Et tu, Marte?

We're following the ChiSox closer situation about as closely anyone can. Tom's been a huge Sox fan since Ozzie Guillen was a swing-at-everything shortstop, and since I live in Chicago, I'm able to attend the odd game at US Cellular. (I'm going to start calling the park by its corporate name, because the corporate cash paid for a pretty decent renovation.) Plus, the White Sox closer situation is clearly the one to follow right now - it is absolutely wide open.

In any case, I was at Saturday's Mariners/ChiSox contest, a game in which, ironically, no relievers were used. (Way to get the scoop, Matt!) However, while Guillen let Buehrle finish out a 2-1 victory, he only made one call to the bullpen, and that was to get Mr. Zero warmed up - just in case.

As a side note, why can't the White Sox sell out US Cellular on a 74-degree Saturday afternoon when they're in first place, and running a promotion in which all tickets are $7.50 or less?! (Our outfield boxes were $6.50, and upper-deck seats were $5.) 25,000 happy fans watched a double complete-game... but the place holds 47,000. Meanwhile, the Cubs pack in 33,000 on a 40-degree Wednesday afternoon. But I digress.

As Tom noted, Hermanson pitched the 8th inning of Monday's tilt with the Twins, striking out two.... and Takatsu got the save by the skin of his teeth, allowing 1 run to score while protecting a 2-run lead.

Tuesday night brought us another close ChiSox win over the Twins - and believe me, these close wins over MIN in April will be fondly remembered come September - and once again Guillen brought in Hermanson for a scoreless 8th inning. And once again, Guillen entrusted Takatsu with a 2-run lead in the 9th. However, after Zero gave up a double to Stewart and an RBI single to Matt LeCroy, Guillen had seen enough, and called for Damaso Marte, who finished the job.

At this point, you could say that Takatsu is on the hot seat, but that would be quite an understatement. He's practically a lame duck. But you Marte owners shouldn't get too excited - it's equally clear that Hermanson is next in line for the closer role, and would have finished tonight's game if he hadn't already pitched a scoreless 8th. Guillen hasn't made any kind of official announcement, but we would not be shocked if Hermanson was handed the next 9th inning CWS lead.

Hermanson, a converted starter, recently had this to say about coming out of the bullpen:

"Closing is a different game, completely different. It's all about getting guys out, but the preparation is different. You have to be a power guy coming out of the pen, but when you are a starter, you have to be in long endurance-type of physical condition. But even when I started, I acted like a closer who was starting. I just closed every inning."

So, maybe it's Hermanson going forward. Then again, the Sox seem to be winning every day, and why mess with what's working? Plus, they've already got the sweet "GONG" sound effect cue for Shingo, and they'd hate to let that go to waste and all. We'll keep you posted.

"This is our job. We have to step up."

Larry Stone at the Seattle Times wrote an excellent piece ("Closers Not Living Up to Their Name", 4/16/05) about the struggles of star closers around the league during the season's first two weeks, and he's included some good quotes from stoppers around the league.

Yeah, there's a little bit of NukeSpeak, ("Playing within ourselves, we gotta play 'em one day at a time, help the club, and the good Lord willing, things will work out"), but there's also some insight into what is clearly a tough assignment. Here's what they had to say:

"I'll bet if you go over the last few years, there's probably been a lot of blown saves in a week; just not at the beginning of the season. Because the games just started, and it's so fresh, it seems like a lot." - Jeremy Affeldt, KC

"There's a little bit of nerves involved. You take six months off, and you wonder if your stuff is still going to be successful." - Trevor Hoffman, SD

"You have to think about what you did, think about what happened, let your frustration out, and once you hit those doors out of this locker, you have to forget it. If you dwell on it, you're in trouble. This is our job. We have to step up for the team. You have to have a real short memory. It's tough to do, but you have to learn how to deal with it." - Eddie Guardado, SEA

We still haven't seen any closers relieved of their duties - not officially, anyway - but it has clearly been a rough couple of weeks for some very highly paid closers in some pretty high-profile situations.

You know, this is a pretty simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains. But if the great Trevor Hoffman can admit that pitching is different, more nerve-wracking, in the final frame, it goes a long way towards explaining why certain pitchers are Superman in the 8th inning and kryptonite in the 9th.