Tyler Walker...

[baseball6791]

im a big giants fan and i follow the team pretty closely. i think that the job is walkers to lose. he throws the hardest of any guy in the pen and has the best potential stuff, and wants to be out there closing, he seems to like the pressure. most of all though, he is efficient and in control. i think he threw 6 pitches in today's save. thats the kind of stuff that felipe likes, and as long as he keeps that up he should keep a tight grip on the closer role unless the giants trade for someone.

[Laean]

when will benitez return? what are walker's chances of keeping the closer role near the end of the regular season?

i play in a h2h league and i'm certain i will make the playoffs anyway, so i don't want to pick up walker unless i know he's going to be closing even in the h2h playoffs.

[TheYanks04]

Benitez is effectively out for the year. He may be back in the middle of Sept., but that is very problematic at best.

[baseball6791]

when will benitez return? what are walker's chances of keeping the closer role near the end of the regular season?

i play in a h2h league and i'm certain i will make the playoffs anyway, so i don't want to pick up walker unless i know he's going to be closing even in the h2h playoffs.

i highly doubt that benitez will return this year. i say this for a number of reasons: his injury is very serious, and the surgery required for repairing it increases the time he is out by a fair margin. also, if the giants are pretty much out of the race come the time when it would be even remotely possible for benitez to return, as it seems like it will be at this point, i doubt that the giants will rush him back and risk another injury in a season that doesnt matter at that point.
as for walker being closer come h2h playoffs... first off, ive never played h2h so i dont really know when playoffs are but i assume that they come at the end of the season, and i doubt that the walker will still be closing for the giants by then. i think that 1 of 3 things will happen. the first is that the giants trade for a guy like julio and walker wont be closing anymore, and that will happen if it appears that the giants can stay in the race this year. the second is that the giants are pretty much out of the race later in the year, and i believe that the giants may bring up one of their multiple pitching prospects and begin cultivating them for the future, since most will be ready for the majors by that point. and the third is that walker holds onto the job the whole year, but i doubt that happens, and come h2h playoffs, if he is still closing, i doubt the giants will be winning a ton, thus cutting into his save ops.

[unclepaulie]

The guy is 6"4 245 pounds and throws 95-96mph heat I would say that is a plus. He also took the advice of Alou and is locating his pitches more while taking some of that velocity off.

Kinda sounds like Kolb of 2004 if you ask me.

[Deuce]

The Giants bullpen is by committee right now. The hottest hand or match-up gets the call. Right now, Tyler has been the hot hand in the end. Other guys have come in, but are not getting the job done. He throws hard and sometimes gets too much of the plate. But hey, ride the wave.

[LetsPlay2]

EVERY bullpen is by committee, but the Giant's CLOSER job is not by committee. It is Tyler Walker's. Like any new closer, he'll lose the job should he not perform, but it's his job now.

"RHP Tyler Walker was manager Felipe Alou's choice for closer again, and Walker pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save. "He's our closer right now," Alou said of Walker, who also earned saves in two games in Houston last weekend."

http://www.mysportspage.com/mlbteamlog.php?team=Giants

[bleach168]

I guaranttee Tyler will blow his next 3 saves in spectacular fashion.

(It's because I've been too scared to start him until now.)