Major League Baseball relievers will drive you crazy

There is nothing worse in baseball than watching a bullpen fail. That will make you reconsider your love for the game. You’ll swear you’ll become a hockey fan or watch more golf instead of watching a great baseball game that gets ruined in the end by a bad reliever.

Friday night’s Atlanta Braves game was one of those games. The Braves led the first-place Washington Nationals 4-1. R.A. Dickey had outpitched Max Scherzer, one of the best pitchers in baseball. And then, Jim Johnson came in to try and save the game in the ninth inning.

Johnson is Atlanta’s closer. He had 19 saves, including one Thursday night. That’s who a manager calls on to protect a three-run lead. Plus, Brian Snitker’s other option, Arodys Vizcaino, is on the disabled list and was unavailable.

Johnson blew it. No reason to recap it, to relive the pain. He just blew it. It was a game the Braves had in the bag, and then Johnson came in and blew it. It was the worst game of the year for the Braves.

Well, it happens. That may be a simplistic view, but it’s true. With some relievers, it happens far too often. And in Atlanta’s history, there have been more closers who have become four-letter words than ones honored with a statue.

Craig Kimbrel was the best. The Braves traded him before the start of the 2015 season. Teams that are rebuilding don’t need expensive closers. Kimbrel will be a free agent after next season. It might be good timing for Atlanta to get him back for the 2019 season and place your bet that it might well happen.

Most of Atlanta’s closers have been more like Johnson than Kimbrel. Do the names Chris Reitsma, Dan Kolb and Bob Wickman make you cringe? Probably so.

Even the man who was on the mound for the biggest game in Atlanta’s history lost it. Mark Wohlers was great for a few years, and then he just couldn’t throw strikes. Macon’s own John Rocker was dominant for a few years, and then he just couldn’t throw strikes.

Maybe it’s the curse of Bruce Sutter. In the 1984-85 offseason, the Braves signed Sutter to a huge free agent contract. Heck, he was still getting paid up until a few years ago. Sutter had been the best closer in baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. Then he came to Atlanta, and his shoulder blew out. He was never the same again. Sutter is in the baseball Hall of Fame, but it has nothing to do with his time in Atlanta.

Every time the Braves have a game like Friday night, I think of the bad closers who have driven us all crazy through the years. Thankfully, Johnson’s time as closer is likely coming to an end. Just hope there is a team out there dumb enough to want him before the July 31 trade deadline.

The Braves have a great candidate to be the next closer. Sure, Vizcaino might get another shot once he’s back off the disabled list. But keep the name A.J. Minter in mind. The Braves drafted Minter out of Texas A&M two years ago. He had just had Tommy John surgery at the time, but scouts loved his potential.

Minter has battled some medical issues the past two years, but he’s healthy now and getting close. Minter just joined Triple-A Gwinnett last week. In his 41 professional games, he has a 1.38 ERA, with 24 hits allowed in 45 2/3 innings and 62 strikeouts.

We’ll likely see Minter in Atlanta later this summer. Maybe, just maybe he’ll will be more like Kimbrel than Johnson. The health of Braves fans all around the world may depend on him, as they can’t take many more games like they saw Friday night.

This story was originally published July 8, 2017 at 1:53 PM with the headline "Major League Baseball relievers will drive you crazy."