They are supposed to be the baseball equivalent of a seal, that little bit of wax poured onto a finished letter and pressed with a stamp to denote that which is finished. Firemen. Stoppers. Closers. Whatever you want to call them, they are all the rage in the free-agent marketplace.Heres some perspective from ESPNs Jayson Stark: Dollars for Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman & Mark Melancon in the last week: $228 million. Total dollars Mariano Rivera earned: $169 million.According to Cots Baseball Contracts, the contracts signed by Jansen (Dodgers, five years/$80 million), Chapman (Yankees, five years/$86 million) and Melancon (Giants, four years/$62 million) are the three largest pacts ever given to relief pitchers, not just in total contract value, but also on a per-season basis.Have teams gone collectively mad?Lets not pin this all on the high-revenue teams that ended up with this years crop of elite closers. The Marlins and Nationals also were reportedly in on the bidding, and ESPNs Jim Bowden reported that Washington offered Jansen even more than he accepted from the Dodgers.The 2016 postseason was terrific for a lot of reasons, but if not for the Cubs curse-breaking run, the thing we might remember most would be the re-introduction of the super-reliever -- that key bullpen arm that could be trotted out at the most crucial juncture of a game even if that moment fell outside the parameters of the modern save situation. Andrew Miller, Chapman and Jansen all helped cement the concept of leverage into the minds of mainstream hardball fans and recalled the days of Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter, when a teams best reliever was often asked to do more than lock down the ninth inning.Still, despite the continuing evolution of postseason bullpen deployment, relief pitchers in general arent any better than they were last year at this time. Baseballs development systems continue to churn out more hard throwers than ever, but all that really has changed is that there seems to be a trend away from the paint-by-numbers method of managing bullpens.Its easy to look at the windfalls received by Jansen, Chapman and Melancon and view this as a unique winter-stove season, when multiple contending teams had ninth-inning holes to fill, the games revenue is at its highest-ever peak and is projected to climb higher, and the overall free-agent class is tepid. Any one of these signings, in a vacuum, is easily justified in a December press conference, and chances are the majority of each teams fan base is thrilled about the signings. And certainly we all are relieved that Jansen wont have to find another walk-in song.Nevertheless, the odds are good that at least one, if not all three, of these contracts will turn out to be terrible values.The teams would almost certainly argue that even if the contracts eventually wont look good on a spreadsheet, that is beside the point. These were aggressive moves made by teams trying to win championships. If they do so, then some dead money down the line will be easier to digest.That may well be a valid way to look at the closer splurge. The Dodgers were two wins short of a National League pennant and Jansens ability to go multiple innings in October was a big reason why that happened. The Giants might have pushed the Cubs even harder in the NLDS if theyd had Melancon, as their second-half bullpen problems extended into the postseason.The Yankees ... well, thats a different case. Its hard to ever really call New York a rebuilding team, but the Yankees did finish fourth in the AL East last season and were outscored by 22 runs during the campaign. They stocked up on prospects at the trade deadline by dealing away Chapman and Miller, so they should have known better than anyone that an elite late-inning reliever on a good-value or expiring contract is a great trade chip to have. Thats why as good as Miller has been the last few years, hes bounced around the majors like a pinball. Chapmans new deal isnt likely to result in the same kind of trade-market cachet.That brings us back around to our seal metaphor: Closers are the last step, not the first, or even the 10th. They are the cherry on the top of the sundae. The Giants and Dodgers can make a claim that Melancon and Jansen is that to them. For the Yankees to do the same with Chapman is a stretch. Thats not to say the Yankees cant contend, but whether or not they do probably wont have much to do with Chapman, especially since the Yankees already had a quality closing candidate in Dellin Betances.Meanwhile, as the Yankees take aim at the 2018-19 free-agent class, they are locking up space under the tax threshold while hoping that Chapman retains his velocity and remains something like a foundational player. Its this last proposition that makes all of these deals suspect. Simply put, just because a closer -- any closer not named Mariano Rivera -- has been elite, it doesnt mean he will remain so. In fact, chances are, he wont.To be sure, the three closers in question have been among the most consistent in all of baseball, insofar as relief pitching is ever consistent. That perception of certainty is a big part of what drove up their respective values. All three of the signing teams better hope that this perception remains a reality.According to the free-agent listings at baseball-reference.com, there have been 182 relievers since 1976 to sign a new deal on the heels of a season in which they saved at least 10 games -- a very low bar to label someone a closer. Barely half (92) saved at least 10 games the very next season. By the third season after the signing, only 24 percent of them were still at the 10-save level, and by the fifth season, that number was down to 10 percent. Thats why were so hard on teams that sign relievers to four- and five-year deals. Few of them work out.The story remains the same if you raise the bar to 30-save guys, a level reached the season before a pitcher hit free agency 65 times over the last three decades. Of those 65 pitchers, only 45 percent hit 30 saves again the season after signing a free-agent deal. (This includes those who re-signed with the same team.) Two years out, that