Jason Motte: Scary Outing, But Don't Give up Just Yet

Jason Motte made his debut yesterday as the Cardinals' new closer. The Cards were up 4-2 when the inning was led off with a double. Two outs later, the runner stood on third with Adam LaRoche at the plate.

With two strikes, LaRoche extended the game with a shot through the hole between first and second, scoring the runner, drawing the Pirates ever closer. When Eric Hinskie came up, he immediately blasted a double right down the left field line, putting runners at first and second.

Cardinals fans continued to support their closer, who needed just one more out as Brandon Moss stepped in.

A few good pitches later, Moss was hit in the back and the bases were loaded for Jack Wilson, who hadn't had a good swing on the ball all day. Wilson hit a three-run double that put the Pirates up by two, and as the Cardinals walked off the field, a few distant boos could be heard.

We all know what those boo-birds were thinking: Here we go again.

For the past three years, the Redbirds have been cursed with the ever incompetent closer Jason Isringhausen, better known as "Izzy." Isringhausen seemed to blow half of his save opportunities, and the ones he did not, he simply couldn't resist giving up a few runs first, just to make it interesting.

But there's a big difference between the two, in my eyes, that sets Motte apart from Izzy, even with the four-run ninth yesterday.

My big pet peeve with Izzy was that when he would blow a big lead, he seemed extremely non-chalant about it. Sure, he was upset about it, but probably because it meant less money for him.

His "strategy" was to know which batters he wanted, and which outs they would be, but it failed many times, and I don't trust this strategy no matter who you are. Letting batters go by, just for the sake of getting a batter a few spots behind them out, is a waste of time, and often just has the club looking back at the ninth inning lead they once had.

Now, let's look at Motte. Watching the game yesterday, when he "got the call," he jumped up, threw off his jacket, and threw a great number of pitches in a short period of time.

He was excited, livid, and nervous to be getting the chance to step in and prove himself as the Cardinals' closer. I've always believed that being nervous is a good sign for athletes, it means they are competitors with a passion for excellence. That's exactly what we saw from Motte.

He is passionate about the game, and passionate about winning and losing. When he blew the lead, he showed real distress and emotion as he disappointingly went to cover home. He wants to be perfect, and that's what a passionate competitor should want.

There is no question that Motte will work like a mad man through the season to get as near perfect as he can. The last thing I expect to see on the mound is a calm, young pitcher who is OK with giving up a few runs, as long as he gets the save or the hold.

St. Louis loves and needs an exciting, intense player like Motte, which they've been lacking since Steve Kline's departure.

Be patient; Motte is a young, passionate, hard-throwing competitor, and if the pieces fall into place, he could be the answer to the Cardinals' closing woes over the past few years.

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