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 Saves: 8 Save Opportunities: 9 Huston Street vowed not to have a bad month in July and he kept his promise ( I'm assuming all of that of course). After a raging June where he had 11 saves, he only had three saves for the first half of July. The second half of the month he scored five saves and a win, including three saves in the final six days of the month. Tonight he got his 27th save of the season in a 5-3 win over Cincinnati. He pitched a perfect inning, striking out one. Street's WHIP now stands and a career best 0.90 along with a 2.44 ERA. Right now he is pitching out of his cleats, and Sabermetric geeks ( no emails please, I mean that in a nice courtesy way) would point out he has high BABIP or something like that. He does in fact have a higher than average BABIP, but he is still outstanding. They will probably tell you, "cut him loose now, he's going down". I'll tell you this, he's a hot pitcher and yo  u should ride him out the entire season. He is having a career year and should easily get 40 saves for the first time in his career. Leo Nunez remained hot as well with his ninth save of the season. He finishes July with a respectable six saves. Matt Lindstrom is on his way back pitching in the minors, but I don't suspect he will get his job back when he returns. Nunez is pitching outstanding and the Marlins want to make the playoffs. It will be interesting to see what they do. Chad Qualls was all the talk of getting traded, but in the end just saved another game on the day allot of people figured he'd get moved. He pitched a perfect inning for his 19th save of the season. He looked sharp needing only 11 pitches to close it out. C.J. Wilson nailed another big save for the Rangers. It was another 1.1 inning affair as the Rangers ran into some problems in the 8th inning and ol' C.J. had to bail them out. It was his 12th save of the season, and his fifth since taking over for Francisco. Word on the street is Francisco is still a few days from returning and even after that they will give him time to get his strength back, so expect another week with Wilson as the closer. He's been a great pickup. Finally, Kerry Wood blew the save for the fading Cleveland Indians today by allowing Carlos Guillen to hit a 2-run homerun off him in the 9th. Wood's stat line wasn't pretty; two hits, 2 runs, and a walk. He did strike out two, but I figure the Indians are hoping he clears waivers. Pay close attention to this situation. I know I will.
Other Appearances:
Jonathan Papelbon (27)- Blew away the Orioles tonight. Granted he needed 18 pitches, the Orioles were no match as he notched two more strike outs. Do not expect Papelbon to pitch tomorrow. Ryan Franklin (24) - After giving up a lead-off single, he got the next three batters in order for the save. No strikeouts as expected. Matt Capps (21) Capps is looking alright, but he did give up two hits while striking out two. His WHIP and ERA are still in the range of a long-reliever. Andrew Bailey (14) - Another great performance from Bailey. I thought he would get traded, but he didn't. He should have a solid finish with the A's. They may not be competing for a playoff spot, but they know how to win.
Francisco Rodriguez - Pitched a quite inning where he walked one and struck out one. Heath Bell - Pitched and inning and walked a batter. Not a Bell type of performance. Fernando Rodney - Pitched two innings in a a 13th inning game. Struck out two, walked two, and gave up a hit. To bad there was no save or win.
Saves: 4 Save Opportunities: 4 Jonathan Broxton got revenge on St. Louis after blowing a big save last night. The Dodgers scored two runs in the top of the tenth inning and the big boy came in to close it out and close it out he did. He needed 14 pitches and sent the Cardinals down 1-2-3 after a lead-off walk. Broxton wasn't looking for strikeouts. He wanted quick outs and to go home. In the end he got Albert Pujols to ground out to Broxton himself to end the game. Ryan Franklin pitched a quiet ninth inning and left in the tenth. Overall, 1.1 perfect innings and no strikeouts.  Huston Street continues to leave the national league hitters dazed and confused with his 26th save of the season. In defeating the Mets in game two of a doubleheader, Street struck out two and gave up a hit in another fantastic performance. It's his seventh save of the month and 18th straight save going back to June 2. Jonathan Papelbon looked good a day removed from one of the worst blown saves of his career. He still wasn't the spot on 96 MPH Papelbon we are use to, but he kept the A's hitters off balance only giving up one hit. He threw 17 pitches, 10 of which were strikes. When Paps is on, he throws a much higher percentage of strikes. It was his 26th save of the season. At this point Papelbon would be lucky to get to 40 saves. Rafael Soriano finally got a save! Though his last save was on July 22, after getting spoiled early this month, seven days is a long wait. Soriano got his eight save of the month by striking out the side and giving up one hit. It is the seventh time this season Soriano has struck out the side this season. Quite an impressive stat, take that Sabermetric guys. It was Soriano's 15th save of the season.
Other Appearances:
Matt Thornton - Got the win against the Yankees. He's not the closer in Chicago, but it is worth noting on this slow day. We haven't seen Jenks in awhile, but he has to be on a short lease with Guillen ad with the way Thornton is pitching.
