Youk Of The Nation

And by "these days", I assume you mean "yesterday", since his last blown save before that was ten days ago, and the only other one was in April?

The second one is a fact, yes. The first one is an opinion. Bailey has had a couple rough outings. That does not translate to "unreliable". He had three excellent seasons in Oakland as a closer and one season in Boston cut short due to injury. If he continues blowing saves for another month, you could call him unreliable, but right now he is just a guy who is struggling. If Pedroia makes an error at second base three games in a row, is he an unreliable second baseman? If Buchholz loses back-to-back games, is he an unreliable starter? If Ortiz goes 0-6 in a game, is he an unreliable DH? No, that's just the ups and downs of baseball. I am as frustrated with the three blown saves as anyone, but acting as if Bailey is guaranteed to blow the save whenever he steps out there is ridiculous. If he keeps doing that, he will likely be removed from the closing spot. If he steadies himself, he won't be removed. Judging him unreliable after less than 15 save opportunities is like calling a girl bad in bed before she finishes taking her clothes off. It's premature, likely to get you yelled at, and no fun at all.

Chris Capuano Finally someone who was really good six years ago beats the Yankees. Fitting considering how the Yankees have been doing it all year.

Technically I was a contractor, not an ESPN employee. I was a security guard, third shift. Anyways, back to the point of this thread, I never did offer my opinion as to whether the Sox should trade anyone before the deadline. My answer is no, because right now I don't see any glaring weaknesses. The bullpen is great, the starters, assuming Buchholz comes back healthy, is winning games, though Lester is struggling (but I don't think replacing Lester would help, so never mind that), the bench has been excellent, especially Mike Carp, and the Sox are in the top three or four in almost every important offensive category. Something might change between now and the deadline, but I honestly can't think of anyone besides Cabrera or Davis or Harvey who would improve this team enough to be worth important prospects.

Having worked at ESPN, I can tell you with certainty what you all suspect: Yes, off the air and on the ESPN campus, he is an *******.

Vin Scully will be taking over the Dodgers' Twitter account.

If only I could make that distinction understood to Colin Cowherd. Man do I hate that guy.

How the hell is Jose Molina 3-3?

I'm not that knowledgeable about baseball, sad as that is. I have a basic grasp of statistics and the actual playing of the game, but when discussions turn into paragraph-long debates about UZR and BABIP and whatever other acronyms people rely on, I have nothing to contribute.

Ortiz is just sick.

If I took a day off from work every time I was a little beat up, I would never have had a job.

No, it is an opinion. Tazawa and Uehara, and to a lesser extent Miller, have been incredibly reliable relief pitchers and in all likelihood would be able to make the transition from the 8th to the 9th inning without too much effort. Your "fact" is that the Sox have no reliable closer, which cannot be true because you have never seen Tazawa or Uehara as a closer and so cannot judge their reliability. All you can judge is their reliability as relief pitchers in general, which has been above reproach. Your second "fact" is that the Sox have no proven closer, which is patently untrue. They have two. Hanrahan, who is on the DL, and Bailey, who is currently the closer and has proven himself as one for a few seasons now. The fact that he has struggled recently does not make him an unproven closer, it just makes him a proven closer who is struggling. My opinion is that Bailey has hit a rough stretch. He may pull out of it, or he may spiral and be taken out of the closer's spot, designated for assignment, and in a year or two could be selling cars and living in a studio apartment that he shares with Manny Delcarmen and Daniel Bard. If he doesn't find himself again, my opinion is that Tazawa, Uehara, or Miller could take over the closing role without imploding like an egg on the bottom of the ocean.

Some of us are, but others are convinced that moving him up one inning will cause him to turn into Charlie Sheen from the first twenty minutes of Major League.

A little, yeah, but even going 9-2 hasn't eased the stress. They're still the sort of team now that I have to hold my breath watching unless the Sox have a 7 or 8 run lead. Every time a guy comes up to bat he has the chance to change the game for them.

Just f*** the Orioles in general. I know that having more teams in the hunt for playoff spots is better for baseball as a sport. I even love the fact that the AL East has the possibility of being a 5-team race every year, it's exciting. I like that the Pirates and the Nationals are contenders now. But every once in a while I realllllly miss the days when playing Baltimore or Tampa Bay was almost always a guaranteed sweep. I can't take the stress.

You bet your bottom dollar it does.

Hey, nothing wrong with some old-timey phrases. They're the cat's pajamas! Which reminds me, never, ever, try to get a cat to wear pajamas.

I added it for you

I appreciate that. I know my sense of humor can Clash with some of you on occasion.

Everyone here on the opposite side of the argument has expounded on the merits of the other guys in the bullpen with regards to closing. Statistics have been posted, opinions have been given in detail, and reasonably logical arguments have been presented for why Papelbon needn't be re-Red-Soxed. Your response is 'we don't have a reliable closer, period.' In fact, several people have explained why there is a strong possibility that one of three people in the pen can be reliable closers. If you have a reason why they wouldn't, just stating your opinion as solid, unarguable fact doesn't end the discussion.

Eventually bringing up another guy from the system would be great, but in the meantime the Sox have more than one guy in the pen who can close now, my point is that there is no reason to bring back Papelbon, any more than there would be a reason to bring back Beckett or Crawford or Youkilis.

Exactly. With the exception of this one stretch for Bailey, the bullpen has been one of the strengths of this team. There is no reason to spend more money and more talent to bring back a guy that the Sox already got rid of, not when they're playing so well after dropping a bunch of salary last season. Guys like Papelbon and Beckett, however much they helped win it all in 07, contributed mightily to the distraction and mess of the 2011-12 clubhouse. Why bring some of that back when the team finally looks like a team that I can root for instead of a bunch of guys that I despise watching? Papelbon is good, yes, but so are Tazawa, Uehara, Miller, and even Breslow. Bailey sucks right now, but the team does not. Remember, all three blown saves he has given up this year have ended up being won by the Sox.

I'm torn. If he stays, there will be trouble. However, if he goes, there will be double.

That helmet punt was classic.

THANK YOU JONNY GOMES