The Closers
The last couple of years, I’ve spent around 25% of my purchases on closers. Go ahead, laugh. Amazingly I’ve been able to stay competitive, and I just wonder what I can do if I can move purchases on closers from 4 to 2. So, this year I’m going with quality closers: Jonathan Broxton, Rafael Soriano, Billy Wagner and Chris Perez. Now, this isn’t the safest group, but they are skilled. In the past I’ve jumped on all cheap closers who had opportunity. The problem with that strategy is you end up with closers that aren’t very good, and when you have to replace them it screws up your lineup because you spent the whole offseason planning a squad around cheap closers. Yeah, I’m talking to you Jason Motte!

Another bonus to taking good closers: more strikeouts, better ERA, and WHIP. This is quite obvious, but I’ve always overlooked this aspect, forgoing skilled closers in favor of cheap saves. This year I hope to get way ahead in pitching, and having quality closers will help me to do this. That way I can build a lead, and hopefully use my purchases to build up my hitting as the season wears on.

Jonathan Broxton 1360 (LAD) – In my opinion, Broxton may be the game’s top closer. He struck out 114 batters last year! He had a good K/BB ratio of 3.93, and his K/9 was beyond dazzling at 13.50. Unlike most power closers, Broxton had an unbelievably good GB% of 56.1%. If he has those peripheral numbers again in ’10 (no reason to think he’ll regress, at least by much), his ERA will likely drop into the low 2’s range.

Rafael Soriano 1240 (TB) – Much like Broxton, Soriano had a very solid K/BB ratio of 3.78 thanks to an outstanding K/9 of 12.13. His ERA was 2.97, but it actually could have been much lower. Soriano’s BABIP of .297 was 33 points above his career average. With some regression of his BABIP, Soriano is likely to improve upon his ’09 stats.

Billy Wagner 1160 (ATL) – Wagner was extremely impressive in the innings he pitched after he returned from TJ surgery at the end of last season; he struck out 26 batters in 15.2 IP. On top of that, Wagner reportedly threw as high as 101 in Spring Training. I know he’s 38, but I still think there’s quality innings left in that arm.

Chris Perez 790 (CLE) – Well, I had to go with one low priced play, but Perez isn’t on my squad solely because of opportunity. We have him projected for a 3.3 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 80 strikeouts. Perez will have the closer’s job for Cleveland for the first two months of the season while Kerry Wood is out. I think there’s a good chance he performs well and keeps it for the long haul. If not, I’ll just replace him, and there’s a good chance that a low-priced closer will have emerged by then that I can easily substitute in for Perez.

I think I’ve assembled four closers who are going to rack up a lot of strikeouts while posting very low ERA’s. This should allow me to handle my starting pitching staff more easily or at least that’s the plan. Since saves are often a crapshoot, I tried to assemble the most skilled pitchers I could without overspending.

Wrapping Things Up
Well, with lineups due in less than 24 hours, here’s my adjusted lineup heading into the season:

C – Victor Martinez, Matt Wieters

1B – Albert Pujols, Joey Votto

2B – Gordon Beckham, Rickie Weeks

3B – Evan Longoria, Ryan Zimmerman

SS – Troy Tulowitzki, Asdrubal Cabrera

OF – Jason Heyward, Carlos Gonzalez, Julio Borbon, Josh Hamilton, Andrew McCutcheon, Justin Upton

DH – Ryan Howard, Rajai Davis

SP – Roy Halladay, Zack Greinke, Tim Lincecum, Dan Haren, Johan Santana, Justin Verlander

RP – Jonathan Broxton, Rafael Soriano, Billy Wagner, Chris Perez

TAXI – Ian Kinsler, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Grady Sizemore, Nelson Cruz, Tommy Hanson, Brett Anderson, Adam Wainwright, Jon Lester, Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, Ricky Nolasco

I made a few changes from what I planned on originally. Most notably, I decided to take a lot more cheap speed (Borbon, Davis, McCutcheon), which knocked Jacoby Ellsbury and a banged up Nolan Reimold off of my roster. Also, with Heyward winning a starting job, I decided to leave Ethier off of my squad.

Getting cheaper at OF allowed me to go safe at C and SS, replacing Geovony Soto with Martinez and Alcides Escobar with Tulowitzki.

I’m very satisfied with my squad come Opening Day as I’m sure everyone else is satisfied with theirs as well. Let the games begin and good luck to everyone!