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Has anyone seen any write ups as to what the current closer situation is in Chicago? I saw that Thornton got the save yesterday, and I didn't see that Santiago was over-utilized over the past week, and I know he has been stinking it up. Ventura said after Santiago's last outing, that he was still his closer.

I wonder if the move to Thornton is just a temporary move or are we in a committee?

Rotoworld and others have been surprisingly quiet about it.

Yes? No?

So Matt Thornton got the chance, retiring the Red Sox in order to nail down his first save of the season. But that doesn't mean Santiago has been booted from the ninth inning, according to Robin Ventura.

"It is nothing against Hector, he still will be in there in the ninth, but you're looking at guy with a body of work against those three guys," Ventura said after the game. "I felt confident leaving Matt in there."

I believe it was 3 of 4 lefties coming up, so thornton was a logical choice. I'd expect more excuses not to use Santiago in certain situations given how he's pitched, and a "situational" closer by committee going forward would be a good guess.

KJ Duke wrote:I believe it was 3 of 4 lefties coming up, so thornton was a logical choice. I'd expect more excuses not to use Santiago in certain situations given how he's pitched, and a "situational" closer by committee going forward would be a good guess.

Except Santiago is a lefty too.

In his presser Ventura said he went with Thornton based on his previous success against the hitters scheduled.

Putting aside the fact that numerishly, this is insignificant and one of the bigger myths, when you think about it, shouldn't Thornton's superior history mean he has had previous success against just about any scheduled hitters?

To paraphrase Norm...

Managers - can't live with them, pass the beer nuts.

ToddZ wrote:

KJ Duke wrote:I believe it was 3 of 4 lefties coming up, so thornton was a logical choice. I'd expect more excuses not to use Santiago in certain situations given how he's pitched, and a "situational" closer by committee going forward would be a good guess.

Except Santiago is a lefty too.

In his presser Ventura said he went with Thornton based on his previous success against the hitters scheduled.

Putting aside the fact that numerishly, this is insignificant and one of the bigger myths, when you think about it, shouldn't Thornton's superior history mean he has had previous success against just about any scheduled hitters?

To paraphrase Norm...

Managers - can't live with them, pass the beer nuts.

Good point Todd. Even though I've watched him a couple times, forget he was a lefty too. I did see the Ventura quote ... which is usually code for, "I didn't want to pitch the other guy because I'm trying to win the game, but I also don't want my closer to think he's being demoted". Similar situation in LA last night.

In football, RBBC already has become a common abbreviation in recent years; CBC may be on the verge of a breakthrough season.

KJ Duke wrote: In football, RBBC already has become a common abbreviation in recent years; CBC may be on the verge of a breakthrough season.

this guy.



i would rather have KJ Duke as MLB Commish than Selig.....of course catchers might be in trouble