North Shore Notes
View From The Crow's Nest
By Jim Lachimia

*Maybe there aren't any "lights out" closers anymore. I personally watched the closer for six of the eight teams involved in the postseason this year have a disastrous ninth inning during the first two rounds of the playoffs. The list: Brian Fuentes (Angels), Jonathan Papelbon (Red Sox), Joe Nathan (Twins), Jonathan Broxton (Dodgers), Huston Street (Rockies) and Ryan Franklin (Cardinals). The only two that DIDN'T were Mariano Rivera (Yankees) and Brad Lidge (Phillies) -- and Lidge had a 7.21 ERA and 11 blown saves during the regular season. Even Rivera, 39, doesn't scare teams the way he once did.

*St. Louis went 1-9 in its final 10 regular season games after clinching the N.L. Central title and got swept, three games to none, by Los Angeles in the Division Series. What a terrible ending for a team that had an excellent season. That led to manager Tony La Russa doing his Brett Favre impersonation again. At the end of the past two seasons now, he's stated that he didn't know if he wanted to come back. Of course he wants to come back. Managing is what he is and who he is. And he's one of the best there's ever been at it. Plus the Cardinals have a very good team. So why wouldn't he come back?

*Pedro Alvarez, the Pirates 2009 Minor League Player of the Year, has a much higher ceiling than others who have captured the honor -- except for maybe Andrew McCutchen. Here's the list (the award was established in 2000): J.R. House (2000), Humberto Cota (2001), Walter Young (2002), Chris Shelton (2003), Brad Eldred (2004), Jose Bautista (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2006), Steve Pearce (2007) and Jim Negrych (2008). The award doesn't always indicate success in the majors is imminent, but it's not crazy to think the powerful Alvarez could end up as Pittsburgh's third baseman at some point in 2010.

*Delwyn Young didn't seem like the most well conditioned athlete in the clubhouse when he arrived here from the Dodgers back in April. Then all of those afternoons in the blazing sun doing "extra work" trying to get the feel for second base again caught up with him and he ran out of steam during the final month or so of the season. But don't let his September swoon fool you. That guy can hit -- and will hit.

*In Case You Missed It: Adam LaRoche hit seventh in the Braves' line-up most of the time, which speaks to its depth. He batted .325 in 57 games for Atlanta after posting a .247 mark in 87 games with the Pirates. His home run (12) and RBI (40) numbers were exactly the same with the two clubs, however. … Josh Wilson started nearly as many games at shortstop for the Mariners (30) as Jack Wilson (31) did. And Josh hit 70 points higher (.294 compared to .224) and committed fewer errors (two compared to five). Jack spoke publicly about switching leagues being more difficult than he anticipated -- at the plate and in the field... In selecting his starting pitcher for the opening game of the postseason-Game 1 of the Division Series against Colorado-Phillies manager Charlie Manuel got to pick between Cliff Lee (the defending A.L. Cy Young Award winner) and Cole Hamels (the MVP of the NLCS and the World Series in 2008). Must be nice… Tampa Bay fired hitting coach Steve Henderson after a season in which the Rays set team records for home runs, runs scored, on-base percentage and walks. The club's need to improve its situational hitting was said to be the reason he was let go. Tampa Bay won 13 fewer games this year than it did last year (84 compared to 97) in failing to successfully defend its A.L. championship.