The Closer

To be completely honest, I'm glad Billy Wagner is out for a little while. Hopefully, this time off will not only heal his ailing elbow, but give him enough rest to get into that early season form in which he didn't allow an earned run over the first month. As people age, their bodies break down on them and I think that he may not have the endurance to go a full 162 season any longer, so perhaps this 15 day holiday is just what he needs.
I was the first person who said that Heilman should get the first shot at closing, because he has the stuff to do it, and he's the only one out of the year-long bullpen guys who does. However, I still believe that Heilman must be either tipping his pitches or has a fastball that's extremely easy to see and hit, because he gives up home runs like the hitters are taking BP. None of the other pen regulars can get the job done on a consistant basis. Sanchez is probably either on his way to the DL or to the minors himself, Smith isn't tough enough on lefties, the same problem Schoenweis and Feliciano have with righties, Muniz isn't really all that electrifying and I'm not even sure if Matt Wise is still alive. With Willie Collazzo, Ruddy Lugo and the closer of the future Edie Kunz on the roster, it's a good sign that the times are a changin.
I say Jerry gives Kunz a shot. He's obviously got the stuff to do it, that's why he's on the roster, and he hasn't broken our hearts yet like everyone else out there has done so many times. Jerry said he wants to work the kid up into bigger spots, but that's not the type of pitcher he is. You can't work into a ninth inning role, you either have it, or you don't. I say you just throw the kid into the fire and see if he gets burned. He was remarkable in Binghamton, and has not shown anything that would make me believe he wouldn't succeed in the big leagues other than possible nerves, but closers don't get nervous, it's part of their makeup, and he's a closer.