Per Ghiroli: "Hunter expected to take over as closer..."

[Can_of_corn]

You need a manager to play along.

Should be an easier sell then getting rid of the whole idea of bullpen roles.

I think a bigger issue would be closers rebelling since you are taking away the gimmie saves.

[backwardsk]

If the O's had only run JJ out there when the lead was 1 or 2 runs it would have saved him around 20 appearances. No idea how many were part of three day stretches when he pitched consecutively.

Unless your designated closer needs work don't put him in with a three run lead.

Pretty simple.

I took a glance at this the other day and I saw two examples where he was trotted out 3 days in a row that would have fallen under the 2 run save rule. However, one of those examples was when he was brought in 5 out of 6 games (not sure if there were any off days in between.

I'm not opposed to your idea entirely, I'm not a big fan of having a hard and fast rule. If you cut it to runs, you're going to have longer stretches of inactivity.

[Can_of_corn]

I took a glance at this the other day and I saw two examples where he was trotted out 3 days in a row that would have fallen under the 2 run save rule. However, one of those examples was when he was brought in 5 out of 6 games (not sure if there were any off days in between.

I'm not opposed to your idea entirely, I'm not a big fan of having a hard and fast rule. If you cut it to runs, you're going to have longer stretches of inactivity.

I make allowances for pitching him when he needs work. If he needs work then he can be one of the pool of relievers that the manger would pick from to pitch the 3 run save.

If that means that over the season he collects a few 3 run saves then fine.

[PaulFolk]

The Orioles active roster career in Relief

As you can see, outside of O'Day... Tommy Hunter is a pretty good in house candidate for the job.

Hunter's only problem as far as his Orioles career is concerned is that he could never successfully pitch into the fifth inning, which made him a piss poor starter. Unfortunately, these fifth innings are all that O's fans remember when they think about the dude, but in reality, he's a shutdown pitcher in one-inning appearances. He has the ability to throw gas when he doesn't have to worry about pitching several innings.

Hold on. That was Hunter's ONLY problem?

What about the fact that he allowed an .857 OPS to left-handed hitters last year? I would classify that as a significant problem.

We all know that Hunter can throw gas in short relief stints, but if he doesn't find a way to get lefties out, his stint as a closer could be short-lived.

[Mayor McCheese]

Hunter as our closer??

[TonySoprano]

Hold on. That was Hunter's ONLY problem?

What about the fact that he allowed an .857 OPS to left-handed hitters last year? I would classify that as a significant problem.

We all know that Hunter can throw gas in short relief stints, but if he doesn't find a way to get lefties out, his stint as a closer could be short-lived.

He wasn't so great against RHBs either in 2012. His RHB/LHB split that year, when he started 20 games was .891/.840

[waroriole]

Should be an easier sell then getting rid of the whole idea of bullpen roles.

I think a bigger issue would be closers rebelling since you are taking away the gimmie saves.

The last part has to be the problem. If you're the first manager to do that, your closer is going to be pretty unhappy. Of course, that makes it easier to do in a bullpen with fewer defined roles.

Still, there must be something to the defined roles for BP guys, because even the most forward thinking managers have never gone without a set closer.

[weams]

This is a delusion shared by many of the benighted here. There are no sure things in baseball.

Sure there are. Pujols, Hamilton, Wells, Rodriguez, Crawford, Howard, Zito, Dunn, and Teixeira were all certified by baseball's intelligentsia as foolproof.

[Can_of_corn]

The last part has to be the problem. If you're the first manager to do that, your closer is going to be pretty unhappy. Of course, that makes it easier to do in a bullpen with fewer defined roles.

Still, there must be something to the defined roles for BP guys, because even the most forward thinking managers have never gone without a set closer.

Wouldn't be a problem for me because I would have a young guy looking for a chance as my "closer". If you try and implement it with an established guy then yes, there could easily be problems.

Of course the free agent deals for established closers this offseason seem to show that the market is starting to devalue the save.

[El Gordo]

Sure there are. Pujols, Hamilton, Wells, Rodriguez, Crawford, Howard, Zito, Dunn, and Teixeira were all certified by baseball's intelligentsia as foolproof.

Another example of your droll humor?