http://rotoworld.com/content/story.a...&storyid=22388
After bringing in Esteban Yan in the seventh inning to give up a tiebreaking grand slam in Saturday’s loss to the Cubs, Reds manager Jerry Narron decided hold the media or the fans at fault. It’s hard to tell which.
''Few guys will have the success Todd Coffey had in that role, that seventh- [and] eighth-inning role with guys on base. Or even the sixth inning,'' Narron told MLB.com. ''Todd Coffey did a great job for us. I don't think people appreciated what he was doing. Everyone said, 'Just put him in the closer's role.' This shows you how huge those outs are in those middle-to-late innings.''
Then why’d you make the switch, Jerry? David Weathers had a 3.24 ERA when he was pulled from the closer’s role. He had blown four saves, but the Reds won two of those games. More importantly, Coffey was doing an absolutely brilliant job of bailing starters and relievers alike out of jams. He was the Reds’ lone reliever that Narron should have wanted entering games with men on base. Now he’s being utilized in a role in which he’ll come in with the bases empty the vast majority of the time. The whole bullpen sets up worse, and the Reds are a weaker club as a result. Nicely done.