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 Right now the Rays bullpen is a mess. With Percival on the DL and likely to retire, Joe Madden has said that he will use the committee approach. However, the last two save opportunities have gone to ex-Yankee prospect Randy Choate who was recently called up from AAA.
Since being called up he has made 4 appearances and the last two were save chances. Both were less then an inning and he was called in to bailout the pitcher before him. I've investigated this everywhere and nowhere has Joe Madden said that Choate is the closer. However, Tampa's bullpen is a mess and if Madden can find a steady closer that isn't Howell or Wheeler he will be very happy. So far Choate has the lead on the job and will be given more chances.
We recommend taking a flyer on Choate and if you have the roster spot, pick him up. It's no guarantee, but if he ends up being the closer for the Rays he could be quite valuable. I'll keep you posted on the latest developments. Labels: Closers, randy choate, tampa bay
 Saves: 11
Save Opportunities: 11
Rivera finally gets another save, while the Rangers sweep two from Athletics.By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com After a few quiet saves days, closers gave us a nice Friday. There was 11 saves in the league today starting with Trevor Hoffan's 12th save. the old-timer continues to sizzle in 2009 with his 12th straight save in as many chances. He has yet to give up a run and has a stellar 0.49 WHIP. Hoffman is making allot of the young closers look bad. Another oldy, but goody Mariano Rivera recorded his 10th save of the season. Rivera struck out two to preserve the 3-1 win for the Yankees. It was Rivera's first save in 8 days ending a long drought.  Brad Lidge pitched a perfect 9th with 2 strikeouts to get his 10 save of the season. Lidge is still a closer I wouldn't want, but today he earned his stripes. At this point it is touch-and-go for Lidge owners every time he goes out there. Frank francisco also continued his scoreless streak capping a 6-3 win for the Rangers. He has yet to allow a run this season and his WHIP remains very low at 0.85. We were high on Francisco coming into the season ans he hasn't let us down. He setup man CJ Wilson got the save in the night cap of the doubleheader. Huston Street continues to prove he is the closer in Colorado and frankly they have no one else. He closed out the 3-0 win over the Padres Friday night with a perfect inning. It was his 8th save of the season. It was his 7th straight save since returning to the closer role. Over in Chicago, Kevin Gregg also earned his 8th save in an almost effortless inning against the LA Dodgers. Both closers looked strong today.
Other Appearances:
Scott Downs (6) - The Blue Jays finally won and Downs closed out the game nicely.
Randy Choate (1) - Got the call for the Rays. Is he the next closer in Tampa. I doubt it. Madden will go with whoever he feels the best with.
David Aarsdma (7) - Wasn't the prettiest save, but he got it. Morrow should be ready for the job soon. Brain Wilson (11) - A perfect inning from an underrated closer.
Saves: 4 Save Opportunities: 4
There was a light slate of games in Major League Baseball today with only 5 games. The good news is for closer owners, each game had an appearance from a closer.  Papelbon rebounded nicely from his last two games striking out one and giving up a hit recording his 13th save of the season. He looked very sharp and looks back full strength. There were some concerns that Papelbon could be hurt or just have a tired arm. That was not the case today. Kerry Wood looked outstanding nailing his 8th save throwing a perfect inning in a 2-1 win against Tampa Bay. He struck out one and lowered his ERA to 6.35. We still think Wood is one of the worst closers in the American League, but for now he is on a 2 save streak. Chad Qualls saved his 12th game of the season pitching a perfect inning for the 5-2 save. Qualls has been a very pleasant surprise so far in 2009 even with a 3.43 ERA. I recommend trading him if you can get value for him at this point. Other Appearances:Ramon Troncoso (3) - Broxton was given the night off after throwing 38 pitches yesterday. Torre screwed Broxton owners out of a save pitching him yesterday. George Sherrill - Sherrill looked great. His last pitch for a ground out was one of the best out pitch curveballs I've seen from Sherrill in a long time. He threw a perfect inning.
