Tracking the Preaux Career of B.J. Ryan

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In the bullpen, closer B.J. Ryan has been outstanding (according to Baseball Prospectus's Relievers Expected Wins Added, only Jon Papelbon has been the better AL pen man this season), but the middle-relief corps leaves much to be desired. Remove Ryan's numbers from the mix, and the Toronto bullpen ERA climbs to 5.64, clearly indicating a weak spot. The source of the story

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TORONTO -- Blue Jays reliever Justin Speier was prepared to answer some questions during the postgame media scrum, when closer B.J. Ryan entered the Toronto clubhouse. The reporters and cameramen immediately headed in Ryan's direction, leaving Speier with a smile on his face. "I don't have to answer any questions this year because B.J.'s in town," joked Speier. Wednesday's 6-3 victory over the Orioles at the Rogers Centre, however, was a game where almost every member of the much-maligned Jays relief corps was a star. Six Toronto pitchers combined for a victory-by-committee over Baltimore, and the bullpen threw seven scoreless innings in relief of spot starter Scott Downs, who allowed two earned runs in two-plus frames. The rest of the story By Mark Polishuk / MLB.com

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He is living up to that big ole lobster sized crawfish contract!

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BJ Ryan pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 18 tries. The rest of the story

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BJ Ryan recorded the final three outs for his 19th save in 20 chances. More on the game

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And some of the sports writers were saying he doesn't deserve this kind of money after only one good year, BOY WERE THEY WRONG!!!!!

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BJ Ryan got the final three outs for his 20th save -and third of the series- in 21 chances

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Only a precious few pitchers have what it takes to consistently nail down the last three outs of a game and earn the title of 'closer' For a closer, a bad memory can be a good thing The setup man was, in turn, set up. Set up for abject failure. Occupational hazard. Until that pivotal game in 2003, Joe Borowski was one of those workhorses of the mound, strictly middle relief, an innings-eater who had bounced around the majors and minors before landing with the pitching-strong Chicago Cubs. By his own count, he would have been manager Dusty Baker's fifth choice out of the bullpen to be a closer, but then he “sort of fell into” the high-pressure role one night. Padres closer Trevor Hoffman. “(Antonio) Alfonseca was hurt and we had three other relievers who'd thrown three straight days, so I get the call,” said Borowski, now with the Florida Marlins. “I realize what I'm about to do and it started getting into my head. By the time I got to the mound, I was OK, but on the way in I could feel the difference between being the guy in the eighth inning and the guy in the ninth.” Borowski got through the ninth just fine. Almost too easily, in retrospect. After making good on eight straight save opportunities, he was mystified why everybody was always making such an all-fired big deal out of closing. “Then I blew one,” Borowski said. “My first thought when I woke up the next morning was, 'You better not blow it again tonight!' So I go out for my next save situation and all I could think was, 'Don't blow it again!' ” Ay. Closer, save thyself. Save yourself the angst of the 25th, 26th and 27th outs. “Those last three outs of a ballgame feel different from any other outs in any other inning,” said Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, closing in on the all-time saves record. “Even when you're at home and you know you have another at-bat, there's that strong sense of finality.” There's an excellent reason those last three outs are saved for last. Because they are, by consensus, the hardest ones to get. It's the same reason the situation is reserved for certain pitchers, why Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne has been considered a more powerful force in the NL West than Barry Bonds, why B.J. Ryan is rewarded with a $55 million contract by the Toronto Blue Jays after only a single season as an effective closer for the Baltimore Orioles. B.J. Ryan was so good in his first season as Orioles closer that the Toronto Blue Jays signed him to a $55 million free-agent deal this past offseason. Ryan is closing the deal for the Jays this season, with 20 saves already. Only the closers, too, are allowed the theatricality of entering games to the tolling of bells or scoreboards announcing “Game Over!” The arrogance. The rest of the story By Chris Jenkins UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER (619) 293-1267 chris.jenkins@uniontrib.com

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BJ Ryan collected his 21st save yesterday with a nifty 1-2-3 ninth against the New York Mets The rest of the story

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The Blue Jays bullpen, worked to the point of near exhaustion a few times already this year, is proving to be a resilient bunch. Over the past nine games, the Jays relief corps has allowed just two earned runs in a total of 222/3 innings for a 0.79 ERA. B.J. Ryan has played a major role in that streak as he has not allowed a run in his past 152/3 innings dating back to May 27. The rest of the story

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BJ Ryan, Toronto Blue Jays — He has an ERA of 0.86, a WHIP of 0.72 and 52 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings

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ARLINGTON, Texas -- There is no denying the earning power of a professional athlete. There is no denying the celebrity of a superstar in any field. But for many pro athletes one thing means more to them than anything -- repsect from their peers. When it comes to American League closers, former Airline High standout B.J. Ryan has that respect. The proof came again when Ryan was selected by the AL players to represent the Toronto Blue Jays in Tuesday's Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Pittsburgh's PNC Park. It was Ryan's second consecutive selection and first after he signed a record five-year, $47 million contract in the offseason. "You're always appreciative of being selected to go out there and play," the hard-throwing, 6-foot-6 left-hander said. "Every year, you work hard and try to do your job and help the team. You get some benefits from it when you play some good baseball." Ryan is playing at a level above good baseball. In a season where closers are blowing saves at an alarmingly high rate, Ryan has been a beacon of stability in the back of the Toronto bullpen. He has converted 24 of his first 25 save opportunities and has allowed only four runs in 42 2-3 innings. His 0.84 ERA is the second-lowest for a closer in the American League, trailing only Boston's Jonathan Papelbon's 0.41. The rest of the story By Jason Pugh jpugh@gannett.com