Closer issue open for debate

We do not have to quote him on being squeezed by plate umpire Larry Young, or bail him out by saying Mark Bellhorn should have tagged out Jody Gerut at second after a perfect throw from Manny Ramírez on his one-out double in the ninth inning last night.

No, we don't have to sugarcoat anything.

Keith Foulke stood at his locker following a 12-8 loss to the Cleveland Indians and took the hit after Travis Hafner hit a grand slam that broke an 8-8 tie. His performance spoke for itself, but he still spoke for himself afterward.

And while there weren't many players lingering in the Sox clubhouse after the game, one teammate stood by him.

''He knows how hard we fought in tonight's game," said Johnny Damon. ''Whatever he did, it's forgiven by us. He knows there's give and take and this team is built on togetherness."

It was apparently not forgiven by Sox fans who booed Foulke off the mound in what has been a most adventurous season for the Sox closer. The packed house was angry and they let Foulke know it.

''Of course I heard it," Foulke snapped. ''And I'm not inviting them to my World Series celebration, either. They have all the right. They can boo, they can cuss me and tell me I [stink]. Go ahead. If they don't want me to do the job, tell them to tell management. I've done a lot of good for this team but, you know, let them boo."

Asked whether it bothers him when people boo, he said with a grin, ''Does it look like it bothers me? You've been around here long enough. You think I like talking like this? It has nothing to do with the fans. They pay their money, they can boo. They pay me to do my job and I didn't do it. Is it going to keep me from coming to the ballpark tomorrow? No, they have all the right to boo. They can do whatever they want.

''They're not going to make it any harder than it is for me to go home and look in the mirror. Like I've told you guys plenty of times, I'm more embarrassed to walk into this locker room and look at the faces of my teammates than I am to walk out and see Johnny from Burger King booing me. I'm worried about these guys, not everybody else."

There's no doubting what Foulke has done -- his tremendous postseason helped lead the Red Sox to their first World Series win in 86 years. Many believed Foulke was the World Series MVP. The New York chapter of the Baseball Writers of America honored him as such at their dinner this winter, even though Manny Ramírez won the actual honor.

But in this what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world, Foulke hasn't done much except give the Sox reason to at least search for another guy who can close games.

Forget A.J. Burnett and Jason Schmidt. What the Sox need is a guy who can get the final three outs without an adventure. The Sox are not unique in having bullpen concerns, but when you're the defending world champions, and you fight back from a 4-1 hole to take an 8-5 lead, you've got to know your guy can hold it. And he could not.

Foulke has an 11.00 ERA is save situations in 2005 -- in 18 innings, he's allowed 29 hits, 22 earned runs, 6 walks, and struck out 12. In non-save situations he has a 1.40 ERA in 19 1/3 innings. That's not a juxtaposition you want from your closer.

''I didn't pitch well tonight," he said. ''I ain't making excuses, I ain't talking about all the other b.s., I just did not throw the ball well."

Foulke hasn't endeared himself to anyone this season. He refused to talk about why he went to Birmingham, Ala., to work on his mechanics at Dr. James Andrews's institute, and continued to insist he went there to eat barbecue. He's also made comments about doing his weekly radio show on WEEI only because he gets a free truck and how he'd talk more if we all gave him a free truck.

Last night he had plenty to say but no real answers to questions such as why he threw an 0-2 pitch down the middle to Hafner.

''Why? It happens. I don't know. If I knew, I would correct it. I wouldn't keep throwing the ball down the pipe and letting it get hammered," Foulke said.

Foulke was asked to get five outs, a workload he normally likes. But on a hot, humid night, Cleveland made him work and Foulke looked fatigued.

''I said I wasn't as fresh on the last pitch as I was on the first pitch. I didn't say I was gassed," Foulke said.

''I was trying to strike [Hafner] out. Pop up, groundball to somebody, I was trying to get him out. There's always a specific spot. Every pitch I throw, I want it to be in a certain location. Needless to say, it wasn't where I wanted it to be.

''I don't want to talk about the umpire. He does his job and I have to do mine, that's all there is to it."