The bullpen's been an Achille's Heel for most of the time since the 80's.
First, a little history for those who haven't witnessed the changes. The roles were different. Bruce Sutter was the elite in the game. However, it must be understood that a "closer," as we understand it now, was for the 9th inning. Not so in previous eras. Starters actually used to complete games. Quaint concept, but in the game that they didn't, the "closers" could conceivably go the last 3. The new paradigm of starter 6 with 7th, 8th and closer is a relatively new idea, probably pushed through the players' union. Less work for more money!
Getting back to the Braves....
Ted Turner fashioned himself as sort of a Steinbrenner of the South. He didn't really know how to be an owner, except for the examples set. "Steinbrenner fired Billy Martin multiple times, so I'll fire Dave Bristol and Bobby Cox!" "Steinbrenner signed high profile free agents, so I'll sign the game's best closer, Bruce Sutter!" Never mind that they had, on roster, the pitcher who would be the game's best closer (albeit with the Phillies) in Steve Bedrosian. That led to a series of miscues. Sutter would be signed, and he had Bell's Palsy and at least one other ailment. Hardly any return on investment. Bedrosian would be converted into a starter. That didn't pan out, and he would be shipped to the Phillies for Ozzie Virgil and Pete Smith. Considering the fact that Bedrosian won a Cy Young as a reliever, and there haven't been that many, the rest of you can decide on the ultimate fate of that transaction.
Yes, we've discussed Brad Komminsk enough times, but the uncertainty of the closer role, during the same era, cause a similar and enormous ripple effect. Stepping back for a moment, the Braves really had no games to save during the second half of the 80's. They were second division for a half decade, and that's being charitable. This led to Bobby Cox making quick fix trades, throwing a bone to the fans or blind faith that a "young arm" just might make it. Think of Boever the Saver. Granted, at the time it didn't seem like a bad move, but the PR Department was desperate to promote any move as hope for the future. That carried on into the early 90's, and the "Young Guns" campaign wasn't all just blowing smoke, since Glavine and Smoltz were part of that contigent.
The early 90's brought trades to bring in Al Pena. Great as setup man, but not settle as closer. In all fairness, the strikeout with changeup on Van Slyke was a great moment in Braves history. During this period, there was a prediliction toward retreats. Jeff Reardon, who once was among the best in the game, was brought in, and (memory fails) but may have blown at least 2 saves vs. Blue Jays in WS. This same formula was repeated with Bryan Harvey, Gregg Olson and at least one other, whose name escapes me now.
Forget the marginal major leaguers. McMichael, Clontz, Ligtenberg, Cunnane and maybe one other, were all clowns. None of them belonged on a major league roster, except in post-expansion era.
Fast forward, we heard more than enough griping about Reitsma and Kolb over at Scout, so enough said.
Meantime, there was elite closing during that period of time. That included Wohlers, pre-meltdown Rocker and Smoltz. Later, Wagner was at that same level, but his retirement coincided with Bobby's. As already mentioned, he was an excellent mentor for Kimbrel and Venters.
Still, my personal opinion is that the relative value is overrated. We're talking about coming in for one inning with a lead. If you examine that stats of before when this role became more defined, teams held leads and one game as much the same rate as now. So, yeah, Kimbrel is great, but he might not be as valuable, in the grand scheme, as many of you would like to believe. Walden's done it before, and could be effective for a championship-caliber team.
To step back for moment, yes, there was lightning in a bottle captured with Holmes, Hammond, Remlinger and Rocker...but did it make the team bettter? That's the question that needs to be answered. Whenever there's been an attempt to address a facet of the club - the pen, in this instance - there's been other roster problems to address.
