Francona leaves his closer options open

USA TODAY, July, 2008 by Tom Pedulla

NEW YORK -- American League manager Terry Francona may be in a no-win position in one sense if his team enters the ninth inning with a lead against the National League in tonight's All-Star Game.

Francona can salute Mariano Rivera, perhaps the greatest closer of all time, by giving the New York Yankees reliever the opportunity to record the last out of the final midsummer classic played at Yankee Stadium.

Or the Boston Red Sox manager can hand the ball to Jonathan Papelbon, one of his own and the closer for the reigning World Series champions.

Not surprisingly, Francona is keeping his options open.

"We'll wait," he said during Monday's news conference. "Out of the spirit of the game, competition, having a little bit of fun, we're not going to announce the rest of the rotation yet."

Rivera and Papelbon sounded more like lobbyists than ...