The Official Site of The Cleveland Indians: News: Betancourt now end-of-game go-to guy

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Closing Time: Not really the coolest way to injure yourself
Published 4/16/2008 at Roto Arcade
Alfonso Soriano has this habit of hopping when he catches fly-balls, as if left field were an apparatus that he had to dismount.  In the top of the first on Tuesday, he hopped, caught an inning-ending fly, then landed...and grimaced. And then he limped. And then he was helped off the field by Ryan Theriot. The Cubs are calling the injury a "right calf strain." Its severity is not yet known, but he's already had an MRI. If Soriano misses an extended period of time, none of the replacement options should really be of interest to public league owners. When Lou Piniella was asked during post-game interviews ...

Let The Experiment Begin
Published 4/16/2008 by RockKing at WaitingForNextYear
Rafael Betancourt Most of you probably know by now, but in case you haven’t heard, Rafael Betancourt will be taking over the closer’s role for Joe Borowski while he heads to the DL. You’ll have to excuse me while I beat a dead horse here for a minute, because I know I’ve said this before, but I want to reiterate it again, I think this is a mistake on several levels. First of all, lets consider Betancourt’s past as a closer. For all the negative thoughts I have about the closer position, I will say that it takes a certain mentality to be a closer….a mentality that is different from any other pitcher’s mentality. For all of Joe Borowski’s shortcomings in physical skill, I will ...