remember when we were kids and most major league teams didn't have "closers"

now, a guy throws 97 mph and they say, "kid you're our closer". they pay him $7 million/year and give him the ball everytime they have a lead in the 9th. the managers don't even think about it...got a 1,2 or 3 run lead in the 9th, just send in our "closer" and count the win. doesn't matter if your closer is smoltz, gagne, koch or mike williams...just send him in.

boys, use your freakin' heads. billy koch is not john smotz. you got smoltz...use him every time, you got koch...you ain't got a closer, you gotta think in the 9th inning.

when i was a kid, the starters pitched until they ran outta gas. then the manager used his head and matched up his reliever against the specific hitters coming up in the 8th and 9th inning (unless they had bruce sutter). i am begging baseball managers to consider common sense as a factor and stop running out these rag-arm "closers" just because that's what everyone else does.

ahhh, i feel better now.

tell that to theo esptein and grady little.

I agree Blue, If I were manager I would also consider 4 man rotation for 1 month periods. Promblem is pro sports you have clones, nobody wants attention of thinking outside of the box.

MOST OF THE TEAMS I BET ON "DONT HAVE CLOSERS" AT LEAST WHEN I BET THEM....

I'VE LOST MORE LATE INNING LEADS THIS YEAR THAN I CAN REMEMBER IN ANY ONE YEAR

Thank Tony Larussa for changing the way a closer is used exclusively to start the 9th inning...of course he had the BEST closer maybe of all time...

This is a question I have wondered about many times, and theoretically it doesn`t make sense..

I agree. I like the way the Padres used Hoffman in the World Series a few years ago. They used him when they needed him. Just because it's not the ninth inning doesn't mean you can't bring him in. If I remember right they brought him in in the 6th or 7th inning and the manager caught hell for it.