From Griffen's article...

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi signed Miguel Batista as the No. 2 starter and then found there was not enough money left to sign any of the dozen experienced bullpen closers still available on the free-agent market.

Is he referring to Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage? Maybe Bobby Thigpen? Or Victor Cruz?

Richard Griffin, please.

Yes, JP could have gone full bore for Keith Foulke. It's not clear that Keith would have come here for any amount of money. It is clear that if he did, there wouldn't have been money for any of the other needs that the club had (Foulke would have cost him $4-$5 million per year more than Batista). There weren't a lot of other good "experienced closer" options.

Arghhh.... Batista!? They're looking in every direction except straight ahead where the answer lies, his name is The Hentgen and he has an off week and a cool moustache....

Does no one on this site have enough connections to whisper "The Hentgen" into managements ear?

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi signed Miguel Batista as the No. 2 starter and then found there was not enough money left to sign any of the dozen experienced bullpen closers still available on the free-agent market.

I'm sure that's exactly how it went......

The Blue Jays signed Miguel Batista today. When asked at the press conference about the bullpen Riccardi was quoted as saying:

"The bullpen won't be a problem. What? We have a budget? I never considered that prior to signing Batista. Now we don't have money for the bullpen? @&*#! Why didn't some genius journalist remind me of this BEFORE we signed Batista?"

Does no one on this site have enough connections to whisper "The Hentgen" into managements ear?

If "management" wanted our opinion, they wouldn't hesitate to ask for it. As much as I'm enjoying the grass-roots campaign for Hentgen, and the latest brilliant work by Named For Hank, there are an awful lot of things about the idea we fans know nothing about. How willing would Pat be? How resilient is his arm? How long does he take to get warm? Eckersley, Smoltz and Gagne did make the adjustment -- none of them in mid-season -- but that's hardly a guarantee that the next starter-turned-closer will be just as successful. It's just something fun to talk about, and I'd never discourage anyone from having fun.

We (and the Jays) have two things to learn about Jason Frasor. One is, can he keep his emotions on the same even keel in the ninth inning that he does in the seventh or eighth? The other is even more important. How will Jay bounce back from the inevitable disappointment when he finally gets rocked? It will happen; how he handles it remains to be seen. Ideally, if he's had a little success in the role beforehand, blown saves won't be a big deal. It would be unfortunate if it's his first or second opportunity, but even then, we'll find out more about his makeup.

While Victor Martinez looks like the Next Big Thing at catcher based on offense alone, Cash's superiority on defense makes up a big portion of the current offensive gap between the two.

Music to my ears on a Saturday morning. It's great to see that Kevin's superb arm is getting the recognition it deserves. His numbers could be even better -- a couple of right-on-the-money throws that had runners beat were dropped, and in addition to his two pickoffs, a number of his snap throws have come very close to nailing guys, which certainly helps deter the running game.

As you may know, I've been waxing eloquent about Cash, whose feet are just as outstanding as his arm (if not more so), since his first callup. Once again, my first impressions are eventually confirmed by statistical evidence, so I continue to trust what I see.

Had there really been a dozen experienced bullpen closers still available on the free-agent market wouldn't this glut have driven their prices down, thus making one certainly affordable to the Jays? (Kinda like 2 years ago when 1B and DH types were going for $1-1.5M a pop?)

Or could it be that there really weren't a dozen on the market and that Griffin is not altogether accurate?

http://www.sports-wired.com/players/profile.asp?ID=5347
I'd be content to see Hentgen be given a shot at closing games; his OPS-against figures for his first 30 pitches over the last 3 years are certainly strong. Nonetheless, there are a couple of roadblocks to consider:

* Who goes into the rotation to replace him? None of the current bullpen crew have had much recent experience as starters, and would need a lot of time to get stretched out even to 5-inning status. Neither David Bush nor Jason Arnold are ready in Syracuse, and I don't think Chris Baker is the answer either. I suppose Josh Towers could be given another crack at it.

