Memo to Bob Geren from Lou Piniella
Posted By Jeff Fletcher on March 23, 2009 12:57 pm
Bob Geren’s plan this season is to have Brad Ziegler and Joey Devine share the closer job, with the decision each day coming down to matchups, who’s hot, etc.
For what it’s worth, Lou Piniella wouldn’t advise that.
The Cubs manager is having his own closer battle in camp this spring. He is expected to decide this week between Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg. Before today’s Cubs-A’s game, I asked Piniella why the two couldn’t share the job? (I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him say it.)
“That just hasn’t worked in baseball with a particular team,” Piniella said. “If you have a lefty and a righty who were dominant from each side, you might look at it differently. I think it works well for everyone to have a role and know their role.”
Now, some of you can talk till you are blue in the face about how, statistically, it makes more sense to look at the situation on a game-by-game, inning-by-inning basis and use the pitcher that best fits that situation. That works fine if you are playing Strat-O-Matic. However, as long as we are dealing in the real world with real people, I’m going to listen to a guy who has been doing this for about 20 years.
This isn’t a matter of blindly following The Book. Baseball people will do whatever works. Period.
Closer committees don’t work.
Didn’t Piniella have success with three closers, The Nasty Boys, in Cincinnati?
Piniella referred to that team. He said Myers was his closer. The other guys only got saves when Myers was unavailable. Myers had 31 saves. Dibble had 11 and Charlton had 2.
I agree committees don’t work. I think they have to go in naming Devine the closer, and use Ziggy in those situations where Devine is unavailable.
Technically still a committee but the psychological aspect of knowing who your closer is seems to make the difference.
I’m not sure Ziegler can consistently retire lefties enough to be anything more than a situational closer, anyway. LH hitters put up an OPS more than 300 points higher than RH hitters vs. Ziggy. His K/BB ratio wasn’t all that impressive, either. A ginormous regression in ‘09 would not surprise me in the least.
With our rotation in such disarray, there will be so few save opportunities that the closer won’t matter. Under .500 in 2009, I’m afraid. This year we will lose games 10-6 instead of last year’s 2-1.
Ziegler should be the closer till he loses the job based on performance, which hasn’t happened. Devine’s constant nagging injuries mean Ziegler will most likely be the closer for much of the season any ways… might as well make him the guy till Devine forces Geren to change his role.
*RS:
Don’t worry… the defense is still one of the best units in baseball. The pitchers’ dead arms won’t last… this happens same time, every year. The rotation will be fine….