Wakamatsu Mentions Closer Candidates

by ~ February 26th, 2009 at 12:11 pm

Shannon Drayer:

Walker’s injury may have knocked him out of the closer race as when asked for the umpteenth time this spring who the closer candidates were Wak responded, Batista, Lowe and Corcoran. Corcoran made a good impression yesterday, and Lowe will throw today. As for Randy Messenger who threw two innings yesterday Wak said that he is in the mix but probably not as closer…

So there you have it.  Of those three I think that Lowe gets the nod, which would make me a very happy fan because I’ve been backing him since Putz left.  Corcy has the mentality,  85 professional saves and a fastball that misses bats, but his control and secondary stuff leave much to be desired when it comes to closing out ballgames.  Batista wants to close and is quick to mention his experience in the role, but I’d rather not go that route.  Originally I thought Batista could be traded midseason if he was closing, but with the way the market is going I don’t think anything short of a miracle is going to move him.

Lowe is just an adjustment or two from really blossoming as a shut down reliever.  I’ll have more on him later.

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  • http://www.section331.com section331

    Wait, Walker’s injured? Have I been getting my Tylers mixed up?
    Dammit….

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    Johnson has the shoulder/arm soreness, Walker pulled a quad or something.

    It’s not serious, and I doubt that that alone would eliminate him from the closer position battle. We’ll see.

    Go Lowe!

  • http://www.section331.com section331

    It always seems that stuff like this happens in clusters, like Tonya Harding has been running around the field smacking people with a tire iron or something. haha!

    I’ll root for Lowe, even though I think Corky would be able to also do a decent job – but with Corky, we might be subjected to some awful country entrance song about tractors or something…

  • Luisam911

    I agree, I think corcy has the mental aspect, but Lowe has the stuff. It’s going to be who ever does the best in Spring Training.

  • http://www.marinercentral.com Lonnie

    I’m not so sure that coming out and telling the rest of the guys that they essentially don’t have a shot at the closer position was the wise thing to do.

    I guess perhaps they still have a shot at making the roster though. I got a chance to chat with Shawn Kelley a couple of days ago, and although he knows he is a long-shot at getting the closer position he still felt that he had a shot none-the-less.

    Lonnie

  • http://www.section331.com section331

    Maybe he’s more acknowledging that those are the guys who want it, rather than telling others they can’t have it, he’s merely highlighting the ones who have expressed interest?

  • Mariners121212

    I think that Lowe would be the best Closer for us, and that Corky is going to do a lot worse this year than last year.

  • FelixFanChris420

    I don’t really care who they stick at closer, we are going to lose 80-90 games so it won’t matter so much.

    Though if they even think about moving Morrow back to the pen, I am going to start kicking people in the jimmy

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    ^That isn’t an option anymore, so no jimmy-kicking required. :)

  • http://www.marinercentral.com Lonnie

    Corky has one advantage over Lowe; he is more consistant. If Lowe is healthy, and can regain what he had before the injury, then this is a dead heat race (I’m not considering Batista at this point).

    Lonnie

  • Humongo

    I like Corc as the bullpen ace, rather than the closer.