Saves: 7 Save Opportunities: 7
Sorry about missing yesterday, but it was my son's 5th birthday so I spent the day with a bunch of little kids. Here is the update for the day. Joe Nathan has been on the hot seat lately with owners, but quickly he has won the hearts of his owners and has saves two straight games. We knew this slide by Nathan was nothing more then a dry spell with a couple of bad appearances in-between it. Nathan is one of the more dominant closers in the game a  nd should be treated as so. Ryan Franklin is the opposite of Nathan, but has performed out of this world in 2009. When will Franklin go on a dry spell of his own ? Right now he is on fire with a 1.42 ERA and an amazingly low 0.79 WHIP. At this point I would say SELL on Franklin, but in reality HOLD! Heath Bell is on top of the world right now. He saved his league leading 14th saves and got one out to secure the save. Bell is another outstanding closer and #2 on our top 20 closer ranking. The #1 closer on the list Jonathan Broxton had a tough day in Colorado. Granted he came into the game in a non-save situation he wasn't able to find the plate at all and ended up walking 3 batters and giving up a run. This is the only problem you have to worry about with Broxton is his lack of control. He he can't find the plate with all his pitches he will have a bad today. Lucky it wasn't worse or moreover a blown save. He needed 38 pitches to get through the 9th inning and only 23 were strikes. Not good for a closer. Fernando Rodney didn't get the save today, but had a great inning. He gave up two hits, but struck out the side and looked filthy. Frankly, the hits were lucky. Waldo was found. That's right, Kevin Gregg made a save appearance and believe it or not got his 7th save of the season. He's been on the hot seat with his owners for along time and its about time he got the save. Of course he worried everyone by walking two batters before ending the game. Matt Lindstrom made what I thought was a great appearance. This was a growing experience for him and he passed. After retiring the first better, Lindstrom then gave up a single and double. He then hunkered down and got the outs he needed without letting a run score. That is growth and we loved it. He also did it without a strikeout. He came into a 6-2 game, so no save. Other Appearances:Brian Fuentes (13) - Another easy save. He is outperforming all of our expectations. Brian Wilson (10) - Looked strong in a quick save. Francisco Rodriguez - Gave up an unearned run in a non-save opportunity. Huston Street - Pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. No save in a 8-6 loss to the Dodgers. Luis Vizcaino (1)- Pitched 3 innings to get the save. Did strikeout 4.
Saves: 8 Save Opportunities: 9
Hey everyone. I hope you all had a great Memorial Day. There was a full slate of games today,but only fair amount of saves. The biggest one to talk about was Jonathan Papelbon's save against the Twins. For the second straight appearance he gave up a 2-run home run. Today it was against Joe Mauer, who is one of the hottest players in baseball, but it wasn't enough and he hung on to get his 12th save of the season 6-5. The other home run was to Omir Santos a powerless catcher from the Mets on Saturday. Papelbon's problem right now is two-fold. The first is location, location, location. Both pitches that ended up being home runs were poorly located. This problem happens with any pitcher and its something he just needs to find again. The other problem is batters are now sitting on his fast  ball, so if it's not located well it get pounded. He has been working on a slider and a changeup to offset the fastball. He use to use his splitter often, but recently has lost confidence in it Papelbon needs to start throwing his splitter more and mixing up his pitches. His fastball is so devastating that another pitch could make it nearly untouchable. Heath Bell and Francisco Rodriguez both got their 13th save of the season. Bell had another perfect inning, but KROD had some problems giving up a hit and walk, but nailed the save strong with a strikeout and a perfect slider for a pop-up. In other big news, Chad Qualls blew his second save of the season. He gave up a run on 2 hits in a game the Padres ended up winning, giving Heath Bell another save. Qualls has given up 4 runs in his last 4 appearances. This is the Chad Qualls we expected. He lasted awhile looking out of this world and now he is imploding a bit. If you can pick up Jon Rauch from free agency I would do that ASAP. He has already got 2 saves on the season and right now he's pitching much better then Qualls. Matt Lindstrom got his first save since May 20th. He easily locked up his 9th save of the season against the Phillies 5-3. His control was great, but he did walk a batter. If you own Lindstrom you should be very happy with this performance. Hopefully we will see more just like it.
Other Appearances:
George Sherrill (10) - He looks great and is just churning out saves now.
Sean Burnett(1) - Filled in for Matt Capps. Capps has pitched a ton lately and was just getting the day off.
Francisco Cordero (12) - Cordero is on fire. This could be the year for Cordero. He is pitching like he did years ago.
Kevin Cameron (1)- Pitched 3 innings to get the save.
