The importance of a Closer...

The closer, the most coveted role by any relief pitcher in baseball. Often times the most dominant pitcher on the team. To be an effective closer coming into the game the opposing team should not expect to get on base let alone score, you should strike fear into the opposing fans. Two of the best examples of that this year are K-rod and Mariano featuring an era of 2.24 and 1.40. But just how important of a role does the closer play on a team?
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In reality a good closer on a decent team will only pitch around 60 or 70 innings a year as opposed to the anticipated 150 to 200 of a starter. Yet some closers earn upwards of 10 million dollars with Mariano Rivera being the highest paid closer at roughly 15 million dollars a year.
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This upcoming offseason K-rod and Brian Fuentes will be looking to cash in, with K-rod apparently seeking a 4/15 or greater deal. Again I have to ask the question is it worth it? Let's take for example the Mets, who have been rumored to be in either the K-rod or Fuentes sweepstakes. Coming into this offseason the Mets are in need of a starting pitcher, a left fielder and a second baseman, as well as any bullpen help they can get (it really can't get any worse).

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Is it really worth it to spend all that money on a closer who will pitch 70 innings at most, as opposed to a starting position player who will play every game or a starting pitcher who will pitch more than twice the innings? It's also not like one pitcher will be able to salvage the bullpen on its own. Can they really argue they would not be better off signing a multitude of decent relievers and trying to establish some bullpen depth?

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Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to deny what all-star closers such as Brad Lidge, Trevor Hoffman, or Mariano Rivera have done for their teams, but in reality a closer in today’s market is more of a luxury than anything.