* Does Hentgen even want to go into the pen? It's hard to see such a move as anything but a combination of demotion of a former Cy Young winner and a desperation move to shore up the bullpen. And that's even assuming Hentgen's stuff and mentality would measure up; he doesn't have dominant pitches anymore, and he's never had to work one inning at a time.

I'd be interested to see the Jays give it a shot, if all else failed (which we're pretty close to) and if Pat were willing. But the bottom line is that the Jays do have good bullpen arms -- they're just not doing their job. Like many others, I'd like to see Jason Frasor get a crack at it -- he's never closed above Double-A, but he was dominant when he did (COMN for his stats) and he certainly has the raw stuff. I do think that once a reliable 9th-inning guy is identified, the rest of the veterans in the pen will settle back into more defined roles and will relax.

Moving Batista into the bullpen is just a silly idea. He's finally coming around after a slow start and is the closest thing the Jays have to a solid #2 guy (assuming Justin Miller can't keep this up); trading in 200 innings for 70 is the kind of thinking one expects from the Rockies. No, the arms are there to solve this problem -- the performance is what's missing. With a lack of viable alternatives, the Jays just have to keep mixing and matching. I wouldn't oppose the Hentgen experiment; but I'd much prefer to see Frasor get a shot first. And I would very much like to see Jason Arnold moved to the pen in Syracuse.

Once again, Kent's faster on the draw. But at least great minds think alike...

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi signed Miguel Batista as the No. 2 starter and then found there was not enough money left to sign any of the dozen experienced bullpen closers still available on the free-agent market.

Woe is the Jays for not having the foresight to sign Jose Mesa (I suppose this is one of the experienced bullpen closers to which Griffin is referring).

I think the bullpen will work itself out and this won't be needed.

But if we were going to convert a starter into a closer, wouldn't make sense to use the guy starts well but loses steam quickly (Hentgen) rather than the one who can't seem to get out of the first without walking a couple guys, but is decent once he finds his rythm (Batista)?

Further to NDG's point, wouldn't it also make sense to convert a starter who is failing (e.g., Hentgen) rather than one who is succeeding (e.g., Batista)? (I think it's fair to characterize Batista as succeeding since he appears to have turned a corner.)

Certainly bullpens everywhere feature star relievers who are failed starters. With his v.2004 repertoire (i.e., 90 MPH a distant memory), he's a good comp for Quantrill (age aside) when Quantrill made the transition from bad starter to good reliever. Whether his arm would be resilient enough for frequent bullpen use is another issue.

That said, Hentgen's still a crapshoot to be a good reliever, let alone closer. His high HR rate and low K rate certainly do not inspire confidence. On the plus side, as has been already pointed out, he is much more effective during pitches 1-30 than afterwards.

Does Nate Robertson of Detroit Tiger fame scream closer to anybody else?

Lost in the dismay over another bullpen blow-up was a pretty decent offensive game against a pitcher (Arroyo)who totally stifled the offence last time up. Both Wells and Phelps hit solid homers, the type that Riccardi was saying we haven't been hitting. It was nice to see Pond have a good game, including a well hit homer as well. If Pond settles into a groove and Phelps finds his stroke again, I think we will see a lot better results. Already things have picked up because of Wells, but we haven't noticed it because of the bullpen.

Speaking of the pen. I think that NDG is exactly right - Batista would be a horrible choice for the closer's role because he has tons of trouble in the first inning. It's true that he has a resilient arm, which might make him suitable for long relief every couple of days, but what would be the point of that.

I'm not sure about Hentgen for closer. I think that we're probably being sentimental - hoping that he might still be good enough to contribute somewhere even though he doesn't seem to have any more of whatever he had last year. One could argue that Towers and Chris Baker have both shown they might deserve a crack at the 5th starter role.

There is no-one in the AAA bullpen who looks like a great closer. Chulk is okay (might make it up for the 6th or 7th role). Bob File has been good in limited innings (1.23 era,7.1 innings, 9 hits, 3bb, 2 k), but the k count is low and he needs more rehab time before we count on him.

