Well, except those will be save situations which he is good in. Which are those? It seems sort of silly to me that people think there's some sort of meaningful distinction between his relative success with 1, 2, and 3 run leads and his repeated failures in tie games. Do you think he pitches differently when the game is tied in the ninth inning than he does when it's a 1, 2, or 3 run lead in the ninth inning? The distinction is utterly absurd. The role of the closer, right or wrong, is to come into the game in the ninth with a 1-3 run lead. When Dempster does that, he is a very good pitcher and the numbers back this up. When he comes in when the game is tied or with a 4+ run lead, he isn't very good. I have total faith in Dempster to pick up the save if he's brought in with a 1 to 3 run lead. However, if he's brought in with a 4+ run lead or a tie game, I have faith in him to give up runs. Also, non-save situations aren't restricted to tie games as they include any lead over 3 runs. If you don't think a pitcher pitches differently with a big lead than he does with a 1 or 2 run lead you're crazy. I'm not with you. I fear Demp will break our hearts in the playoffs if he is put in with a 1 run lead.