Fantasy Faceoff: Closing arguments

Closers are one of the more unpredictable positions to gauge in Fantasy Baseball. There seems to be only a handful of bona fide closers available on Draft Day or through trades during the course of the season. However, there are a whole slew of 'other' guys.

For instance, Dustin Hermanson of the White Sox, Milwaukee's Derrick Turnbow and San Francisco's Tyler Wright weren’t even on their managers' radar screen during spring training for closing duties, let alone the minds of Fantasy owners looking for saves when the season began.

Those teams all had unsettled closer situations and their respective clubs were not expected to do much of anything during the season. It seems a lot of Fantasy owners gravitate towards closers on winning teams, but that does not always mean success in the category. The 'good' teams such as the Red Sox, Angels and Braves see their closers sitting well down the statistical leaderboard in the saves category, for various reasons. These teams also often win by more than the three-run margin required for a pitcher to qualify for a save. So sometimes it is nice to sprinkle in a closer or two from a mid-level team such as the Indians or Pirates, who, when they do win a game, it’s usually by a very slim margin. This gives their closer ample save opportunities throughout the course of the season.

Unfortunately, one has to mine the successful closers in these situations very carefully. The low-end teams have tight budgets and they do not get the same type of players as the high-end teams. One has to keep in mind that a closer on a team such as the Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals or other teams dwelling in the cellar might not see a save opportunity for a week or two. So it is a very interesting debate, but a team's record should definitely not preclude Fantasy owners from selecting a closer.

Keith Foulke or Eddie Guardado? Joe Nathan or Chad Cordero?

Everyday Eddie has five more saves than Foulke and Chad has two more saves than Nathan. So, if someone offers you a deal with Cordero as the cornerstone, do you bite? What about B.J. Ryan? Would you trade for him in exchange for a proven slugger or starter?

Based on their lack of a track record (both from their teams and in their roles as closers), consider me impressed if Ryan and Cordero are among the league leaders at season's end. Before you send that angry e-mail Orioles' fan, I said I would be impressed. I didn't say they won't continue their fine performance. But, until they prove they can hold up as a team's closer over a full season, I'm entitled to have my doubts.

Point being, there are more reliable options for you to consider. Mariano Rivera, Billy Wagner and Trevor Hoffman are all on teams that should win more than they lose over the second half of the season and are proven stoppers.

If you just take the raw numbers, say, 90-95 wins as opposed to 75-80 wins, the closer on the 95-win team will get more save opportunities. Does Cordero have more saves than Nathan right now? Yes. Will Nathan finish the year with more saves and better overall numbers than Cordero? Yes.

As hard as it is to believe in the Nats winning the NL East, it's equally as difficult to imagine Cordero continuing to perform at this level. The combination of the two (less opportunities. in the second half coupled with an inevitable hiccup) has me looking elsewhere for saves over the next few months.

Sure, Jason Isringhausen is one overthrown curve ball from landing on the disabled list, but the Cardinals are ticketed to win 90-100 games. He had 47 saves a year ago during his team's run to the World Series. Would I overpay for him instead Cordero or Ryan? Bob Wickman? Derrick Turnbow? Ryan Dempster? Absolutely.

More opportunities combined with reliable, proven teammates make the best closers. I'll pay more for Mo instead of trying to get Jose Mesa on the cheap any day.