Wagner Is a Must-Have Free Agent; Just Ask His Successor

October 30, 2005
IF it takes one to know one, Brad Lidge knows Billy Wagner.
Lidge is the closer who uncharacteristically had a few missteps in the Houston Astros' postseason journey. Before Lidge, though, there was Wagner, and Lidge credits Wagner with teaching him everything he knows about closing.
"He taught me a ton of stuff," Lidge said. "The most important thing I learned was getting in a comfortable routine and doing the same thing day in and day out as a closer."
Wagner is a prime topic of conversation because he is a free agent and will be hotly pursued as teams, including the Mets, seek to shore up their bullpens. A platoon of closers and potential closers will be available as free agents, but Wagner will clearly be the most desired of the bunch.
"We'll continue to communicate with the Phillies to see how that plays out, and we're fielding calls as they come in," Bean Stringfellow, Wagner's agent, said. "He's never been a free agent, and he's intrigued by it."
Wagner, a 34-year-old left-hander, had 38 saves in 41 opportunities for Philadelphia this year. In the past five years, with the Phillies and the Astros, he has had 177 saves in 195 opportunities, a 91 percent success rate. In the same period, Mariano Rivera of the Yankees has been successful 90 percent of the time, 214 saves in 239 chances.
"Everybody could use Billy Wagner," Lidge said. "There's not one team that could not use a guy like Billy Wagner. He's the best there is in baseball. He dominates guys. He played in a hitter-friendly park and had an unbelievable year. I don't know who's going to be lucky enough to get him, but everybody needs him."
Depending on the teams that pursue Wagner, he could wind up with a new salary of about $10 million a year for three years. The Yankees pay Rivera $10.5 million a year. What makes Wagner so good?
"First of all, he throws a hundred" miles an hour, Lidge said. "Secondly, he's learned to spot his fastball. He's got a good slider, too, but in the last couple years, he's learned to paint the corners with his 100-mile-an-hour fastball. If you're doing that, guys don't have a chance. I know it's hard to control your fastball sometimes, but he's found a way to have consistent mechanics to be able to paint the corners with his fastball. That's why he's dominating so much right now."
Lidge, 28, and Wagner were Houston teammates briefly in 2002 and then for all of 2003, before the Astros traded Wagner to the Phillies for three young pitchers. They traded him because they felt Lidge, younger and cheaper, would be ready to be the closer.
"When I got to the big leagues, I had been a starter my entire career," Lidge said. "I had never pitched out of the bullpen. I feel really fortunate and blessed that I had him to learn from. He taught me everything I know to do for a routine, how he physically and mentally prepared for a game, the way he warmed up. I didn't have any idea what to do."
Wagner especially taught Lidge the importance of the mental part of closing. Good closers are able to shrug off poor games and come back the next day and do their jobs without letting failures affect them.
That attitude helped Lidge in the postseason after he gave up game-losing home runs to Albert Pujols of St. Louis in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series and to Scott Podsednik of the Chicago White Sox in Game 2 of the World Series.
"He gave me a call after those outings didn't go well," Lidge said. "He talks to me on occasion when things aren't going great. He says 'don't change anything; you know you're the best.' He is the best. I really have so much respect for him. He's one guy who never changes. He goes in every time and gives it everything he has."
Among other available pitchers who are or have been closers are Trevor Hoffman, B. J. Ryan, Bob Wickman, Todd Jones, Octavio Dotel, Kyle Farnsworth, Tom Gordon, Roberto Hernandez, Mike Timlin, Tim Worrell, Ugueth Urbina, Matt Mantei and LaTroy Hawkins.
Players eligible for free agency can file through Nov. 10 and begin signing with new teams after that date.
A Close Sweep
The White Sox swept the Astros in the World Series but only by an aggregate of six runs. That matched the smallest run differential in the previous 18 four-game sweeps. In 1950, the Yankees defeated the Phillies by 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 5-2. The White Sox defeated the Astros by 5-3, 7-6, 7-5 and 1-0.
With the Red Sox defeating the Cardinals in four games last year, it was the fifth time World Series sweeps occurred two years in a row. The Yankees were responsible for three of the previous four successive sweeps (1927-28, 1938-39, 1998-99). Oakland, in 1989, and Cincinnati, in 1990, were the other successive sweepers. There has never been a string of three sweeps in a row.
The Man Behind Guillen
Ozzie Guillen was a 25-year-old Chicago White Sox shortstop when he met Jeff Torborg. It was a fateful meeting, leading to a World Series championship 16 years later.
"He was known as a character who clowned around," Torborg said. "But I could tell then that he had a future in baseball after he was finished playing."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/