MARKET PULSE: The unkindest cut

See the end of the article for an explanation of the ratings used here. And a thousand thanks to the folks at OnRoto.com for providing the oh-so-important league ownership data for this article.

We spend an disproportional amount of space in this column discussing potential closers. I'm not apologizing for this; no other position offers the opportunity to change in value so rapidly as a reliever being moved into the closer role. Good hitters will usually see increases in playing time, but it's often gradual. The occasional reliever will be moved into a starting role, but it's the promotion to closer that promises the biggest leap in value. Pitch lights-out in the 8th inning, and you're waiver-wire material. Do the same in the 9th,...

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