In a conference call with reporters last night, new Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey expressed excitement about the opportunity of being on the big stage and also being back on the East Coast (he is from the Philadelphia/southern New Jersey area and lives in Connecticut). He's also already got a good relationship with new Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine. The Nation will, however, need to get used to a new type of closer—more along the lines of Keith Foukle rather than Jonathan Papelbon. Here's how Bailey put it in his own words:"I’m not going to blow it by you at 98, 99. I’m not that type of guy. I usually sit in the low 90s and rely on control and getting ahead of guys. There’s a motto I live by, it’s strike one is the best pitch in baseball. If you stick with that, you’ll be fine."
Frankly, if the 2012 season ends with the following, we won't mind: "Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Bailey, he has it, he under hands to first, and the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions. For the first time in five years, the Red Sox have won baseball's world championship. Can you believe it?"