Grant Balfour is a fastball pitcher, make no bones about it. When he enters the game from the bullpen, opposing hitters can expect to see the old No. 1 on most pitches. When Balfour arrived for good with the Rays in 2008, his heaters would touch 97 mph, a fact pitching coach Jim Hickey attributed to Balfour having his mechanics in perfect order. Balfour went 6-2 with a 1.54 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings in 2008, while walking just 24. He experienced a lull in '09 that saw him go 5-4 with a 4.81 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings, with 33 walks. http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/a...=12606160&vkey=notebook_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb
