Originally Posted by
50PoundHead
There gets to be a lot of buzz among some in the stat community about the value/use of a closer, but I agree wholeheartedly with O'Flaherty here. A solid guy slotted for the 9th inning allows the rest of the pen to move up to situations in which there is less leverage. I don't know if that is necessarily easier, but I always think you use your best bullet for the highest leverage situation and that's almost always in the 8th or 9th innings. It may not have made a difference last night, but in the long run having a "nail down" guy is really important.