Red Sox: Will Tanner Houck mirror Jonathan Papelbon?

I am all in on Tanner Houck being the Red Sox closer

How does the time fly by for this Boston Red Sox fan? Was it last weekend that a towering, right-handed Jonathan Papelbon strutted in from the bullpen to close another game? Papelbon was something special, unique, in that every increasing role of pitching importance – the closer.

Papelbon picked up 229 saves spread over seven years in Boston before heading into the free agency swamp and signing a lucrative contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. As a side note, the Phillies eventually traded a declining Papelbon to Washington for Nick Pivetta.

The pathway to Boston was not paved with saves but starts. Papelbon was a rotation pitcher and a good one in the minors. When Papelbon journeyed to the big club in 2005, it was the typical mixed bag of pitching for a young hurler, but the necessity and internal decision-making said: “bullpen closer.”

How smart was that? In 2006, Papelbon was an All-Star and would be for three more seasons. That first season his performance was borderline historical, using a solid heater (95+ MPH) and a nasty slider mixed in with an intimidating stare. Papelbon pitched to a 0.92 ERA and 2.14 FIP.

As with all closers, there are ecstatic moments and classic meltdowns, and Papelbon had both, but the body of work made him one of the premier closers in the game.

Tanner Houck is now on the same path as Papelbon. A physical clone who matches up in size and with a similar heater and slider. Houck, like Papelbon, was pictured as a starter, but now that may change with Houck becoming the apparent closer.

This can be a painful process, as it was in a Friday night game against the Cardinals when Houck was called upon and almost gave it up. Papelbon made us feel the pain in a far more crucial situation against the Angels in 2009, wiping out playoff hopes and completing a disastrous September for the team. That was Papelbon’s third blown save of the season.

Closer is the pitching version of the designated hitter. Not everyone can do it, and those that can are rewarded with rightfully deserved riches. Sometimes, the greatest stuff in the world can not erase the butterflies and knocking together knees. With closers, it is both the mental and the physical game.

Papelbon had the right stuff, and now the Red Sox will have to find out if Houck does. Matt Barnes did not. Now manager Alex Cora is potentially tossing away the season on a novice closer or making a move that will resonate on the positive for years.

BSI’s Brendan Mizgala recently covered potential options for a closer. The list has Houck included, among other possible candidates. For me, this is all Houck at this point.

Houck has negative tendencies; for me, it is fundamental – control seems to vanish. But this season, the small sample in save situations (2.1 IP) shows no walks. There are four whiffs, and that Cardinals game was closed with one. So my fears may slowly be mitigated as Houck takes the hill in crucial situations.

Just how long will Cora go with Houck? We will see this as the season moves forward and the high leverage situations appear. Houck – like Papelbon – can be a multi-inning closer, and if this move works out as a positive, then Houck can be a deadly option in crucial late-season games.

The following months will be interesting, especially if Cora concludes that Houck is his number one closer option. There will be moments when fan emotions will take place after a meltdown – there always are – but right now, it appears the job is Houck’s to lose.

Maybe Houck could also follow the path of Red Sox closer turned starter Derek Lowe? Lowe went from relief to rotation and had a 21-win season for Boston, but that is a story for another time. I am all in on Houck closing.