ESPN's Erin Andrews reported earlier today that the Boston Red Sox have made the decision to once again use second-year pitcher Jonathan Papelbon as the team's closer, the role that made him an All-Star and Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2006.

Papelbon rarely worked out of the bullpen during three years in Boston's minor league system, starting 48 of the 58 games in which he appeared. His big-league experience has been the complete opposite, however, with 73 relief appearances in 76 games, including 59 last year as the most consistently dominating closer in the league. He racked up 35 saves and a 0.92 ERA before shutting it down on September 1 with a sore shoulder (the sight of Papelbon walking off the mound and clutching at his shoulder almost literally sucked the air out of New England), an injury that helped convince the Sox that a spot in the starting rotation would allow him to reach his greatest potential.

As a Red Sox fan, I like this idea, provided at least a couple things fall into place:

• Manager Terry Francona needs to take it easy on the use of Papelbon. 58 appearances before September 1st was too much for a rookie pitcher. I read somewhere that he won't be used three days in a row or when he feels tired, which is all well and good if it actually happens. But what if that third day comes in the middle of a crucial Sox-Yankees series, or at the end of a seven appearances in ten days stretch where he refuses to admit how fatigued he really is? Francona needs to be able to resist the urge to cave to the pressure of the first situation and read Papelbon's mind in the second.
• The starting rotation needs to pan out. On paper, the Sox have a potentially great rotation that features Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield and Julian Tavarez. Key word, "potentially". Every one of those five names carries a valid question mark that can only be addressed once the regular season games actually start. Can Schilling continue to be the ace of the staff at the age of forty? Can Beckett rebound from a rough 2006 season (16-11, 5.01 ERA), or was that the Real Josh? Will Kaibutsu's success in Japan translate to success in the States? Will Wakefield be able to start thirty games without breaking down? Which Tavarez will we get: the one who sucked in the bullpen for most of the season or the one who pitched well in several spot starts down the stretch? Yeah - lots of questions, not a lot of answers at this point.

If Francona uses his closer wisely, the rotation handles its end of things and Papelbon performs at close to his 2006 level, the Red Sox will have a weapon that only a few major league teams can boast: a legitimate shut-down closer who throws hard and intimidates opposing teams just by entering the game. (Rodriguez, Hoffman, Wagner, Ryan, Nathan, Rivera - anyone else?

If not...there's always Kyle Snyder.