Re: Bret Cecil as Closer
To say you don’t need a pitcher that can be cool under pressure for the 9th inning is dumb. The closer role in baseball isn’t determined by talent really, it’s the guy who can pitch with ice in his veins. With 1minute left in a hockey game and up by 1, the flyers don’t put out Voracek. It’s based on attributes, not talent level. Mind games play a lot, and to have a pitcher who can come into a pressure situation and have it not affect his throws is key. Maybe not for the top teams who constantly win, but for the borderline playoff teams that know 2 or 3 games can make or break the playoffs.
Jansen lost his confidence and pitched like crap after the all-star game. Blame his food poisoning, but his confidence was lowered. The Closer role may not matter, but pitching in the clutch does, and clutch/pressure moments happen more in the 9th than in the 6th.
12 Team, H2H, Keep 6 (in Bold)
G, A, Pts, PPP, FW, SOG, Hits, Blocks
W, Saves, S%, GAA, Game Started
2C, 2LW, 2RW, 4D, 1Util, 2G, 5BN, 2IR, 1IR+, 1NA
C: Horvat, Trocheck
LW: J. Robertson, Byfield (C), Guenther
RW: Pavelski (C), Giroux (C), Svechnikov (LW)
D: Fox, Makar, Bouchard, Morrissey, Gudas
Util: Meier (LW, RW)
G: Oettinger, Georgiev, Samsonov, Woll