 Today the Orioles traded George Sherrill to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sherrill will serve as a setup man to Broxton and may get a few saves in the process, but his days as a closer are finished. In his wake, Jim Johnson will likely take over as the Orioles closer for the rest of the season. Chris Ray is rehabbing in AA right now and if he gets back to the majors soon, he could find himself in the mix for some saves. Also, do not discount Danny Baez. The Orioles are shopping him and sliding him in as closer for a shot or two could seal a trade for them, even after the deadline. This is exactly why I stay away from the daily closer circus as best as I can. If you draft premiere closers, you get results and not headaches like this. This is sad news because Sherrill was developing into a great closer.
Saves: 6 Save Opportunities: 7 Nathan saves another and Nunez stays hot with save #8
Leo Nunez has been lightening hot lately and recorded his eight save of the season against the Atlanta Braves tonight. He gave up one hit and walked one in the 6-3 win. Nunez has been pitching like we all expected him too. He is throwing hard and throwing strikes. 11 of his 12 pitches landed for strikes and when that happens, you will have success. It was his fourth save in ten days, and fifth overall for the month.  Joe Nathan is quickly catching up with Brian Fuentes for the league lead in saves. He notched his 29 th save of the season tongiht with a 3-2 win. It wasn't easy, he put two runners on with one out, but ended up striking out Chris Getz and got Mark Kotsay to lineout. Nathan wasn't his sharpest today, but he got the job done and buckled down when he needed too. Nathan is regaining is hold as the top closer in the league. To my dismay, Jonathan Broxton continues his slump with another blown save (3rd of the season). He blew a great performance by Clayton Kershaw, who left the game for Broxton with a 1-0 lead. It wasn't as bad as it looks. He got the first two outs, which was against Pujols and Holliday. He then gave up a soft single to Ludwick, but the big mistake was the wild pitch that allowed Ludwick to get to second base and eventually score on Rasmus's single. I'll keep a watch on Broxton, but just chalk this up as a bad luck outing. Ryan Franklin didn't look any better in 11 th. He entered the game and promptly gave up two singles and after a sharp lineout by Russell Martin, gave up the sac fly to Matt Kemp. Joe Torre then made a huge managerial boo-boo. He allowed Ramon Troncoso to hit, so he could stay in the game. He struck out and the next inning gave up the tying run. David Aardsma got his 25 th save of the season and helped to beat Roy Halladay in the same day. It wasn't his best night as he needed 20 pitches to get the save and walked one with two strikeouts. Other Appearances:Trevor Hoffman (23) - Very good outing for Hoffman. He struck out two and gave up one hit. It was only his sixth appearance with two or more strikeouts. Andrew Bailey (13) - Got his second save in a row against the Red Sox and for the second day in a row gave up a run on three hits. Jim Johnson (2) - Came in for the eighth and after the Orioles added two more runs, he stayed in for the save. Brian Wilson - Got the win in an extra inning game. Looked great with two strikeouts Matt Capps - Dropped his sixth game of the season. He entered a 0-0 game in the tenth inning and quickly gave up a run on two hits and a walk. Just terrible. Mariano Rivera - only pitched .2 innings in a non-save situation, but struck out both batters and gave up one hit.
Guys and gals, I'm introducing my Closer Report podcast everyday at www.fantasybaseballsearch.com and www.thecloserreport.com. It's a quick 15 minute breakdown of closer activity for that day and analysis from me, Todd "The True Guru" Farino. I'll give you all the insight you need to know about your closers and their performances and I will throw in some sound bytes and some humor whenever possible. So if you don't like reading The Closer Report, listen to it on Blog Talk Radio. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/The-Closer-ReportCheck it out the next morning everyday. Please email me at toddf@fantasybaseballsearch.com with any comments or questions. I will read good questions on the show.