Saves: 12
Save Opportunities: 12
Bell, Rodriguez, and Fuentes get their 12th save, Francisco saves first post-DL game
There weren't any blown saves today and a full load of saves. The highlights of the day start with Heath Bell. Bell shakes off giving up his first run last appearance to throw a great inning tonight for his 12th save. Fuentes continues to make batters look bad as he revisited his National League friends. He made quick work of the Dodgers clinching a 3-1 win for the Angels. KROD was back at it and also had an easy inning revisiting with his old foes the Red Sox. He also earned a league leading 12th save. Rodriguez has clearly lived up to his draft value. If you examined his numbers and plug then in as offensive scores you could say he has 12 Hrs (saves), 20 RBI (SO), 1 win (SB), .370 Avg, (ERA), and a 28 runs (WHIP). Not bad for a 4th or 5th round draft pick. Over in the American League Bobbie Jenks looked impressive notching his 10th save. Jenks hasn't been in the news much with the White Sox pitching struggles, but quietly he has put together 10 saves, 14 strikeouts, and an ERA under 2.50. He's having another solid season. Frank Francisco returned from the D  L and was immediately put into action and recorded his 10th save. He is the only full-time closer yet to allow an earned run. He also has a 0.75 WHIP and he is well rested. Francisco is quickly becoming one of the best closers. You may want to consider selling him high by mid to late June. Eventually the Rangers will start to lose as always. George Sherrill nailed his 8th save of the season. A few weeks ago rumors flew that Sherill was no longer the ONLY closer the Orioles would dispatch. However, he has been and since then he has accrued 4 saves, and lowered he has lowered his ERA almost 200 points. He is clearly the closer in Baltimore, and if you cut him have more patience next time. Last, but not least we have the Rays bullpen. Dale Thayer (pictured) was called up today and pitched 3 innings in a blow out for the save. He also got to bad in this very weird game against Ross Gload if you can believe. He has good stuff and was acquired in the Russell Branyan trade. I wouldn't look to much into this, but with the Rays bullpen issues at least take notice for now. Other Appearances: Joel Zumaya (1) - Zumaya saved the game after Rodney saved the last three games Jon Rauch - Got a second save in as many days while the Diamindbacks rest the overworked Chad Qualls. Francisco Cordero (11) - He is piling up saves and has a low ERA of 2.12. Great so far. Mike Gonzalez (7)- He's doing well lately.
 The Tampa Bay Rays put Troy Percival on the 15-DL with right shoulder tendinitis. Some feel this the end for the 40-year old closer. According to Joe Madden he will use a closer by committee approach. We assume that Joe Nelson will get most of the opportunities, but if the lineup is mostly lefties look for JP Howell to get some saves. Grant Balfour could work his way into the committee, but likely not with his awful season so far. If you own Troy Percival and you don't have a DL spot on your roster, cut him.
Saves: 7 Save Opportunities: 8
Franklin, Hoffman and Fuentes join the leaders at 11 saves The saves slowed down a bit today, but there was still plenty of action. Ryan Franklin continues to relish his new role as St. Louis's closer. He got his 11th save of the season tonight and has the numbers to back it up. Overall Franklin has a tiny 1.53 ERA and an even smaller WHIP of 0.81. He has clearly surprised everyone and has so far been one of the the top waiver pickup of 2009.  Fernando Rodney started slow this year, but of late has been on fire. He has scored saves in 3 straight games and now has 8 saves on the season. He had a bit of a rocky inning tonight, but held the Rangers scoreless and secured the 4-3 win. Mariano Rivera recorded his second save of the week, but has had a slow month of May with only 4 saves. He easily dispatched Orioles to get his 9th save of the season. Joel Hanrahan came back as the closer for Washington and pitched a great inning for his 4th save. He struck out two and gave up a hit in one of his best performances of the year. While Manny Acta hasn't formally announced that Hanrahan is the closer, he made a statement today by not having any faith in Kip Wells to close out the 9th. Wells was rested and hadn't pitched since May 18th. If you held on to Hanrahan as I did, you got your closer back. Hopefully, crazy Manny could change that. The lone blown save for the day goes to Brian Wilson of the Giants. Heath Bell came into a 1-1 tie in the 9th and gave up his first run of the season and looked to take the loss. Wilson however doubled up Bell and took the loss along with the blown save. In all 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs. Bell was hammered in his first bad outing of the season and was lucky to get away with only giving up one run thanks to a slow Bengie Molina. He gave up 4 hits in the innings. He officially has a ERA, although its a microscopic 0.50. Other appearances:
Brian Fuentes (11) - Fuentes is hot with 7 saves in May. Chad Qualls (10) Getting chances with good starting pitching of lately. Trevor Hoffman (11) - He is on a tear and he started the season on the DL. Jonathan Papelbon. Francona wanted to sweep Toronto bad and he used Paps to guarantee it. Brad Ziegler - Took the loss by giving up a run on 2 hits and a walk. He did not record an out. Labels: aarsdma, Brad Ziegler, closer report, Closers, heath bell
Frank Francisco threw a simulated game today and came out of it pain-free. Rotowire.com reported, according t  o Ron Washington, "He threw all his pitches, had good velocity, the split had depth to it, the breaking ball was sharp. He was very happy with the results, and I was very happy that he was happy." Lets wait to see how he feels tomorrow. If I don't report anything, assume he is on track to be back Friday. I don't see any reason why Ron Washington would keep Francisco from closing Friday, but it's not out of the question to have him make an appearance in a non-save situation. I'd hold on to C.J. Wilson until Francisco saves a game.
