NEW YORK - Mariano Rivera 32 R and Mike Stanton 35 L and Ramiro Mendoza 30 R and Steve Karsay 30 R

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA RIVERA 1999 NYY 4 3 66 0 0 0 45 69 43 18 52 183 2000 NYY 7 4 66 0 0 0 36 76 58 25 58 285 2001 NYY 4 6 71 0 0 0 50 81 61 12 83 234 STANTON 1999 NYY 2 2 73 1 0 0 0 62 71 18 59 433 2000 NYY 2 3 69 0 0 0 0 68 68 24 75 410 2001 NYY 9 4 76 0 0 0 0 80 80 29 78 258 MENDOZA 1999 NYY 9 9 53 6 0 0 3 124 141 27 80 429 2000 NYY 7 4 14 9 1 1 0 66 66 20 30 425 2001 NYY 8 4 56 2 0 0 6 101 89 23 70 375 KARSAY 1999 CLE 10 2 50 3 0 0 1 79 71 30 68 297 2000 CLE 5 9 72 0 0 0 20 77 79 25 66 376 2001 CLE-ATL 3 5 74 0 0 0 8 88 73 25 83 235       Rivera turned out to be human, after all, much like Bob Gibson in Game Seven in 1968, or Christy Mathewson in 1912.       To this day, I'm not sure if anyone except John Hart understands why he traded Karsay for John Rocker (no, wait, it was worse: it was Karsay and Steve Reed for The Rockhead). Karsay had been one of the best relievers in the league the last three years, and was rewarded after the season with a rich new contract from the Yankees. He will be Rivera's setup man, and we expect him to be performing in October.       Every city has little controversies about players and their roles on a team. Sometimes it's over who should be the DH, or should so-and-so be playing against lefthanders, or who the fifth starter will be. Usually they're insignificant, but fans get themselves into a tizzy about them anyways.       I think it's well known that Mendoza wants to be a starter. He's been auditioning for the role for, what, five years now? He would be a starter for any other team in the league. But Torre likes him in relief, where he is very durable. And with the Yankees, you do what Torre says, and the team wins.

SEATTLE - Kazuhiro Sasaki 34 R and Arthur Rhodes 32 L and Jeff Nelson 35 R and Shigetoshi Hasegawa 34 R

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA SASAKI 2000 SEA 2 5 63 0 0 0 37 63 42 31 78 316 2001 SEA 0 4 69 0 0 0 45 67 48 11 62 324 RHODES 1999 BAL 3 4 43 0 0 0 3 53 43 45 59 543 2000 SEA 5 8 72 0 0 0 0 69 51 29 77 428 2001 SEA 8 0 71 0 0 0 3 68 46 12 83 172 NELSON 1999 NYY 2 1 39 0 0 0 1 30 27 22 35 415 2000 NYY 8 4 73 0 0 0 0 70 44 45 71 245 2001 SEA 4 3 69 0 0 0 4 65 30 44 88 276 HASEGAWA 2000 ANA 10 5 66 0 0 0 9 96 100 38 59 348 2001 ANA 5 6 46 0 0 0 0 56 52 20 41 404       Rhodes reasserted himself last year as the best non-closer in the league. He throws hard, throws strikes; whatever was bothering him in 1999 seems to have disappeared under the tutelage of Lou Pinella.       Nelson seems to wind up in the playoffs every year, either with the Yankees or the Mariners, and that's a good thing because he is a one-of-a-kind pitcher who is fun to watch. His nasty slider was working well last season; Nelson was the only pitcher in baseball to allow a slugging percentage under .200.

OAKLAND - Billy Koch 27 R and Jeffrey Tam 32 R and Jim Mecir 32 R and Mike Magnante 37 L

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA KOCH 1999 TOR 0 5 56 0 0 0 31 64 55 30 57 339 2000 TOR 9 3 68 0 0 0 33 79 78 18 60 263 2001 TOR 2 5 69 0 0 0 36 69 69 33 55 480 TAM 1999 AAA 2 3 32 0 0 0 3 46 47 11 23 253 2000 OAK 3 3 72 0 0 0 3 86 86 23 46 263 2001 OAK 2 4 70 0 0 0 3 75 68 29 44 301 MECIR 1999 TAM 0 1 17 0 0 0 0 21 15 14 15 261 2000 TAM-OAK 10 3 63 0 0 0 5 85 70 36 70 296 2001 OAK 2 8 54 0 0 0 3 63 54 26 61 343 MAGNANTE 2001 OAK 3 1 65 0 0 0 0 55 50 13 23 277       After a pair of terrific seasons, Koch was just awful last year for the Blue Jays. Toronto decided that they wanted to take a chance on Escobar as their closer, and Koch was shipped to Oakland.       I live in Toronto, so I got to see Billy pitch quite a bit, and I wish I could put my finger on his problems in 2001. His 100-mph fastball was straight and hittable, and he couldn't throw his curves for strikes. When he started struggling early in the season, the Blue Jays started monkeying around with his arm angles, but that didn't help.       The fear is that Koch's arm problems are resurfacing, and that may be why the Jays gave up on him. Time will tell, but if it's just a case of rotten mechanics and shaken confidence, then he will be back. He's a fine pitcher with nasty stuff, and will probably have a good season.       Tam spent a long time toiling in the minors, but has been remarkably good the past two seasons for the Athletics.

