7 MLB Closers on the Hot Seat

When it comes to closers in baseball, there's Mariano Rivera, and then there's everybody else.

For more than a decade, the New York Yankees have been spoiled, knowing that once the game reaches the ninth inning, it's a virtual certainty that Mo will come in and get the job done.

But for the rest of the league, having such a powerful weapon at the back-end of their bullpen is little more than a pipe dream. They use a plethora of pitchers in the role, often in the same season, not just year after year.

As we sit here today, a month into the 2012 season, more than half of the league remains supremely confident in the ability of their closer to get the job done.

For the rest of the league, however, it's getting to the point where a change might be necessary sooner rather than later.

Let's take a look at seven closers who need to step up their game—or step out of the way.

Heath Bell, Miami Marlins

After Albert Pujols, no free-agent signing this past winter has been more disappointing than Heath Bell of the Miami Marlins.

Bell, who saved 132 games for the San Diego Padres from 2009 through 2011 has struggled mightily in Miami, blowing three of the five save opportunities he's had while posting a 9.53 ERA and 2.82 WHIP.

According to Bell, he and Marlins' pitching coach Randy St. Claire have figured out what the problem is:

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“I’m confident that I can pitch like I know I can. For whatever reason I was creating bad habits this year. [It was] some things from last year that we found out. Like Ozzie said, and even [St. Claire] said, I need to start pounding the strike zone. I’m not doing that right now. I feel like I will pound the strike zone from here on out. Mechanically, I’m perfectly fine. There’s just a few other things that if [St. Claire]  wants to talk about, then we’ll talk about it.”

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That's fine and dandy, but results speak louder than words, and right now, Bell's results are detrimental to his team's success.

Both Steve Chisek (2-0, 0.96 ERA, 0.86 WHIP) and Edward Mujica (0-2, 4.66 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) are candidates to replace Bell in the ninth if he can't get himself straightened out.

Matt Capps, Minnesota Twins

He's converted all four of his save opportunities thus far in 2012, but Matt Capps' hold on the ninth inning for Minnesota is tenuous at best.

Boasting a 5.63 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, Capps has doing little to help the cause of the struggling Twins, a team that is currently tied for last with the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central.

Glen Perkins, fresh off of the disabled list, would be the likely replacement for Capps if Twins' skipper Ron Gardenhire decides to make a move.

Scott Downs, Los Angeles Angels

Already on their second closer of the season, with Scott Downs having replaced incumbent Jordan Walden, the Los Angeles Angels are still on the hunt for a new closer in 2012.

According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Angels have called around the league gauging the availability of a number of closers, including Grant Balfour of the Oakland A's, Joel Hanrahan of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brandon League of the Seattle Mariners.

With all due respect to Downs, it's only a matter of when, not if, the Angels move on to their third closer of the young 2012 season.

Frank Francisco, New York Mets

While he's a perfect five-for-five in save chances this season, Frank Francisco has certainly made the ninth inning interesting for the New York Mets.

After starting the season with three scoreless innings of work, Francisco has allowed eight earned runs and 11 hits over his past 6.1 innings pitched—good for an 11.37 ERA.

Mets manager Terry Collins has yet to say anything regarding Francisco's hold on the closer's role, but one would have to assume that his continued struggles will force Collins' hand sooner rather than later.

Either Jon Rauch (3-0, 2.53 ERA, 0.75 WHIP) or Bobby Parnell (0-0, 3.48 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) figure to be next in line if and when a change is made.

Javy Guerra, Los Angeles Dodgers

Coming off of a 2011 season where he saved 21 games, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was quick to stand behind Javy Guerra as his closer in 2012.

While people clamored for flamethrower Kenley Jansen to take the job, they couldn't argue with Guerra's previous success.

Over his first six games, Guerra rewarded Mattingly for sticking with him, going 1-0 with five saves without allowing a run.

But that was then, and this is now.

Since April 17th, Guerra has gone 0-2 with a 14.54 ERA and 3.00 WHIP. He's blown two of the four save chances he's had and the calls for Jansen to take over in the role have only grown stronger.

Even after using Jansen to close Sunday's win over the Washington Nationals, Mattingly remains committed to Guerra as his closer.

That commitment is unlikely to last if Guerra continues to struggle, and it shouldn't be long before Jansen takes the reins in the ninth inning.

Hector Santiago, Chicago White Sox

Entering the 2012 season, many people, myself included, expected that veteran Matt Thornton would be the closer for the Chicago White Sox.

Instead, rookie hurler Hector Santiago got the nod from rookie manager Robin Ventura, and to say that Santiago has struggled would be an understatement.

The rookie has blown two of the six save opportunities he's had with an ERA of 8.53, a WHIP of 1.90. Not to mention that he found Thornton closing Sunday's game against the Boston Red Sox in his place.

Ventura defended Santiago following the game:

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"It is nothing against Hector, he still will be in there in the ninth, but you're looking at guy with a body of work against those three guys (Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz). I felt confident leaving Matt in there."

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Santiago's problem hasn't been walks, having only issued one thus far. His problem has been that when he misses with his pitches, they are ending up over the middle of the plate, where they're getting crushed all over the field.

Nobody outside of Chicago expected much from the White Sox this season, but they find themselves in the thick of things a month into the season. Continuing to trot out an ineffective closer  isn't something that Ventura can continue to do.

With Thornton knocking on the door and fans wanting to see what fellow rookie Addison Reed could do in the role, Santiago will have to get things on track quickly. 

Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs

Having blown two of the three saves chances he's had thus far, Cubs manager Dale Sveum wanted to give Carlos Marmol a chance to pitch with no pressure.

Up 5-0 against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, Sveum sent Marmol out for the ninth inning. He proceeded to walk two batters and give up an infield single, allowing a run to score. With two outs and the bases loaded, Shane Victorino stepped to the plate as the tying run.

Marmol was able to get him to ground out to end the game, but what was supposed to be an easy ninth inning turned into a stressful situation for Sveum, who seems to be running out of patience:

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"He's going to be a high pitch-count guy. Most times he's going to be 20 or 30 pitches. Obviously, you don't want to see that kind of stress out there. But that's what he is and that's what you have to understand. You've got to be patient, but there's only so much you be patient with."

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Marmol sits with a 5.87 ERA, 2.09 WHIP and more walks than strikeouts—not a good sign for your closer.

When Sveum's patience finally wears thin, either James Russell (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) or Kerry Wood, currently on the 15-day disabled list, would be the likely replacements for Marmol in the ninth inning.