In AA, both Adam Peterson and Kevin Frederick have been very good. I think one or both need to be advanced to AAA to see if they can possibly be of some help.

Finally, I am still holding out some hope that Lopez will rediscover his pitches and return to form. Frasor in the 8th and Lopez (2003 version) in the 9th would look pretty good.

Batista's numbers as a reliever and as a starter in the past few years have been similar - There's no reason to believe his performance would improve in the pen enough to justify a hole in the rotation. Besides that, we need someone to come out and throw strikes; something Batista is struggling to do.

From the Ex-Jay Department: Ken Huckaby replaces Gerald Laird on the Rangers' roster. GREAT NEWS! When do the Rangers face the Yanks next? And when does he finally get an apology from Derek the Great?

From the Marketing Department: William ('She Bangs') Hung will sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame at the Dome on May 30. Leave it up to Jim Bloom and the ad wizards at 1 Blue Jays Way!

I think William Hung's 15 minutes have been long used up.

But can he beat Kazzer's breathtaking seventh-inning stretch performance from last year?

I guess everyone has noted KC has announced Affeldt is now their closer. Can Pat be far behind?

I will only say this one more time. Why do you make Frasor the closer? Why do you mess with the success the kid has had todate?

I just don't see this idea working. But I will fall to my knees if it does.

Is it just me, or did Griffin really write that Batista as closer would get the team "30 to 50 wins"? Obviously this whole column was a joke. Good one, Rich!

Is it just me, or did Griffin really write that Batista as closer would get the team "30 to 50 wins"?

That must be Griffin's projected win total for the Jays for the entire season, up from his pre-season prediction of 20-25 wins.

Just wanted to gloat a bit as I'm pretty sure I was the only person to take Glendon Rusch for the Andujar! I know it's just a couple of starts but heh, at least it's a real pick, not like $5mil pitchers like Batista and Escobar!

Actually I was wondering if one of the honchos here could link the 2004 Andujar picks in the 'Awards' section. There's a link to the 2003 picks but not the 04's!

did Griffin really write that Batista as closer would get the team "30 to 50 wins"?

Actually, in fairness, he said: he can contribute to 30-50 wins per season.

Of course, that's how Griffin "thinks outside the box". I guess 6-7 innings per game in each of 15 wins is less of a contribution than one inning in each of 30-50 wins.

I don't see Hentgen as a closer. Successful closers, IMHO, have three attributes:

1) A single dominating pitch.
2) A resilient arm.
3) A competitive but level-headed temperament.

Hentgen has #3, but doesn't have #1, and probably doesn't have #2.

When do the Rangers face the Yanks next?

Hmmm... Someone hasn't been following baseball as much lately!
The Huckaby-Jeter saga continues this weekend!

There were some excellent comments made here about the Hentgen for closer campagin, most of which I agree with (even some of the negative ones) so I'd just like to clarify my postion:

Although I do enjoy embelishing for the sake of entertainment, in all honesty I do not assume The Hentgen will one of the uber-dominating closers of the day. My main point is that I would love to see him given a shot at it to see if it does work, especially now when there's not much else going for us, whats to lose? If it fails horribly than take him out of there of course, but I'd just like to see the attempt made. I think the stats show he is great out of the gate and has a fantastic baseball mind and I would love to see what he can do in the late inning. Of course I am fully aware that alot of stuff has to magicaly fall into place for this to work at all, the biggest being managers thinking of this idea, and the man who has known starting for all his life to agree to try the pen, which of course he may absolutley refuse the idea of.

So while I may not be as loopy gung-ho as I appear to be about him saving Blue Jay nation, I still think that (pending his agreement) giving him a shot at closing would be a fantastic, very worth while, nothing to lose-lots to gain, experiment for the Jays.

If Tosca just gave the most innings to his most effective relief pitchers, he would at least maximize what little effectiveness there is to go around. That means pitching Frasor two innings every other day, Nakamura two innings every other day, then praying there isn't much need for the others. It's a shame, but it's true.