"There's nothing more volatile for a team than an unsettled closer situation. It can make or break you, especially if you're a contending team. Which is why the Jonathan Papelbon situation is so pins-and-needles for a Red Sox team that has so much to look forward to — but so much to lose if Papelbon is a bust in his contract year.

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon has said there's nothing worse than the deflating feeling a bad bullpen can give your team. You could have terrific starting pitching and a dynamite lineup, but if the closer comes in and gives up the lead, it's an awful feeling that can linger and bring the entire team down.

And as we sit here with just a couple of weeks before the start of the season, the Sox have no idea how this is going to go. Not that you ever really know for sure. But Papelbon has given nobody reason to think this is going to be a comfortable ride. If he can't do it, Daniel Bard can, but then Papelbon would have to be a setup man, and how would he react to that?"