Yeah, because a handful of closing situations from one season should decide whether Thornton should be the closer. And for his career as a reliever, Thornton hasn't been any worse in the 9th inning and/or save situations than what his aggregate stats show.
Career Totals as Reliever: 1.262 WHIP, 2.60 K/BB, .022 HR%
Career 9th Inning Totals: 1.271 WHIP, 3.41 K/BB, .018 HR%
Career in Save Situations: 1.283 WHIP, 2.59 K/BB, .021 HR%
Here's the thing, though: studies have shown that the best way to use a closer (or, "relief ace") is when the game's Leverage (the value of one run scored or given up in the current game configuration relative to the value of a run scored/surrendered at the start of the game) is at its highest point, which isn't always in the 9th inning. The trick of it is, there is no real way to know how the leverage will fluctuate from point A to point B in any given game.
All that being said, Thornton is without a doubt, the best reliever on this team right now; he is the relief ace. Everyone needs to chill out with all this talk about Chris Sale: he met great success last year, true, but in only 23 innings in his first stint in the MLB. So while it was great to see Sale contribute immediately upon arriving in the MLB, he is certainly not a reason to pass up Matt Thornton for the closing job, or rather role of "relief ace". If the team chooses to use their ace strictly in the 9th or perhaps 8th inning and label him "the closer", that reliever should be Thornton, without question.
