Oww Oww Uehara
Contributing Writer
New closer, Koji Uehara, proves to be the right choice by manager John Farrell in his first opportunity to close today against the Rockies. Uehara closed out Boston's 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies with a perfect 9th inning including two strikeouts.
Koji looked extremely comfortable as the closer for the Sox which wouldn't surprise many since he has been that way out of the bullpen all season long. Farrell and pitching coach Juan Nieves plan to be careful with his workload but with the way he has pitched all season there's no reason to believe he won't be successful as their closer. Over 31 innings this year, Uehara has a 44/7 K/BB ratio to go along with a 2.03 ERA.
Fellow Japanese reliever, Junichi Tazawa, seemed to be the only threat in taking save opportunities from Oww Oww Uehara, but after giving up a solo shot in the 8th today Koji's spot looks safe. Boston needs/wants consistency in their closer, which is why Andrew Bailey lost his spot in the first place. Confidence in Koji going forward should be high for Sox fans as he continues to get the job done in whatever situation they put him in. Plus it's a blast watching him close out an inning an high-five the hell out of everyone. Keep it up Uehara you'll have Oww Oww Uehara t-shirts out in no time.
