Wakamatsu Mentions Closer Candidates
by Jon ~ February 26th, 2009
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.
11 Responses to Wakamatsu Mentions Closer Candidates
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment. If you don't yet have an account, please register here and join the discussion. Registration takes only a few seconds!
section331
February 26th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Wait, Walker’s injured? Have I been getting my Tylers mixed up?
Dammit….
Jon Shields
February 26th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
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!
section331
February 26th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
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
February 26th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
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.
Lonnie
February 26th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
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
section331
February 26th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
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
February 27th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
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
February 28th, 2009 at 11:21 am
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
Jon Shields
February 28th, 2009 at 11:35 am
^That isn’t an option anymore, so no jimmy-kicking required.
Lonnie
February 28th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
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
March 1st, 2009 at 11:07 am
I like Corc as the bullpen ace, rather than the closer.