Closers in non-save situations

[MinRaise]

While I was sitting here trying to type a paper/browse 2+2, I heard the unmistakable southern drawl of Jeff Brantley ranting in the background. He was going off on Willie Randolph for bringing in Billy Wagner to protect a four-run ninth inning lead vs. the Yankees today. He said something to the effect of "Duaner Sanchez should have remained in the game with Billy Wagner warming up in case someone got on first base so it was a save situation." They also said it was the third time Wagner had blown a 4+ run lead in his career.

Dumb things are said on ESPN every day, but this had to be one of the dumbest. Jeff Brantley's argument was that Wagner would have been more motivated to shut down the Yankees if Duaner Sanchez allowed a baserunner rather than himself thus allowing himself a save opportunity.

Is there any way to search for stats to find if this has any relevancy? For example, examining how closers protect four run vs. three run leads in the ninth. Jeff Brantley is clearly a numbskull, but he was a good closer at some point in his career, so I would be interested to know if there is any relevancy to what he said.

[THAY3R]

He's being extremely results-oriented, that is all.

[Paluka]

I do think it was dumb to bring in Wagner. Sanchez had an easy 8th, I see no reason to not let him try to finish out the game. I hate taking out a pitcher in a spot like that for no reason.

[junglewarfare]

Using whether the game is a "save situation" or not is obviously a retarded way of choosing when to use your closer.

If I were a Mets fan I'd be really pissed at Randolph for not taking Wagner out after he walked Stinnett on 4 pitches. he threw 4 straight balls... to kelly stinnett...

[Dudd]

It's actually a bad move, but not because he'll pitch better in a save situation than in a non-save situation. Instead, while he might have blown a 4 run lead, something like 98% of the time the Mets would win with Billy Wagner, and maybe 97.5% of the time they'll win with an average reliever. So, there isn't much of an advantage to going to your closer. However, lets say tomorrow it's a 1 run game in the eight. Obviously, he can't pitch both the 8th and 9th because he pitched the day before. However, if he's rested, he probably would be able to pitch both innings, and instead of there existing a .5% difference between the winning percentage with your closer or an average reliever, the gap is much more significant, and you can much better leverage your closer by getting two innings of important work rather than one meaningless inning and one important inning.