Saves: 6 Save Opportunities: 8 Papelbon gets rocked for three runs and Soriano gives up a walk-off home run Today was a tough day for several closers across the board. Let's start with Jonathan Papelbon. He's been living on the edge for awhile now, and he hasn't been hitting his spots. He also has been depending on his fastball way too much. Tonight he got hammered by the Athletics for three runs on three hits and a walk. It was Papelbon's third blown save of the season. Papelbon has been used allot this year and he has a inning cap set by management, so expect the Red Sox to rest his as much as possible. He needed 21 pitches tonight and my guess is he won't pitch tomorrow, but with the Red Sox needing wins they probably will use him if needed. Andrew Bailey got the back door save closing out the 11-inning affair. He did get touched up for a run on two hits, but got his 12th save of the season.  Joakim Soria looks sharp tonight closing out another extra inning game against the Orioles. He got his third save in four games and his 17th overall for the season. After giving up a lead-off single, Soria got the next three batters including a strikeout. The thing I liked about Soria tonight, he used his fastball effectively. He has been relying on his breaking balls far too much and he went to the fastball and kept the Oriole hitters off balance. George Sherrill pitched another Sherrill inning, which is now defined as an inning with one hit and one strikeout. With the month coming to a close in a few days, Heath Bell scored just his third save of the month beating the Reds 3-2. He looked great striking out two and facing the minimum of three batters. Bell has been great all year, but the Padres just don't win consistently enough for him to be an effective fantasy closer. If you were able to dump Bell earlier this month like I told you too, good for you. Tonight, we watched another episode of The Adventures of Brad Lidge, starring none other than BRAD LIDGE. He got his 20th save of the season, but not without the Lidgeworks we expect. Lidge came into a 4-1 game and left 4-3. For you math haters, he gave up two runs on a bomb by Mark Reynolds. Here is an interesting stat for you Brad Lidge lovers and I promise you its not a useless Sabermetric stat. Lidge has given up runs in 19 of 42 appearances. 12 of those are during save opportunities and include his six blown saves. So what does that mean? That is more run surrendering appearances than Mariano Rivera, Brian Fuentes, and Joe Nathan combined. He is trash and shouldn't have a job anymore. Even if he is getting a save now and then, he is destroying your ERA and WHIP. Rafael Soriano blew his second save of the season by giving up a walk-off two run jack to Ross Gload. It was a terrible pitch right down the heart of the plate and one he'd like to get back. He only recorded one out in the effort. The Marlins brought Nunez in to pitch the top of the ninth inning and got the win. Yet another closer had a rough night, but this one was a loss and not a blown save. Scott Downs gave up a game winning bloop single to Ichiro Suzuki and loss to the Mariners 4-3. I've never been a fan of Scott Downs this season, and he's had a rough month to say the least. He's only pitched 6.2 innings and he's given up 7 runs, two blown saves, and a two losses. On the bright side, he has one save this month.
Other Appearances:
Joe Nathan (28) - Needed only one out and seven pitches for the save. if you are keeping count at home that is two saves on four batters and 13 pitches. Brain Wilson (26) - Another excellent save for Wilson. Perfect inning and two strikeouts. Brian Fuentes - Got rocked again, this time two runs and did not record an out. He was relieved by Jason Bulger who recorded his first save of the season. David Aardsma - Got the win pitching in a tied game. Aardsma is now 3-3 on the season. Trevor Hoffman - Pitched .2 innings and walked two. Got lifted for Mark DiFelice, who got the final out in the loss. DiFelice has great numbers this season, but Hoffman was just getting work, so don't look to much into this move.
Saves: 7 Save Opportunities: 8 Brian Fuentes gets rocked, while Nathan comes back for #27 Today was one of those days were you just say "huh"? Let's start with Mr. Automatic, Brian Fuentes. He was rocked by home runs from Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta and received his first blown save since May 30. He ended up giving up four runs on four hits and got the loss along with the blown save. These are the kind of imploding we expect from Fuentes, but he has still been very consistent and his owners just have to shake it off. He ERA did jump up to 3.79 and falling well below 3.00. Kerry Wood worked around the blown save for a back door save. For all you dirty birds, I using a play on words for the b  ack door curveball. Can you say trademark? Wood nailed his 14 th save going through a stunned Angel team that never thought they would have to bat in the bottom of the ninth. The DH had to run out of the shower! Joe Nathan rebounded nicely after his second blown save of the season. He scored his 27th save on six pitches and one strikeout. A great performance from Nathan with little effort required. C.J. Wilson got another save today, taking the place of an ailing Frank Francisco. He struck out the side and closed out the 5-2 win. Wilson has been outstanding as the Rangers closers this year. He is 11 out of 12 in save chances as the closers and has his ERA at a remarkable 2.80. He also has 43 strikeouts in 45 innings, which is better then his career K/9 rate of 7.75. Take that for what it is worth. Francisco Cordero finally got some work in a save situation and the rust showed. He almost had a quick and easy save, but gave up a bomb to Kevin Kouzmanoff on a poorly located fastball. Cordero still has a low ERA, but has only recorded five saves this month and the opportunities are far and few between. His last save was July 19.
Other Appearances:
Ryan Franklin (23) - Came in with the bases loaded in the eight and recorded a easy save winning 6-1. Overall he pitched 1.1 innings giving up one hit and striking out one.
Joakim Soria (16) - Needed 18 pitches and wasn't sharp, but got the perfect save. David Robertson (1) - Pitched one out in the eighth and then the Yankees put on four runs and got to pitch the ninth. It was probably best for Rivera owners that he got the rest. Jose Valverde - Pitched 1.1 innings in a tie game. He got three strikeouts and looked outstanding as usual. Brad Lidge - Didn't get a save chance, but didn't get hammered either in one inning of work. Beers for everyone!
