Injured Closers - Affeldt or Borowski?

[RawTalent]

I pick Affeldt over Borowski, only because I think that NEITHER will regain their jobs when they get back. Borowski reminds me too much of Rocker.

If Hawkins can get on some sort of a roll (and given that it's early in the season, he won't have the sorts of pressure put on him last year when he was closing at the end of the year), I don't think it's unreasonable to think that he could develop a "closer's mentality." I mean, the guy is a far superior pitcher to Borowski. And superior pitchers can learn to build a closer's mentality.

I for one think that "closer mentality," while important, is way over-emphasized. And while I don't know if Dusty Baker agrees with me, many of his comments suggest that he thinks Hawkins could thrive in a closer's role.

So why won't Affeldt get the closer job back? MacDougal sucks.

I'll give you a few reasons. One, I don't think the Royals will get that many save opportunities to cause an extreme meltdown for MacDougal. Two, given the way he pitches, MacDougal's skill set is far more typical of a closer than Affeldt, so I would think KC actually wants him to be the closer. Three, groin injuries tend to effect a pitcher's velocity, and since Affeldt got pulled because of his lack of velocity, I just don't see him having much confidence in the next few months to really let his pitches loose.

[slomo007]

The arguement that the good teams generate more save opps then bad teams is not really true. So dont make a decision on that.

That's true, but the exception to the rule is the KC Royals. They are SO bad, that they rarely win and therefore generate only a few opportunities per month. Plus, Affeldt isn't really that good, even when he's healthy. I think KC has succeeded in ruining whatever potential he had. The closer experiment was not a smart move.

[ravenmad22]

I still think a lefty who throws 95 MPH with a devastating curve has a place in the closer role over a guy who can barely throw strikes. Affeldt will keep the job and rack up 15-20 saves the rest of the year.

I'm not as sure about JoBo, if hawkins keeps converting save chances, I see no reason to make a switch there.