The Pitching...

So this is gonna be another post about the Valverde signing.  Really I'm looking to shed to some light onto the advantage we might have had by signing a starting pitcher over a closer.  I'll explain more after the jump but the idea is to possibly make better use of a bloated pitching contract by turning it into a closer.  I mean at this point it's useless to make this argument seeing as Valverde is signed but my idea is too long for just a comment and could be thought of as a rebuttal to Packey's post.

So here is the idea.  Jeremy Bonderman as closer.

Here are his stats via Baseball Reference.

Here are league stats also via Baseball Reference

Looking between the two links it's hard to find an area where Bonderman is above average compared to the rest of the league.  There are good reasons for this too.  In his career he's only ever been a two pitch pitcher.  Breaking ball and fastball.  Granted they're both good pitches, but after more than a few inning's, as a batter it gets a bit easier to predict what's coming and as a pitcher you can't rely on any deception and can only rely on precise control.  To continue to have Major League success as a starting pitcher, Bonderman needs that 3rd pitch.  Namely a changeup.  That's a pitch he's been working for years but yet still has yet to make it a facet of his game.  The guys only in his mid 20's though.  He can still make it work for him but it appears unlikely.

So now my argument for him as closer.

Here is one immeasurable area where Jeremy Bonderman always proves himself to be above average in:  not being afraid to pitch no matter what the situation.  Given the perceived stress of closing situations, that already makes Bondo an ideal candidate for the job.  Measurably, given he has only two pitches and his numbers as a starter are average, it's hard to imagine him continuing as such.  Personally, I find it incredible that he's good enough to be average.  To me this incredible feat means that he could almost definitely be above average as a pitcher if used in relief situations.

So to me Bonderman meets some closer credentials.  He's not scared of the situation and he's got some above average pitching skills to go with it.

So now to connect back to the my anti-Valverde signing ways.

Alot of us project Jeremy Bonderman as our 4th starter once the season gets underway.  Reasons being that he'll probably be health, he's the most established Tigers pitcher on the roster, nobody here really likes Robertson, Willis just sucks, Armando was probably a fluke, and Coke is just unknown.  Based on the numbers though, since Bondo's numbers as a starter are just average, we could have went out and signed an average starter for an average starters contract and still expect the same sort of production that we could expect out of Bonderman.  The other thing that happens though is that we make use of one of our many bloated contracts without adding another.

So here ya guys go.  Add to this idea, take away from this idea, or just point out where I'm plain ol' wrong.  I'm interested to here what y'all have to say.