Saves: 3 Save Opportunities: 4 David Aardsma continues to shine for the Mariners There wasn't much action among closers today, but a few worth talking about. David Aardsma got his 24th save of the season and his eighth save of the month. Aardsma has dropped his ERA down to 1.75 and his WHIP to 1.12. he is pitching out of this world and it might be a good time to consider trading the Ma  riners closer and getting maximum value for him. Kerry Wood made another rare appearance and even more rare got he save. It was his 13th in a very long season for him and the Cleveland Indians. He pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. It was his four save of the month, which is a 400% improvement over his June numbers. For you readers not well versed in mathematics, Wood had one save in June.
Brian Fuentes continues to have a remarkable season. When he isn't saving games, he is winning them. Tonight he pitched a perfect inning and only needed ten pitches to get the 6-5 win over the Twins in ten innings. Joe Nathan got hammered in his first blown save since May 15 and only the second of the season. It broke his string of 23 scoreless innings and and 20 straight saves. He gave up two runs and two hits and a walk. The appearance ballooned his ERA .43 points to 1.64.
Other Appearances:
Phil Hughes (1) - Rivera got some much needed rest and Hughes picked up the easy save.
Saves: 9 Save Opportunities: 10 Rivera saves another game, while Fuentes is the first to hit 30 saves
Mariano Rivera is in another world for closers right now. With the slow down of Broxton, Bell, and Nathan, Rivera has surged this month as the premiere closer in fantasy baseball. Today he needed six pitches to dispatch the Baltimore Orioles for his 28 th save of the season. Rivera has eight saves this month and more remarkable, he has given only four hits and no runs in in his last 14.2  innings. Brain Fuentes continues to amaze us all and so do the Angels. They came back against the Kansas City Royals after being down 6-3 and that was in part to Brian Fuentes closing the door on the Royals in the ninth inning. He is the first closer to hit 30 saves and is heading for a 50 save season. No matter who closes for the Angels, as long as they are competitive look for big-time closers in southern California. Huston Street had an incredible June, but his July has been a bit lackluster. Tonight he got only his fifth save of the month and his 24th of the season. He struck out two and lowered his WHIP below one to a tiny 0.94. Street continues to be one of the more valuable closers in fantasy baseball. He is one of the more valuable closers in the league because of his numbers combined with his trade value perception. He is as good as KROD, but owners would ask allot more for KROD than Street. Trade for Street if you can. Kevin Gregg got a 1.1 inning save today in a 10-5 win over the Phillies. Gregg was called on in the eighth inning to get the final out after walking Utley. He then had a quick ninth inning and looked very sharp. The walk to Utley was one of those unintentional walks. The Cubs are starting to win and get hot, which bodes well for Gregg owners as he aims for his 20th save at his next opportunity.
David Aardsma rocked his way to his 23rd save of the season securing a 2-1 win for Felix Hernandez. Aardsma pitched a perfect innings and struck out two. He season strikeout total is now at 55. He has slowed down with strikeouts in the month of July, but he is pitching exceptionally well overall. Ryan Franklin blew only his second save of the season tonight against the Houston Astros. He had poor command of all of his pitches and gave up three hits before recording an out. Just chalk this up as a bad outing, but I've been telling you to sell Franklin and get value for him before the trade deadline. In the game, Valverde pitched a quite inning to get the win. Other Appearances:
Matt Thornton (1) - Pitched two innings for the save as the White Sox elected to give him the two inning save and give Jenks the night off. pick up Thornton if you can. He doesn't have the job, but he can get it sooner than later. Mike McDougal (6) - Closed out the Mets 1-2-3 in a rare save opportunity. His ERA is at a comfortable 2.25. Rafael Soriano (14) - He was quiet for awhile, but got back on his horse getting the save tonight. He did give up a run on two hits. Doug Mathis(1) - Got the save while CJ Wilson was resting. Matt Capps - Capps got the win coming in a tie game. He walked one and gave up a hit, while striking out two. Jose Valverde - Got the win after Ryan Franklin blew the save. Brad Lidge - The deuces were wild for Lidge today. In .2 innings he gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 2. He is terrible. George Sherrill - Got some work today and gave up a run on three hits. He did strikeout the side.
