http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
Reds To Sign Ryan Madson
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [January 10 at 9:56pm CST]
The Reds have agreed to sign Ryan Madson, Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets. Scott Boras represents the right-hander, who figures to become the closer in Cincinnati's new-look bullpen.
Woo-freakin-Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/0...n-madson-.html
There really weren't a lot teams pursuing closers once Boston landed their closer. My question now is-how much and for how many years?
I am not a fan of paying money for closers.... but since the Reds seem bent on doing so, I am glad they got someone like Madson rather than someone like Cordero.
Bronson Arroyo - 6'4"
Homer Bailey - 6'3"
Andrew Brackman - 6'10"
Bill Bray - 6'3"
Aroldis Chapman - 6'4"
Mat Latos - 6'6"
Ryan Madson - 6'6"
Sean Marshall - 6'7"
Nick Masset - 6'4"
Logan Ondrusek - 6'8"
Probably won't see too many guys charging the mound against this pitching staff.
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HELL YES! Get ready for big things this year my friends.
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?
No question about it that Madson blows away Coco in every statistical category. However, when it comes to a closer, that is about as bottom line of a position as you are going to get in the majors. The only stat that truly matters is saves. With starting pitchers, the stats can be deceiving. Does he keep his team in games? Is his defense good or bad behind him? Starting pitching is kind of a grey area in that regard. With closers, a save is a save is a save. There is no grey area. Their sole purpose is to close out games. FIP, ERA, WHIP do not matter. Now we can get into the numbers and see that some closers are more effective than others (Madson is obviously a more effective closer). However, does adding Madson close the gap enough to push the Reds over the top? Is adding four extra saves to the Reds going to push them to a 90 win season? (I predict that 90 wins will be the standard to win the division this year).
I can't stress this enough. I like this move. It clearly makes the Reds better. I just feel the closer position can be overrated.
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