Huston Street Wins a Permanent Job as Temporary Closer

Huston Street was officially named the Rockies' closer on Thursday afternoon. So what, is there such a thing as an official closer anymore if you are not K Rod or Mariano?

Whether it is Jason Isringhausen or Troy Percival or Eric Gagne, though, it does not matter how good you once were. Baseball is a sport where they measure you by what you can do now, not what you did yesterday. Which explains why Gary Sheffield, problem child, is looking for a job.

Bottom line is what fantasy writers tell you is correct. Closers are the riskiest of bids. I have won 5 by 5 leagues without them, but punting a category is always risky. Trouble with closers is you could start off with a guy who looks like Brad Lidge in 2008 and winds up like Derrick Turnbow.

Huston Street captured the job over Manny Corpas, who had captured the job a year before from the invincible all star Brian Fuentes, who will now go to Anaheim to work his magic. Corpas will go to a set up role, but if Todd Jones could close for two years in Detroit and Brandon Lyon was successful for a season in Arizona, there is no telling that Ryan Tucker won't be a star closer for the Marlins by May. I rolled a lot of fantasy dollars on Matt Lindstrom this year, and just even dealt him for Yankee outfielder Hideki Matsui because I got tired of the red stars next to his name. But Lindstrom is going in drafts like Bobby Jenks because of a one month run last September. There is no loyalty for closers. I think it is a poker game, and the more jittery the manager, the less chance they stay with one guy.

Fantasy owners who have the most time off real work and instead can work the waiver wires will find the next Joel Hanrahan and pick up 25 saves this year from an unheralded, unknown closer. It happened to me one season with Tyler Walker when Rob Nen went down. It can happen to you tomorrow if you are sitting on Cory Wade and something happens to John Broxton who only got his job cause something happened to Mr. Saito. If you are in a league with a deep reserve list, stocking set up men may be a prudent use of your stash.

I can't think of a riskier way to waste fantasy dollars than spending them on closers.

Said Huston Street today "This is what I came to camp to accomplish and it's a role I feel comfortable with. There is a lot of responsibility that goes along with it," Street said. "My teammates should expect me to not only get the job done but be prepared to get the job done."

He's a safe bet to rack up a good amount of saves, if he can stay healthy, which he was not always in Oakland. And it is not Corpas breathing down his neck, it is every manager who has to go to the media and explain after the game how a closer blew it. But it happens every nite. Baseball is perfect at being imperfect. To replicate a season like Lidge had last year or Gagne a few years ago is a fantasy in itself. And how did Lidge even wind up in Philly after being so great in Houston? Only, with a little help from Albert Pujols, he had lost it there.