Friday Morning Closer

Here’s my three-pitch outing for the day.

Enough Of This ####!

Listen Yankee fans.  I’m sick and tired of hearing about all this #### about A-Rod not being a “true” Yankee, that he’s never going to be accepted unless he comes through in the clutch, that he’ll never be equal to Jeter in ability and talent.

Enough already.

While it’s true that A-Rod seems to be too structured and less the genuine at times, he’s a hell of a lot better than they guy that the Yankee fans keep wanting to reference to, Scott Brosius.

Brosius, who was obtained for Kenny Rogers in 1998 and was seemingly deified in Buster Olney’s book The Last Night Of The Yankee Dynasty, was remarkably mediocre save for his 1996 Season with Oakland (.304, 22 HR, 71 RBIs) and his 1998 season with New York (.300, 19 HRs, 98 RBIs).   Then he turned in a stellar postseason by hitting .383 with four homers and 15 RBIs, capped by a World Series MVP award.  After that, Brosius was remarkably terrible, hitting .254 and averaging about 15 Home Runs and 61 RBI’s. 

Meanwhile, Rodriguez has outperformed Brosius in every sense of the word, hitting .299 while averaging 39 Home Runs and 117 RBI’s.  He’s third among Major League Third Baseman in Home Runs, (34), second in walks (86), 9th in Slugging Percentage (.514), and 9th in Hits (157).  Compare him to the Yankees, and he’s second in Home Runs, Walks, and Slugging Percentage, First in RBI’s, and Third in Hits and On Base Percentage.

But then comes the inevitable argument.

But Brosius was better during the post-season

Oh Really!

Scott Brosius's Post Season Numbers

                                              HR       RBI       BB      SO     BA        OBP      SLG

 12 Postseason Series     8          30           8      46      .245     .278      .418

Alex Rodriguez's Post-Season Numbers

                                            HR         RBI        BB    SO    BA     OBP         SLG 

 8 Postseason Series      6            16      15     28      .305    .393    .534

Santana Closing In On Pitchers Triple Crown

Here’s something that hasn’t been mentioned by many. Johan Santana is rapidly closing in on the Pitchers Triple Crown.  He leads all pitchers with 18 wins, 240 strikeouts, and a 2.79 ERA.  The last time that there was a Pitchers Triple Crown was in 2002 when Randy Johnson did it with 24 wins, 334 strikeouts and a 2.32 ERA.  The last time it happened in the AL was in 1999, when Pedro Matrinez accomplished the feat with 23 wins, 313 strikeouts and a 2.07 ERA.

Red Sox Need A Closer

With Jonathan Papelbon now moving into the rotation, the bullpen is now completely devoid of any impact players that can hold a lead in the 7th, 8th, or 9th inning.  There are still questions as to whether or not this is a wise idea.  Papelbon has been dominant as the closer, but his splitter wears on his arm and he’s had some health problems that create some doubts as to whether or not he can last 200 innings a season.   If Paps is taken out of the bullpen, that leaves the Red Sox with Julian Taverez and Manny Delcarmen, who has managed to survive the first trial by fire that all Boston players go to.  This fills the role of the long reliever and the setup man, but lefty specialist, middle reliever, and closer are all going to need to be filled. While the Red Sox could strike it rich as far as a lefty is concerned, plus bringing Keith Foulke and Mike TImlin back for one more year as a setup men/spot closers, neither is a sure bet to stay healthy or to successfully dominate as a closer. 

So what options are available? As far as existing assets, Boston could use Matt Clement as the closer, seeing as how he’s unmovable and that they have him on the books for another year.  It’s possible that if he limits his innings, he could be able to prolong his effectiveness and not succumb to his tendency to become a batting tee.  But that’s a very dangerous gamble, as at this point, you have no idea what you have with Clement at the moment.  Craig Hansen was drafted to become the eventual closer, and he’s still got that high 90’s fastball with that good breaking ball.  But he’s regressed this season, a fact that I know is a consequence of his rushed development to the big club.

As far as trade options, there was a rumored trade with Texas for Francisco Cordero, but the Rangers didn’t find any options that would have helped them.  I heard this rumor only a couple of times, so it’s possible that this was just a baseless one and not one with any fact.  However, the Sox could trade with Houston for closer Brad Lidge, who that Astros tried to move at the deadline in order to give the job to Dan Wheeler.  But again, there isn’t anything Boston can send back to the Astros in return.  Despite the fact that Lidge has had some control problems, as seen by his high ERA, the Astros aren’t going to give him away.  The Red Sox would have to deal a relatively decent prospect in return, which I’m not so sure they’re willing to do. So that leaves free agency, which isn’t a lock either.

