As we left Spring Training, everyone was sure Jason Motte was going to be the closer for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009. He was dominant in the spring, Chris Perez was headed to the minors, and Tony LaRussa even named him the closer. After four games, we already have reason to be skeptical.Motte got his first big-league save opportunity on Opening Day, but he promptly blew it ... to the Pirates. After a Freddy Sanchez double, he got two consecutive outs before completely unraveling. Single, double, hit by pitch and double, and you have 4 runs on 4 hits -- and a blown save.
In the next two games, Motte didn't get the chance to erase the nightmarish debut. The Cardinals weren't presented with a save chance, though, so we could just assume LaRussa was sticking to the previously delegated roles in his bullpen. Thursday, though, they entered the ninth with a 1-run lead over those same Pirates.
Enter Dennys Reyes, the 13-year veteran who hadn't accrued a save since 1999. He set the Pirates down in order for his third career save. Now, let us not overreact and go add Reyes. LaRussa obviously used him because he throws left-handed and the Pirates had two lefties and a switch-hitter due up in the ninth. We know how much LaRussa is obsessed with going by the book in matching up, to the point that innings 6-9 of Cardinals games often become excruciating to watch -- with all the pitching changes and pinch-hitters it's like watching paint dry.
On the other hand, LaRussa doesn't mind going closer-by-committee and he most certainly doesn't mind doing things that cause reporters to ask him questions. He had the perfect chance to put Motte back out on the hill to regain his confidence. Instead, LaRussa was too scared to stray from the matchups with a one-run lead. This doesn't exactly send a huge vibe of confidence in Motte's direction. Plus, there's this: The last time LaRussa had a full-time closer, in 2007, Jason Isringhausen had 32 saves. Two others had 1, and that was it. The bottom line? If he was really set on closing with Motte, he would have run him back out there by now, especially with Thursday's save chance.
Moving forward, I'm sure Motte will get his fair share of chances -- especially if the lineup contains all right-handers (matchups!). Still, it's very reasonable to believe Ryan Franklin is going to get chances, while Reyes will get the assignment should a lineup chock full of lefties present itself again, and Perez will probably eventually resurface as well.
If you were counting on 30+ saves from Motte this year, my apologies. We've already found out in four games that's fallen by the wayside. All it took was one bad outing and the work of a desperate-for-attention faux-genius.
