The contract extension of RHP Raphael Betancourt will be one of the keys to the strength of the Tribe pen in the ’08 season. Betancourt lead the American league with 31 holds. That stat alone has turned Betancourt into, arguably, the most dominant setup man in all of baseball. Some Tribe fans argue that with the inconstancy of closer Joe Borowski, that Betancourt should be moved to the closer role. I’d argue against that for several reasons.

1.Borowski lead the AL with 45 saves. While he did blow many  saves and left Tribe fans on pins and needles consistently, he got the job done when he needed to. There is no doubt in my mind that Borowski is the veteran leader of the Tribe bullpen. He has the ability to bounce back from a blown save from the night before and finish off the game the day he is playing. That sort of experience is not something one can learn overnight. Many of my readers have often criticized me for being a Borowski advocate, but why fix a ship that is not broken? It makes no sense.

2.If Borowski falters, the Tribe picked up Masahide Kobayashi this offseason for that reason. He’s been Japan’s most consistent closer in recent years and will hopefully have a smooth transition to MLB.

3.Transitions into the closer role can often be the hardest to make. My example of this is Fausto Carmona in the closer role during the ’06 season. Sure, Carmona was younger than Betancourt, but his example shows what can happen when you move someone to a closer role when they already have a defined role. Carmona is a starter. His record this year proved this to be the case. Betancourt, on the other hand, is a setup man, and in my opinion, the most solid setup man in MLB.