Heath Bell Pitches to a Different Tune

For the better part of 16 seasons, a ninth-inning lead in San Diego meant listening to Hells Bells while Trevor Hoffman made his way to the mound to close out yet another Padres victory.

That tune has changed. It's Heath Bell's time now. In an exclusive interview, Bell revealed his song of choice: "Blow Me Away" by the group Breaking Benjamin.

"If you actually listen to the song, it works great as a closer song," Bell said from his apartment in Peoria, AZ. "It's talking about how only the strong will survive and I'm here to save us all."

The Padres are counting on Bell to save games just as Hoffman did. But Bell says his style is different.

"I'm not going to be as mellow as Trevor," Bell said. "I'm going to bring a little bit more excitement to the mound cause I kind of ride that roller coaster. I'm kind of almost crazy pitching. I think I'm going to be a little more exciting than Trevor even though he's got almost 600 saves and that's pretty exciting and I'm going to start with like three, because I have two already.

If you think he won't make it, it wouldn't be the first time someone doubted him. He originally signed with the New York Mets organization in 1998 out of an open tryout. His signing bonus: 400 bucks.

Bell worked his way to the majors, but never really fit in with the Mets, and came to San Diego in 2007 where he immediately became a reliable set-up man.

Now he has the most pressure-packed pitching job in baseball: getting the final three outs

"It's kind of make or break because I'm getting an opportunity to do what I want to do which is close," he said. "If I don't do it, I'm 31, I might not get that opportunity again so it's kind of make or break. I like the pressure."

The guy he's replacing has no doubts Bell will step in just fine.

"I think it's a tremendous opportunity for him," said Hoffman, now the closer for the Milwaukee Brewers. "I think he brings a lot of attributes to the role that are needed. (He has) a lot of confidence, throws strikes, great stuff. He's going to do fine in that role."

For most of his 16 years, Hoffman was the undisputed leader of the Padres bullpen while mentoring young pitchers and leading by example. Bell knows he needs to fill that void too.

"One of my major goals, besides saving 30-40 games this year is to rebuild our bullpen," Bell said. "I kind of feel like I'm going to have to mold everybody somewhat. The Padres have always been known for great pitching and a great bullpen and last year we didn't do that, at all. So I really want to get the Padres bullpen back to where it should be and being one of the best bullpens in the National League.