Mitchell Boggs is excelling in eighth inning role

Posted on Sunday, April 29, 2012by J. Rudd at Yardbarker.com

St. Louis Cardinals reliever Mitchell Boggs has claimed a role as the Cardinals main set-up man in 2012, converting six holds in the first month of the 2012 season.


One year after a rocky season that saw St. Louis Cardinals reliever Mitchell Boggs see time as the closer in St. Louis, get shipped to Triple AAA Memphis to work on becoming a starter, and then finally return to St. Louis as a long reliever, Mitchell Boggs has seemed to find a home.

Under new manager Mike Matheny, the hard-throwing, 28 year old right-hander has finally gotten comfortable in the Cardinals bullpen and has emerged as the lead set-up guy in the Cardinals bullpen.

And Boggs is excelling in the role.

With a brim of confidence that has not been seen before in past seasons, Boggs is attacking the eighth inning and opposing hitters with a mid-nineties fastball and an improved slider that has left hitters baffled and his manager believing that he is the right man to set-up closer Jason Motte on a regular basis.

Boggs appeared in the Cardinals 7-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium, needing just 10 pitches to retire the Brewers in order in the eighth inning.

Such a performance has been par for the course this season for Boggs, who converted his sixth hold of the season on Saturday.  Boggs has appeared in nine games in 2012, posting a 0.87 ERA, 0.48 WHIP, and has walked just one batter while striking out ten in 10.1 innings of meaningful work. 
Once ridiculed for a lack of consistency and inability to find the strike zone at times, Boggs is showing that he can be depended on in crucial situations.

He has not allowed a run since April 8 over a stretch of seven appearances.

While his one walk on the season is evidence of his improved control, his attacking of the strikezone becomes more impressive when you consider he has thrown 85 of his 122 pitches thrown on the season for strikes.

With Boggs throwing the ball so well to start the 2012 season, the Cardinals have found a solution for the eighth inning.  For Boggs personally, it looks like he can forget about making any trips back to Memphis or consider changing roles again.

Boggs has finally found a home in the eighth inning.