Jeanmar Gomez strikes out Stephen Drew as he tries to escape a 9th-inning jamIf Jeanmar Gomez had such a short leash, why did the Phillies start the season with him as the closer in the first place?
-- Kevin C., Philadelphia
I asked myself a similar question in January, when manager Pete Mackanin said Gomez would open the season as the closer. After all, the Phillies said for much of the offseason that they would have an open competition for the job in Spring Training. Why the reversal? Gomez held the job for nearly a season, so it is not like the Phils owed him anything. He also struggled in the final six weeks of the 2016 season, losing the job in the final week. It is clear Hector Neris,…
