On Saturday morning, when the deal to bring LaTroy Hawkins from Chicago was announced, it looked as if it was a debatable gamble. By the afternoon–after San Diego’s Phil Nevin had hit a game-winning three-run homer in the eighth inning in the Giants’ second bullpen conflagration in three days–it had become an imperative.
“We are getting [Hawkins] to pitch the eighth,” Giants manager Felipe Alou said.
His faith in Hawkins would be mystifying if the Giants hadn’t reached the point where a rallying cry of “change for change’s sake” sounded lyrical.
The right-hander had become a pariah in Chicago. The team traded him out of pity as much as necessity, agreeing to cover almost 80 percent of his salary this season.
In a new environment, Hawkins has an excellent chance of recovering from his time in Chicago, where he was badly miscast as a closer.
If Tyler Walker cannot finish games–and he failed Saturday and Sunday–the temptation to use Hawkins in that capacity might be hard to resist. The Cubs, despite mountains of evidence to dissuade them, didn’t completely abandon the concept of Hawkins as a closer.
But it didn’t work. The psychological quirk that separates setup men from closers is a mystery. Nobody is going to figure it out this season, so Alou must remember what he said. Hawkins will pitch the eighth, setting up the closer and setting up a chance for the Giants’ desperate measure to become a bold move.