"Heath Bell didn't bother with the "VIP Tour" that the Marlins gave to Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and C.J. Wilson — the other high-profile free agents the team has wined and dined in an effort to lure them to South Florida.

No lunch at Joe's Stone Crab. No inside tour of the new ballpark with the owner himself, Jeffrey Loria, as his personal escort. None of that, at least not before he decided to become a Marlin.

"I'm kind of an old-school kind of guy," Bell explained Monday after he was formally introduced as the Marlins' new closer. "I don't need to be wined and dined. The media buzz and all that? Other guys can do that. I just want the ball. Give me the ball and let's go play.""