Saves: 14 Save Opportunities: 14
13 save day for fantasy baseball, Bell and Broxton continue hot streaks
I thought yesterday was a great day for closers, but today was amazing. 14 of the 17 games were saved and there wasn't one blown save.
To start, Ker ry Wood rebounded from his disastrous blown save yesterday, but didn't make it easy on himself. He walked the bases loaded before striking out Teahen and DeJesus to end the game. Watching this game I felt he got lucky. Teahen and Dejesus were over anxious and swung at a OK cutter and some nasty curveballs pitches. This will go down as a bad outing as far as management is concerned.  Matt Lindstrom pitched in both games of a doubleheader and recorded 1 save. He preserved the 8-6 win in game one with a perfect inning and a strikeout. He had the exact same performance in game 2, but came in with a tie sco re. Lindstrom looked outstanding today. He commanded all his pitches and looked like the closer we expected him to be. Back in the American League, Brad Ziegler made his first save appearance since his bout with the flu. He looked fine pitching a perfect inning and striking out one batter. Hopefully Ziegler gets his job back after this great performance. Don't go dropping Andrew Bailey so fast. Bailey pitched two innings yesterday, and another inning on May 17th. I figure he was getting rested and Ziegler got the call. Since the A's want Ziegler at closer he should get his job back, but he will be on a short list. Broxton and Bell continued there race of dominance bothing getting their 11th save. Bell was perfect again with 2 strikeouts, while Broxton gave up an hit and oddly didn't strikeout anyone. Easily one of these guys will be my #1 closer on Sunday.
Matt Capps and Mariano Rivera notched their 8th save of the season. Capps had a clean inning, but Rivera had to go 1.1 innings and gave up a home run to rookie Nolan Reimold. Another significant save was David Aarsdma. He notched his fifth save of the season with a easy inning. The thing to worry about is Brandon Morrow has yet to pitch since he lost the closer job. The manager said he was going to get Morrow in quickly so he doesn't rust and he even warmed up during the Red Sox series. Hopefully this has to do with tight games and nothing to do with injury. Chris Sampson recorded his 2nd save of the season securing a 6-4 win. He's been closing games for LaTroy Hawkins who is day-to-day with a sore hip. I wouldn't go cutting Hawkins or even picking up Sampson. He's been solid this year, but Hawkins could be back sooner then later. If you have a free roster spot, pick him up for a few possible saves. Other Saves - Fernando Rodney (7) - Two straight days with a save. Ryan Franklin (10) - get hammered for an ER and a WHIP of 3.00. Still, his ERA is 1.56. Bobbie Jenks (9) - Great performance, lowered his ERA to 2.57 on the season. Jon Rausch (1) - Came in to save the 11-8 game in the 13thinng. He gave up a solo home run against Dan Uggla and besides that pitched well. Qualls wasn't avaible after pitching the 11th and 12th innings for the win. Labels: aarsdma, Brad Ziegler, closer report, Closers, heath bell
Saves: 8 Save Opportunities: 9
Wood gets whacked, Papelbon and Broxton look strong
May 18th was a great days for closers. 8 out of 9 games were successfully closed out today. The only blown save goes to Kerry Wood who after giving up back-to-back home runs to Mike Jacobs and Mark Teahen refused to gather it together and get the final two outs. In all Wood gave up 4ER on 3 hits and a walk.
