2019 July Closer Thread

[sleepysock 598]

1 minute ago, JameisofThrones said:

I've said this before, but as nasty as Munoz has been (albeit in a small sample size), I doubt that the Padres would throw a 20-year old kid into the pressure of the closer role with so few MLB innings under his belt, even if he might have the best arm and arsenal for the job. I'd agree on Stammen, as unexciting as that may be.

Well it's not like they're competing this year. But they will in 2020. If he's the guy they're penciling in barring an offseason acquisition, put him in there now and see what he's got. Young or not, some guys thrive in higher-pressure situations. Even if he doesn't initially, he'll be better set up to succeed next year after getting acclimated for 60 games.

[JameisofThrones 99]

1 minute ago, sleepysock said:

Well it's not like they're competing this year. But they will in 2020. If he's the guy they're penciling in barring an offseason acquisition, put him in there now and see what he's got. Young or not, some guys thrive in higher-pressure situations. Even if he doesn't initially, he'll be better set up to succeed next year after getting acclimated for 60 games.

 

Or you could let him dominate in a set-up role and not take the chance of ruining his confidence, then shift him to the ninth when he is ready at some point next year, like the Angels did when they brought up K-Rod so early. Red Sox ruined a guy a bunch of years ago named Craig Hansen by throwing him into the fire too early. If you haven't heard of him, that's the reason why.

[JameisofThrones 99]

Holland blows another. Bradley and Lopez pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth in front of him and Hirano is coming in now to try and cleanup the mess in a tie game. I'd guess Lopez gets the next opp, but any of the three could be candidates.

[miasma16 3,241]

1 hour ago, JameisofThrones said:

I've said this before, but as nasty as Munoz has been (albeit in a small sample size), I doubt that the Padres would throw a 20-year old kid into the pressure of the closer role with so few MLB innings under his belt, even if he might have the best arm and arsenal for the job. I'd agree on Stammen, as unexciting as that may be.

I'd be willing to take my chances.

[pbjfb 717]

Holland is toast

[The 7th Beatles 10,750]

Holland

[B&F 625]

Weird that Holland's surface numbers are all good.  ERA, WHIP, K/9.  

What is going on with him.  Have not seen him pitch.

[pbjfb 717]

8 minutes ago, B&F said:

Weird that Holland's surface numbers are all good.  ERA, WHIP, K/9.  

What is going on with him.  Have not seen him pitch.

Good on the year, but in last month 5.63 era, 1.88 whip, mostly because he can't hit strikes, 8 walks in 8 innings

[FootballFan101 295]

38 minutes ago, pbjfb said:

Holland is toast

 

Holland is garbage, but the one thing he does have going for him is that Luvollo is the most patient manager in baseball with his closers.  Fernando Rodney lasted the whole year with a 4.23 ERA in 2017 and Boxberger lasted until mid-September last year with a 4.39 ERA

[sleepysock 598]

2 hours ago, JameisofThrones said:

 

Or you could let him dominate in a set-up role and not take the chance of ruining his confidence, then shift him to the ninth when he is ready at some point next year, like the Angels did when they brought up K-Rod so early. Red Sox ruined a guy a bunch of years ago named Craig Hansen by throwing him into the fire too early. If you haven't heard of him, that's the reason why.

If that ruined Hansen then he wasn't worth a s--- anyway. I could counter my mentioning someone like Bobby Jenks, thrown into the closing role in the middle of a pennant race. 185.254.246 against in high leverage situations and a very good postseason showing to boot. 

[jb_power 3,326]

I was very high on Colin Poche a few weeks ago and went out and got him on every team via trade or FA if available.  He proceeded to crap all over the mound with some serious ratio destroying outings.  I finally benched him a few days and he proceeds to get his first MLB save tonite ... WTF

 

[JameisofThrones 99]

11 minutes ago, sleepysock said:

If that ruined Hansen then he wasn't worth a s--- anyway. I could counter my mentioning someone like Bobby Jenks, thrown into the closing role in the middle of a pennant race. 185.254.246 against in high leverage situations and a very good postseason showing to boot. 

 

Point taken and I'm sure there are examples on both sides. Jenks was 24 though when he debuted and the White Sox were in a pennant race and didn't have the luxury of easing him in. Munoz is 20 and if the Padres trade Yates they are obviously out of it and can afford to be patient with him. 

[itaos 194]

Leclerc gets the 8th up 5-2 

[dicka24 410]

So it looks like it isn't Leclerc in the closer's role in Texas (yet?).  I'm guessing Martin will get the 9th tonight. I hope Martin and Kelley get dealt.

[dicka24 410]

2 hours ago, JameisofThrones said:

Holland blows another. Bradley and Lopez pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth in front of him and Hirano is coming in now to try and cleanup the mess in a tie game. I'd guess Lopez gets the next opp, but any of the three could be candidates.

 

So is Lopez the consensus "next man up" in Arizona?   Is it a good time to speculatively add him?

