Hernandez thriving as closer, will be great as setup man
Jul 19, 2011, 5:03 PM | Updated: 6:26 pm
When J.J. Putz went on the DL in late June there are some who thought the Diamondbacks would be in trouble.
After all, the veteran had stabilized the D-backs bullpen, locking down saves at a rate not seen since 2007 when Jose Valverde was closing games for the D-backs.
But then 8th inning man David Hernandez took over, and all he’s done since is go 7-for-7 on save opportunities while allowing just one base runner — on a walk.
With Putz ready to return soon, Hernandez is poised to return to the role of setup man — only he’ll be better than before.
“This might be the best case scenario to happen for the Arizona Diamondbacks,” Ron Wolfley said on Sports 620 KTAR’s Doug and Wolf show, “because of David Hernandez.”
Wolf said that Hernandez proving that he can close will make him a better setup man because his confidence has to be pretty high right now.
“It’s great to have talent, but it’s even better to have talent and experience,” Wolfley said. “When a professional athlete sees himself become successful in a pressure-packed situation, oh my goodness.”
David Hernandez: good setup man, great closer. Great setup man?
We’ll see soon enough.