Saves: 7 Save Opportunities: 7 CJ Wilson fills in for Francisco, while Broxton gets 3rd save in as many days
This was a strange night for saves. The day opened with the news of Frank Francisco hitting the DL again, but this time it was for pneumonia. It is retroactive to July 11, so you will likely see him back before the end of the month. On his first day as closer, CJ Wilson nailed the save against the Red Sox in 1-2-3 fashion and recorded two strikeouts along the way.  Jonathan Broxton got his 3rd save in as many days with a big win over Cincinnati 7-5. He saved Jason Schmidt's first win in a very long time and with the help of Ramon Troncoso stopped Cincinnati's momentum. Bobby Jenks had another tough outing, but came out with his 22nd save and no earned runs. After getting the first two outs of the inning, Jenks went on to walk two batters and gave up a hit, before striking out Jason Bartlett. He did strikeout the side, but he is clearly a struggling closer who needed 28 pitches for the save. He needs to get his consistency under control. Jose Valverde finally got into double digits with his tenth save of the season. He beat a tough St. Louis team 3-2 with a easy inning. He struck out one, but the key here is Valverde looked great. He had no problems, great control, and needed only 11 pitches to record the save. Alfredo Aceves has clearly taken the job as setup man for Mariano Rivera. Tonight he got the win coming into a tie game an d benefiting from an Matsui walk-off home run. Aceves has been pitching extremely well, and should be on your roster in any league. It was his sixth win of the season. Other Appearances:
Leo Nunez (5) - Finally got on the board with a save. It was his first save since July 1. He threw 18 pitches, but overall looked sharp. Michael Wuertz (3) - Got the save on a day that Bailey was getting off. It was strange the Ziegler was called on to setup the save and not for the save itself Chad Durbin (1) - Got the three inning save in a 10-1 blowout. Francisco Rodriguez - Pitched the ninth inning in a non-save situation. He was perfect.
Frank Francisco was put on the DL with a mild case of pneumonia today. It's his third trip to the DL this season. Regardless of the reason, avoid, sell, and forget Francisco. This is what I expected and the Rangers seem to be looking for any reason to shelve their ace closer. Pick up CJ Wilson if he is availble in your league.
We have arrived at that point in the season where you have to evaluate your team and decide who stays and who goes. With league trade deadlines arriving, it's the right time to shake up your bullpen and get the value you need out of it not only with stats, but with trades.
The first thing you have to do is know where you stand in your league in the saves category. The other categories matter as well, but you can remain steady with strikeouts, WHIP, and ERA by adding free agents like LaTroy Hawkins, Ramon Troncoso, Ryan Madson, Ramon Ramirez, and others.
If you are in the top three in saves for your league and you have a strong lead, trade one closer. For example, in the Battle of The Fantasy Gods league I currently have a great bullpen with Broxton, Rivera, and KROD. I'm in second place in saves and I have no chance for first place, and I have an eight save lead on third place and a 22 save lead on 4th. I feel I should unload one of the closers and help my sagging offense. Likely, KROD would be the perfect closer to sell. Now if you are in the bottom four of your league in saves you should look to acquire a closer and grab some easy roto points. Here is our list of closers you should look to acquire, trade for, and the closers you must hold onto no matter the cost.
Closers to HOLD
Jonathan Broxton - Broxton does have the bad toe, but he is on a team that wins regularly and leads all closers in strikeouts.
Joe Nathan - Nathan has been the best closer in the league since May. He hasn't given up a run since May 15. He is the anchor of any bullpen and a must hold.
Mariano Rivera - I've been telling you BUY Rivera nearly all season, but now you have to hold him. He has been on fire and like Nathan, he is an anchor of any bullpen.
Huston Street - Street lost his job in the first week of the season, but since he has regained the job he has been outstanding. He hasn't blown a save since June 2, and that was the only one of the season.
Jonathan Papelbon - You have to worry about his inning limit, but you have to love his situation. The All-Star closer is on a team that wins constantly and he isn't afraid to face anyone.
George Sherrill - Sherrill doesn't get allot of save opportunities, but when he does he gets the job done. All year he has given two runs in all 20 saves he has recorded. His ERA would be NIL if you remove the blown saves and non-save opportunities.
Trevor Hoffman - He is quietly having a great season, but you probably wouldn't get much trade value for him so you have to hold. Hoffman's biggest problem is the lack of strikeouts. He has only recorded 21 strikeouts in 27.1 innings. Second biggest problem, lack of innings.
Brian Wilson - The San Francisco Giants are in the playoff hunt and you can thank Wilson for that. He has been outstanding this season and is one of the more underrated closers in fantasy baseball. You have to hold him.
Matt Capps - I haven't liked Capps all year, but you have to hold the guy. His ERA and WHIP are in orbit, but he is getting saves. The Pirates look like a team that can play spoiler, so Capps should end with at least 35 saves.
Andrew Bailey - Bailey has great stuff, but won't likely attract much attention in trade talks. Still, he should record plenty of saves and his strikeout totals should be alright.
Closers to BUY
Brian Fuentes - Fuentes doesn't have the greatest numbers, but he leads the league in saves with 28. The Angels are in it to stay and have the staff to win. Fuentes could get 50 saves by season's end.
Rafael Soriano - Even though it's not official, Soriano is clearly the closer in Atlanta. If you can sneak up on a Soriano owner who isn't sure either, and trade for him you would be lucky. His numbers are outstanding with 60 strikeouts and an incredibly low WHIP. Most owners only pay attention to saves, and Soriano offers much more.
