Tony Vitello's closer-by-committee approach is no longer sustainable for SF Giants

The SF Giants eked out a gusty extra-innings win on Saturday against the Washington Nationals. While it was a great team victory, it has become abundantly clear that manager Tony Vitello's closer-by-committee approach is not sustainable.

Vitello opted to go with Ryan Walker to get the save in the ninth inning. Fans always get a bit squeamish whenever Walker tries for a save because he really struggled as the closer last season, blowing seven saves in 24 opportunities.

SF Giants cannot go on with current bullpen configuration

He ended up blowing the save on Saturday as he allowed a run to score in the ninth which sent the game to extra innings. That doesn't tell the full story because while he pitched through a lot of traffic, he did grind hard and come up with some key strikeouts when he needed them most.

The run he gave up that tied the game in the ninth came on a bloop hit. Walker made a decent 0-2 pitch that was below the strike zone but the batter got enough of it to bloop it over the head of second baseman Luis Arraez in shallow center.

To Walker's credit though, he came back out for the tenth inning knowing that he couldn't allow any runs or the game would be over and got the job done.

Still, it seems clear that Walker is not cut out for the ninth inning. In his other save opportunity earlier this year in San Diego, Walker made things interesting by allowing a two-run home run. It really feels like Walker is a good reliever but he is just not a ninth-inning guy.

That's not a knock on him. The same can be said about Tyler Rogers. While Rogers is one of the best setup men in baseball, he's converted just 19 of 43 save opportunities in his career. By comparison, Walker has converted 29 of 43 career save opportunities. Walker is best suited to pitch in either seventh or eighth inning going forward.

Vitello has been able to skirt by so far with a fairly fluid bullpen approach. The Giants are trying to figure out on the fly which relievers can be trusted in which situations but after Erik Miller was dominant and shut down the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, and then looked willing to take on their entire bench after the final out, it is puzzling why Vitello did not save him for the ninth and instead used him in the seventh on Saturday. Miller did not allow a baserunner and struck out two in that seventh inning, by the way.

Ahead of the season, Giants legend Jeremy Affeldt warned against a closer-by-committee approach. He said that relievers need to have set roles so it would be wise for Vitello and his coaching staff to heed that advice.

Right now, Miller should be the closer with Walker, Matt Gage, Blade Tidwell, Keaton Winn, and Caleb Kilian designated as potential setup guys for the seventh and eighth. Gage and Kilian were great on Saturday and have proven they can be trusted in high-leverage spots. Ryan Borucki, who recorded a big out on Saturday, and JT Brubaker are low-leverage guys who should only come in during lopsided games or if a starter has to come out early.

There will still be bumps in the road and it will take time to sort things out fully, but for now that arrangement is what makes the most sense. It's time for the closer-by-committee approach to end so the team has a little more stability in the bullpen going forward.

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