Bret Cecil as Closer

[TheNugeCooge]

There's a difference when you are tasked to come into the 9th inning and protect the lead. You are the guy expected to shut it down. Unlike a middle reliever who can afford to give up a run or two because you still have more opportunities for your offense to bail you out.

I am sure if you asked any major league pitcher, he will tell you the hardest outs to get are the last three. You have a special guy for that reason and you can't expect just anyone to go in there and do that job. Some guys just aren't cut out to do it.

Every pitcher is expected to get outs, some just do it better when the game is on the line, and some don't.

The closer role is something that was artificially made up by managers and agents since saves started being tracked as a statistic. If you want to compare it to a position in hockey, the closer role resembles the guy who shoots third in the modern day NHL shootout. Yes, technically speaking the game is on the line when he makes his attempt but the results of the other two shooters matter just as much as the third guy.

[Axeman33]

I just think it's not something any ole pitcher can do. Sure they are all there to get outs, but I do believe some guys are a better fit to close games, and some are better to start. The middle relievers are somewhere in the middle.

No one starts out pitching as a closer, per say. Some just find their niche doing it and some are very good at it. Some of them don't want anything to do with it because of the pressure.

[TheNugeCooge]

I just think it's not something any ole pitcher can do. Sure they are all there to get outs, but I do believe some guys are a better fit to close games, and some are better to start. The middle relievers are somewhere in the middle.

No one starts out pitching as a closer, per say. Some just find their niche doing it and some are very good at it. Some of them don't want anything to do with it because of the pressure.

I get where you`re coming from and yes to a certain extent some people lack the gusto to succeed under `pressure`. I`m just saying it`s flawed thinking to believe that there is any more pressure on you in the ninth inning compared to the seventh. As we saw on Opening Day (a la Mat Latos) a pitcher can lose a game in the first inning just as easily as a guy in the last one.

[The Black Panther]

Aaron Gleeman Apr 9, 2015, 5:10 PM EDT15 Comments


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Brett Cecil has made just one appearance since being named Toronto’s closer, but that was enough to convince the Blue Jays that he’s not the right man for the job.


Cecil has been stripped of ninth-inning duties after a blown save Thursday against the Yankees in which he retired just one of the four batters he faced while throwing in the high-80s. Cecil had an abbreviated spring training thanks to shoulder issues and manager John Gibbons told reporters that the left-hander “is not sharp.”


Cecil was one of the AL’s best relievers in 2013 and 2014, throwing a combined 114 innings with a 2.76 ERA and 146/50 K/BB ratio, but if he’s not fully healthy there’s no reason to keep trotting him out there in a high-leverage role. Gibbons declined to name a full-time closer replacement, but 20-year-old Miguel Castro may get the first crack at the job despite making the jump from Single-A to the majorsl of closer dutiesAaron Gleeman Apr 9, 2015, 5:10 PM EDT

[Dobber]

Castro sure did the job tonight. I hope he works out, that would be perfect

[Zorro]

Castro has some nasty stuff.. Still young and expectations should be reserved for now..

[2014olympicgold]

To say you don’t need a pitcher that can be cool under pressure for the 9^th 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 9^th than in the 6^th.

[TheNugeCooge]

To say you don’t need a pitcher that can be cool under pressure for the 9^th inning is dumb.

If this was directed at me than I believe you have clearly misinterpreted what I said.

My posts were responding to a need for Rafael Soriano or Jonathan Papelbon to be the Blue Jays closer. Those guys would not make the Toronto Blue Jays a better team and their past "experience" as closers are not indicative of them being successful in the AL East this season.

How many wins did the Yankees get over the years, purely because Rivera was so money? Too many to count.

Rivera is the exception to the rule and the face of the "closer" generation. The truth is before 1969, saves and being a closer didn't matter in baseball; that's not to be confused with an ability to be clutch or finish a game. The league has slowly started considering a shift towards committees to close out games rather than one guy because the advanced stats warrant it.