Billy Wagner

The news has been bad and keeps getting worse for Mets closer Billy Wagner. A forearm strain has morphed into elbow pain, and Wagner faces a further diagnosis Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. There is no timetable for his return, and even if he does come back, it is far from certain that he’ll be able to take on the regular work of a closer.

This potential loss brings a major flaw of New York’s this season into sharp focus—the team has lacked a single pitcher to hold down the eighth inning all season long. Relievers such as Scott Schoeneweis and Joe Smith are ideally lefty and righty specialists, while Aaron Heilman and Duaner Sanchez have been inconsistent all season.  read more »

It is not surprising that Billy Wagner pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to save New York’s 10-8 victory over Cincinnati Thursday night. After all, since coming to the Mets, Wagner has been one of the most automatic closers in baseball, converting 87 percent of his save opportunities. To put that in perspective, just under 60 percent of all save opportunities were converted in the National League in 2008’s first half.

But Wagner seems to have his greatest difficulty in games with either higher stakes, or even higher perceived stakes, as he showed Tuesday night, allowing the tying run in the eighth inning of the All Star Game.  read more »