Tigers Blog

Category: Tigers

What competition? Lyon will be closer

I don't think there will be any competition at all this spring between Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney to be the Tigers' closer. It will be Lyon's job to keep -- or his job eventually to lose. But it is his job.

For one thing, manager Jim Leyland already has been quite clear that he wants to minimize tinkering this spring -- admitting there was too much positional tinkering last year and that the Tigers paid the price all season for it.

There's this, too. The Tigers aren't paying Lyon $4 million-plus to fill an undefined role.

But there's something statistical that they like a lot about Lyon, and that's his control under pressure. In his 51 career saves, Lyon has issued only four walks. That's four walks in 202 plate appearances. In career save situations, he's walked 26 (five intentionally) in 567 plate appearances.

Last year alone, conversely, Fernando Rodney walked 20 batters (four intentionally) in 120 save-situation plate appearances.

Lyon throws strikes under pressure. He compares favorably to Todd Jones in that regard -- to Jones, that is, after control stopped being an issue for the former Tigers' closer.

Some say Lyon is a latter-day Jones, and to this extent he is. In his 135 career save situations, Lyon has a 3.79 ERA. In his 492 career save situations, Jones had a 3.78 ERA.

But it's how good when he's good that intrigues the Tigers about Lyon, and makes them think that if he can get it together again, he can be better than good for them.

Not only has Lyon allowed just four walks in his 51 career saves, but in those saves, he has a 1.03 ERA.

There's a lot of talent there, in other words. Lyon just needs to harness it consistently.