Article:Closing on the big stage..and what it is worth.

From www.thebaseballfix.com

Baseball is a game of numbers, but can the numbers lie to us? Well not in terms of the end result but what about when you factor in all the other variables? I was reading a chat on ESPN the other day debating who the better closer was. The candidates, Papelbon and Putz. Now you can go back and forth on both these guys for various reasons. However one knock I kept seeing against Papelbon was his “light” workload, a total of 58 innings. In terms of actual innings, this is about 10 to 15 less then most closers. However, I could not help but think about how the market and situation(s) hold weight against the overall innings pitched. When we look at the numbers how do we account for the scenario? The box score is simply going to say a save was recorded. It will not read that there were two runners on with one out and a one run lead. So closer x (in this case Papelbon) came in because the team needed a strikeout.

Consider this about pitching in different markets. In 2004 Keith Foulke was a post season hero. He was a huge piece in ending the eighty six year drought for the Red Sox. The next season, Foulke struggled and the same fan base wanted to run him out of town. How does a factor like that get weighed in this debate? So is pitching 60 innings under the microscope of a New York or Boston and dominating worth more then say a 75 to 80 in a place like Seattle of Anaheim?

For what it is worth, I do believe it is. And this is what has made Mariano Rivera and Papelbon so special. They have proven they can do it in the harshest of scenarios, on the biggest stages. Am I saying K-Rod, Nathan and Putz can not? Not at all, but we do not know. But apparently neither does the box score. As there saves in actual numbers count for just as much.