Closers and Conventional Wisdom

Decent article about conventional wisdom versus Bill James with respect to closers.  Here’s a small sample:

In other words, don’t be cowed by the conventional wisdom that stipulates a ninth-inning lead must be handed over to a ninth-inning pitcher whose confidence about retiring the last three batters in a game is hard-wired into his brain. That’s how the world works these days, but the definition of a closer is not sacrosanct. To the contrary, it’s open to some tweaking. A committee of closers? Why not?

James believes that a traditional closer (i.e. the team’s best relief pitcher) is eight times more valuable in a tie game than when his team has a three-run lead.  I’m sure that’s about right, but the article doesn’t really elaborate;  it just concludes:  “When Bill James makes a case that a reliever such as Putz can be eight times more important in a tie game than he is with a three-run lead, trust the source.”