David Aardsma - Aardsma is an anomaly. He doesn't have that great of stuff and his fastball is straight. However, he is a strikeout machine and he is closing for the Mariners and they are in it to win it. Quietly he has accrued over 50 strikeouts and has the fourth most strikeouts of all closers. Buy Big-D.
Kevin Gregg - Gregg has been hot over the past two months. In April and May he only had eight saves. Through June and and so far July, he has 10 saves and has lowered his ERA 1.39 in that span.
Fernando Rodney - The Tigers are playing well and even better, they are pitching well. Rodney pitches fire when he is in a save opportunity and gets hit hard when he comes into a regular game. Grab Rodney if the owner is offering. He could get 40 saves by season's end.
JP Howell - Howell is the closer in Tampa Bay and he As long as the Rays can get hot, so should Howell.
Leo Nunez - This is a bit of a risky call, but there is a chance that Nunez can hold the closer job even when Lindstrom comes back. The Marlins haven't been winning lately, but they will get hot and Nunez should start piling up saves. You shouldn't have to pay too much for him.
Jose Valverde - Valverde has been good since coming off the DL and novice managers may be willing to sell him very cheap because of his lack of saves and recent chances. The Astros should give Valverde 17 to 22 more opportunities and he could still end up with 30 saves.
Closers to SELL
Francisco Rodriguez - He is still a top notch closer, but the Mets are far too inconsistent at winning to keep him for his value. You can get allot in trade for him, much more than he will be worth the rest of the season.
Heath Bell - Bell has been the class of the 2009 closers, but his value is severely dropping closing for the Padres. As they do every year the Padres are selling players, couple that with a injury depleted pitching staff and that equals fewer save chances. He has two saves in July. Sell him while his value is high.
Ryan Franklin - Again, a pitcher on a team that is losing. Even if the Cardinals start winning more, Franklin cannot keep his numbers where they are. His ERA and WHIP are far below 1.00 and the saves are slowing down a bit. Eventually something has to give.
Francisco Cordero - Cordero has been outstanding all season, but he is on a team that is young and one that will likely sell some players. That does not equal more saves and he hasn't been lighting up the strikeout category either with only 31 Ks in 38 innings. His split stats suggest that his strikeouts and other numbers will get even worse.
Bobbie Jenks - Jenks isn't having his best season, but he is still a reliable closer. However, I feel he should be moved with the White Sox and Jenks struggling. His ERA is nearly one point above his career ERA and he hasn't been pitching well lately.
Joakim Soria - This just isn't the season to own Soria. So far he has only 14 saves primarily do to injury, but with the Royals performing the annual fold till next year routine, Soria won't likely get 14 more saves. It is about time you get what you can for the closer.
Frank Francisco - Ever since the Rangers rested Francisco after his DL stint I have been SELL on the guy. You just don't want to worry about a reoccurring injury and a pitcher that rarely gets chances. The Rangers do win, but they tend to win big or lose big. Sell Francisco, he'd be lucky as a four-leaf clover to get 28 total saves.
Brad Lidge - I don't know who would buy him, but he is far more trouble then he is worth. Unload the dead weight.
Kerry Wood - The Indians are done, throw the leftovers in the doggie bag. Wood was awful before the Indians gave up and he will be worse after. Sell him, but don't expect much.
Matt Lindstrom - This is a hard sell, but do it if you can. He is currently on the DL and he has had a tough season. He likely could lose the job to Nunez even when he comes back. Even if he keeps the job, still sell him.
Chad Qualls - He isn't a closer and never should have been. He did have a great start, but the Diamondbacks are terrible this year and even know they have been better lately, Qualls hasn't seen much benefit from it. Qualls had 12 saves through May and only five since June 1.
Scott Downs - Get value for him while you can. He has only nine saves and the way the Blue Jays play he may not get 16! Halladay pitches complete games and if they trade him that still hurts Downs. The rest of their staff are rookies and also consider the fact he is an injury risk.
Saves: 7 Save Opportunities: 7 Papelbon, Nathan and Rivera nail down saves on first post all-star appearances Wow, I had a nice all-star break and now I'm ready to get going again with daily closer reports. With the first full slate of games in the second half, closers nailed down seven hefty saves today.  First and foremost, arguably the three best closers in the American League got their 24th saves of the season today. Jonathan Papelbon needed only eight pitches to get a perfect save in Toronto. The Red Sox won 4-1, but Papelbon went without a strikeout and stands at 41 on the season. Joe Nathan wasn't as lucky! He pitched a near perfect inning, but raised his WHIP slightly by giving up a single hit. Ok, maybe the sarcasm isn't coming through the writing. Nathan looked outstanding again and is on one of the greatest streaks I've ever seen for a closer. Nathan hasn't given up an earned run since May 15 and he has 18 straight saves without blowing one. It was Nathan's fourth save of the month, which isn't many consider the motherload he scored in June. Mariano Rivera got his 24th save of the season in a 5-3 win over the Tigers. Rivera did give a hit on 14 pitches, but other than that looked great getting the save. Clearly he is on fire and one of the best closers in 2009. Huston Street recorded his 23rd save of the season, but only his fourth save of the slow month of July. Street dominated the Padres and struck out two on only 11 pitches. Street has been outstanding for along time now and does not look like he is slowing down. Something changed in Street after he lost his job earlier this season. Whatever it was, it has created a monster closer that will easily reach 40 saves this season.