BOSTON - Ugueth Urbina 28 R and Rich Garces 31 R and Tim Wakefield 36 R and Rolando Arrojo 34 R

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA URBINA 1999 MON 6 6 71 0 0 0 41 76 59 36 100 369 2000 MON 0 1 13 0 0 0 8 13 11 5 22 405 2001 MON-BOS 2 2 64 0 0 0 24 67 58 24 89 365 GARCES 1999 BOS 5 1 30 0 0 0 2 41 25 18 33 155 2000 BOS 8 1 64 0 0 0 1 75 64 23 69 325 2001 BOS 6 1 62 0 0 0 1 67 55 25 51 390 WAKEFIELD 2001 BOS 9 12 45 17 0 0 3 169 156 73 148 390 ARROJO 2001 BOS 5 4 41 9 0 0 5 103 88 35 78 348       Urbina missed most of the 2000 season after having shoulder surgery, but came back last year firing pellets. Urbina will be Boston's ace in 2002; if healthy, he's one of the best and youngest closers in the game.       Garces is a big fat guy who is 19-3 over the past three seasons.

ANAHEIM - Troy Percival 33 R and Al Levine 34 R and Lou Pote 31 R and Dennis Cook 40 L

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA PERCIVAL 1999 ANA 4 6 60 0 0 0 31 57 38 22 58 379 2000 ANA 5 5 54 0 0 0 32 50 42 30 49 450 2001 ANA 4 2 57 0 0 0 39 58 39 18 71 265 LEVINE 1999 ANA 1 1 50 1 0 0 0 85 76 29 37 339 2000 ANA 3 4 51 5 0 0 2 95 98 49 42 387 2001 ANA 8 10 64 1 0 0 2 76 71 28 40 238 POTE 1999 ANA 1 1 20 0 0 0 3 29 23 12 20 215 2000 ANA 1 1 32 1 0 0 1 50 52 17 44 340 2001 ANA 2 0 44 1 0 0 2 87 88 32 66 415 COOK 2001 NYM-PHI 1 1 62 0 0 0 0 46 43 14 38 453       Percival's effectiveness had been worn away by a string of injury-plagued seasons, but he was back in top form last year, and was as good as any closer in the league when he was on the mound. He throws hard, throws strikes, and is intimidating; but he doesn't pitch very often, and his health is always a worry.

CHICAGO - Keith Foulke 29 R and Bob Howry 29 R and Gary Glover 25 R and Matt Ginter 24 R

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA FOULKE 1999 CHW 3 3 67 0 0 0 9 105 72 21 123 222 2000 CHW 3 1 72 0 0 0 34 88 66 22 91 297 2001 CHW 4 9 72 0 0 0 42 81 57 22 75 233 HOWRY 1999 CHW 5 3 69 0 0 0 28 68 58 38 80 359 2000 CHW 2 4 65 0 0 0 7 71 54 29 60 317 2001 CHW 4 5 69 0 0 0 5 79 85 30 64 469 GLOVER 2001 CHW 5 5 46 11 0 0 0 101 98 32 63 493 GINTER 2001 AAA 2 3 22 10 0 0 0 76 62 24 67 259 2001 CHW 1 0 20 0 0 0 0 40 34 14 24 522       Two years ago, Foulke and Howry were battling for the closers job in Chicago. Times have changed; Foulke has established himself as one of the best closers in baseball, while Howry struggled last year, and has lost velocity off his fastball. This could be a great bullpen if Howry can get back what he has lost.       Glover and Ginter are both kids who were starters in the minors, but will probably start the year in the bullpen. Ginter is the better young pitcher, has been in pro ball for only three years but has usually pitched brilliantly. Glover joined the Blue Jays organization when he was 18, it took him an arduous eight years to climb through the minor leagues and get a job in The Show. He's okay, might be a little better than he looked last year.

