The Red Sox will announce after today’s spring training game that Jonathan Papelbon has been tabbed the Red Sox closer.
This means that a battle for the fifth spot in the rotation will ensue. Leaders for the rotation are Kyle Snyder, Julian Tavarez and Devern Hansack. Jon Lester is in the mix, and recently optioned Kason Gabbard looks like he could be a factor in that role later this year. Joel Pineiro is not expected to be in the mix.
My prediction as to the winner of the battle is Kyle Snyder. Snyder has been talked about in positive ways by manager Terry Francona and Curt Schilling is a fan of Snyder. As Schilling says, “I knew Kyle was a man of impeccable integrity, and as hard a worker as I had ever met. I felt that if he got a solid chance he had the makeup to be something special, even now, and I still feel that way. Other than that I didnít have any ëinputí on Theo going out and getting Kyle.”
Snyder has tossed 9.1 innings of spring training major league games so far, notching a 2.89 ERA, 4 BB and 10 K.
In the poll to the right that I have just closed, 45% of all votes wanted Joel Pineiro to be the closer now that Mike Timlin was to open the season on the DL. 13% of all votes went to Brendan Donnelly, while 10% went to Julian Tavarez. 33% asked Theo to pick up the phone and find a new closer. Well, he didn’t have to pick up the phone and find a new closer. He just had to find his old closer. (New poll on the right asking you your thoughts on this news, by the way.)
While Papelbon returning to the closer’s job should be treated as a huge sigh of relief for Red Sox fans around the nation given his dominating 0.92 ERA, 68.2 IP, 35 SV endeavor, there is cause for pause in this Boston Herald story, where Papelbon states:
ìIf I do go out and close, there will be no four days in a row, five days in a row. I have to have a better understanding with Tito (Francona) when Iím going to come in and pitch. Iím not going to come in and pitch the eighth and ninth. Thereís going to have to be some regulations weíre going to have to follow in order to keep me healthy. But weíre still at the point where we havenít figured it out if Iím going back to close yet.î
While this may see his innings decrease and his games decreased, this is still absolutely the right move. It is integral to a team’s success to have a shutdown closer, and it seems as if we’ve officially anointed our closer of the future – and quite possibly, our long awaited answer to the great closers around the league that have popped up. The greatest closer of all time, Trevor Hoffman and the man trailing him, Mariano Rivera, have dominated the league for too long. B.J. Ryan, Frankie Rodriguez and Joe Nathan has risen up as another great closer, and now so has Jonathan Papelbon.