Is Jose Mesa gonna be closer for long?

[nivekred]

I know he racked up a bunch of saves last year but Mike Gonzalez going to take over as the pirates closer, Gonzalez was a stud as a releiver last year 43.1 innings pitched 55k's era of 1.25 and whip of 0.88 He is the closer of the future of the Pirates but will he get the job this year?

[bost0n]

I know he racked up a bunch of saves last year but Mike Gonzalez going to take over as the pirates closer, Gonzalez was a stud as a releiver last year 43.1 innings pitched 55k's era of 1.25 and whip of 0.88 He is the closer of the future of the Pirates but will he get the job this year?

By June, IMO.

[curious_george_43545]

I predict that by about August Gonzalez will get the job

[Cooner]

i see two possibilities for Gonzalez as a closer- either Joe Table blows it and Mike gets the job by default, or they trade Mesa midseason and promote Gonzalez.

Frankly, I wouldn't be that surprised if Mesa continues to do what he did last year- "bad ERA/WHIP, but not too many blown saves" and keeps the job. With the fairly week starting pitching staff leaving games in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings often enough, the Bucs seem to benefit nicely from the incredible arm of Gonzalez at MR, as he can eat up innings nicely.

[bruuno2]

I hope not Bring on Gonalez!

[CubsFan7724]

If he pitches like last year and isn't traded, he probably won't lose the job. If hes bad, he could lose it.

[Cooner]

I hope not Bring on Gonalez!

not sure what i'd prefer... fantasy-wise, i own gonzalez in quite a few leagues, but as a Pirates fan, I kinda think the current setup does well for them. Some of their starters just aren't that good, and having Gonzalez and Torres to mop up and keep them in games that otherwise would be out of hand is pretty sweet. I don't think Mesa is that good a pitcher, but he seems to do the job.

[Secret Avatar]

As long as Mesa keeps saving games, if even they are ugly, there's no reason for him to lose his job. You don't fix what isn't broken. Having said that, I think it's only a matter of time before Mesa's poor numbers catch up to him. I drafted Gonzalez late in my draft, on the theory that a pitcher with nasty stuff always has a place on my team, and also because I think it likely that he gets a chance to close this year. Maybe not full time, but enough to make him a nice value pick.

[warrick95]

In the past, I brought up that Mike Gonzalez may not be next in line because he's lefty. However, I just recently took a look at his splits from last year:

vs. RH- .194
vs. LH- .213

Just some food for thought.

I do agree that as long as Mesa doesn't blow too many saves, he'll be fine. However, he's been teetering on the edge for a while now. It seems like it won't take much for his tenure as closer to end. His peripherals are flat out awful.

[Mercer Boy]

We've had "teeter" closers for the last 5-6 years, and they still seem to save about 40 a season. Mike Williams was the same exact way. Heck, even Mike Fetters saved a bunch of games for us. The point is that the role of a "closer" in Pittsburgh is totally different from the ones that pitch on the top teams. The New Yorks and Bostons of the world use pitchers that can completely dominate three batters by either having a super fast fastball, crazy breaking ball, or wicked change...or all three. The Pirates just use someone they are confident in using at the end of the game. Lots of times they give up walks or a few singles, but at the end of the day, they get all the outs.

No lead is ever safe in Pittsburgh...it's rare to see guys like Gagne, Rivera, or Wagner blowing a game ever. 95% of the time at least one if not two guys get on, but somehow we get the outs 85% of the time.

As far as Mesa goes, I've said it before...If he blows up (especially if we actually start winning games), then he'll be out by the break. If he does well, he either stays because he's cheap or he gets moved for prospects. At that time, Torres or Gonzalez will move up...it's anyone's guess as to who gets the first shot.