Milwaukee Brewers set to name the permanent closer for rest of the season – MLB News
With the continuous slump that the Milwaukee Brewers have recently witnessed, the team on Thursday, July 26 decided to go for closer-by-committee to designate the closer. While every aspect of the game needs immediate attention, the bullpen probably needs the most for the Brewers as both John Axford and Francisco Rodriguez have failed to live up to expectations.
The team manager Ron Roenicke announced on Thursday that the Brewers have decide to try closer-by-committee now.
"We're going to go with whatever we see in the game," manager Ron Roenicke said. "Unfortunately, it's come to that. I would probably rather have a set bullpen, but we're going to match it and see how we do that way."
The Brewers remained one of the best teams of the National League Central the previous year, outshining the best of rivals. Among other things, the closer John Axford had a key role in the rise of the Brewers as he had 46 saves out of 48 games.
However, this year Axford has so far, to the disappointment of the Brewers, missed six opportunities to save. That prompted the team to bring in Francisco Rodriguez, but he too – much to the Brewers chagrin, has not performed up to the mark.
Rodriguez has blown two straight saves, causing some serious concern within the team. With both the options apparently falling flat, the Brewers are now considering the name of 37-year-old Livan Hernandez.
The team manager has full confidence in Hernandez, thanks to the experience that the latter holds.
"I know one thing about him: he isn't going to be bothered by what's the circumstance," Roenicke said of Hernandez. "He's going to throw strikes. And that's not to say he won't go out there and walk somebody, but he's going to attack the hitters. I'm OK with that."
Hernandez joined the team only last month. But his arrival must have had great impact on the team. In particular, it is his strikes that set him apart among those in bullpen.
As to who finally wins the race is something that cannot be speculated. Whatever the team decides, nonetheless, will have an enormous bearing on the team’s overall performance.
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