Same Old, Same Old?

Same Old, Same Old?

Are the Sox All Set Sticking Timlin In As Closer?

ProJo: Timlin Likely to Fill Opening to Close

�If the Sox narrow the job description somewhat and utilize Timlin solely to get the final three outs, he could lend them some stability to the back end of games. By limiting Timlin to three-out saves, they could reduce his workload and limit the stress on his shoulder. Worn down and perhaps thrown off by his appearance in the World Baseball Classic last spring, Timlin faltered in the second half of last season.

If Timlin could close as well as other journeyman veterans like Dustin Hermanson in 2005 with the White Sox or Todd Jones with the Tigers last year, the Sox would be more than happy.

The assignment, after all, would be temporary. By 2008, the Sox believe that either Craig Hansen or Bryce Cox � a third-round pick out of Rice last summer � will be able to assume the job long-term. If neither develops as hoped, the Sox could explore free-agent or trade options to fill the slot.� -- 3.8.07, Sean McAdam, Providence Journal

WEEI Dale and Holley Audio: New Sox Radio Voice Dave O'Brien
Thinks Timlin, Who Won't Debut Until Saturday, is Your Closer

�I think it�s going to be Timlin (as the Red Sox closer), and I would be stunned, if for the first couple of months of the season, that it doesn�t work out really well, but that remains to be seen. He has not been doing that job, he�s been a terrific guy in the seventh and the eighth innings of games, but now we have to wait and see if he can close.

I think that closing is not quite as difficult as people make it seem. You can find a closer. You can develop a closer over time. It really all hinges on the right mentality, and the guy who wants the ball, to get those last three outs, if he really does want the ball in that situation. In particular, when there are runners on base.

Almost anybody can close a game when you have a one or a two run lead in the ninth inning. That�s not difficult. It�s when you come into a situation when you have to get three outs and the tying run is standing at second or third base, that�s when you really find out what a guy is made of. Spring training is not really the time to figure that out. We won�t know until the regular season starts in April...

I think that�s (naming Timlin the closer) where the club is headed right now. Ideally, that�s the guy you want to have closing games.� -- 3.7.07, Red Sox radio voice Dave O�Brien on WEEI's Dale and Holley

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