[absknicks 2,997]

Yeah, it's Martin. As I suspected. The LeClerc thing kinda took on a life of its own. 

[The Big Bat Theory 6,195]

13 hours ago, murraygd13 said:

Maybe that's how to pitch now. The ball is wound so tight that it springs off the bat. Throwing slower would mean the batter has to generate all the power.  

That is already being done.

11 hours ago, Impeccable said:

The Rays will now be the first to adopt this policy....and it will work....lol

They are not the first.

9 hours ago, B&F said:

In all seriousness I wonder if a team will try this.  

Many pitchers on many teams are trying this.  Change-ups and soft breaking stuff are all the new rage in baseball already as teh stats have proven this is a winning plan against teh tighter yarn.  Like Chris Sale got his mojo back by going heavy slider and only spotting his fastball to keep hitters off balance.  Someone in one of the other threads here quoted some stats on the new normal a week or two ago as pitchers are rushing to adapt to the juiced baseball.

[Baur10 2,012]

18 minutes ago, absknicks said:

Yeah, it's Martin. As I suspected. The LeClerc thing kinda took on a life of its own. 

 

[BostonCajun 1,501]

Any word on how long Kelley is out? I haven’t seen any recent updates on him and am wondering if it’s worth adding Martin. 

[Fuzzy_Slippers 3,663]

3 minutes ago, BostonCajun said:

Any word on how long Kelley is out? I haven’t seen any recent updates on him and am wondering if it’s worth adding Martin. 

I haven't read anything, but I'm guessing he'll be out for at least another two weeks.

[FootballFan101 295]

21 hours ago, dicka24 said:

This may very well be the case (It's proven true to this point certainly), but from my keyboard here, and I'm sure a bunch of others in this forum, I wonder how wise this is for the Rangers.  If you're Texas, the only arm in this trio that that has any long term future with your club is Leclerc.  They signed him to an extension, he's controlled for a number of years,  he has big time strike out stuff, and the team is going nowhere since the allstar break. I'd have to imagine it's in the Rangers best interests to give Leclerc the closers gig and let him figure it out sooner rather than later.  From my ignorant position this would be the path I'd take.  Trade away any reliever/commodity that is expendable and will give a return (Kelley, Martin, etc.), and play the players that can be a part of your future, are your future, or might be a trade asset down the road.   From a logical standpoint I have to imagine that Leclerc gets another shot real soon (unless he pitches like dog poop of course). As we all know though logic doesn't always rule in these cases.  Teams sometimes do strange things.

 

I agree with you, but for fantasy purposes, it doesn't matter whether Woodward's decision-making is smart or not.  LeClerc's been great for 3 full months now.  At this point, I just don't know if there's anything more LeClerc can do to make up for his absolutely atrocious month of April and regain Woodward's confidence as a closer.

Unless Kelley and Martin are both traded or injured, I don't see LeClerc closing again this year.

After winning the first two games in Oakland, the Rangers are now only 4.5 games out of a playoff spot, so it's no guarantee they'll even be sellers at the trade deadline now.  

 

[dicka24 410]

2 hours ago, FootballFan101 said:

 

I agree with you, but for fantasy purposes, it doesn't matter whether Woodward's decision-making is smart or not.  LeClerc's been great for 3 full months now.  At this point, I just don't know if there's anything more LeClerc can do to make up for his absolutely atrocious month of April and regain Woodward's confidence as a closer.

Unless Kelley and Martin are both traded or injured, I don't see LeClerc closing again this year.

After winning the first two games in Oakland, the Rangers are now only 4.5 games out of a playoff spot, so it's no guarantee they'll even be sellers at the trade deadline now.  

 

It's almost as if fantasy sports were designed to drive normal people insane.  🤣   

One very interesting part of the next week+ relates to that last point you made.  A bunch of teams are kinda in reach of a WC spot that were thought to be sellers come the deadline.  It's going to be interesting to see which of them opt to pull the plug and sell off their commodities.  There is no waiver deadline this year (the old August 31st deadline to trade guys who would still be eligible for the playoff roster), so it's sell or don't next week.  This being a closer thread, it muddies the water on which jobs are going to open up now.  I was hoping Leclerc would be the last man standing next week, now he might not be.  Will Smith doesn't look like a mover either.  It could be that fewer jobs open up than we originally thought. 

[Ultraa 39]

You want it to be one way.

There's a reason they have a guy pitch the 8th.

There's a reason the guy pitches the 7th.

Unless a guy is a fireman, there is a legit hierarchy.

 

[Backdoor Slider 7,504]

44 minutes ago, Ultraa said:

You want it to be one way.

There's a reason they have a guy pitch the 8th.

There's a reason the guy pitches the 7th.

Unless a guy is a fireman, there is a legit hierarchy.

 

[JameisofThrones 99]

Diekman to the A's. Doubt he's see any opps there, other than a random situational chance, and I'm still skeptical that Kennedy will move so not sure how much that means, other than maybe the bullpen deal dominoes are starting to fall....