CLEVELAND - Bob Wickman 33 R and Paul Shuey 32 R and David Riske 25 R and Ricardo Rincon 32 L

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA WICKMAN 1999 MIL 3 8 71 0 0 0 37 74 75 38 60 339 2000 MIL-CLE 3 5 69 0 0 0 30 73 64 32 55 310 2001 CLE 5 0 70 0 0 0 32 68 61 14 66 239 SHUEY 1999 CLE 8 5 72 0 0 0 6 82 68 40 103 372 2000 CLE 4 2 57 0 0 0 0 64 51 30 69 339 2001 CLE 5 3 47 0 0 0 2 54 53 26 70 282 RISKE 2001 AAA 1 2 38 0 0 0 15 53 45 17 72 236 2001 CLE 2 0 26 0 0 0 1 27 20 18 29 198 RINCON 2001 CLE 2 1 67 0 0 0 2 54 44 21 50 283       No one thinks of Wickman as a top-notch closer, but he is. He doesn't have a 95-mph fastball, and may not look like a closer, but he's been one of the best in the business for several years. I'm sure he is glad that John Rocker is out of his hair, so he can concentrate on doing what he does best.

TEXAS - Jeff Zimmerman 30 R and John Rocker 27 L and Todd Van Poppel 30 R and Rudy Seanez 33 R

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA ZIMMERMAN 1999 TEX 9 3 65 0 0 0 3 88 50 23 67 236 2000 TEX 4 5 65 0 0 0 1 70 80 34 74 530 2001 TEX 2 2 66 0 0 0 28 71 48 16 72 240 ROCKER 1999 ATL 4 5 74 0 0 0 38 72 47 37 104 249 2000 ATL 1 2 59 0 0 0 24 53 42 48 77 289 2001 ATL-CLE 5 9 68 0 0 0 23 67 58 41 79 432 VAN POPPEL 2000 CHC 4 5 51 2 0 0 2 86 80 48 77 375 2001 CHC 4 1 59 0 0 0 0 75 63 38 90 252 SEANEZ 2001 ATL-SD 0 2 38 0 0 0 1 36 23 19 41 275       Zimmerman has pitched brilliantly two of the past three seasons, with a stinker in between. Zimmerman took the league by storm in 1999 with his vicious slider; when he began to struggle, the explanation was that the league had figured him out. Maybe, but Zimmerman must have adjusted because he was great last year.       I'm probably rating these guys way too high. Texas pitchers were horrible in 2001, and apart from Zimmerman the relievers were prime offenders. Still, it's hard not to be impressed with job John Hart has done in rebuilding this staff; you can't count on guys like Rocker and Van Poppel, but we know they have the potential to be real good. Jay Powell has also been added to the team.

TORONTO - Kelvim Escobar 26 R and Dan Plesac 40 L and Bob File 25 R and Felix Heredia 27 L

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA ESCOBAR 2001 TOR 6 8 59 11 1 1 0 126 93 42 121 350 PLESAC 2001 TOR 4 5 62 0 0 0 1 45 34 24 68 357 FILE 2001 TOR 5 3 60 0 0 0 0 74 57 29 38 327 HEREDIA 2000 CHC 7 3 74 0 0 0 2 59 46 33 52 476 2001 CHC 2 2 48 0 0 0 0 35 45 16 28 617       Escobar began his career as a closer way back in 1997, when he was 21 years old. A year later he became a setup man, then was moved to the starting rotation and won 14 games in 1999. Last year he was back in the bullpen, and this season he is being counted on to close games. The Blue Jays, finally, seem committed to keeping Escobar in one role. Unfortunately, the reason is that Kelvim's arm tends to go numb if he throws too many pitches, and no one seems to know why. So he'll be limited to one inning per game... he's a fine pitcher, and could do a good job, but I have to be more than a little worried about his health.

DETROIT - Matt Anderson 26 R and Danny Patterson 31 R and Dave Borkowski 25 R and Victor Santos 25 R

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA ANDERSON 1999 DET 2 1 37 0 0 0 0 38 33 35 32 568 2000 DET 3 2 69 0 0 0 1 74 61 45 71 472 2001 DET 3 1 62 0 0 0 22 56 56 18 52 482 PATTERSON 2000 DET 5 1 58 0 0 0 0 57 69 14 29 397 2001 DET 5 4 60 0 0 0 1 65 64 12 27 306 BORKOWSKI 2001 AAA 1 2 18 0 0 0 1 28 22 9 22 354 2001 DET 0 2 15 0 0 0 0 30 30 15 30 637 SANTOS 2001 DET 2 2 33 7 0 0 0 76 62 49 52 330       The Tigers are enthusiastic about Anderson as their closer; he throws 100 mph, and saved 22 games in 24 chances. But before we declare him the next Goose Gossage, remember that Anderson still doesn't appear to have learned how to pitch. He throws very hard, and has improved his control; but he still gives up too many hits to be a successful closer, and his strikeout rates are not exceptional. At the moment, he does not look like he will join the league's elite closers.

