Coco Cordero is already in mid-season form.
Wait a minute, that is not a good thing, at least not in my mind.
As he did countless times last year, he was called on in the ninth to protect a lead, this time two runs.
He pitched horribly and yet was rewarded with a save. Show me some justice!
If you check the box score you will see his line is anything but good. One inning, one earned run, three hits and a home run. The game ended with the bases loaded.
Is that what the Reds are paying him multi-millions for? Last year it was over $12M, I am not sure what his compensation is this year.
Micah Owings pitched a beautiful three innings, allowing just one hit, with two strikeouts. He deserved the win, and yet he was just a heartbeat away from not getting it because of a half-assed closing performance.
Somebody help me. Why should a man get rewarded for pitching like crap?
Should there be higher standards for closers than to just reward them with a big "S"?
I believe so.
Currently if a pitcher comes in with a lead of one-to-four runs, he is credited with a save if he doesn't blow the lead.
That is a lot of room for error.
A closer can come in leading 5-1, and can get knocked all over the diamond and allow the opposing team to come back and make it close at 5-4. The game ends and the closer gets high fives and knuckle bumps all the way to the dugout, not to mention the all important save.
Cordero is by most accounts one of the best closers in the game, yet I cringe every time I see him on the mound.
I haven't done the proper research, but I am pretty sure it would take at least two hands to count the times in 2009 he either got the loss or delivered a less than acceptable performance to earn a save.
Don't look for a closer in hardly any other circumstance than a winning one in the ninth inning, They are far too valuable, kind of like a stud being alone until the moment of consummation.
Another method of evaluating closers needs to be discovered. I don't know what it should be, but certainly more than giving them a three or four-run cushion before they even throw a pitch. Any ideas?
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