Set Foulke Free
By The Red Sox Girl
Nobody will ever forget anything that Keith Foulke did for the Boston Red Sox in 2004. In 2003, the Red Sox had a disastrous closer-by-committee approach as they never had a real closer on the team. Signing Keith Foulke was like a breath of fresh air. That fresh air turned stale in 2005 when Foulke struggled mightily and ended up having surgery on his knee. This year, however, has been different. It was his job to lose, and he lost it after his first appearance when Tito chose Papelbon over Foulke in a close game. Ever since then, Papelbon has been the MVP of the team, only giving up one run this entire season. That leaves the question, what about Foulke?
Ever since losing his closing job, Foulke has come in to eat up innings, and I have been impressed with how he has handled everything. Foulke has been nothing but a complete professional, willing to do whatever he can in order to help the Red Sox win. In a 14-3 blowout over the Yankees he pitched one inning, giving up a hit, and lowering his ERA to 3.80. The past three appearances he has gone 3.1 innings, with two hits and a walk. The question is how long will Foulke's new role continue? He's been doing a pretty decent job with a record of 2-1, however he's being paid to be a closer, not an eat-up-innings guy. With Papelbon doing as well has he is, the only thing I can see happening is Foulke being traded to a team that needs a veteran closer. Despite last season, I think that Foulke is still a great closer, but Boston is a hostile environment, and I just don't see him returning to be a closer here. Papelbon has become our "foulke" hero, pun intended, and seems to love pitching for Boston more than anything. Now it's time to let Foulke be a closer again in another market, it's just not fair to him to keep him here.
