Is Jason Motte Really a Closer?

I am trying to avoid a knee jerk reaction to a bad outing by Jason Motte which cost the Cardinals a game and possibly the series against the Cleveland Indians.  Jason Motte is a talented pitcher.  How many other teams have a guy who at the back end of the bullpen can legitimately throw a baseball 100 miles per hour?  With ability like this, on paper Jason Motte should hands down be the Cardinals’ closer.  The only problem is that in reality, Motte has had some difficulties in the 9^th inning.

It may seem like nit picking with Jason Motte really.  Motte is an exciting and fun pitcher to watch with his blazing fastball and his demonstrative attitude, and who can forget the looks on his face as he closed out both the World Series and National League Championship Series.  Motte has had some amazing times here in St. Louis during an already short career.  He has also blown one save for every two he has nailed down during his career with the Cardinals.  While many of these blown saves occurred earlier in his career, it is still worth noting, Motte has not changed too much during his career with the Cardinals.

Since 2009, Motte has been about as consistent as a middle reliever could possibly be, posting 4- 2 and 5 - 2 records in 2010 and 1011 with a 2.24 and 2.25 ERA respectively.  It is this kind of consistency that someone looks for in a closer.  Motte is the kind of guy who can get a big strikeout at an opportune time, and is able to bounce back night after night.  What more could someone ask for from a closer, you might ask?  Well my answer is quite simply: a second pitch.  Jason Motte has been able to get by with throwing four seem fastballs by batters for years now, but how long can someone throw nothing but a fastball and have success?

Mariano Rivera is the only pitcher I can think of who throws one pitch, and he has been able to have success.  The reason for this is that Rivera has movement in addition to his velocity.  By throwing a cutter, he can get in on the hands of a batter and continue to break bats for the entirety of his career.  Rivera has found the perfect combination of velocity, movement and accuracy, which is why he has had so much success as a major league pitcher.  Motte’s one pitch is simply a fastball.  It is an amazing fastball to be sure, but it is a pitch that is not deceptive.  Jason Motte’s fastball although difficult to time, is a pitch that simply involves getting the batters front foot down and time the pitch.  Obviously this is easier said than done for mere mortals, but as the closer, Motte is responsible for getting three of the toughest outs in a baseball game.

We have been hearing for some time now about Motte is developing another pitch, but maybe he is one guy who will just not have anything other than his unbelievably fastball.  As a guy who throws that fast, just the threat of an off-speed delivery could be devastating if he could develop it.  This is precisely why it is so frustrating to watch Motte give up a game without even the thought of developing something to compliment his fastball.  I am sure that Motte will have another string of success before he has more difficulties finding outs, but there is a reason that so few pitchers make it to the major leagues without a second pitch.  I am afraid that we will continue to be reminded of this for as long as Motte is the closer for the Cardinals.