There are two positions in Major League Baseball that seem to be the constant home for vagabonds and hobos: Catcher and Closer. For the purpose of clarity, we'll focus just on closers in this rant.Last night, Putting It In Reverse had the priviledge of getting to see one of these bums up close and personal. Giants CL Armando Benitez (of Yankees and Mariners fame) came into the game, his team leading 4-3 in the bottom of the 12th inning.
After wisely walking leadoff hitter Jose Reyes, Benitez refused to give Joey Kings the chance to steal a base on his own. Instead, Armando balked, not once, but twice. The sequence went as follows: balk, bunt, balk, run. Then, in classic Armando Benitez style, he got one man out, then actually got 2 strikes on the next batter.
Unfortunately, that 91 mph fastball doesn't get the kind of mileage that Benitez would like. Delgado deposited the 2-2 pitch into the right field stands. This came only 4 days after Benitez's most recent appearance, in which he lost the game, surrendering two runs.
Though anyone in the Tri-State area has seen these sorts of meltdowns before, Tuesday night's against the Mets has to rank up there as the most glaringly horrific. The simple fact that he balked twice, one sending Reyes home, should be enough to have him either shot or cut. Or both.
Yet, Sr. Benitez isn't the only jerk manning the last inning in the majors. In Cleveland, "Sweaty" Joe Borowski looms at the horizon, scaring opposing teams with his stellar 6.75 ERA. All said, he's tied for second in the league with 17 saves. His AL Central buddy, Todd Jones must have naked pictures of Bud Selig. He's been bringing his tired act all around the country, writing Sporting News columns with blank hats along the way. His career ERA is over 4, and yet, he's still around. What about in the NL Central, our pals Ryan Dempster and Dan Wheeler? They've got jobs too, and if memory serves, they've never been anything other than remotely average. The list goes on. Salomon Torres, Al Reyes, Bob Wickman.
Think the game is getting too specialized? You may be right.
