MLB Bullets Looks At Closing Time

First prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired.

• Koji Uehara wasn't the Red Sox first, second or third choice to be their closer, but after a 26 inning scoreless streak and retiring 24 straight batters, the job is his. Ken Rosenthal traces how this happened.
• Uehara's fastball doesn't even hit 90 mph, but he gets by with a devastating splitter and knowing how to pitch.
• The lesson of Uehara is that you don't have to spend a fortune to get a good closer. Dennis Eckersley was a Hall Of Fame closer, and he tells the New York Times that the job is "not as tough as you think." He thinks lots of guys can close if given the opportunity and the support.
• No one in the Red Sox organization was surprised when the Cubs claimed Daniel Bard, given Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer's familiarity with the pitcher.
• Ken Rosenthal has also given in to the #killthewin movement and says that W-L record should not be a factor in who wins the Cy Young Award. He still thinks Max Scherzer might be the best pitcher in the American League, but he shouldn't get the Cy Young based on his gaudy W-L record.
• He's not going to win the Cy Young, but Jose Fernandez might win Rookie of the Year. He's just one of several promising young Marlins pitchers who are likely to set a record for the Marlins lowest team ERA this season. Yet their team is still awful, which says something about their offense.
• David Schoenfield asks what went wrong with the Blue Jays? The short answer: they can't pitch. With the exception of Mark Buehrle, all of their projected starting rotation was disappointing.
• Hyun-Jin Ryu is going to miss his start tonight with back stiffness.
• It's Matt Harvey's call on whether or not he has Tommy John Surgery.
• Keith Olbermann points out that the myth of the pitcher of years past throwing tons of innings and never getting hurt is absolute rubbish.
• The Pirates failed to get that 82nd win on Wednesday, but here's a look back at the worst 20 moments of the past 20 losing season in Pittsburgh.
• Joe Sheehan examines the chances of four other franchises of following the Pirates footsteps.
• One of the teams Sheehan looks at is the Houston Astros. Now that they've been mathematically eliminated, Cliff Corcoran looks back at what went wrong and what went right this year in Houston.
• Rob Neyer asks if the Astros youth movement is paying off yet.
• Well, this is interesting. Ryan Braun is reportedly calling up Brewers season ticket holders to apologize to them personally.
• Apparently he couldn't get through to the SURG Restaurant Group, who will close the Ryan Braun's Graffito Restaurant at the end of the year.
• No one seems to care that Marlon Byrd was suspended for failing a drug test.
• Eric Byrnes claims that he was told that a "prominent Hall of Famer that played the majority of his career in the 70s and 80s" took steroids.
• In case you haven't noticed, the Yankees have gotten back into the playoff hunt since the return of Alex Rodriguez. Ken Rosenthal thinks that Bud Selig doesn't have to worry too much about handing the Commissioner's Trophy to ARod after the World Series.
• Scott Boras is looking for a big payday for Jacoby Ellsbury. This is news? OK, comparing Ellsbury to Carl Crawford and an aircraft carrier is kind of new.
• Jonah Keri looks back at the whole career of the "often-underappreciated Adrian Beltre."
• With 30 home runs and 20 walks, Adam Jones is about to become the 37th different player with more home runs than walks in a season.
• No one claimed Tyler Colvin, so he'll stay in the minors with the Rockies. Makes me feel just a tiny bit better about Ian Stewart. Not much though.
• Remember Wladimir Balentien? He's got a very good chance to set the single-season NPB home run record this year, Rob Neyer is happy for him, but he doesn't think he has a future in MLB.
• Nuke's scared because his eyelids are jammed and his old man is here. We need a live . ..was it a live rooster? We need a live rooster to take the curse off Jose's glove and nobody seems to know what to get Millie or Jimmy for their wedding present. I don't know about the eyelids or the wedding present, but the Cleveland Indians have taken care of the live chicken.
• Joey Votto doesn't understand why he's in a slump.
• Jayson Stark has one of his typical looks at the insanity of baseball by looking at what would happen if the Reds, Pirates and Cardinal have a three-way tie for first place. Also, players are not happy about the new postseason schedule, saying it has too many off-days. Last year they complained it had too few off-days.
• Dave Cameron looks at all the prominent upcoming free agent hitters and tries to figure out which ones should receive qualifying offers.
• There's a rogue Woodrow Wilson hanging around Nationals Park.
• Finally, candlesticks make a nice gift.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.