San Francisco Giants: Brian Wilson Foundering, Sergio Romo Should Close

That’s my friendly way of saying, “Brian Wilson sucks.”

Okay, that’s a bit harsh. After all, Brian Wilson did lead the Giants to the World Series last year.

But that was 2010. This is 2011. And in “closer age,” one year is a very long time.

A few years ago, Eric Gagne of the Los Angeles Dodgers was one of the most dominant closers in baseball. Gagne was dominant in 2002. After winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2003 by converting 55 consecutive saves, he proceeded to finish seventh in the voting by posting another solid—although not spectacular—season. After that, injuries sidelined Gagne and he never returned to full strength. He was out of baseball by 2008.

Closers tend to have a shelf-life much lower than that of a starter or middle-reliever, which makes sense. They are prized for their ability to do one thing: Shut the door. This typically means recording one inning of one- or no-run ball.

Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman are the exceptions, and certainly not the rule, when it comes to longevity. All you need to do is look at Brian Wilson’s position on the “active saves” leaderboard to understand this truth.

Wilson is 29 years old and is in his fourth season as a closer. To put this into perspective, Eric Gagne had only three “prime closing” years. His 169 saves rank 12th among active players. If he finishes this season with 44 saves, he will be 10th (obviously, other pitchers’ save totals nonwithstanding).

The point is that through only four years as a closer—and not even posting Gagne- or Smoltz-type numbers—Brian Wilson already occupies a high spot on the active leaderboard, which indicates to me a general lack of longevity at the position.

This fact is compounded by the truth that the Giants already have an “heir-apparent” to Brian Wilson: Sergio Romo. The issue is this: Sergio Romo should be the Giants closer anyway.

Plenty of sports analysts like to use the term “closer’s mentality.” I don’t hold this term in particularly high esteem. A closer is a pitcher. A pitcher takes the mound and gets outs. Any pitcher who is daunted or intimidated by another team’s lineup—regardless of the inning—should not be pitching in the Major Leagues, plain and simple.

Therefore, I would argue that any pitcher could be a closer. The pitcher who should be a closer, in my opinion, is the best relief pitcher on the team.

Last year, that was Brian Wilson.

This year, it’s Sergio Romo.

And it’s not even close. Take a look at the stat lines.

Brian Wilson: 6-3, 3.19 ERA, 35 saves, 5 blown saves, 53.2IP, 52K, 31BB, 46H, 1.42 WHIP.

Sergio Romo: 3-1, 1.67 ERA, 1 save, 37.2IP, 53K, 4BB, 20H, 0.64 WHIP.

No comparison. Sergio Romo has one of the lowest WHIPs in history, a better ERA than Wilson had during his fine season last year and more strikeouts despite having 16 less innings pitched.

So why isn’t the best relief pitcher on our team the closer? Is it purely for the marketing? Do Brian Wilson’s hilarious quotes, insane antics and bankable beard really justify five blown saves (and countless other close calls)—saves that in the hands of Sergio Romo would have probably been converted?  

Brian Wilson is a fan favorite, to be sure. And what he did for the Giants in 2010 won’t be forgotten by anybody who saw the Giants season or postseason. But the time may have come for Brian Wilson to either take a backseat to Romo or find another team for whom he can more substantially contribute.

Of course, none of that will happen. Sergio Romo is injured, fans want to see Brian Wilson, etc., etc.

And fans will see Brian Wilson until September 28^th and not a day later—at this rate.