[MikeThierry]

Madson is young so that is good but I just wonder if this is a lateral move? Not to put a damper on the trade but Codero gave the Reds 37 saves compared to 32 with Madson. Yet Codero just pitched 9 more innings than Madson. We can assume then that Codero had 9 more save opportunities. Even if Madson manages to get 9 more saves (none of them being blown saves in this scenario), does it put the Reds over the top? Don't get me wrong, it's a good move by the Reds but I think this is a reason why, as someone alluded to earlier, that it might not be a good idea to pay a lot of money for the closer position. Having that guy at the end of the bullpen is needed but it isn't something that will make a team an automatic favorite to win a division or put them over the top. Is improving by four wins (again assuming that all of those 9 extra save opportunities are not blown saves) going to put them over the top when the Reds were 17 games back last year?