May 19 Danny Kolb was informed by manager Bobby Cox on Wednesday that he is no longer the Braves' closer, reports MLB.com. The news came one day after Kolb, who has a 6.48 ERA in 19 appearances this season, blew his third save of the season and spoiled an impressive eight-inning performance by John Smoltz, the man who Kolb replaced at the back-end of Braves' bullpen. "I'm going to use [Danny] in the middle somewhere for a few outings and see how it goes there," Cox told the site after the meeting. Kolb said he understood the move. "It's part of the game," he said. "[Cox] has got to do what he thinks is best for the team. All I can do is go out there when they give me the ball and do the best that I can. If you're not getting the job done, you've got to find somebody who is going to do it."

 

Views: Kolb has not been able to get the job done all season, so this move comes as no surprise. Cox said he is going to employ a closer-by-committee approach for the time being. The two top candidates to close are Adam Bernero and Chris Reitsma. Reitsma started the season strong but has struggled of late, so expect to see Bernero get more of the save opportunities early on. Owners who are looking for saves should take a chance on him in hopes that he earns the role on the permanent basis.

 

Come on Bobby... let the man keep his job! :mischief

Talk about a dry season for closers.

I personally thought he was doing fine :plain

Kind of surprising. Didn't think they'd pull the plug on Kolb this quickly.

Wow, the Braves pitching staff is falling apart.

Reitsma should get a shot

 

dude is nasty

Don't worry, Schuerholz will pull the trigger on some crazy trade that will fix their problems :confused