When are we going to find a real closer?

[ccbird]

Automatically giving him an inning whether it be the 7th, 8th , or 9th with no consideration for who is due up is not his ideal role. I agree that the sooner we move Sherrill back into his ideal role the better we will be both now and for the future. As a matchup lefty he will be much less vulnerable and a lot more valuable.

[zff4]

Sherrill apparently has a head for it, which in other words, means he has the nards for it. He'll pitch the same, with the same temperment (or lack of it) regardless of what happened to the ball the last time it left his hand, or whether there are runners, or whether he just got shellacked. It's all the same to him. This is a fairly rare quality and not everyone has the mental makeup to perform like that in circumstances that would rattle other pitchers.

So right now I'll take Sherrill as much for his mind as his nerves.

But frankly for both the sake of my own mind and my own nerves, I hope someone less prone to excitement steps up fairly soon. However, he hasn't blown one yet...

[Greg Pappas]

Shouldn't you be doing some procrastinator's taxes?

Not that I've given up on Sherrill or Chris Ray yet, but I'd LOVE to see David Hernandez in the closer's role in the near future. As long as he keeps the ball down he won't need to trust his changeup as much if he's closing. His heater and breaking stuff are filthy.

Too many last minute peeps...

We agree as usual...

DH seems destined for the pen, and should garner serious consideration for the closer role within a year or so if he cannot improve his IP/start.

I'm not sure I'd label DH a power pitcher but it's interesting how much velocity was added to JJ's fastball when he converted to a relief role. If DH could throw one inning at 95mph with the same deception he already has he'd be an uber closer.

JJ is a solid analogy... DH would likely flourish in the one-two inning stints out of the pen. I can see mid-nineties heat -with a propensity to strikeout batters- boding quite well for his chances.