A closer should be indicative of the finish line for most teams. "If they can just get the ball to Lee Smith", "If they can just get the ball to Dennis Eckersley", this game is over. In the bag, one in the win column.
Brian "orange shoes" Wilson seems to long for more work. He doesn't like the simple walk off appearance. (it was the Eck that coined the term "walk-off") Eck would come in with a one run lead, two outs runners in scoring position and strike out anyone in the batter's box and "walk off" the mound with a save. Wilson thinks he gets paid by the pitch I would guess. It's been Wilson's routine to load the bases before getting the final out. (or blowing the save/lead)
The Giants need to think long and hard about making Chris Ray the 8th inning guy and Dan Runzler the Closer. It's my opinion that unless Wilson is sent a message about his role as closer, he won't be reliable for another 4 years. A typical SF scenario is where Wilson gets traded to Tampa. Tampa sends him to AAA to humiliate him, then brings him back up and he becomes the Eric Gagne'ish closer we expected. But until he cans the orange shoes and takes his role as close seriously, you can expect more unnecessary drama in the ninth.
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