BBTN MINUTE: RAYS GET BIG WIN IN BOSTON

CARPENTER CHANGING WORLDS

By Orel Hershiser, ESPN

If he does end up closing games, I think the first thing Chris Carpenter will face is the adrenaline rush of the new responsibility. He'll be excited about just being active and healthy again, and knowing that the club thinks you're good enough that they'll put you in this role. Some people feed off that pressure, and I think as good a pitcher as Carpenter is, he'll do just that.

One of the biggest adjustments he'll have to make is to the distinct culture of the bullpen. Every team has its own culture, but the bullpen has its own subculture. And it can be quirky. Usually, the closer is the guy who runs the show out there, unless there is a class clown who naturally falls into it. Everything from where people sit, what subjects they talk about, who's near the phone, who enforces "let's pay attention to the game," who reads the scouting reports in what inning, and even stuff like do you spit the sunflower seeds or flick them. If you're chewing tobacco, can you spit on the floor, or do they have a little kitty litter box with sand in it? I know at one point the Yankees wanted to bring back John Wetteland, even though he could barely pitch, just because he was a great captain of the bullpen.

Carpenter will be going down to the bullpen not as a Cy Young Award winner but as the new closer. Maybe he'll convert the culture or maybe he'll blend into it. Sometimes, when they are in between starts, starters will go down and hang out in the bullpen -- but a lot of bullpens don't like that. They'd be like, "This is our territory, you're a starter, get out of here."

As far as game preparation, he's going to have to learn about warming up quickly and thinking about just getting one or two pitches ready.

I closed a few games in my career, and you have to learn to handle the adrenaline that you get when the game is possibly on the line with your very first pitch. It's a different feeling for a starter, who kind of works himself into the game, and if they give up a run, they figure they can pitch around it and be OK over six or seven innings. You don't have that as a reliever. Every pitch is make-or-break. It helps a little bit that Carpenter is a veteran, but it's mainly about having a pitch that batters will swing and miss at.

Kerry Wood has had some success this year. Wood had two pitches, a high fastball and a hard breaking ball. Carpenter, though, is not as much of a strikeout pitcher. Most of the time, closers are guys who can make you swing and miss.

As a starter, you usually can go to a higher gear if needed. For example, I pitched at about 85-90 percent of my ability, knowing that I could change speeds up or down. I didn't throw every pitch as hard as I could. As a reliever, you pretty much can throw hard, as long as you can hit the strike zone.

There is a long-term benefit to all this for Carpenter because he'll learn how to close out his own games. He'll get a better understanding of the pressure in late innings. As a starter, he might only pitch into the ninth inning two or three times a year, but closing he might get that many chances in a week, so he's going to have more to draw on going forward in his career when he'll, presumably, get back to starting games.

TUESDAY'S NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES

GOOD

• Carlos Delgado continues to make his case for NL MVP. Delgado went 3-for-3 with two more home runs in the Mets' 10-8 win over the Nationals.

BAD

• The Red Sox were in position to take over the top spot in AL East, holding a 4-3 lead in the ninth. But closer Jonathan Papelbon could not finish the job, giving up two runs in the top of the ninth as the Rays maintained first place with a 5-4 win.

UGLY

• Kyle Kendrick was pounded by the Marlins. The Phillies' starter gave up six hits, seven runs, two walks and a homer in 1 1/3 innings, providing the Marlins enough of a cushion to hold on for a 10-8 win.

STAT OF THE DAY

According to Inside Edge's scouting data, the league batting average is .296 on pitches in the strike zone, but only .140 on pitches that finish outside the zone. Five pitchers have defied the averages and accumulated an equal or higher BAA on their pitches out of the zone:

Batting avg. against (min. 600 total pitches)
Pitcher	Not in zone	In zone	Total
Troy Percival	.212	.171	.181
Jason Frasor	.233	.195	.205
Steven Shell	.208	.181	.185
Dustin Moseley	.368	.348	.351
Francisco Liriano	.228	.228	.228

FANTASY: PREVIEW OF WEDNESDAY'S GAMES

Sean Allen examines the pitching matchups in store for the 15 games on Wednesday's schedule.

Allen also looks at injuries and details player reports that could help shape the way you put together your roster for Wednesday. Daily Notes