Matt Barnes on if he'll regain his All-Star form: 'Without a doubt'
Red Sox All-Star closer Matt Barnes looked like he was primed for a huge breakout 2021 season. During the first half of the season, Barnes was having a career year that led him to Denver for the All-Star game festivities.
The first half of the 2021 season for Barnes was impressive. The closer posted a 2.61 ERA, 0.895 WHIP, and 14.9 K/9 while notching 19 saves. Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom would reward Barnes with a two-year extension.
The second half of the season was not as kind to Barnes. He went from All-Star closer to losing his ninth-inning job and he was eventually left off the Red Sox ALDS postseason roster.
Barnes August was brutal, which is putting it nicely after he posted a 9.26 ERA in 17 appearances. Boston’s closer went from being the most important arm in the bullpen to the shakiest.
In an interview with Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Barnes spoke about his horrendous second half of 2021.
“It was probably the craziest year of my life,” Barnes said to MassLive. “Or one of the craziest baseball seasons. Highs and lows on both extremes and both ends of the spectrum. That’s kind of the game of baseball. That’s how it works sometimes. It’s unfortunate that it was sloppy at the end but you take it, learn from it, build on it and move forward.”
Barnes struggled mightily with his command which led to his falloff in the second half. The All-Star closer thinks he knows what led to his struggles.
“I think it was kind of a perfect storm of scenarios,” he said. “I threw a lot in a short period of time and I think, as a pitcher, you try to create what you had when you were completely fresh. That, in turn, creates bad habits. That happens, then trying to fix it and it felt like we were getting close and I had to sit down for a couple of weeks because I got COVID. I then just ran out of time.”
Will Barnes return to his All-Star first half of 2021 form?
The Red Sox veteran feels confident he will, “Oh,” Barnes said. “Without a doubt.”
Barnes and five other Red Sox pitchers - - Nick Pivetta, Chris Sale and minor-leaguers Kutter Crawford, Jay Groome and Josh Winckowski met in Florida this week. The six pitchers met at Florida Gulf Coast University to begin their own Spring Training.
Barnes and the other pitchers threw live BP against some of the FGCU hitters.
“Trying to get ready for a season and go compete for a championship, and it makes it a little more difficult. Luckily, we’re down here with four or five other guys and we can all get together and work together and try to make it as normal as possible.”
With Major League Baseball currently locking out their players, Barnes and the rest of the players are trying to get ready for Spring Training when the time finally comes. The concern will be how much time the players will actually get in camp with their teams and coaches before the regular season begins.
Barnes will benefit from his coaches working with him this spring especially after his rough 2021 season. Fans are down on the closer due to his lackluster second half and it remains to be seen once the lockout ends if Bloom will upgrade his ninth-inning option. If Barnes is healthy and can get his command back, he could quickly regain his first half of 2021 form and fans will be excited.
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
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