I warned people about Kerry Wood. Wood's problem is he thinks he is Jonathan Papelbon. He thinks batters fear him or at least don't look forward to facing him. When they face Wood, they respect him, but don't fear any part of him. His slider has to break and break hard in the zone. When that isn't happening hitters sit on his soft 94-95 MPH. Expect more of these types of outings from Wood. You should have Lewis in your scopes. He isn't doing well either, and that is probably one reason Wood wasn't relieved.
In other outings, Broxton shutdown the Mets with a perfect innings and a K. Papelbon closed out a big win for the Red Sox, 2-1. He dominated the Blue Jays in the same fashion and striking out Adam Lind in the process.
Trevor Hoffman and Chad Qualls continued there hot starts with saves. Hoffman recorded save 10 with a perfect inning. Qualls has been one of the bigger surprises at closer in 2009. He nailed his 9th save on 2 Ks and lowered his ERA to 2.40.
Brian Fuentes entered a 6-5 game against the Mariners and pulled out his 10th save in outstanding fashion by striking out all three batters.
Finally, Heath Bell kept pace with Broxton notching his 10th save in another perfect inning. Bell has been the best closer overall in 2009. He has pitched 16 perfect innings, 18 Ks, a  nd a WHIP of 0.80. I'm sure Sabermetrics guys are digesting all those numbers, and I will state that the day Sabermetrics can tell me that Heath Bell will do what he's doing, I'll say sign me! One more note, Fernando Rodney and BJ Ryan both made appearances. Ryan gave up a couple of hits, but no runs. Rodney pitched a perfect inning. Labels: closer report, Closers, Jonathan Broxton, Kerry Wood
 Thanks to Joe Madden and his closer wisdom, many have been confused as to who is the closer for the Rays. Troy Percival is the obvious choice, but since he got hammered on May 13th, and with left-handers hitting .475 he had been benched for a few days to clear his head. JP Howell and Joe Nelson each picked up saves in his absence. Today Percival went back to closing and pitched a near perfect inning with two strikeouts. He did hit Mark DeRosa and Carl Crawford mad a great catch two save a double. In the end, Percival is back to closing. Nelson looked as though he could be getting the job, but Percival is their guy and Nelson has had his own problems and isn't much of a closer. Start Percival at will, but Expect Madden to Howell or Nelson if the 9th inning is loaded with left-handers. If Percival gets the save chance, fasten your seat belt and cover your eyes. Labels: Closers, joe nelson, rays, tamp bay, troy percival
 BJ Ryan is on his way back to claiming his closer job that Scott Downs currently holds. Friday night he pitched the 9th inning in a non-save situation. He struck out two and walked one and had good stuff. After the game, “He got the job done, it’s good to see,” manager Cito Gaston said. “We can use him, whether he gets back into his role or comes in there as the setup man.” Gaston isn't showing his cards and he's in no rush with Ryan. We assume he'll get a chance to claim his job back, but Scott Downs is pitching very well and it's his to lose.
 The Mariners have decided to give Brandon Morrow some time to get back to full strength and gain confidence in his other pitches like his breaking ball and splitter. For the next few weeks Morrow will get plenty of work, but not in the 9th. Look for Aardsma or Bautista to get the save opportunities while Morrow develops his pitches. Labels: brandon Morrow, Closers, mariners
 We weren't sure if we'd see Morrow today and we shouldn't have. He came in to close out another game against the Rangers and his flat fastball was hammered for two home runs by Hank Blalock and Chris Davis. This is terrible for Morrow owners. Two blown saves in a row. We will keep you posted on what the Mariners will do. He pitched 1/3 of an inning and gave up 3 runs. Grab Aardsma if you can for insurance, however the Mariners are dedicated to Morrow and will give him time.
