When went down in New York with a forearm strain the Mets had to hand the ball to someone to finish games. That someone turned out to be . Is he a closer or a poser?
Heilman has picked up two saves and a win but also blew a save since his promotion to the closing role. He couldn't keep guys from crossing the plate as he gave up three runs in the blown save and loss. The Mets ended up benching Heilman for on August 12th when Feliciano converted the save.
Heilman has been a late inning guy since 2005 and the Mets hoped to leave him there. The only problem was that Heilman wanted to be in the starting rotation. This usually doesn't bode well for a guy who needs confidence to close games.
Heilman possesses the stuff to be a closer as his strikeout (8 Ks/9 IP) and home run rates(1 HR/10 IP) indicate but if he doesn't want to close, he shouldn't be closing.
Luckily the Mets are expecting Wagner back soon so the Heilman experiment won't last much longer. Heilman should still be valuable in leagues that count holds.
My vote? Poser.
