Anyone have the latest or idea about Houston's closer situation? I know Valverde will be out at least a couple of more weeks. Hawkins has struggled the last week, while Sampson has done well.
Question about the Atlanta situation. Yahoo is insisting over and over that Mike Gonzalez is holding onto the job by the skin of his teeth, and that it's basically a closer by committee right now where he and Soriano are splitting opportunities. It seems to me, from following box scores, that Gonzalez is undoubtedly the closer, and Soriano gets the odd chance when Cox puts Gonzalez in to deal with some particularly frightening lefties in the eighth.
So, is Yahoo stupid, or am I just naive and a wishful thinking Gonzalez owner? Any Braves homers with insight?
She said always remember never to trust me She said that the first night that she met me She said "there's gonna be a time when I'm gonna have to go with whoever's gonna get me the highest."
CharlatanSin wrote:Question about the Atlanta situation. Yahoo is insisting over and over that Mike Gonzalez is holding onto the job by the skin of his teeth, and that it's basically a closer by committee right now where he and Soriano are splitting opportunities. It seems to me, from following box scores, that Gonzalez is undoubtedly the closer, and Soriano gets the odd chance when Cox puts Gonzalez in to deal with some particularly frightening lefties in the eighth.
So, is Yahoo stupid, or am I just naive and a wishful thinking Gonzalez owner? Any Braves homers with insight?
I put together a post at the beginning of the season talking about how Gonzalez was the "closer", but matchups and Cox's desire to keep Gonzo, Soriano, and Moylan healthy after injuries could mean a lot of save ops for Soriano as players rotated around. While that was the reality then, I don't believe it's the reality anymore. Gonzo's proven he can handle the job and can come in 3 nights in a row or 4 out of 5 and still remain effective. Soriano and Moylan have also shown that their injuries are behind them and can be used at any time. This allows the Braves to define roles and stick to them, which was a concern early. So Gonzo is the closer. Soriano is the setup man. And that's that. Every now and then, Gonzo may come in during the 8th to shut down lefties (like that Philly game where he came in to get Howard, Ibanez, and Stairs), but do not expect that to be the norm.
What's interesting is that Gonzo really isn't appreciably better against lefties. It's Soriano who absolutely owns righties. So when you see Gonzo come in early to face lefties, it's not because he owns them, but because Soriano doesn't. Also, Gonzo's unique delivery makes it less likely for him to come into a game with someone else's runners already on base, which makes it unlikely that he'll come in to bail someone out in the 8th leaving the 9th for Soriano, when the reverse makes more sense. In any case, either of these guys could be closer without question, but the Braves have decided on Gonzo (mostly because he got hurt first and got better first), and that's the way it's going to be until something drastic happens. Both of these guys are performing excellently in their defined roles, so there's no reason to change anything, and Cox has given no indication that it's even being considered. Hope that helps.
Aaronta77 wrote:If Delcarmen gets traded from the Bosox to the Nats would he get a shot at closing?
A-
Sox have already turned down that trade.
Soria
According to manager Trey Hillman, Joakim Soria (shoulder) is at least 10 days away from returning. Soria has not pitched since May 7. He threw a bullpen session before Saturday's game against the Cardinals. "[Soria threw] 25 throws off the mound, all pitches, not max effort but he was spinning them," Hillman said. "He said he didn't feel anything in the shoulder." Soria was a perfect seven-for-seven in save opportunities with a 2.08 ERA before being placed on the disabled list.
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by bigh0rt » Sat May 23, 2009 1:19 am 
