At 5:23 AM -0400 7/16/07, Jim Beauchemin wrote regarding Fausto
Carmona's "N" closer rating despite being a closer without a save for
part of last season:

>Hey Gary,
>
>Great post!
>
>On the closer thing, I'd never use that rule anyway, but I don't
>think the N means you can't use him as a closer. It just means he
>didn't get any saves, so they had no basis to give him anything
>other than the worst rating, which means he's weak when he comes
>into the game. Which, if you think about it, he sure was!

Heya, sorry for the delayed response; I just got back from vacation. :-)

Strat rule 28.1 says, in part: "Closer rating range from 0-6. ... If
a relief pitcher is rated 'N' for closer endurance, he should not be
used as a closer." The rules could have been clearer on the subject,
but worth noting is that the "N" isn't the "worst rating" -- it means
the pitcher in question doesn't have a closer rating at all, and
therefore can't close.

Strat's least-effective closers -- those rated zero -- are those who
are "fatigued" as soon as they go out to the mound. *That* is the
rating Carmona should have had. But if a pitcher had no saves in real
life, then Strat automatically rates him "N" and therefore he can't
appear in closer situations, even if he did so in real life.
Carmona's 2006 season is an example of when the game company should
have made an exception to its own inflexible guidelines.

-Gary