I'm Glad To See Andrew Bailey Isn't Throwing A Hissy Fit Over Not Being The Closer

We didn't really get to see much of Andrew Bailey last season. He was brought in to fill the big shoes left by beloved closer, and noted Toradol user, Jonathan Papelbon. Bailey went down with a thumb injury in spring training and didn't make an appearance until mid-August when the Red Sox were already trailing significantly for a playoff spot. When Bailey finally did get the opportunity to contribute he was unimpressive. His final stat line for the season:
19 G
W-L 1-1
ERA 7.04
WHIP 1.891

During the offseason, the Red Sox acquired Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan and immediately gave him the closer role that Andrew Bailey probably expected to assume prior to that trade. Across all sports when a player gets a demotion it's typically the beginning of a bitch fest, especially when the player getting the demotion has any high profile achievements on his record (Bailey was a 2-time all-star with the As and won the Rookie of the Year in 2009). I was pleasantly surprised to see Bailey handling the situation with some humility and class, which has been lacking on this Red Sox team lately.

“Ben had given me a little heads up on that and I said, ‘Hey, whatever makes us better.’ I only get to play this game a certain amount of time and I want to win,” Bailey said Wednesday. “All the accolades are great in the role of a closer, but ultimately everyone here wants to win and that’s the goal.”

“I love it here,” he said. “The team we have is a winner, a contender. We do have a deep bullpen. Starters only have to go four or five innings, really. It’ll be fun down there, for sure. Obviously, everyone’s goal as a reliever is to close, and I’ve said this before, I don’t think my closing days are done and I certainly hope they’re not done in Boston. I love the city. I love being here and it’s close to home (Connecticut) for me.”

“I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do last year, or had that opportunity because of the injury,” he said. “I’m excited about this year to come in healthy and show what I can do.”

This was almost a perfect media answer. I think Bill Belichick would be proud. He prioritizes the team's goals above his own ambitions, admits past disappointments and presents a positive outlook going forward by saying that he expects to close again in the future. I haven't been really happy with what Andrew Bailey has done in a Red Sox uniform thus far, but I do feel good about his attitude.