Keep Storen then? Why do you need a "closer"? Why not just use the best pitcher for the situation that can handle that pressure?
Might be a baseball tradition I don't understand.
You're right, actually. A lot of saber/math geek type guys are anti-closer and I am too. I understand the argument that knowing you have your closer for the 9th inning can help a manager deal with the 7th and 8th, but I think it's more sensible to use your best pitcher when you need it the most.
Example: it's the 7th, the other team has two baserunners with no outs, and the game is tied. This is a place where you should use your best reliever. The odds of an even more critical situation arising in the 9th has to be pretty small. Would I bring on Craig Kimbrel in the 7th, 1-1 game, no outs, runners on 2B and 3B? Hell yes I would. I'd let him pitch out of the jam, because his ability to strike out 50% of all batters is more valuable there than with no runners on base.
Unfortunately, the closer tradition is here to stay because relievers are basically paid off how many saves they get (see Papelbon) and because saves are a stat. Like, it's nice for a guy like Christian Garcia to get some wins, but other than wins and ERA there's no way for the average (!) baseball fan to point at Christian Garcia and say, "he's an awesome reliever, look at this stat," the same way you can point at someone and say "he had 50 saves this year."
