Back in the Saddle

Mariano Rivera. Joe Nathan. Francisco Rodriguez. Jonathan Papelbon. What do all of these men have in common? If you guessed that they all drive expensive cars, you are incorrect.

The four pitchers identified will be their team’s Most Valuable Players at the end of the season. (Sorry A-Rod, Justin Morneau, Vlad Guererro and Big Papi). The glitz and glamour of the Big Leagues is in the long ball. Chicks dig it, we all know by now. But for all the walk-off homers and batting titles, there’s only one thing that will bring a team to the Promised Land: A damn good closer. Ask the Atlanta Braves teams of the 90’s about not having a good one. It brought them one World Championship. 14 division titles, one World Series Title.

Papelbon, Rivera, Nathan and Rodriguez all have that make-up. That screw-you-I’m-better-than-you-any-given-day-of-the-week mentality gives them the ability to finish games like Jack Bauer mowing down terrorists like it’s his job. Well it is his job, but you get the point.

Ice water in the veins they say. Anyone who watched the Sunday night game between the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox on ESPN knows what I’m talking about. Watching Jonathan Papelbon enter that game with one out in the eight inning, I knew that the game was over. There was really no question about in my mind.

The look that comes over his face is just stunning to see. It’s the type of expression you would expect a sniper to have when he is about to take out Osama Bin Laden from one and one half miles away unseen. Eyes focused. Breaths tight and steady. Pulse almost zero. Ice water in the veins. Last night, those Rangers hitters were Bin Laden in the crosshairs: Done like burnt toast.

This is how it all went down. Joel Pinero starts off the eight inning by walking light-hitting number eight hitter Gerald Laird and second-year-second-baseman Ian Kinsler to start the inning. First and second, nobody out.

Kenny Lofton comes to the plate 0 for his last 17 and lays down a sac bunt on the second pitch he sees. Mike Lowell fields but there are three people (Youkilis, Cora and Lofton) crowding first base like it’s going out of style. No play, bases loaded no one out. Enter lefty specialist Javier Lopez.

Nelson Cruz pinch hits and smokes a laser of a liner to first base which Kevin Youkilis can’t handle cleanly. He gets a force at second base and it’s now first and third with one out and the Ranger’s best offensive player, Michael Young is coming to the plate. Enter Mr. Ice Water himself, Joanthan Papelbon.

The exchange happens like this. Swinging through a 93 mile per hour fastball, strike one. Swinging through a 96 mile per hour fastball, strike two. Frozen look from a 97 mile per hour fastball painted on the outside corner, strike three. (Picasso was jealous for about half an hour afterwards).

Next up was Mark Teixeira. He only saw one pitch and he popped it up to Mike Lowell to end the imminent threat of a tie-game. A collective sigh of relief from Red Sox Nation as the pop-up hits Lowell’s mit.

The bottom of the ninth wasn’t nearly as interesting as the eighth. Papelbon started off slammin’ Sammy Sosa with a fastball for strike one, followed by a high fastball in which he popped up in the infield. One out.

Next in the cross hairs was Hank Blalock, whom Papelbon and Jason Varitek decided would be looking dead-red because he saw four consecutive splitters to bring the count to 2-2 before Pap set him down swinging at a 96 mile per hour heater. Just for the record, Papelbon 4, Texas’ heart of the line-up 0.

Who better to finish the game off than free-swingin’ Brad Wilkerson who waved at two chest high fastballs before looking totally lost as Papelbon hit the corner with 97 mile per hour cheese that was followed by a Papelbon fist pump, a finger point to Varitek and some words of encouragement to his battery mate.

How intimidating did he look out there? Peering below his curved brim with a slightly oval shaped open mouth ready to throw mid to high 90’s heat with late movement, Papelbon has more mound presence than any of the aforementioned closers right now. What team in their right mind enters their half of the ninth inning down a run with Papelbon on the mound saying ‘we got this guy’? None of them. Jonathan Papelbon is THE most intimidating relief pitcher out there right now. Joel Zumaya is a close second, but he doesn’t have the same level of pin point accuracy or command of his off-speed pitch to be mentioned in the same breath as Mr. Papelbon.

Call me a homer, I’d agree. Call me a liar, I disagree. Red Sox fan or not, with Jonathan Papelbon closing out games again, the pressure’s on the other team because it’s certainly not on the closer that’s for sure.