Reed wants to close the deal for White Sox

GLENDALE, Ariz. — You always hear talk about outs in the seventh and eighth inning being just as important as the outs in the ninth.

Technically, that is a true.

In reality, pitching in the ninth is much more stressful, much more difficult.

Bobby Jenks made closing games look rather easy from 2005-10, but he was an exception to the rule.

Jenks was pitching in Boston last season when he was healthy, and the White Sox used four players — Sergio Santos, Chris Sale, Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain — in the key role.

Santos emerged as the clear-cut closer, but he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in the off-season for promising young starter Nestor Molina.

While new manager Robin Ventura and the Sox have been talking about a possibly productive season as training camp moves along, Santos’ replacement remains a big mystery.

Does Thornton get another crack at closing after going 3-for-7 in save tries last year? What about Crain, who blew 6 saves in seven tries?

They are the White Sox’ best closer options at this early stage, but neither veteran is the long-term answer.

Addison Reed is your guy.

“Growing up, I always dreamed of being a closer,” said Reed, the Sox’ No. 1 prospect on every list out there.

As a kid growing up in Southern California, Reed often went to see the Anaheim Angels play. He kept his eye on one player in particular: all-star closer Troy Percival.

“When the music started playing you knew he was coming out,” Reed said. “It was awesome. Everybody standing up. It’s one thing I always remember, and once I saw it, that’s the thing I always wanted to do. Something about that just made me want to be a closer. I never, ever wanted to be a starter.”

After being selected on the third round of the 2010 draft, Reed did make 2 starts for Advanced Rookie Great Falls.

But he moved to the bullpen and continued pitching in relief last season while jumping from Class A Kannapolis to A Winston-Salem to AA Birmingham to AAA Charlotte and finally to the Sox in September.

Reed, 23, was a combined 2-1 with a 1.26 ERA in the minor leagues. The right-hander pitched 7⅓ innings for the White Sox and allowed 3 runs on 10 hits while striking out 12 and walking one.

“Obviously, it makes me more comfortable now,” Reed said. “I’m not walking on egg shells. Last year I was kind of nervous the first couple times I was up and throwing. After I got over those first couple innings, I felt like I was throwing in the minor leagues again.

“The biggest thing that helped me was getting comfortable, getting adjusted to the game. You think it’s different. For some reason, you start thinking it’s a different game. It’s honestly just the same game. Once I realized that, everything seemed to go well.”

Reed has a power arm and nasty slider, and he’s already making a good impression on Ventura.

“You can just tell the way a guy throws, really his presence and the way he feels about himself when he’s out there,” Ventura said. “He’s confident, a live arm and kind of a weird angle, too, so he has a lot of deceptiveness as well as everything else you’d like to have.

“I just like his attitude, his confidence going out there and being able to do a couple of different things.”

Reed has the physical tools to emerge as the White Sox’ new closer at some point this season. Does he have the mental makeup to handle the pressure?

“They always say closers are little different,” said Reed, who led the nation with 20 saves at San Diego State in 2009. “I think that’s for everybody else to judge.

“I think I’m normal, but maybe I’m not. I just like going out there and trying to get the last three outs.”