2011 Arizona Diamondbacks Recap - The Bullpen

The Diamondbacks improved by 29 games from 2010 to 2011, and the biggest area of improvement was in the bullpen. The 2010 bullpen was one of the worst in baseball history, but the 2011 version actually was a strength for the team. As a group, the 2011 bullpen allowed 100 fewer runs than the 2010 group, in the same number of innings, bringing the ERA down from 5.74 to 3.71. Year W L ERA Saves BS IP H ER K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP 2010 - Pen 16 32 5.74 35 24 439.0 485 280 6.79 4.59 1.27 .314 2011 - Pen 23 14 3.71 58 13 439.1 413 181 7.75 3.40 0.80 .295 The improvement can be seen in every statistical category - more wins, fewer losses, more saves, fewer blown saves, more strikeouts, fewer walks, etc. Of course, the biggest keys for the 2011 bullpen were the new members, especially new closer J.J. Putz and setup man David Hernandez. But really, the improvements in the pen were across the board - almost every member...