Other Appearances:
Brad Lidge (19) -Lidge closed out a 12 inning affair between the Phillies and the Marlins. Lucky for Lidge the Phillies got two runs in top of the 12th because Lidge gave up a run on two walks and a classy Brad Lidge wild pitch. Kevin Gregg (17) - Got two strikeouts and has his ERA at 3.38 with a big save over the Nationals. JP Howell (7) - Got an easy ten pitch save in the 8-7 win over the Royals. He struck out one in the process. Leo Nunez - Pitched two scoreless innings in a 12 inning game. Francisco Cordero- Fresh off his nice performance in the all-star game, Cordero closed on the 4-0 Reds win, but did not record the save.
Saves: 7 Save Opportunities: 7 Scott Downs gets back to saving, Fuentes extends his save lead
Brian Fuentes got another what I call cheap save tonight. He entered the game with runners on and a four run lead and got his 25th save of the season. He got all of one out for the save.  Scott Downs got back on the road to closing with his ninth save of the season. He looked sharp tonight, needing only 15 pitches to get the save and two strikeouts. This is great news for desperate Downs owners who need to start seeing results. Joe Nathan got his 23th save of the season shutting down the White Sox with a perfect inning. Nathan has the lowest WHIP of all closers with 0.73 and he has a scoreless streak that goes back to May 21. Jonathan Papelbon looked outstanding tonight beating the Royals 1-0 and notching his 23rd save of the season. He threw 11 pitches and pitched a perfect inning for the save. He through nearly all fastballs and was dead-on. He almost had two strikeouts, but Varitek just dropped a foul tip. Take that Sabermetric guys!
Other Appearances:
Brad Lidge (18) - Got a big save and his fifth in a row. Lucky he had a two run lead cause he gave up a bomb to Brandon Moss. Frank Francisco (15) - Didn't look his best tonight. Needed 20 pitches and gave up a walk. He did pitch otherwise perfect and got some bad swing strikeouts.
Jonathan Broxton - Got hammered for two runs in a extra inning non-save situation.
Rafael Soriano (11) - He is on a tear in July with five saves already. Got another easy one tonight with two strikeouts.
Saves: 7 Save Opportunities: 7 Soria continues comeback, while Lidge gets his 17th save
Soria has been on fire and got his sixth save since June 28. Tonight he needed to get four outs against the Red Sox and did it with ease. It was Soria's 14th save of the season and he is quickly catching up with the league leaders. So far Soria has been a major disappointment, but his recently play is beginning to put that to rest. David Aardsma bounced back from a huge blown save last night wit  h a perfect inning against the Texas Rangers. It was his 18th save of the season and required only six pitches to end the game. Kerry Wood was sighted pumping gas outside of a town in Kansas. That's not totally true, but he did make an appearance in tonight's game and believe it or not got a save. Wood scored his 11th save of the season, but only his 3rd save in June and July combined. Wood has been an eye sore in your bullpen this season with a paltry 4.85 ERA and a sky high 1.45 WHIP. If you can move him, get rid of the dead weight or otherwise just hold onto to him. Brad Lidge also surprised us by saving another game. Lidge hasn't had more then five saves in a row all season. With this save he now has four in a row, so an inevitable blown save is on the way.
Other Appearances:
Mariano Rivera (23) - Another easy save for Rivera. He is on fire and only one save from the league lead. Who would of thought? Huston Street (22) - That is 14 saves in a row. Mike Gonzalez got hammered for the loss. Dan Wheeler (1) - Gave JP Howell a much needed night off.