 Brandon Morrow had a bad night in Texas. After the Mariners had come back in the top of the 11th to take a 5-4 lead, more blew the game on a 2-run double to Hank Blalock. He gave up a lead off single to Michael Young and walked Josh Hamilton. This was another bad outing for Morrow, but he some of the best stuff in the league and the Mariners will be patient with him. Morrow only threw 16 [itches, but expect to see Aardsma to pitch Thursday if a save opportunity comes up. The may want to rest Morrow. Labels: brandon Morrow, Closers, mariners, Seattle
 Marmol got the save because the game was called in the 8th inning due to some nasty weather. Gregg would have came in the 9th inning for the save. Marmol gave up 2 hits and 2 walks along with an ER. He got the save, but he also earned a 4.00 WHIP and 9.00 ERA. No strikeouts. Labels: Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs, Closers, kevin Gregg
 Matt Capps has been bothered by what he called a "sharp pain" in his elbow and it kept him out of action for the past 8 days. Last night he finally came back and looked shakey giving up a single and walking the bases loaded, but struckout 2 and got out of the innings untouched. John Grabow will not be the closer as Matt Capps will resume full closer duties. Today Matt Capps closed out the win against St. Louis and notched his 6th save. It didn't look like he would get the chance, but Jesse Chavez after getting 1 out, put a couple of guys on base and enter Capps. Capps looked strong, so you should have full confidence in starting him.
 We kind of saw it coming after his last appearance where he walked 2 batters and gave up two hits that plated one run. This is terrible news for Soria owners. He has strained right rotator cuff and he could be out 2 to 4 weeks. He should recover 100% from this, so don't worry about it being a lingering issue. Pick up Juan Cruz while you can. He will close for the Royals in the mean time. You may want to take a flier on Robinson Tejeda. He has a 1.69 ERA and 16 Ks in 10.2 innings. If Cruz can't cut it, Tejeda is next in line. I don't have the confidence Cruz can keep the job that long.
 Jonathan Papelbon felt good going into the 9th inning to shutdown the Rays, however it didn't go his way. He walked Iwamura to start the inning, and then promptly allowed him to get to 2B on a throwing error. Bartlett then singled to center, but Iwamura held at 2B to make sure it wasn't caught and they held him up at 3rd base. Papelbon then struck out Carlso Pena, B.J. Upton, and Carl Crawford to lock up the game. He looked absolutely dominating against the last three batters throwing all fastballs and topping out at 97 MPH. Papelbon said he had to go into "punchout mode", and he certainly did. Tonight showed us that he is clearly the best closer in baseball. At least for now. If you are a Papelbon owner, the 2.00 WHIP tonight wasn't you wanted, but three strikeouts and a save was well worth it. Labels: Boston, Closers, Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox
 Brandon Morrow made his first appearance of the season the day he came off the DL. He entered a 5-2 game in the 9th inning. He started the inning giving up an infield single to shortstop by Nick Punto, a hit that Bentancourt should have grabbed for an out. Morrow got the next two outs, one on a strikeout. He then gave up a single to Joe Mauer. With 2 outs he then lost complete control and walked the next two batters on 8 straight pitches and through 10 balls in a row before getting his first strike. He eventually got Brendon Harris to ground out. Morrow was at full power throwing mostly 95-96 MPH, and his control was terrible. He couldn't get his fastball down in the zone and before he lost it, Mauer hit a high fastball for the RBI single. This is good news for Morrow owners as he is back and he recorded his 6th save. Overall it was a good day, but the 4.00 WHIP isn't pretty. He was a bit nervous, and hadn't pitched in over 2 weeks. I wouldn't look much into it and look forward to his next appearance. At full strength Morrow can reach 98-99 MPH.
 Andrew Bailey threw two perfect innings in relief to record his first save of the season. Bailey stayed in for the ninth as Brad Ziegler is still recovering from his bout with the flu. Reports said that Brad Ziegler lost up to 8 pounds and should be ready to pitch by Monday. That being said, we expect the A's to give Ziegler another 5-7 days before sliding him into the closer role. It could be longer depending on Zieglers performances. Andrew Bailey is available in over 60% of the leagues, but he's getting picked up quickly. He should get a few save chances and you never know, he could get the job. I doubt that he will take the job from Zielger, but he's worth a roster spot if you need saves. Labels: A's, andrew bailey, Brad Ziegler, Closers, Oakland
 It wasn't a save opportunity for Rivera Thursday night, and that is the good news. Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria went back-to-back off of the Yankee closer in the top of the 9th inning and broke a 6-6 tie. Rivera through 24 pitches to get out of the 9th and the home runs were the only hits he gave up. I'd start to worry a little bit about Mariano Rivera. This is the 3 time in 5 appearances that he's given up runs and 2 of them were 2 run affairs. Right now Rivera's cutter isn't cutting consistently. That pitch is everything for him and he needs to get it working consistently in order for him to have success. Hopefully its just a bad stretch or maybe just a stretch of good teams. We will keep an eye and try and find out if he's hiding a injury or if it's nothing.
