Baker hasn't decided who will close with Papelbon out

The Nationals placed right-hander Jonathan Papelbon on the 15-day disabled list and recalled right-hander Matt Belisle from his rehab assignment.

Papelbon has a intercostal strain. Belisle was out with a right calf strain.

Manager Dusty Baker must now decide who will be the closer until Papelbon returns.

"I don't know yet," Baker said. "That's the same question you guys asked me: How are we going to get our bullpen leaving spring training and what roles our guys are going to have? This is similar, except we have a little more background on left/right, who can go consecutive days, who's better with runners inherited, who's better with first-inning efficiency, all this goes into the equation."

Baker made it sound like this will be a situational decision for tonight's game against the Cubs, and possibly going forward, too. Baker said he will work on the closer game plan with pitching coach Mike Maddux.

"Mike and I will put our heads together before the game and try to play out as many scenarios as you can," Baker said. "What if this guy's up? What if this guy's up? Are they going to pinch-hit for this or would it be with a righty, a lefty? You've just got to figure that out, and some of it is as we go and as the scoreboard dictates what we do."

It will not be right-hander Shawn Kelley as the closer, at least for tonight. Baker would like to rest the veteran after he fired 1 2/3 innings in Monday's opening 4-1 win against the Cubs.

Kelley said his preparation for pitching in the ninth inning won't change if he is asked to go in for the save.

"No, not really," Kelley said. "I'm still going to move around and get ready just like I always do, whether the phone rings at 9:15 p.m. or 9:45 p.m., hopefully not like 11 p.m., those four-hour games. I'll be ready to pitch whenever he wants me."

So would your adrenaline get the best of you if you were called in to pitch the ninth?

"No, I don't think so," Kelley said. "I'm a high-intense guy. I try to keep it within instead of wearing on my sleeves sometimes. I feed off the adrenaline, I feed off a crowd in a big situation. It helps me get a little more on my fastball. I embrace it.

"But it's really just the same because a lot of times games are won in the seventh. You come in, the starter comes out with a guy on base or two. A lot of times, that's when you save the game. They're all big situations late."

Papelbon said watching Kelley get those five outs against the Cubs actually allowed him to forget his pending disabled list announcement for a few more minutes. Papelbon believes any one of the seven guys in the bullpen could get the job done.

"It was awesome, man," Papelbon said. "I was kind of a little down in the dumps for being injured, but that picked me up last night. This group of guys we've got in the bullpen, I've got all the confidence in the world. I don't think anything is going to waver or change our confidence and our success as a unit down there."

Regardless of who that pitcher might be, it could very well be a closer by committee until Baker and Maddux find the right guy.

"I don't know, and if you don't know, you don't know," Baker said of the selection of who will be closer. "I'm just trying to answer your questions the best I can, but I really don't know. So all I know is one thing: We'll do the best we can to figure it out. You can count on that."

Does Baker believe Kelley could be a full-time closer? Baker said they are monitoring Kelley's workload.

"I don't know. That's a very good question," Baker said. "It's just that you'd have thought that if he had closer makeup or if he was going to be a closer, it would have been before he got to his fourth or fifth team, No. 1.

"And No. 2, we have to really be guarded because this guy, he had Tommy John in high school and then he had another Tommy John after, so we're very cautious of how he feels, I mean we ask him every day. It's no secret, he went 1 2/3 yesterday, so he's probably not available today, even if he wanted.

"This goes into learning your personnel and goes into ... like at spring training, I told you it takes time to know what we've got and who we have and when to use them."

Newly activated Belisle said the entire bullpen trusts that their manager will make the right decision.

"You've got Dusty, obviously not his first rodeo," Belisle said. "So we look at it as let Dusty make the calls and we'll be ready regardless.

"There's no egos down there. Nobody is concerned about how it's going to work. We just want the ball. Have a lot of faith in Maddux and Dusty to do whatever's best for the team."

Deciding the closer role purely on stuff, left-hander Felipe Rivero and right-hander Blake Treinen appear to be the choices. But it sounds like for now, it will come down to a game-by-game decision.