Valverde, Dempster know how to close the deal

PHOENIX -- Jose Valverde might not be the most well-known closer in the major leagues, but those who have to hit against the Diamondbacks' animated right-hander know why nobody in baseball had more saves this season.

"What makes him so tough? A 96-mph fastball and a split that drops off the table; I mean, it's obvious," said Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa. "And his presence he brings. He's a guy with a lot of energy when he takes the mound who comes right at you."

Valverde was 47-for-54 in save opportunities and figures to be one of the keys in the NLDS against the Cubs that starts tonight.

Both teams have closers who have done the job to get their teams to the playoffs. But in the case of the Cubs' Ryan Dempster, the fans seem to remember the roller-coaster rides he often takes them on before getting the third out instead of the fact he had 28 saves and blew only 3 opportunities.

"Comes with the territory," Dempster said.

This will be Dempster's first taste of the playoffs, and he's not letting himself think about how every move he makes is going to be examined and dissected even more than in the regular season.

"In the playoffs, every inning is like a save opportunity," Dempster said. "There's so much on the line, but you go out there and treat it like you would any other game. There might be more adrenaline, I don't know, because I've never pitched in a playoff game and I'm excited to."

Dempster and Valverde are the final stops in two terrific bullpens. The D'backs have two excellent setup men in Tony Pena and Brandon Lyon, while the Cubs' foursome of Bob Howry, Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood and Scott Eyre have excelled in bringing games to Dempster.

Marmol leads the National League in leaving inherited runners stranded, a critical statistic for setup men.

"We take a lot of pride in our bullpen," Eyre said. "We feel like if it gets to us, that we can win the game. If it gets to us, we feel we can pitch with the best of them."

There is something about the baseball playoffs that puts even more of a spotlight on the bullpen. More games than not are won or lost in those final three innings when the starters usually are long gone.

"I don't think you win series unless your bullpen is on a nice roll," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. "It might be the biggest absolute for success in October."

Dempster refuses to think negatively about how a blown save in the playoffs can affect a closer's career, but it happens to the best of them.

The Yankees' Mariano Rivera, maybe the best closer in postseason history, blew a save opportunity in the ninth inning in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series against Arizona and lost.

And San Diego's Trevor Hoffman, the all-time saves leader, blew a save Saturday that would have clinched a playoff spot for the Padres. Then in Monday's wild-card playoff with Colorado, Hoffman blew another save chance in the 13th inning.

"I feel for anybody in that situation, but that's not helping me getting ready for what I have to do," Dempster said. "It stinks to have to go through that, but I'm only worried about my next game."