"We see (Joel Zumaya) as a closer," Tigers president Dombrowski was quoted as saying the other day.
To which I just shook my head and said, over and over, "No! No! No!"
The argument for keeping Zumaya, the 22 year-old human howitzer, as a seventh and eighth inning setup man is, I fear, going to be lost in the shuffle as the overwhelming public sentiment wants to see him close games or, worse, be a (gasp!) starter.
Again I say, "No! No! No!"
The 7th and 8th innings is where Zumaya belongs
Where do I begin? Well, how about with the "nobody else has what we have" factor? If you can show me more than a handful of teams who have what the Tigers have -- a pitcher who can come into the seventh and eighth innings and absolutely shut down an opposing rally, gaining the requisite strikeout(s) with a powerful arm that completely shifts momentum, then I'd like to know who those guys are. Zumaya, time and again, was the fire extinguisher, and in the only way that was helpful, considering the game situation -- with the strikeout.
I would also submit to you that the outs Zumaya gets are far more crucial and important than the ones closer Todd Jones gets. Why? Because 90+ percent of the time Zumaya entered the game with runners on base, and with less than two outs. Mostly, those runners represented tying or go-ahead runs. And only could a strikeout, or a popup, get the Tigers out of danger. Jones, God bless him, frequently entered ninth innings with nobody on base, beginning the inning with a clean slate. Save situation? Yes, according to MLB rules. Turning point in the game? No. That happened six outs earlier, with Zumaya on the mound.
That, to me, is the crux of my case -- the quality of Zumaya's outs. They aren't throwaway runs, folks. Very often times the prevention of those runners from scoring spelled Tigers victory two innings later.
As for turning Zumaya into a starter, which he was in the minor leagues, that would be even worse. It's going to sound strange, but it would be a waste of his arm to pitch him every fifth day. Besides, the Tigers have plenty of young, powerful arms in their rotation. They don't need another flamethrower in the rotation. They can, however, use him three or four times a week in the late innings. Very much so.
The Tigers, I believe, can find another closer when Jones retires. Perhaps that pitcher will come from outside the organization. I have faith in Dombrowski that he can find a capable replacement, somewhere, somehow. But DD is making me nervous, talking about grooming Zoom Zoom to be the next Tigers closer.
Dave, this is one time you should listen to an ink-stained, blogging wretch. I promise not to go on sports talk radio, unless you don't heed my advice.
4 comments:
Excellent point. Perhaps we could shake the definition of a closer that Dennis Ekersley and Tony LaRussa stuck us with over a decade ago - that a closer only pitches the ninth inning.
What's wrong with Zoom entering the game in the 7th inning and still finishing? Fatigue you say? What if Zoom's innings remained the same but his appearances declined? That would mean he's be spending less time warming up in the bullpen. Throw the ball less and still pitch the same number of innings. The key is to reduce the number of his warm up tosses. Do the math.
And BTW, Rodney could take up the slack in Zoom's appearances - appearances that, on average, would be less critical.
Doug:
Thanks for your comment!
You also make an excellent point: Lord knows how many "innings" are spent with guys up and down in the bullpen during the course of the season.
I agree with you, Greg. And Doug. A mixture? I really like that Zumaya is sometimes used as the stopper. Not always, there was too much checking the inning and selecting the pitcher going on still.
I think he should be used in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning. Just whenever the Tigers have a little trouble and need a guy to stop the rally. We know he pitched in some really high leverage situations.
For that, I really don't want to see Zumaya as the closer or setup man or seventh inning man. Just the roving fire man. I trust Jonesy to mostly get the job done in the ninth inning. He won't be perfect but neither will Zumaya. But if it's a situation that makes you sweat, I know I want Zoomer holding the ball even if it is in the ninth inning.
There should be less "this is what baseball looks like everywhere" and more "this is what works best."
Kurt: I like the "roving fireman" idea. And I agree that baseball, like most sports, gets sucked into a "this is the way it's always been done" mode.
What would guys like Mickey Lolich say about pitch counts? I asked Jim Northrup last summer whether guys in his day had pitch counts, and he all but laughed at me.
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