Exit Poll: Who Closes
TOWER GROVE — A few hours after pitching coach Dave Duncan agreed to a contract for the 2009 season, I asked him if the biggest question facing the Cardinals pitching staff this offseason was the ninth inning, and just who was going to handle it.
“I think so,” he said.
As long as there has been the modern model of the closer, manager Tony La Russa and Duncan have preferred to build their bullpen around that ninth-inning arm, the man with the stuff and guts to close out a game. Colleague Joe Strauss has often illustrated how the Cardinals, most often, have gone where Jason Isringhausen has taken them. The years he’s struggled or been absent — 2003 and 2008 — the Cardinals have not made the postseason. (Of course, 2006 being the exception.) There is little doubt that his inconsistency early this past season and injury later in the season was a tipping point for the Cardinals’ bullpen woes.
Think of the bullpen like a Jenga tower.
The closer is at the bottom. Pull him out and, at best, the tower is only wobbly.
Often it collapses.
Both Duncan and general manager John Mozeliak said they hope to reach spring training with an answer for their ninth-inning vacancy, though internally the Cardinals are also braced to have a “competition” or “interim” closer when spring training starts. With that in mind, so begins a series of blog entries — a flex of this new and well-received technology here at “Blog Zone” — EXIT POLLS. Vote below for you think should be closing come April 2009. Setup man Ryan Franklin is not listed because Duncan and others have said the preference is to have Franklin handle the eighth inning.
Loading …More EXIT POLLS to follow. If you have a suggestion one for please write me at dgoold@post-dispatch.com.
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And please do run some Google searches today on George Kissell. Find stories about him, read things he did. Check out the past blogs about him. He devised and promoted some of the defensive plays and fundamental drills that the Cardinals still use — and will always use. To borrow from La Russa: I’ve had the opportunity to meet many great people in baseball, and Kissell is tied for first with the best of them. There was nobody better to talk baseball with …
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
I can’t believe there are more than 30 votes for Izzy. Did they just let you people crawl out of a cave? At worst, we have several candidates internally, that do the same as Izzy. The amount of pressure spots that our young guys got put into was invaluable. We’ll still have some growing pains down the road, but this bullpen has a chance to be nasty late in the game. And, we need a nasty left-handed reliever to add to our righties. I suggest they sign Fuentes. He has back end stuff and would be a great complimentary piece to Perez.
Closer….Is 2009 another “transitional”, “Let’s see what the young arms can do”…while other teams are getting the past prizes..or are we going for the playoff’s ??…..then the only answer is an established closer…Fuentes, Osario, Rodriguez…..
I am hoping for a trade for Kevin Gregg. A decent pitcher who the Marlins might look to get rid of and who has closing experience. I believe he is in his 2nd year of arbitration so he won’t tie handcuff the club with a long term contract.
Kevin Gregg is an interesting name to keep in mind.
Hadn’t thought about Kevin Gregg, but that is a good thought. Another name that intrigues me in a trade is JJ Putz. He was an All Star in 2007, but had injuries in 2008. If he is healthy, maybe he can regain his 2007 form.
The Cardinals will probably have to tie up Fuentes for a few years to get him signed. So, if they are really committed to Motte or Perez, bringing in Fuentes really doesn’t make sense. So, I’m curious who are the candidates we would be able to bring in as truly “interim” closers in case Perez and Motte aren’t ready. The Eddie Guardado’s of the world certainly are not worth resting a Jenga tower, though I would be curious if Kyle Farnsworth could be a Duncan reclamation project.
The poll inches toward 1,000. Excellent response. Excellent.
So much of closing is not just about stuff; it’s about attitude and the psychology of domination. Motte is the guy who has that in spades. I saw more batters not have a clue at the plate when he was pitching than anyone else on the Card’s staff.
He does need to work on a change-up and a curve–but Motte’s the man for the job.
Brad Thompson