New York Yankees 2011

[VirtualSmitty]

Originally Posted by jonumberone

I understand Soriano is younger than Wood, but he proved himself here in NY.
Wood had a 1 year club option at 10 million. We have seen more than 1 closer come here in a setup role and be awful, ala Tom gordon, Kyle Farnsworth.

As for the saves thing, It's kind of like the who's the best HR hitter of all time question. The answer is obviously Babe Ruth even tho people have hit more HR than him.
Hoffman may have more saves but he has always been awful in a big spot and Mo is the better closer regardless of how many saves he has.

Soriano proved himself in the AL east, thats good enough for me. Remember Wood was struggling in Cleveland when we got him, he turned things around nicely in pinstripes. But he did struggle in the post season, he was too up and down. Soriano at least will have a higher trade value if he flounders in the environment given his track record.

As for all time best closer, there's no doubt in my mind it's Mo. But you still get a few lone Padre fans that point to Hoffmans record, overlooking how bad he was in the post season and the fact he had several more years pitching as a closer than Mo, and use it to try to put him in the same league. Hoffman was great and i'm sad to see him retire but he is a distant second to Rivera in terms of greatness