning, Curtis Leskanic, Ramiro Mendoza and Scott Williamson. Replacing those innings will not be easy. John Halama and his 2.64 ERA as a reliever since 2002 should help, and so should the odd starter out when Wade Miller is healthy. A strong Byung-Hyun Kim would do wonders.

Still, there was just enough uncertainty out in that pen for the Sox to sign 37 year-old Denny Tomori, a Japanese, sidewinding fireballer whose strikeout numbers are excellent but home run numbers are not. I imagine Theo et al determined that the home run totals may have been a bit inflated by Tomori’s home park. If not, I can’t imagine that a pitcher that serves up bombs in Japan wouldn’t continue to do so here in the States.

Perhaps the front office thought it was a worthy one year flier because it would take Major League hitters some time to grow accustomed to Tomori’s unorthodox style (think Hideo Nomo in 1995). Maybe Tomori has 75 good innings in him before hitters catch onto his delivery. However it turns out, it was a low-risk move by the Sox and a good sign in that they accurately identified a potential weakness.

Should be interesting to see how the local press and fanboys take to him. Remember the last Asian side-armer we acquired?