As noted here, there will likely be an interesting Spring Training battle for the final spot in the Red Sox bullpen.  Let’s take a quick look at the serious candidates and their 2010 projections (per the Marcel forecasting system):

While the projections do give Brian Shouse the best 2010 FIP, the system is assuming that he will continue to be used strictly as a LOOGY, which is something the Sox have not done recently.  Joe Nelson’s high walk rate hurts him, landing him with the worst predicted FIP among the group.  For some reason, Marcel really likes Scott Atchison, the enigmatic reliever coming across the Pacific after 2 seasons in the Japanese leagues.

If Boof Bonser is anything close to his former self after missing all of 2009 with a torn rotator cuff, he’s probably the favorite to land the position due to his ability to step into the rotation as an emergency starter (assuming such a move wouldn’t “disrespect” Tim Wakefield).  If Boof is toast, I’ll go out on a limb and say that the job comes down to Nelson or Atchison.  Shouse is too one dimensional, and Ramon A. Ramirez simply isn’t very good.

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