Jason Isringhausen Headed Back to Closer Role For the Cardinals

Well it's official. Jason Isringhausen will re-assume the closer's role from the struggling Ryan Franklin in a move more out of desperation than anything else to get this Cardinals bullpen back on track. Dave Duncan made the announcement on Monday from Atlanta, in what could only be considered a whisper out of Cardinals camp.

The question becomes, will Izzy restore this bullpen's pride and be able to get the job done? While Dave Duncan said that Izzy has looked much better in recent outings, it isn't necessarily a question of ability, rather than of mental fortitude.

It has been no secret that no Cardinal reliever has been able to shut the door on opponents in the past, but this year has struggled mightily to say the least.

The person who this announcement probably hurts most is Ryan Franklin, the Cardinals shamed set-up man. Franklin blew save after save, leading the Cards on an emotional nightmare that resulted in a five game slide and losing six of seven before pounding the Atlanta Braves tonight.

If the Cardinals had half of Izzy or Franklin's blown saves back they would be tied for 1st place in the division right now. That is how much this bullpen has hurt the team this year.

This move is another last ditch effort by this coaching staff to steer the Cardinals ship over pretty stormy seas in recent weeks. Jason Isringhausen has made no secret of the fact he wanted this job back and many said that helped demoralize Franklin to the point of failure.

With Izzy back where he thinks he should be, will Franklin be able to be a lights out setup man again?

Probably not, Franklin's season will never be the same. Hopefully in years to come he can find his niche, but as of right now, and watching his reaction to this news, he is purely shell shocked.

It's a shame he couldn't get the job done like many thought he could. Still, here's to Izzy's coming back and hopefully getting to 300 (so the Cardinals can record eight saves sometime soon).

Unfortunately, the drama for the Redbirds only seems to be getting worse as the season goes on. Maybe this will quiet all parties involved and get this club, who demonstrated tonight they positively have the ability to win, back to its winning ways.

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