Oct 24 2008
Case closed: Gonzo’s the Braves closer, no questions asked
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
ATLANTA — From the moment he stood on the mound and stared down the Texas Rangers on June 18th, Mike Gonzalez brought a sense of stability to the topsy-turvy Atlanta Braves bullpen.
And as he toed the slab on that hot summer night, completing a remarkably rapid return from Tommy John surgery, the hard-throwing left-hander grabbed hold of the closer’s position and didn’t relinquish it the remainder of the season.
Now, it’s his job. Closer? Case closed.
Acquired from Pittsburgh following the 2006 season in the Adam LaRoche deal, Gonzo won two games and went 2-for-2 in saves early in 2007 before injuring his elbow. The dreaded Tommy John surgery followed, but shortly after the one-year anniversary date of the surgery, there was Gonzo, climbing the bump against the Rangers on June 18.
He converted 14-of-16 saves for a bullpen that was rocked with the loss of Rafael Soriano and Peter Moylan to injury in the season’s first two weeks. After a great June and July, and an average August, Gonzalez finished with a 5.84 ERA in September and blew the first two save chances of his career.
Chalk that up to regaining the edge on his breaking ball after a year layoff. Takes time, and the more Gonzo pitched, the more he started working his breaking ball into his pitch selection, and late in the season it just wasn’t sharp.
Still, Gonzalez enters 2009 as the unquestioned closer. I don’t care if Soriano returns and is throwing 99 mph in spring training. Gonzalez IS the closer. I love his bulldog mentality. Dude owns the entire yard when he steps onto the hill and does his thing, and with an offseason to get his pitches back refined razor-sharp – not to mention the confidence that comes with pitching 36 games after returning from surgery – look for Gonzo to grab the ball to start the ninth a lot next season.
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