Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Santana to Close?

Angels starting pitcher Ervin Santana struggled to find his comfort zone last season, but is eying a comeback. Personally, I think he can do it. Although he went 7-14 with a 5.76 ERA in 28 games, he went 28-16 with a 4.47 ERA in the two seasons before that. However, if he cannot shock the Angels with his new and improved 'stuff,' we might see a switch to the bullpen in his future. The Angels may be thinking about life without Francisco Rodriguez and will consider Ervin Santana for the spot. Although he does not have closing in his past, several closers do not have experience in that spot and have still done well. He throws hard and has good movement, so he could be very successful if he pitched one to two innings every other day. Santana has never pitched over 33 games in a season, so endurance might be a problem. However, if Joe Saunders can do well in the rotation and Santana will accept a switch to the bullpen, they can start to convert him now. Yes, we are far from determining K-Rod's future with the team, but it might be smart to consider Santana in that spot for the future.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

hahahhahhahahaha ya right he will never be able to close games. Don't worry Angles Fans You will be seeing K- Rod a lot because he will be wearing An A's Uniform in 09!!!

Bucky, NY said...

K-Rod isnt going anywhere, the angels have the money and will figure out they need him more than he needs them. Trust me on that. Could the Yanks and Sox win 95 games a year with a mediocre closer, I think not.

Eli Levenfeld said...

just make sure he doesn't close at home and he might be fine..haha

Eli Levenfeld said...

i meant make sure he doesn's pitch road games, and maybe he'll be a fine closer