Page 1 of 1

Window of opportunity in AL onlys?

Posted: January 11th, 2013, 10:53 am
by da_big_kid_94
If I am not mistaken, only 5 AL teams will start the season with the closer they had to start last season with (Johnson, Perez, Rivera, Rodney and Nathan). And virtually each one of those 5 have HUGE question marks tagging along. How healthy is Mo? Can Perez keep his mouth shut? Can Johnson and Rodney come CLOSE to last year's production? Nathan's 38 with a past of injuries and the Rangers signed Soria.

Now this also means that 10 AL teams changed their closer since approx the 2012 ASB whether due to injury, job inheritance, circumstance, etc. Does anyone remember a time that there were virtually NO sure thing closers for any team in a given league going into a new season?

Re: Window of opportunity in AL onlys?

Posted: January 11th, 2013, 11:14 am
by Todd Zola
Quoting myself from a December piece (I am higher on Holland now but otherwise, and it turns out Motte is being picked before Papelbon but the rest is status quo )

I'm sure this will change as some of the situations in flux flesh out, but I am finding the spot I like to take closers to be weaker than normal. I prefer to pass on the upper echelon, but I don't like to toss my line in the speculative seas either. If I were to list the guys I can comfortably target, it would be one name -- Jason Motte. I'm not going to be the guy that takes Craig Kimbrel. I'm probably going to pass on Jonathan Papelbon as well, but maybe not. That's really it for the "sure things." Motte would be the next safest, but since he doesn't have the reputation yet, he is still sliding a bit.

Think about it. Will Mariano Rivera be his old self? Can Joe Nathan stay healthy? Will Joel Hanrahan and John Axford get their walks back in check? Can Huston Street and Andrew Bailey stay healthy? For that matter, has anyone actually seen Street and Bailey together? My theory is they are actually one guy and this is a ruse to pull two salaries. What about Steve Cishek, Tom Wilhelmsen, Addison Reed, Greg Holland and Glen Perkins - can they hold the gig for 162? Is Sergio Romo durable enough? Where will Rafael Soriano sign and what will his role be? Brandon League -- really? Will Chris Perez and Hanrahan be traded? If you think Jim Johnson will repeat, I have a bridge I'd like you to look at. If you think Fernando Rodney will repeat --well, he just may, with an ERA correction, but are you willing to pay for it? How long before Kyuji Fujikawa (and the horse he rode in on) supplants Carlos Marmol? What happens if Jonathan Broxton struggles and so does Aroldis Chapman? Brandon League -- REALLY?!?!?! I've been in two drafts where Kenley Jansen was taken before Broxton and this was AFTER the announcement that League was the closer. Drew Storen or Tyler Clippard? Who will get both of the Astro saves? Will Brian Wilson and Ryan Madson regain form after Tommy John surgery?

You know, Grant Balfour is looking pretty good right now.

Re: Window of opportunity in AL onlys?

Posted: January 11th, 2013, 6:53 pm
by da_big_kid_94
What I'm trying to convey is that there doesn't seem to BE an upper echelon in the AL ...and I don't know when that's EVER been the case. There may have been years where roll call was extremely short ...but at lease there were 1 or 2 names there.