Danys Baez – The former D-Rays closer is 29 and was a hot commodity after converting 41 of 49 save opportunities (83.7%) for the Devil Rays last year with a 2.86 ERA.  He was traded to the Dodgers this year for garbage, but in return was just 9 for 16 after Eric Gagne went down.  He was traded to the Braves and worked ten innings until he needed an appendectomy.  Baez doesn’t blow hitters away and outmaneuvered hitters last season instead of dominating them.  He’s going to want a lot of money, but he’s not worth it.

Octavio Dotel – The former Astros and A’s closer finally returned from Tommy John surgery on August 16th, 14 months later.  The results haven’t been pretty, but this could be attributed to the recovery factor that always follows Tommy John.  He’s mentioned a desire to return to New York, but it’s unlikely, thanks to the emergence of Darrel Rasner.

Joe Borowski – No one expected Borowski to have such success with the Cubs from 2002-03, and his resurgence in 2006 has been equally surprising.  This year, he’s posted a 3.21 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, and 31 saves.  However, he’s older and has some miles on his arm, increasing the risk on signing him. 

Eric Gagne – Gagne was one of the most dangerous closers a few years ago, but a slew of health problems have taken the axe to his career.  Gagne hopes to remain a Dodger, but Scott Boras could convince him to explore the market.   It’s unknown whether or not Gagne still has that 100 mph heater, but if he’s anywhere close to where he was, he could again be a solid closer.  However, Gagne has only pitched 15.3 innings over the last two seasons.  He's a very risky signing, even if his contract is mostly performance based.

Kerry Wood – Wood finally admitted that he might be better off as a reliever last seasoncould surprise as a closer if one of them is willing to give it a shot.  If Wood is able to harness his talents in the bullpen, he could easily rank as one of the most dangerous closers in baseball.  But again, that’s a big if, as Wood has had trouble staying healthy long enough to allow his velocity to come back completely.

As you can see, the Red Sox are in a bind as far as their bullpen goes.  They could offer several of these guys a shot at the job in spring training, and perhaps keep some of them along to deepen the bullpen.  None of these guys will replace what they had in Papelbon, but until Hansen is able to take over the job, Boston has no choice but to put them chips in one of these teetering baskets and hope that it doesn’t fall over.

Zito Not Headed To The Big Apple

This has got to be the last thing Scott Boras wanted to hear.  Multiple newspapers are reporting that both New York teams have minimal interest in Barry Zito.  When the Mets made a run for Roy Oswalt at the trade deadline, they stayed away from Zito, not just for the asking price, but because Zito wasn’t viewed as a number one starter.  Reportedly, the New York Yankees feel the same way and would prefer to sign some lower price, serviceable talent, that would be able to perform well enough for the Yankees to work in top prospects Philip Hughes and Tyler Clippard.  This is the complete opposite of what we were hearing in April and from what was flying around at the deadline.  Boston is also said to be out of it, as they lack the payroll flexibility, plus they have several more needs that need tending to.  Popular speculation is that the Padres and Rangers are now the biggest horses in the race.

San Diego – The Padres are willing to spend the money in this off-season to upgrade the team, but with the pitching staff as solid as it is, the Padres would be better off upgrading some of their other positions, such as catcher and third base.  They could make a run at Zito, who would greatly benefit from a weaker national league lineup, and the spacious outfield of Petco Park.

Texas – If Zito were to sign with the Rangers, Texas would have a lefthanded starter that typically does well in their park, plus can eat up innings and stay relatively healthy.  He’s not an ace, but Zito would at least give the Rangers a solid one two punch with Millwood.  Again, the Rangers would also have to bring back either Vicente Padilla or Adam Eaton (possibly both) for them to take full advantage of their pitching staff.

Seattle – The Mariners would have to unload Adrian Beltre in order for them to be able to pull this off.  They’ll likely sign Jason Schmidt, but they seem more inclined to go after Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is far more dangerous as a starter.  Still, I could see the Mariners entering the bidding if they lose out on the posting price (depending on Boston, Texas, New York, and Los Angeles.)  I still see them as a long shot, though.

Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies could be a player, since they will have some money to play around with and vacancies in the rotation.  They’ll make things interesting, but will likely be outbid.

Chicago Cubs – The Cubs could try to make an offer, seeing as how the lineup is relatively weak behind Carlos Zambrano.  However, it’s unknown what the wind currents at Wrigley will do to a pitcher like Zito, and could sap his effectiveness.  Plus, the Cubs need position players a hell of a lot more than they do pitchers, namely a shortstop WHO CAN HIT, a second baseman, and possibly a catcher if Aramis Ramirez opts out.  It’s very possible that the Cubs would prefer to chase down one of the two big power bats that will be available: Carlos Lee or Alfonso Soriano.

Do I think it’s all a smokescreen?  Of course.  But if the rumors are true, it’s going to get interesting to see how the bidding goes without the two heaviest of hitters joining into the fray.