 Today was a somewhat odd for the Washington bullpen. First off, it held the lead. Joe Beimal, the anointed fantasy closer for the National made his first appearance since coming off the DL and got some work in the 8th inning. It didn't go well for Joe who came into a 10-6 game. He gave up one run on 3 hits and a walk. Kip "the other closer" Wells came in for a non-save situation and that went poorly as well. After getting the first two outs, Wells gave up four straight hits the collected two runs for the Dodgers. After the first run scored, Joel Hanrahan started warming up to come in. Wells quickly gave up a fourth hit and a second run, but Hanrahan was not quite ready. I have no doubt that Hanrahan would have entered the game if Casey Blake got on. Hanrahan has been very good since losing his closer job. He's pitched 3.2 scoreless innings with 4 Ks. We think that Hanrahan is very close to getting his job back and may get the next save opportunity. Joe Beimel is not a closer, ask any Dodger fan. He is a solid setup man and I think that is where Manny Acta wants him. If you held on to Joel Hanrahan, good for you. If he is on waivers in your league, you might want to get him. He is pitching well and has outstanding stuff. His problem has to be mental and hopefully this break helped get him focused.
 It has been awhile since I last saw Soria pitch and it didn't look well for him. Soria entered a 3-0 game in the 9th to attempt his 7th save of the season. After getting the first two batters out, including striking out Russel Branyan on a sweet curveball. He then gave up 2 hits and 2 walks that culminated into a late rally from the Mariners that fell short 2 runs. He eventually got Suzuki to ground out. Soria had poor control of his curveball and he threw a few fastballs into the dirt. He is still suffering from a sore shoulder. This is something we will keep an eye on. We have a feeling the Royals will start to use Juan Cruz more to give Soria rest in-between appearances until the shoulder injury has fully healed. His WHIP today was 4.00 and that is unlike Soria who's season WHIP coming in was 1.04. If you have the roster spot, it might be time to protect your closer with Juan Cruz. Labels: Closers, Joakim Soria, Kansas City, Royals
 Francisco Rodriguez had a bad outing with good results. He gave up two runs in the 9th, but luckily the Mets provided him a 3-run cushion. The beauty of this outing, he got the save and his ERA was 0.00. KROD did give up a hit and a walk, but with two outs got Omar Infante to pop up, but Delgado dropped it, and a run scored. He then gave up another run and hit, but finally stopped the bleeding and recorded the save.
This is the kind of luck the Mets are having. Francisco Rodriguez is one of the best closers in the game and his opportunities will come more often. He will finish one of the top three in the NL by season end.
 Look for Saito to close for the Red Sox if they have a save chance against the Yankees. Papelbon threw 32 pitches to get five hard earned outs for the Red Sox.
The save was rocky, but not as bad as it looks. The 8th was fine, but in cold weather he had a 20+ minute wait for the 9th. After giving up a single to Brett Gardner that the shortstop would have thrown out most runners, he then hit Derek Jeter. He then struck out Mark Texeria, walked Swisher, and then struck out Cano.
Overall it was a great performance for Papelbon, and from a fantasy perspective it was huge. However, it will cost Papelbon owners the next day for Paps.
Expect Takashi Saito to get a save opportunity. this is not official, but I know how Francona handles Papelbon and he will not pitch if the Red Sox lead in the 9th tomorrow. That is probably obvious to anyone.
So if you have Saito on your bench, put him in. Labels: Boston, Closers, Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox, Saito
 Kerry Wood's fastball was ineffective against the Blue Jays and his command was suspect. He gave up two runs on on two hits and a walk. He did look impressive striking out Wells, but outside of that it was a terrible outing for Wood. Jensen Lewis got the save in the 12th inning, relieving Perez and striking out Aaron Hill to end the inning. Lewis looked very good, but I do not feel that there is any threat to Wood's job. Yet. It was his first blown save of the season. Labels: Cleveland Indians, Closers, Jensen Lewis, Kerry Wood
 The Mets bullpen manged to get to Francisco Rodriguez today and he did not let them down. He got his sixth save of the season pitching a perfect inning with one strikeout. This is his only his second save opportunity since April 24th. The Mets have not been winning much lately or have been able to even get to KROD. Hopefully this is a good sign for the Mets and they will get back on the winning track. KROD is the best in the game. If he comes in, count the save.
