Marlins have a New Closer

by craig on Apr 19, 2007 7:23 AM EDT in News and Rumors

Exactly who that is, Fredi ain't telling.

So far, most signs point to Henry Owens assuming the closer's role even though the Marlins haven't found themselves in a save situation since Julio lost the job last week.

Owens and Kevin Gregg were warming up in Houston on Monday when the Marlins were hitting in the top of the ninth of a tie game. Owens said he was alerted that he would go in if the Marlins scored to take the lead. But the Marlins failed to score and Gregg went in to pitch instead.

Gonzalez said he has pretty much made up his mind which reliever he plans to use in save situations but has not informed the candidate.

''I haven't told the guy,'' Gonzalez said. ``Why tell a guy and then, all of a sudden, you don't get to use him for five days? He ends up sitting in the bullpen scratching his head.''

All the smart money is on Owens and frankly he deserves to be given the shot. The other factors to consider are that Gregg, while having value in short relief, also can pitch long relief. Pinning him down to just the closer's role would limit the amount of versatility out of the pen. Also the fact, Tankersley is not ready to close. Tank, while improving, isn't up to speed just yet.

But probably the most important indicator is that when I asked my Magic Eight Ball if Owens will be the new closer it said: All Signs Point to Yes. So there you have it.

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