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October 11, 2007
By KEVIN McNAMARA
BOSTON - Thanks to my friends at Mike's Garage in Westwood, we are finally here at Fenway Park for ALCS workout day.
Just before the Route 1 exit on 95 North, my car siezed up thanks to a large chunk of metal lodging in a rear tire. End of plan to capture all of the Red Sox clubhouse time. We pulled off the highway and thank heavens into Mike's Garage. Twenty dollars later, the blown tire was replaced with the wonderful spare donut and we were back on the road (how we return to Providence is a challenge for another time.)
The nation's baseball media (plus Japan, of course) has descended on Fenway. The Sox clubhouse was packed with media but few players were out and chatting. We'll post a few nuggets of info that we've gathered but the bigger news will come after Terry Francona and Josh Beckett speak at around 2 p.m.
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One of the supposed clear advantages between the Red Sox and the Indians is between the closers. Boston's Jonathan Papelbon enjoyed an All-Star season with 37 saves and a 1.85 ERA. He struck out 84 batters in 58 innings.
Cleveland's Joe Borowski racked up 45 saves but a closer look at the numbers reveals serious holes. Borowski's ERA zoomed to 5.07 but he struck out only 58 hitters in 65 innings. He also was just 13-of-19 in 1-run save chances and sailed through only 16 1-2-3 innings.
The biggest statistic in Papelbon's favor? Opponents hit .289 versus Borowski while Papelbon held foes to a .146 average.
Asked this morning about the edge the Sox hold in the closer's role, Papelbon wouldn't bite.
"This is the first time I've heard that. I don't see that big of an advantage," Papelbon said. "I think the guy's got more than 45 saves this year so I think he's doing his job pretty damn good. He's going out there and helping his ballclub win and he's producing."
"I'm going out there trying to do my job and trying to help my ballclub just like he's trying to help his ballclub."
Posted by Kevin 
at 11:57 AM to McNamara
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