Chris Whitfield: For Boggs, the job is still the job

He knows his role, and no matter if there are three outs in the ninth or three outs in the seventh, as a general rule, his job is to get three outs.

That has summed up the past few weeks for Dalton native and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Mitchell Boggs. For a little more than a week, Boggs appeared to be the anointed closer of manager Tony La Russa after Ryan Franklin, last year’s close, started off the season in something more than a funk after converting 27 of 29 save opportunities in 2010.

Boggs had recorded three saves as the first cog in what has turned out to be a closer-by-committee concoction of La Russa’s, and it’s working. Boggs blew his first save attempt of the year allowing a pair of runs earlier in the week at Houston, and that’s when the carousel began. Four different players have accounted for five saves in the last six games, runs have been scarce for the opposition, and only once in all of Boggs’ appearances this year have the other guys scored.

So no matter what role he is filling, the bullpen and Boggs are doing a stellar job, and that is all he cares about.

“I have kind of taken the attitude of coming in with the same attitude all year,” said Boggs, a former Catamount and Georgia Bulldog, before the Cardinals took a 3-2 win over the Braves on Saturday at Turner Field. “I’ve had some opportunities and saved a few games and then blew one the other day. It all comes around. No matter if I am coming into the game in the sixth inning or the ninth inning, my job is the same — get people out.”

That formula surely is working. Saturday at Turner Field against the Braves, Boggs was called on in the seventh with his team trailing 2-0. Pop out, fly out, ground out. 1-2-3.

That’s his job. He knows. He understands that the closer’s role is a little sexier, a little more pressure-packed, but it’s OK. He thinks he can handle just about any situation.

“It is a little different attitude and people make a big deal of the ninth inning, but I am at a point in my career that I have to do whatever is ahead of me at that particular moment,” Boggs said. “They are the same situations, and you have to treat them like every other situation. You try not to put any added pressure on yourself.

“You just try to stay within yourself. In the ninth inning it can turn on you fast. You have to stay within yourself and have the mentality of focusing on every sign and every pitch and do even better on the next one.”

La Russa has seen the change as well, and Boggs has become more and more a part of the Cardinals’ plans. In his first two seasons in the majors, he was 5-5 with 15 starts in 24 appearances in the latter part of the schedule. Last year he was involved in 61 games in his first complete season in St. Louis, with opponents batting .243 against him.

Through one complete month of this season, he’s 0-1 with three saves. The opposition is hitting .189 and his ERA is a paltry 1.84 for 14 2/3 innings pitched.

“Mitchell is a really competitive guy and aggressive, and he is finding that right balance of ready to go, but not too ready,” La Russa said. “When he gets it right, he is outstanding. He will get better.”

There has been little to complain about through the first month of the season, and the Cardinals have benefited as well. Their record is five games above .500, and they hold a two-game lead in the division.

Even though it’s early in the season, the Cardinals are hitting a stride, and the relief pitching has been a big part of that — led by Boggs.

“They all understand now that we have a strong group of deep right-handers in the bullpen,” La Russa said. “Their goal is to be ready. I think that Mitchell is a little impatient on himself at times, but he is getting better and will be better as he goes.”

That is the goal of the 27-year-old Boggs and the rest of the pen.

“We all know what is expected from us. We all know that our job is to show up every single day and give ourselves the best chance to win,” Boggs said. “Each guy knows what is expected, and it doesn’t matter if it is the seventh, the eighth or the ninth. Our job is to get people out and help us win games. I think that our relievers are one of the biggest strengths of the team.”

One of Boggs’ biggest strengths this year has been his maturity. He has spent part of four seasons in the big leagues, and last year was his first full season. The experience is showing. Even Boggs notices the difference.

“For young guys coming up, you feel like you have to be perfect, and then you aren’t even close,” he said. “It’s a wake-up call. It is hard to realize that you are good enough or you wouldn’t be here to begin with. I am at a point where I feel like I can compete with anyone. I feel like I am good enough and it makes all the difference in the world.

“Nobody has higher expectations of me than myself. I certainly feel like I have the opportunity to be a very good major league pitcher. I think it all depends on how hard you work and take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to you.”

So far, so good this season.

Boggs still lives in Dalton with his wife and childhood sweetheart, LeLe, and the couple recently bought a house in town. Boggs even planned to sleep in his own bed Saturday night, then drive back to Atlanta this morning for the finale in this three-game series. St. Louis doesn’t return to Atlanta for the rest of the year, but the trip back to Georgia is always a special one.

“It means a lot. I wish we had a four-game series with an off day in the middle,” he said. “(Turner Field) means a lot to me. I used to come to games here as a kid, and it is a special place. I was here when the Braves won the World Series against Cleveland. To be able to spend some time with my family and a lot of my friends, it is a spirit-redeeming trip for me. It really means a lot.”

It also helps that he is playing at the top of his game against the top competition, seemingly with an adaptability to whatever situation he might find himself in. That seems to be the biggest difference of all from his first opportunities in the bigs.

“I feel like I am at a point where I have an opportunity to make a role for myself and fit in here with this club,” Boggs said. “You have to prove that you are capable of being a big leaguer. I feel like I am at that point.”

Chris Whitfield is a sports writer for The Daily Citizen. You can write to him at chriswhitfield@daltoncitizen.com.

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