number was down to 25 percent. By the fifth year -- which will eventually apply to Chapman and Jansen -- only five (8 percent) were still at the 30-save level. Not one of the 65 had at least 30 saves in each of the five seasons after his signing.The save is a deeply flawed metric but, lets face it, its one of the key statistics that got these players so much money this winter, and it does more or less describe what a closer does during the regular season. Its a stat that is at least as much about context as actual performance. Thats not comforting in this case because these numbers strongly suggest that, by and large, closers tend to quickly flame out, to the extent that they arent used in save spots within a couple of years.There are always exceptions and the players who populate the all-time saves list are proof of that -- the likes of Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith and Billy Wagner -- who have been both consistent and durable. Its certainly possible that Jansen, Chapman and Melancon will end up on a similar path. Nevertheless, given the history of free-agent relievers, its an expensive gamble.The old axiom about free agency in any sport is that you pay not for what a player has done, but for what he is going to do. When it comes to closers and free agency, its crucial, and exceedingly difficult, to make that distinction. China NFL Jerseys . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Jerseys From China . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http://www.chinajerseys.pro/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Cheap China Jerseys .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Authentic China Jerseys .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. HOUSTON -- The easiest thing to do is to acknowledge the rising star power featured by the Oakland Raiders and acknowledge its role in landing atop the AFC West.There is no denying that quarterback Derek Carr, receiver Amari Cooper, and defensive end Khalil Mack are integral to the Raiders foundation. Oakland (7-2) emerges from its bye week on a three-game winning streak set to face the AFC South-leading Houston Texans (6-3) on Monday night in Mexico Citys Estadio Azteca.The Raiders recent collection of early-round draft picks have emerged ahead of schedule and have matched expectations relative to their individual talents. But the Raiders have become the talk of the NFL thanks in no small measure to their depth, and a number of their rotation players were serendipitous discoveries.The Raiders feature 19 undrafted players on their current roster and those players have combined to start 29 games this season.Behind Carr, Cooper (58 receptions for 843 yards and two touchdowns) and receiver Michael Crabtree (49 receptions for 596 yards and six touchdowns), Oakland ranks sixth in the NFL in passing offense at 278.3 yards per game. The Raiders are even better in pass protection, pacing the league with Carr operating behind an offense line showcasing undrafted tackles Donald Penn and Austin Howard.While Penn has started all nine games this season, Howard has made five starts at right tackle. Toss in undrafted rookie guard Denver Kirkland, who has made four starts as an extra lineman, and the Raiders have parlayed line stability into success.The number of (undrafted players) that made our team jumps out, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. For us, its been a process. Its not like all of a sudden we look up and were shocked by it because weve been working with these guys and developing these guys and theyve been giving great energy and effort every day.What is vital to the Raiders is maintaining the momentum theyve cultivated winning six of seven games. Their success has generated conversation throughout the league, and how the Raiders handle their lofty status atop the division will be revealed in how they perform against the Texans after their scheduled break.Weve just got to get back in the swing of things and keep our same focus, Raiders defensive tackle Dan Williams said. Right now, were in good position to achieve our first goal, which is to win the West.dddddddddddd I think everybody has the same focus. Weve definitely matured from a year ago and I think were going to get back where we left off.Penn said, Things are coming together. I cant wait to see where its going to go.The Texans removed one monkey from their collective backs by winning on the road for the first time this season, outlasting the Jaguars in Jacksonville on Sunday.What should galvanize the Texans was the performance of their rushing offense against the Jaguars.Before the break, Houston posted just 105 rushing yards against Detroit, its third-lowest total this season. The Texans rebounded for a season-best 181 rushing yards in Jacksonville to offset another subpar effort from quarterback Brock Osweiler and provide hope for an uneven offense moving forward.I think its good, Texans coach Bill OBrien said of the running game. I think theres always things we can improve, but we ran for 180 last game and ran it pretty good against Detroit, so I think its been good.But every weeks different. This is a very, very stout defense. Theyve got big guys inside, good guys on the edge and fast, athletic guys on the inside at linebacker, so its going to be a different challenge.Mack has been a terror in the past four weeks, producing 18 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. In a 15-12 Raiders win over the Denver Broncos last season, Mack sacked Osweiler five times.Taking that exceptional individual performance into account, Osweiler and the Texans will have a keen eye on Mack.Its very important, Osweiler said. You know, any time you play against a player like Khalil Mack, you need to respect what he brings to the table and you need to have answers for what he brings to the table.Were very fortunate to have a phenomenal offensive coaching staff here, led by (offensive coordinator George) Godsey and Coach OBrien. Im sure theyll have answers for him. But without a question, we are well aware of what Khalil Macks capable of doing -- obviously I experienced it firsthand last year -- and we will have answers for him. ' ' '