Rafael Soriano, so good as a set-up man in 2007, entered the season as the closer, with Peter Moylan assuming Sori’s role as the 8th inning guy. The rest of the ‘pen was a work in progress, with the Braves gambling on a quartet of hard-throwing right-handers — Jeff Bennett, Blaine Boyer and Manny Acosta — and a pair of veteran southpaws, Will Ohman and Royce Ring.
Not great, but adequate, or so we thought. Within two weeks Soriano and Moylan were on the DL. Moylan’s season was over, and Soriano’s might as well have been. He appeared in just 14 games that year, with three stints on the DL before undergoing shoulder surgery in August.