 So far in 2009, the Cubs closer situation has been one enigma. The Cubs are considered one of the richest teams in win expectation, so their closer is highly valued. So far it has been a back and forth battle between Kevin Gregg and Carlos Marmol. Everyone expected the job to be Marmol's, but instead Gregg got it. Kevin Gregg then had problems and injuries and Marmol got the chance to take the job. He failed. He has two blown saves and several other bad outings. So far the two closers have 5 saves, Marmol 2 and Gregg 3. Gregg secured his last save yesterday. Currently the job belongs to Gregg, however his knee continues to be a problem for the Cubs and his owners. On the other hand Marmol has clearly been ineffective since the WBC and very inconsistent. His command has been terrible with 12 walks in 11 innings His WHIP is out of control at 1.73 and his ERA is a staggering 5.73. Marmol is doing so poorly you have to consider cutting him. However, we expect him to rebound. There may be a trip to the DL in the future for Marmol, but give him May to work out his issues. If Gregg goes down, the job will be Marmols.
 We've been waiting for it and now it has finally arrived. Brandon Morrow has been placed on the disabled list Saturday with biceps tendinitis retroactive to April 24th. Although its bad news for Morrow owners, I consider it a blessing in disguise. Hopefully the 15 days or so off will give him the time to get healthy. When healthy, Morrow is a 1st tier closer. Hold Morrow and get David Aardsma in the mean time. He will get some saves.
 For all the Rodney owners who were worried can breath a sigh of relief. Joel Zumaya entered today's game in the 7th inning and pitched very well giving up only a hit. Rodney entered in the 9th as expected and got through the inning, but without giving up a couple of hits. Neither hit was hit with authority, so you can call the hits "lucky". Either way, Rodney struck out DeRosa and Peralta to end the game. Overall a good start and he lowered his ERA to 5.00.
 Zeigler hasn't pitched since April 25th. He has been out lately with an unspecified illness. We assume it is some type of flu, but dare not say swine flu. Michael Wuertz came in on April 30th to get the save in Zeigler's place. There is no word on when Zeigler will be back, so if you have a roster spot grab Wuertz to continue getting save opportunities until Zeigler is healthy. If you have Zeigler you shouldn't worry much. He has been great this year and is a closer for a team that should provide plenty of save opportunities.
 It didn't take long for Julian Tavarez to get baptized as closer for the Washington Nationals. In his second appearance since being anointed closer with Kip Wells, Tavarez got his bell rung to the tune of 5 runs (2 ER) from the St. Lious Cardinals. In all, he gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and hit a batter before being removed from the game. It wasn't even a save opportunity, but a tie game he came into for the ninth. Joel Hanrahan did relieve Tavarez and gave up one hit in 2/3 of an inning of work. This is exactly what we are talking about. Manny Acta is insane. You don't replace your young stud closer with guys like Julian Tavarez and Kip Wells. You allow Joel Hanrahan to work through his problems and get back to the level you expected out of him when you made him closer last year. Manny Acta is clearly trying to shake things up in Washington in order to hopefully create a winning team or at least attitude. Right now, the Nationals lack confidence in their pitchers and maybe the next person that should get fired is the pitching coach and not the closer. Hopefully this performance will make Manny Acta rethink his decision to bench his closer. We will see. Labels: Closers, Julian Tavarez, nationals, washington
 Thursday night, Trevor Hoffman completed his second save of the season by striking out and giving up just one harmless hit. It was a very good performance by the 41-year old closer and he needed only 17 pitches for the saves. Hoffman had good velocity, but not overwhelming velocity. He had great control tonight and that will be the key for Hoffman all season. We still are not high on Hoffman because of his age and proneness to injury. However, he looks alright for now and should see plenty of opportunities to close games with the Brewers. Hope that he gets a few more saves while staying healthy and without blowups. If you can get to 7, start throwing him out there for trade offers. Dump him while he is hot. Labels: Closers, San Diego Padres, Trevor Hoffman
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