I'm generally not too subtle about how much I hate the Red Sox, so why am I happy to hear that the man who had the eighth-lowest ERA in history (.92) and the lowest batting average against (.162) in history last season is primed to reclaim his spot as closer for the Boston Red Sox? Because now we only have to see him dominate one inning per game - probably somewhere around 70 innings on the year, rather than 200.
To plenty of people, this seemed like the logical move - Mike Timlin is hurt, Okajima can't get it done against right-handed batters, Craig Hansen has struggled and will start the year in AAA, Manny Delcarmen is too inexperienced and the team's most dominating pitcher, Jonathan Papelbon, is just chillin' and ready to rock 'n' roll. For a team that had by far the best off-season in the Major Leagues, the Boston brass sure does seem dumb right now.
Last year's NLCS ended with a big hook from Cardinals' starter-turned-super closer Adam "Young" Wainwright that absolutely froze Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran with the bases loaded. Wainwright was again on the mound when St. Louis won the World Series, completing his magical run as closer during the post-season. So what did the Cards do with their secret weapon just a few short months later? They moved him into the starting rotation. And believe you me, folks, it wasn't because they were dying to insert Jason Isringhausen back into the closer's role.
It's not rocket science. It doesn't take a baseball genius to see how overrated the closer role is in baseball. What is the difference between a run given up in the second inning and a run given up in the ninth inning? Nothing other than the fact that one of them gets more press than the other one does. We remember the ninth inning losses, but no one seems to remember the games that were lost because replacement starter "A" - in Boston's case, currently Julian Tavarez - gave up five runs in innings one through six, while Papelbon was wasting away in the pen.
Closers don't become ninth-inning specialists because they are the best pitchers on the team. They earn the job because they are most effective over one inning, but not nearly as effective the second and third time through a batting order. Eric Gagne, for example, struggled as a starter but excelled as a reliever. Sometimes it's a lack of stamina and sometimes it's the pitcher's limited repertoire.
Papelbon, however, is lacking in neither of those departments. He came up through the minors as a starter and scared the crap out of my brother, former Herald sports columnist Ross Trudeau '06, and me in the fall of 2005 when he was given a few starts at the end of the season. Papelbon has pinpoint command of his mid-90s fastball but also has excellent secondary pitches that keep hitters guessing even in their second and third trips to the plate. His plus-plus splitter is among the best in the game, while he also flashes an average slider and a show-me curve. If Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all time, had a second plus pitch to go with his legendary cutter, you can bet he would be in the Yankees starting rotation.
Take this quotation from a blog written by ESPN's Buster Olney, which reflects the idea of how pitchers mysteriously lose value if they aren't supposed to be closers: "With Papelbon now set as the closer, Hansen and Delcarmen are pretty much locked in as middle relievers when they hit the big leagues. Some executives with other teams had wondered if both faced an immediate future of diminished trade value."
Clearly the pitchers in question, Hansen and Delcarmen, don't become any more or less effective if they are viewed as future closers, and yet their value declines simply because the path to Red Sox closer is now blocked.
Listen, I'm not complaining. I'll also clarify that I think Papelbon will once again be a dominating closer. The guy doesn't walk anyone (76 Ks to 16 BB) and can get out both lefties (.203 BAA) and righties (.128 ), but I still hope he is the Boston Red Sox closer for as long as he is on the team. I'm guess what I'm trying to say is ... suck-errrsss! Enjoy Julian Tavaraz every fifth day, Red Sox Nation. Ha ha ha ha! Let's go Yank-kees.
>b>You know what Tom Trudeau '09 hasn't had in awhile? Big-League Chew.
