Case closed

I'll spare you the All-Star rant right now. The rosters have some ugly spots as always, but I don't have the strength right now and it's passable on the whole.

Still, it was interesting to see that the top names in the bullpen for the AL were new kids with Bobby Jenks and Jonathan Papelbon. I've been thinking about closers for a few days now since Joe Nathan notched his 100th career save against the Cubs last weekend in Minneapolis.

Frank the Tank and I have gone back and forth about closers and what we'd be looking for if we were GMs.

Seeing Joe Nathan on a more consistient basis makes me appreciate what he brings to the table, but I still contend (and not necessarily against Frank's opinions) that while every team has a guy at the end of the bench, it takes a special breed of cat to close out games.

Even more rare are guys who can come in and break a team's spirit. That list more or less began and ended with Mariano Rivera and Eric Gagne.

Leading the majors in saves (and yes, I know that it's a pretty artificial stat and that the A's have figured out ways to exploit it for cash considerations) as of today are Jenks (25), Papelbon (25), Jason Isringhausen (24), Derrick Turnbow(23), Todd Jones (22), BJ Ryan (22), Tom Gordon (21), Trevor Hoffman (20), Brad Lidge (20), Chris Ray (20), Francisco Rodriguez (19), and Rivera (18).

I had to expand that to a top 12 to get K Rod and Rivera in there. Huston Street is 13th and the list goes on from there.

The truth is that no one is really going out there and terrifying teams right now. There are a few guys you really don't want to see, but no one on par with Rivera in his untouchable prime. For me, that's the key - it's not so much a matter of how well you're throwing as much as what the batters are seeing.

Begining as a throw away position at a time when relievers were starters who couldn't hack it and were used only when a starter couldn't pitch the whole game, relievers started to come into their own in the 70's.

Some guys will never pull off the requisite swagger. See Exhibit A, LaTroy Hawkins. After doing well as the set up man in Minnesota he was given the keys and got his ass handed to him for the better part of two seasons. I was there when he was booed at last year's home opener and saw him implode again this year in the Metrodome as a long reliever.

Now look at Jenks and Papelbon who aren't world-beaters yet, but after being thrown to the wolves have thrived.

All of this swirls about in the debate over closers, ranging from pure stats to my favorite indicator - do you want to hit the reset button on the PS2 when that guy comes in at the end of the game against you? As it stands from looking at the saves leaders right now, I'm still waiting to see who steps up as the next big closer in the majors.

The way I see it, there are a few key factors here:

* Strong arm
* Short memory
* Reputation
* Mean streak
* Winning team (no brainer as without save situations, there's little reason for a closer)
* Fan confidence
* Cool song

Who will be the next Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Mo Rivera or Lee Smith? Smart money says it's not going to be any of the middle relievers in circulation right now. Gagne is having a hard time staying in the lineup and Rivera has lost his untouchable status (but remains one of the top few closers in the league despite his demotion from unhittable god).

Who'll be next? Who has the lack of brains or abundance of stones to step in and shut down games day after day? As the Tank is fond of pointing out, it's probably not going to be Ryan Dempster (see number 5).

(Image from wrigleyball.com)