Mikey Williams to lose Closing duties?

[G-Man]

this is just a thought, but might come as no surprise to see S Torres take over as closer immediately following the All-Star Game, for a very simple reason......TIMING. were it not for the game being a week away, williams may already be out, but I'm guessing that the Pirates are saving a little face for themselves and MLB by not demoting this joker. what an embarrasment that would be if a middle-reliever with a 6+ ERA got an All-Star bid! might be a good gamble to pick up torres and stash him short-term to see what happens after the break. seems like the city of pittsburgh is turning on him because he stole giles spot on the all-star team (not to mention he's brutal).

[Althalius]

i have mike on my team and i couldnt drop him because no one got the saves he did, even with his shitty ERA.

[guest]

He's third in the NL in saves behind Smoltz and Gagne, and just on the basis of that he's worth keeping around ...

[CJT]

Show me a guy who keeps Williams on his team based only on his saves, and I'll show you a guy not in first place. Williams KILLS teams with that God aweful ERA and WHIP.

Why give away 2 catagories for 1??

[jdh]

By using a closer with a lousy ERA and WHIP, you aren't necessarily tanking those categories, because a closer only pitches around 70 innings a year while a typical starter will pitch 200 innings. With that small amount of innings, you can easily offset the damage caused by the closer by also using a lights out middle reliever or having a stronger starting pitching staff.

In fact, taking shaky closers cheaply in the draft gives you more salary or draft picks to devote to starting pitching and offense, while you still get pretty much the same amount of saves as you would with an elite closer.

[Guest]

I'll point out a situation where Williams is worthless. In a points based league. You can't really take the ERA and WHIP because those earned runs actually take away points from your team. I dropped him in a heartbeat after he was a throw-in from a trade. I wouldn't pick that guy up any other way.

[Guest]

I have Williams on my team, along with Politte, (I know, what a combination), but I am leading in a Roto league in ERA and 2nd in WHIP. I have Pedro, Redman, Webb, Nomo and Oswalt, along with Donnelly and Hasagawa. I am not over my innings limit, actually, right on target. And, I'm 3rd in the saves category. So, I have proof that these closers do not kill you in those categories. Sure, I'd have a bigger lead than I do, but you can get away with there garbage saves and still live in the other 2 categories.

[Madison]

Show me a guy who keeps Williams on his team based only on his saves, and I'll show you a guy not in first place. Williams KILLS teams with that God aweful ERA and WHIP.

Why give away 2 catagories for 1??

I have Williams and Politte. I even had Lyon while he was closing and I've been in first place of a 12 team roto league for over a month now. They don't throw enough innings to drastically affect my pitching stats. I admit that they do hurt my stats, but I gain more points in the save catagory, then I lose in era/whip.