Strong 'pens written with youthful exuberance

In this day and age in baseball, when the complete game is almost non-existent, the teams built to last are the ones with strong bullpens. Generally, that entails steady middle relief, complemented by a 1-2 punch of a setup man and closer to finish out games. A prime example for the 2007 season would be the Boston Red Sox, who knew they had a strength in their middle relief and in closer Jonathan Papelbon but truly hit the jackpot by lucking out on Japanese-import-turned-setup man Hideki Okajima. Okajima is 31 but technically a Major League rookie, while Papelbon is 26. In looking back at recent successful teams, the key seems to have been a strong yet young bullpen. Last year's World Series featured a pair of teams carried by tremendous bullpens. The Tigers were sparked by flame-throwing then-21-year-old Joel Zumaya, while the Cardinals found a gem in interim closer Adam Wainwright, 25. This year's Yankees seemed to have taken a similar path, promoting youngsters Joba Chamberlain (21) and Edwar Ramirez (26) to set up games for aging closer Mariano Rivera. Chamberlain has taken fans aback with his 98-mph heater and devastating slider, and the Yankees suddenly have a much stronger bullpen to help bolster their postseason hopes.
This is in no way to say that veteran relievers are out of style. But the last several years have been an indicator that it never hurts to have fresh young arms in your bullpen to take some of the heat off of the older guys during the stretch run. Francisco Rodriguez, a.k.a. "K-Rod" started something of a trend by taking the league by storm after a September call-up by the Angels in 2002. Rodriguez became Troy Percival's primary setup man as the Angels won their first ever World Series title. He has since emerged into one of the game's premier closers. Dating back even further, it is a similar path the Yankees went down with Rivera, who started out as a 26-year old setup man for John Wetteland during the Yankees' 1996 championship season. When Wettleland departed for Texas as a free agent in 1997, Rivera took over as the closer, and has evolved into a Hall Of Fame-caliber pitcher.
It may not be out with the old, but it's certainly in with the new.