The clean-up crew was good enough this year to merit an A- in my report card. The depth was lacking last season, but this season’s options made all the difference on what was one of the finest pens in the game. Jonathan Papelbon was lights out in the regular season (ignore the playoffs for the purposes of this piece), but offseason pickups Ramon Ramirez and Takashi Saito and late season acquisition Billy Wagner were major factors for this team.

Beginning with the ninth, Papelbon was among the majors best closers, converting 38 of 41 chances with a 1.85 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 10.06 K/9. He is as dominant as you would want a closer to be, keeps guys off base most of the time, and can get outs without putting the ball in play. Terry Francona is unafraid to use him for more than one inning, a luxury some teams do not have or are fearful of attempting.

Billy Wagner balked at leaving New York for Boston because he wanted to go to a place he could...