Clay Holmes was one of baseball's best closers for the first six weeks of the season. The right-hander didn't allow an earned run in his first 20 appearances for the New York Yankees. He gave up runs in just two of his first 30 games. He was a stable presence where stability is paramount.
That seems like a very long time ago.
A summer of disappointing results culminated in Holmes losing the closer job after giving up a walk-off grand slam in a loss to the Texas Rangers earlier this month.