Devin Williams Presents the Closer Experience
This was a decision born out of necessity. The closer of the New York Yankees, Luke Weaver, and his hamstring will be offstage for a month and a half. The injury to Fernando Cruz and the mis-casting of Tim Hill in the position have made one thing clear. The Yankees have to reluctantly revisit their veteran understudy, Devin Williams, for the role. Welcome to the Closers Experience.
Those who know Williams' history as the Airbender are aware of his dominant performances on Midwest stages. On Broadway, however, the shine was too much for Devin as his pitches didn't bend and his reputation in the Big Apple was one that blew nothing but hot air. His meltdowns caused such panic that Yankee manager Aaron Boone removed him immediately from the role of game ender. It took a bit of time, but Williams started to pitch well in low-impact situations methodically. He built himself into the eighth-inning setup man and flourished in the role. However, fate intervened, and if tonight's save is any indication, it serves as a cautionary tale on how Yankee games will be conducted in the Weaverless future.
The Yankees knew they would have to place him in this role at some juncture. At least that was the intent when they traded for him. They felt that Devin, an elite closer for the Milwaukee Brewers, would bring depth and keep Weaver from gassing himself out during the grind of a long season. Devin and his ninth-inning woes transformed Weaver back from eighth-inning bridge back to closer. As a result, Weaver's hamstring injury is a by-product of having to pitch more than anticipated at this juncture, and made fans hate Williams all the more as guilty by association.
The Closer Experience promises to be an exciting and equally heart-wrenching production for sure. The Yankees hope the Airbender will start to gain traction and find the form that made him practically unhittable for the past three years. They need to stop tinkering with his pitch sequencing. The next two months are critical to their season, and they need to depend on Devin Williams to navigate this portion of the schedule. The closer position has gone from a strength to a liability to an unknown quantity. Devin doesn't have to be perfect, as no closer is. He just has to be allowed to be himself, as he has not forgotten how to pitch suddenly. He does not scare easily. How he deals with the mental hurdle of the nefarious ninth will determine where the Yankees go into the trade deadline. If they just let him be, Devin will make the Closer Experience box office.
