I'm a bit surprised no one's mentioning the Colorado or Milwaukee jobs. Chacon and Kolb are no sure things. I'm watching Fuentes and Lopez in Colorado and Vizcaino in Milwaukee.
I don't see Farnsworth getting the job in Chicago. Hawkins looks like a sure thing right now if Borowski needs to be replaced. Mantei is all but gone if Valverde can get the job done, and I think Graves will be better than most believe. Don't forget about Looper in NY. Watch for Weathers or the Ringg kid in the minors they got from the Pale Hose.
No way Farnsworth is closing for the Cubs this season. He has the stuff but he's a head case. If anyone takes Borowski's position it will be Hawkins. The Cubs love having Farnsworth as a 7th or 8th inning guy.
Jose Jimenez will likely never close again. Riske would have to blow like 15 saves in a row for that to happen, and Wickman would be next in line when he returns in June.
Herges is also a sure bet for obvious reasons (Nen starting out the season on the DL).
Other guys likely to falter are Hoffman (still may have a 50% tear Jorge Julio, who is simply not a very good pitcher and will have to deal with DeJean behind him, and Graves.
Donnelly is out for the first 2 months of the season with nose surgery, so it would obviously be K-Rod taking that job.
A couple situations that I think will result in likely closer switches:
1. Arizona: Mantei starts the season on the DL and as long as Valverde doesnt totally tank in his abscence, they'll trade Mantei to a team in need of a closer
2. San Francisco: Herges starts the year as closer, but I think he will quickly lose the job, considering he couldn't even hold off Rod Beck last year. Felix Rodriguez will be the Giants closer by mid-May
3. Toronto: I think Lightenberg is the most likely of the 3 closer by committee members to emerge as the full time closer. He has been a very solid pitcher his whole career, never posting over a 4.00 ERA
4. Tampa Bay: Baez is very inconsistent, and I think they will be flip flopping between him and Carter all year long
5. Minnesota: Nathan is a flyball pitcher and in the Metrodome its a recipe for disaster. I expect him to tank and the Twins will be forced to trade for Mantei or another closer by the all star break
6. Mets: Looper has never been able to hold onto a closers job for a whole season and he certainly doesn't have what it takes to close in NY. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Mets trade for Mantei either
7. Montreal: Biddle is probably the shakiest closer in the league and could easily lose his job to Chad Cordero by June.
8. KC: MacDougal is starting the year on the DL and Leskanic might take the job and never look back.
jdh wrote:Donnelly is out for the first 2 months of the season with nose surgery, so it would obviously be K-Rod taking that job.
Is that the offical word now? Last I heard was a couple of weeks - but then again, he was predicted to be back on the field two surgeries ago, and right now he's heavily sedated.
I just dropped Donnelly in one of my holds leagues for Chad Bradford, figuring that even if Donnelly has a quick recovery, he could take a long while to be comfortable on the mound (and I really don't think he's going to recover soon in the first place). Plus, I figured that during the time it would take for Donnelly to be officially disabled, Bradford is sure to disappear.
"One of the teams represents truth, justice, the American way, and underdogs everywhere. The other represents George Steinbrenner!" - U.S. News and World Reports columnist John Leo on the difference between the Mets and the Yankees.
jdh wrote:Yeah I read today he is out 6-8 weeks and probably wont be back until June because he has had 3 nose surgeries
Plus he lost half the blood in his body - gotta figure that will take something out of a guy.
"One of the teams represents truth, justice, the American way, and underdogs everywhere. The other represents George Steinbrenner!" - U.S. News and World Reports columnist John Leo on the difference between the Mets and the Yankees.
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by kdawg » Wed Mar 31, 2004 10:27 am 
