2008 Closers Thread

[Havok1517]

im in a deep dynasty league and i was thinking about picking up a future closer. Now, i know chris perez is pretty much a sure lock to be closing in St. Louis sometime soon but hes already taken in my leageu. Are there any other close to sure bets that will begin closing in a year or two or even three. thanks guys

Something to consider: The Cards situation is a little different in that the incumbent closer is older, has chronic injuries, and knows/accepts his days are numbered. Perez is also by far the bets RP prospect in the organization. I expect there to be no bumps along Perez's ascension tot he closer spot. So, more often than not you will need to look at older closers close to their last leg. Lets look at some situations...

LAD - Saito will be 38 and will be replaced sometime by either Broxton or Meloan. So, you have 2 potential guys to take the place but no lone prospect like Perez

NYY - Rivera is 38 but has a long line of prospects vying to be his heir with no real guy ahead of the rest as of right now

SD - Hoffman is 40 but Meredith, Bell, & Cameron don't have the elite closer potential. I really like Wynn Pelzer's arm but he's very raw right now. He's one to look at.

TB - Percival has retired once but his throne seems to have a few seeker in Orvella, Morlan, and Salas to name a few.

Col - Casey Weathers was drafted in the 1st round but is blocked by a few young guys

Cle & Det - have 2 older closers but plenty of younger and better options on the home team.

So, not right now.

[JimmyBaseball]

This closers thread helped me out a lot last year. I really appreciate it.

Good Job!!!

Now I need to concentrate on "NOT" drafting closers too early and getting caught up in the rush again this year.

[jwmdc28]

Why would the rays just hand Percival the closers job? Reyes did a good job last year. No.
When or did you do a starting pitchers list.

[Half Massed]

Should Street get traded (although Beane says that's not the plan, and he just signed him to a one year extension to avoid arbitration) or get injured, I would think that Embree, then Casilla would get a shot before Devine, at least until Devine shows he's comfortable at the major league level.

[Old_Style]

This is a great thread..good work.

Just one note on the Cubs closer though. With the Cubs renting Lieber for a year, I would think Dempster will be closing again this year backed up by Howry then either Wood/Marmol. Marmol does have filthy stuff, but I'm not if he's closer material yet or if Lou does either.

I keep hearing that the Brian Roberts deal is going to be finalized sometime next week.
If this is true, Marshall would be on his way out. So, that would leave Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, and Lieber locked into the rotation. Dempster and Marquis will duke it out for the fifth spot, so I think closer role is still very much up in the air.

Ideally, I think the Cubs should keep Dempster as their closer, with Howry setting up and Marmol/Wood in the 6/7 inning role.

[Havok1517]

Why would the rays just hand Percival the closers job? Reyes did a good job last year. No.
When or did you do a starting pitchers list.

The TB manager has already said that Percival is the closer for '08. Also, I haven't quite finished my SP rankings as of yet. The Closers thread took a little bit more time than I thought it would.

[Havok1517]

Should Street get traded (although Beane says that's not the plan, and he just signed him to a one year extension to avoid arbitration) or get injured, I would think that Embree, then Casilla would get a shot before Devine, at least until Devine shows he's comfortable at the major league level.

Logically, Beane went after Devine for a reason. Was it to replace Street as the closer in event of a trade? Not sure. Also, I read last year when Street came back that if he went on the DL again that Casilla would get a shot at the closers job.

[deerayfan072]

Why would the rays just hand Percival the closers job? Reyes did a good job last year. No.
When or did you do a starting pitchers list.

The TB manager has already said that Percival is the closer for '08. Also, I haven't quite finished my SP rankings as of yet. The Closers thread took a little bit more time than I thought it would.

excatly right. That was one of the selling points for him to be a Ray, we told him he would be the closer and not have to fight for it

[Rounders]

This is a great thread..good work.

Just one note on the Cubs closer though. With the Cubs renting Lieber for a year, I would think Dempster will be closing again this year backed up by Howry then either Wood/Marmol. Marmol does have filthy stuff, but I'm not if he's closer material yet or if Lou does either.

I keep hearing that the Brian Roberts deal is going to be finalized sometime next week.
If this is true, Marshall would be on his way out. So, that would leave Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, and Lieber locked into the rotation. Dempster and Marquis will duke it out for the fifth spot, so I think closer role is still very much up in the air.

Ideally, I think the Cubs should keep Dempster as their closer, with Howry setting up and Marmol/Wood in the 6/7 inning role.

Agreed that it's still very much up in the air. I don't think you can pencil in Dempster. The problem is that Dempster never wanted to be a closer, he likes starting, so they will move him to the rotation if they have the room (if the Roberts trade gets done - though I'd rather see them go after Bedard). I don't know who will end up closing, but I don't think it'll be Dumpster.

[Armyclone]

Been a long time reader while rarely posting, but I had to chime in and thank you guys for the work in this thread so far. Always one of the key threads in this forum that I enjoy reading. Keep up the good work!