KANSAS CITY - Roberto Hernandez 37 R and Jason Grimsley 35 R and Cory Bailey 31 R and Jeff Austin 25 R

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA HERNANDEZ 1999 TAM 2 3 72 0 0 0 43 73 68 33 69 307 2000 TAM 4 7 68 0 0 0 32 73 76 23 61 319 2001 KC 5 6 63 0 0 0 28 68 69 26 46 412 GRIMSLEY 1999 NYY 7 2 55 0 0 0 1 75 66 40 49 360 2000 NYY 3 2 63 4 0 0 1 96 100 42 53 504 2001 KC 1 5 73 0 0 0 0 80 71 28 61 302 BAILEY 2001 KC 1 1 53 0 0 0 0 67 57 33 61 348 AUSTIN 2001 AAA 7 7 28 8 0 0 2 71 89 27 55 688 2001 KC 0 0 21 0 0 0 0 26 27 14 27 554       The top end of the Royals' bullpen is getting old, and there doesn't seem to be anyone ready to step in and take over. Hernandez had a brutal start to the season; he recovered, but appears to be done as an elite closer.       Bailey has bounced around for years, is now with his fourth team. He actually led the league by allowing just a .164 batting average against lefties - too bad he's not left-handed.

TAMPA BAY - Esteban Yan 28 R and Doug Creek 33 L and Jesus Colome 22 R and Victor Zambrano 27 R

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA YAN 2001 TAM 4 6 54 0 0 0 22 62 64 11 64 390 CREEK 2000 TAM 1 3 45 0 0 0 1 61 49 39 73 460 2001 TAM 2 5 68 0 0 0 0 63 51 49 66 431 COLOME 2001 TAM 2 3 30 0 0 0 0 49 37 25 31 333 ZAMBRANO 2001 TAM 6 2 36 0 0 0 2 51 38 18 58 316       Yan led the AL with nine blown saves.       Victor Zambrano led the American League by allowing just a .113 batting average with runners in scoring position.       The best reason to be optimistic about this staff is 22-year-old Jesus Colome, who is already a pretty good pitcher, but will need to improve his control before he becomes a good closer.

BALTIMORE - Buddy Groom 37 L and Willis Roberts 27 R and Jorge Julio 23 R and BJ Ryan 26 L

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA GROOM 1999 OAK 3 2 76 0 0 0 0 46 48 18 32 509 2000 BAL 6 3 70 0 0 0 4 59 63 21 44 485 2001 BAL 1 4 70 0 0 0 11 66 64 9 54 355 ROBERTS 2001 BAL 9 10 46 18 1 0 6 132 142 55 95 491 JULIO 2001 AA-AAA 1 2 46 0 0 0 19 56 44 21 62 307 2001 BAL 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 21 25 9 22 380 RYAN 2001 BAL 2 3 42 0 0 0 0 43 36 31 41 591 2001 BAL 2 4 61 0 0 0 2 53 47 30 54 425       Wedsel "Buddy" Groom opens the year as the Orioles' best option for the closers role. He was pretty solid last year, but he's also 37 years old; in his career, Groom has appeared in 549 games, has thrown 533 innings.       A sharp contrast to Groom is left-hander Ryan, who is huge (6'6" 230lbs) but can't throw strikes. The Orioles would, I'm sure, like to see him emerge as closing material, but I can't see that happening this year.

MINNESOTA - Eddie Guardado 31 L and Mike Jackson 37 R and LaTroy Hawkins 29 R and Bob Wells 35 R

YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA GUARDADO 1999 MIN 2 5 63 0 0 0 2 48 37 25 50 450 2000 MIN 7 4 70 0 0 0 9 62 55 25 52 394 2001 MIN 7 1 67 0 0 0 12 67 47 23 67 351 JACKSON 2001 HOU 5 3 67 0 0 0 4 69 68 22 46 470 HAWKINS 2000 MIN 2 5 66 0 0 0 14 88 85 32 59 339 2001 MIN 1 5 62 0 0 0 28 51 59 39 36 596 WELLS 2000 MIN 0 7 76 0 0 0 10 86 80 15 76 365 2001 MIN 8 5 65 0 0 0 2 69 72 18 49 511       In the end, the biggest reason why the Twins fell short of the playoffs was the disaster that was their bullpen. The LaTroy Hawkins experiment ended in failure, as Hawkins blew up and tied for the AL lead with nine blown saves. The Twins tried to fix the problem by getting Todd Jones, who unfortunately was past his Best Before date.       This year, the Twins have only been able to add 37-year-old ex-closer Mike Jackson to their ranks. Eddie Guardado held right-handers to a .216 average; it might be time to see if he can handle the job.