Stark
The Winds of Winter
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2012
- Messages
- 22,103
- Reaction score
- 23,876
- Points
- 135
Closers just come out of nowhere and perform, then fall off a cliff. See Hand. I hated Closers my whole baseball life.
That's why I'd let Wittgren have the next few save opportunities to see what he's got. Outside of guys like Mariano and Hoffman, I really can't think of too many guys that were dominant for multiple years in a row as a closer. They exist, but more often than not, they fizzle out for some reason.
Hell, Edwin Diaz last year for Seattle absolutely lit the world on fire: 57 saves, 1.96 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 124 K in 73.1 IP, 3.2 WAR
This year? One of the worst closers in the business: 25 saves, 5.65 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 86 K in 51 IP, -0.6 WAR
Relievers are so hot and cold, and they really never have a chance to break out of a funk or cool down because they don't throw a ton of innings to regress or ascend to a mean. That's why when you've got a scuffling guy like Hand or a guy like Wittgren who's been pretty good, you need to use them in the their current form, not what you think they can be.. especially when you're clawing for a playoff spot like we are.