The Boston Red Sox Finally Name a Closer

With only a few moments until Opening Day the Boston Red Sox have just awarded the job of closer to Jonathan Papelbon. There were a handful of pitchers rumored to have a shot at the position but Papelbon seems to have emerged as the front runner. The closer candidates that were in contention include Joel Pineiro, Julian Tavarez, Brendan Donnelly and Craig Hansen. Mike Timlin, a veteran right hander, was on the list of potential door slammers until he was sidelined with an oblique strain. He will not be available to pitch on Opening Day. Because of a shoulder strain late last season, the Red Sox medical staff felt it would be wiser to move Papelbon to the rotation. When no relievers currently in Boston's bullpen showed any sign of promise as a closer Manager Terry Francona was forced to seek out an alternate solution.

Joel Pineiro, the former Seattle Mariners starter, was acquired during the off-season as an experiment in moving from the rotation to the most highly coveted bullpen position. The Red Sox have converted starters to closers with great success in the past so why not again this year? Will Pineiro be the next Dennis Eckersley or Jonathan Papelbon? Maybe not, but he has been working on a new arm angle this spring and according to all reports it has added tons of movement to all of his pitches. If he can manage to stay out of the middle of the strike zone and keep the ball down he definitely has a chance to dominate as the closer.

Julian Tavarez is capable of closing games but his fiery personality and inability to control his emotions could end up being a formula for blown saves. While his stuff can be electric, his mental game keeps him from pitching with the consistency most dominant closers display. Tavarez has had success as a long reliever for the Red Sox and even as a starter during last year's horrific finish but there is little evidence to indicate that he would flourish in the closer's role.

Major League baseball has scarcely seen a reliever better suited to pitching the eighth inning in tight situations than Brendan Donnelly. That being said, he may be the wisest choice for the Red Sox to appoint Designated Game Saver for Opening Day. He doesn't have the overpowering stuff of traditional closers but his mound presence can only be described as fierce. He off sets an average fastball with above average off-speed stuff and when he's on, his ferocity can certainly help facilitate late inning strike outs. With a little help from the defense he could prove to be extremely effective at the back end of the bullpen.

Craig Hansen has been touted as Boston's "closer of the future" for the past two seasons but his performaces in the Majors have rarely done the title any justice. His fastball and slider are both above average but his control suffers too often to make either pitch very formidable. A closer needs to be intimidating and pound the strike zone in order to dominate on a nightly basis. If Hansen can develop some consistency in his delivery and establish his fastball early in counts he could surpass all expectations, it's just going to take time the Red Sox do not have this year.

Having someone in the bullpen that can get three outs under almost any circumstances has become fundamental to a winning ball club. When runs are hard to come by and leads are slim there is a unique crop of athletes that are truly suited to closing the game. Red Sox Nation will not have to wait until April 2 to ascertain the identity of their closer. Rookie phenom Jonathan Papelbon will be anchoring the Boston bullpen and Julian Tavarez will take his spot in the rotation along with Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Tim Wakefield. New England can collectively breathe a sigh of relief. The man with the .92 earned run average that started last season with twenty straight saves will be taking the ball in the ninth whenever the BoSox need salvation. featuring sluggers David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew along with the speed of Julio Lugo and Coco Crisp. The Red Sox lineup, featuring sluggers David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew are going to make save situations far less frequent but when the game is on the line Boston is going to need a reliable super arm to save the day. Enter Jonathan Papelbon, the closer for the 2007 Boston Red Sox.