Before you White Sox fans go all hyper-ballistic on me -- and I know you want to -- know that I'm writing this as a way-over-the-top overreaction to Hector Santiago's blown save Monday night. Santiago gave up solo home runs to Nolan Reimold and Adam Jones to give the Orioles a tie in a game they went on to win ... via an ugly 10th inning that saw White Sox relievers give up six runs, five unearned, capped by a Matt Wieters grand slam. (There's a serious point later, though, so read on.)
Should The White Sox Try Something Different At Closer?
New White Sox closer Hector Santiago blew a game Monday night by allowing two home runs. Could this give new Sox manager Robin Ventura a chance to try something bold?
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The White Sox got themselves into this situation by trading their 2011 closer, Sergio Santos, to the Blue Jays for a minor leaguer. This seemed somewhat odd at the time, since Santos was not arb-eligible and thus could have been cost-controlled for the White Sox for at least another two years.
On the other hand, given what we have seen from teams that have lavished huge contracts on closers only to see them injured (Ryan Madson) or ineffective (Carlos Marmol), maybe giving a kid the closer role isn't the worst idea in the world. In general, I think too much is made of the closer role and too much money is spent on a position that can, in many cases, be filled by anyone with a decent arm and the right mindset.
That said, did Robin Ventura make the right call by giving Santiago -- who was a starter in the minor leagues in 2011 and had just two major-league appearances last September -- the job out of spring training?
The logical choice could have been Matt Thornton, a solid setup man who had closed at times over the last few seasons. But maybe Ventura thought Thornton would be more useful continuing in that setup role. That actually makes some sense -- most of the time, a team's closer comes into the game in a low-leverage situation (start of an inning, no one on base, team leading by as many as three runs), where you might want your best reliever in the game when the bases are loaded in a tie game in the eighth.
Unfortunately, no modern manager thinks this way. Ninth inning? Never mind that your setup guy blew through the eighth inning throwing eight pitches and totally dominating the other team. It’s the ninth! Gotta get that closer in!
Well, never mind what I think, anyway; Ventura has given Santiago the dreaded vote of confidence.
“You look back at all the guys that have done it,” Ventura said after Santiago allowed two ninth-inning home runs that allowed the Orioles to rally from a three-run deficit and pull away to a 10-4 win in 10 innings. “It’s not the easiest job. But you know, the way I look at it is how he bounces back. I have confidence in taking him right back out there and letting him do it (Tuesday) night.”
The White Sox have a young bullpen with no "obvious" closer, but to me, the most obvious choice for "closer", presuming you must have someone who fits the description, is Addison Reed. Reed, a big guy, throws hard, and gets outs. It would not surprise me to see Reed installed as closer sometime soon.
As I said at the beginning of this article, this was a complete overreaction to one bad performance -- many closers have them, and Santiago has saved three games already this young season. But maybe this gives Ventura, a first-year manager with no previous experience, a chance to try something different. Maybe he’d choose a “bullpen by committee” (although I hate that phrase and most managers give up on it after a week) or maybe leaving an eighth-inning guy in when he’s cruising (that one, I think more managers should do) -- and it’ll work. Because too many managers these days are afraid to experiment. That would allow Ventura to make his mark on his team, and maybe on the game itself.
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