Capps Out; Perkins In?

Ron Gardenhire should know what to do right now.  For the second time in the last three games, he's had to take his closer out of the game in favor of Glen Perkins to try and save two wins.  This after Matt Capps had an inexcusable blown save Saturday against the Brewers, coughing up a three-run lead in the ninth inning. With the starting rotation doing everything in its power to keep this team relatively above water (albeit still in the shallow end), Gardy needs to make the right decision here.  Demoting Matt Capps from the closer role, and promoting Perkins, who is proving to be the most consistent asset out of the bullpen this season.

With the blown save Saturday, Capps now leads Major League Baseball with six blown saves.  That's six times he's let his starters down this season.  When closers are as shaky as Capps has been, it begins to affect the rest of the team.  Fortunately, the bullpen instability seems to have improved the performance of the starting rotation.  Until leaving in the fifth inning with a right elbow strain, Scott Baker was throwing a terrific game, locating his pitches well, and throwing a minimal amount of pitches through those first few innings.  Knowing that turning the ball over to the bullpen this season has likely meant either a no-decision or a loss, the starters have been really bearing down, putting together a great run over the last five weeks, and pulling the Twins within striking distance going into the All-Star break.

In order for the Twins to stay within range of the Indians and Tigers atop the division, Gardy will need to ensure that the leads his lineup are staking the starters to are not wasted away by the bullpen, namely a closer like Capps.  As I've said before, just because you were great last year doesn't mean you will always be great.  As a manager, Gardenhire needs to look at the current status of the team.  Right now, that status indicates that Capps is not the right guy for the job.  As he begins to show continued improvement coming off his Tommy John surgery, maybe Joe Nathan will be ready to reassume his role later this season, but for right now, the choice should be Glen Perkins, who has proven his worth this season as the best option in an otherwise forgettable bullpen.

Before the season began, it seemed like a perfect scenario, to have both Capps and Nathan in the closer role, given Nathan's injury status.  Having that alternative, that back-up, was more than the team could ask for.  Now, as we sit five days into the month of July, the question should be asked: Would Capps have any value for a team as we near the trade deadline?  If the Twins begin to utilize both Perkins and Nathan in that closer role, and move Capps back into the bullpen as more of a set-up man, would be become expendable?  The answer should be..."yes".  Hindsight is always 20/20, and given what we'd seen last season from the closer role (remembering that Nathan was out from the beginning) it's possible that maybe trading for Capps wasn't the best decision.  Even John Rauch, who began the year in the closer role, only blew four (4) saves last season.  Here we sit on July 5th, and Capps, an established closer, has blown six (6).  Moreover, the man the Twins traded for Capps, Wilson Ramos, has outhit both Drew Butera and Rene Rivera this season.  With the Twins knowing their All-Star catcher has some lingering knee and leg issues, it might not have been the smartest idea to unload your best option to back him up behind the plate.  But, they did, and here we sit.  Like I said...hindsight's 20/20.

Just because a closer loses his spot at the end of the game doesn't mean he's done being a closer.  Brad Lidge went through a difficult time back in 2007 with the Astros, and was feeling probably just like Capps is feeling now, as though nothing you do can go right.  The following season, after changing teams, Lidge was 41-41 in save opportunities.  Maybe Capps needs nothing more than a change of scenery.  Fortunately for the Twins, the trade deadline is approaching.  It's time to start testing the waters for those in need of some bullpen help.