So far this fall, the closer has no clothes.
Jonathan Papelbon has lots of time to refine his Riverdance after giving it up to the Angels in Game 3.
Huston Street had two outs in the ninth and couldn’t finish the Phillies.
Joe Nathan, who usually dismisses school, got his own bell rung by Alex Rodriguez.
Ryan Franklin thought he had notched a save for the Cardinals, but a swarm of white towels in Dodger Stadium buzzed Matt Holliday and forced him to muff a fly ball. That did not absolve Franklin, who couldn’t stop the Dodgers from scoring the winning run.
Combined, those four closers had saved 158 games in 173 chances in 2009. There were six blown saves in 13 Division Series games.
None of that occurred to Brian Fuentes as he lounged in the visiting bullpen at Fenway Park on Sunday.
But as soon as the Angels cut the lead to one run, Fuentes began loosening. Suddenly he was on the Fenway Park mound, which comes complete with a trap door in the playoffs.
Fuentes gave them nothing. He threw three first-pitch strikes and only 13 pitches overall. The left-hander welcomed catcher Jeff Mathis into his arms as the Angels’ jubilee began.
Regardless of the turbulence of his season, Fuentes came home as one of four closers standing.
One of the others was Brad Lidge of the Phillies, who had a disastrous summer and briefly lost his job to Ryan Madson.
The remaining two are the Dodgers’ Jonathan Broxton and the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera, who stares down at the Angels like a raven as the American League Championship Series begins in New York on Friday.
The chaos even confused the storytellers. Many believe that David Henderson’s homer tied Game 6 in 1986. It actually put the Red Sox ahead until the Angels tied it in their ninth.
This time of year it’s hard to get a save.
Jayson Werth of the Phillies hit 36 during the season. But all he needed on Monday was a soft single to beat Street. He delivered it.
Closers are the Adrian Monks of baseball, the ultimate creatures of habit. You can’t bring them into a jam anymore. You can’t use them in a tie game. You need to get them out after 15 pitches or so, when the adrenaline wears off.
Playoff baseball is where all the habits of six-month baseball go to die. That’s why the trophy is usually hoisted over a fallen closer.
It has happened to almost everyone, including Rivera (Indians ’97, Diamondbacks ’01, Red Sox ’03).
The Braves might have won five World Series if they could have solved the ninth. Mitch Williams of the Phillies and Dennis Eckersley of the A’s gave up the most famous homers in the past 21 postseasons.
It didn’t happen to Tug McGraw, Bobby Jenks or Troy Percival.
“In the postseason you can’t sweep what they do under the rug,” Mike Scioscia said.
Which is why Rivera’s October mastery will be listed high on his Cooperstown plaque.
He has eight playoff victories and 35 saves. He has 121 innings, 17 walks, 76 hits, 100 strikeouts and only two home runs. His ERA in ALCS play is 0.83 with 10 saves and 10 chances, and no homers in 38<MD+,%30,%55,%70>2/<MD-,%0,%55,%70>3 innings.
“And I really haven’t seen him much,” Hunter said.
Indeed, he is 3-for-9 against Rivera. Vladimir Guerrero is 3-for-7, but Chone Figgins is the only Angel with an extra-base hit off him (triple).
The Angels freely admit that it’s Rivera’s decade. All Brian Fuentes wants is a week.