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It's only May 8, yet half the pitchers we'd penciled in as closers at the start of spring training have already lost the ninth inning. Most of the injury-risk guys are broken — Andrew Bailey, Huston Street, Brian Wilson — and so is the game's only presumed no-risk closer, Mariano Rivera.
Go look at the names atop the 2012 saves leader board and you'll find a bunch of pitchers you would have paid to not own this season: Chris Perez, Fernando Rodney, Jim Johnson, Frank Francisco. There's one dude near the top of the list who lost his job on Monday (Javy Guerra), and another who's allowed runs in three of his last five appearances (Grant Balfour). This year, down is up and up is ... well, it's probably hurt.
It was just a matter of time before Adam Jones picked up his 30th homer of the season. Jones hit a full-count slider over the left field wall in the 11th inning on Wednesday to give the Orioles a 3-1 victory and their first sweep... more »
To do something historic, you need a few little miracles. This certainly qualified. Ryan Howard taking Josh Edgin deep is at least a small miracle, if not even some class of sorcery. Edgin, who had dominated left-handed hitters ... more »
Baseball and the Red Sox have occupied a meaningful place in my life for about as long as I can remember, and it's out of tradition and habit that a season's pending end comes with a tinge of melancholy. No matter whether the... more »
During a simulated tour of the American League East, Andy Pettitte pitched in empty stadiums in St. Petersburg, Fla., Baltimore and Boston, all the while aching to be part of a real game in a stadium packed with boisterous... more »
Once this season ends, the Red Sox need to make a quick decision on whether to keep or fire Bobby Valentine, and if the answer is that he’s gone, they need to make an equally quick decision on who replaces him. The team can... more »
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