Saves: 7Save Opportunities: 8 Big guns come out tonight with Rivera, Papelbon, and KROD getting saves Several of the stud closers came out tonight and pitched alright. Mariano Rivera continued his hot streak by closing out the game versus the Twins 4-3. His ERA and WHIP continue to drop and with 22 saves, he is only two saves away from the league leader Brian Fuentes. He has the third lowest WHIP of all closers behind only Joe Nathan and Jonathan Broxton. If you owned Rivera as of May 16 when he had on  ly seven saves and a 3.38 ERA, you were heavily disappointed. However since then he has pitched outstanding and has resumed his post as one of the top closers in the game. Francisco Rodriguez got a nasty save today over the Dodgers 5-4. He entered the game with the score 5 -3 and quickly gave up a bomb to Manny Ramirez. He then walked a batter, struck out a batter, and then gave up a hit to Russell Martin. Luckily he made the perfect pitch to Andre Either to get the double play. How good is George Sherrill? He recorded his 19th save of the season with another easy save. Here are some numbers for people not familiar with Sherrill. Let's start with a respectable 1.16 WHIP and a 2.55 ERA. I don't think anyone expected numbers like that. In his 19 saves, he has given up only seven hits and one run. Now, he has blown saves, but what this tells me, he is consistent and he is in command when he comes into the game. That is a closer mentality and Sherrill is great at it. Of course, when he has blown up he really blows up. Since May 3, he has only one blown save. Rafael Soriano got his fourth save in July in a 4-1 win over Chicago. He looked outstanding again with a perfect inning and two strikeouts. He is without a doubt the closer in Atlanta.
It all can't be good news, David Aardsma got rocked by the Orioles for five runs (3 ER) in the ninth inning. He came in with a three run lead and never recorded an out. Has the real David Aardsma shown himself? Have hitters figured out his straight as an arrow fastball and to lay off his slider? Stay tuned and find out when he comes in again. The end result was a blown save and a loss for Aardsma.
Other Appearances:
Jonathan Papelbon (22) - Got roughed up by the A's with two hits and a run. Still, he got the save.
Fernando Rodney (19) - Rodney is heating up again. Pitched a perfect inning and struck out two. Scott Downs - Gave up a hit and a walk without recording an out and handed the loss to Jason Frasor. J.P. Howell - Got the win pitching a perfect inning against the Blue Jays. He struck out two as well. Chad Qualls - 2 hits and walk, but got out of the inning with no runs. Not a save chance.
After releasing BJ Ryan, the Blue Jays activated closer Scott Downs. There is no doubt in my mind that Downs will resume closer duties immediately or as soon as the Blue Jays start winning.
Start him ASAP if you own him.
 There are many reasons why the Blue Jays lose and this is one of them. The Blue Jays released Ryan before tonight's game and activated Scott Downs. Granted Ryan is pitching poorly this year, but releasing the left-handed veteran just isn't smart. First off, its the Blue Jays fault for rushing him back last season in record time after Tommy John surgery. Then he has a slow start this year and they level his confidence and force him to push more and that can cause problems. I've seen Ryan pitch this year and if he can improve his velocity, but more important his location he will certainly be given another chance with a team that can use a good lefty out of the bullpen. Let me see, who could use an effective B.J. Ryan: New York Yankees Minnesota Twins New York Mets (always can use bullpen help) Philadelphia Phillies San Deigo Padres (many careers end here) Oakland Athletics (refer to note above) Anaheim Angels (Darren Oliver is not the answer) Baltimore Orioles - (why not?) Detroit Tigers (Grrrrrrrrr!) Chicago Cubs - (LOL!) Washington Nationals - (they are making moves to stay in the hunt ;) ) OK, the point is lots of teams need a good lefty in the bullpen and since the average lifespan of a lefty is roughly 20 years, Ryan will find another team and you never know he might just close again.
Saves: 8Save Opportunities: 8 Huston Street knocks down another save and Soriano gets the call again
Bobby Cox is going with the hot hand and that hand is Rafeal Soriano. Since Mike Gonzalez's last blown save on June 30, Rafael Soriano has been called in for the saves. Soriano got his ninth save of the season beating the Cubs 2-1. Gonzalez got the hold, but it's easy to see why Cox is going with Soriano. He has a 1.59 ERA and a minuscule 0.93 WHIP. Compare that to Mike Gonzalez's 3.12 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Huston Street is start  ing another streak (try saying that 3 times fast) for July. He beat Washington 5-4 for his 21st save and needed only 12 pitches for the perfect inning. After a sizzling month of June with 11 saves, he started slow for July, but now has two saves for the month. Street has been incredibly consistent this year with only one blown save back on June 2, and 13 saves in a row. Francisco Cordero continues to defy us all. He recorded his 21st save tonight and has yet to have a break down or a slump all season. He has only one blown save so far and has kept his WHIP to a very respectable 1.14. Rodney has continued to produce saves with his 18 th tonight, but he is quickly developing into a Todd Jones type. Even know he got the save and struck out two, he opened the inning with a hit and one batter later walked Willie Bloomquist to bring up the tying run. He got the next guys out and finished strong for the save. Rodney has the ability to dominate, but he frequently loses focus and pays for it. So far with 18 saves, his owners have to be happy. Jonathan Papelbon has been getting strong. After some scary and straight up rough appearances, Paps has calmed down and tonight was even better. He struck out the side and gave up one hit for his 21st save of the season. Papelbon has pitched 37 innings this season and the Red Sox likely have a 70-75 inning pitch limit on him. Now might be the time to trade Paps before the Red Sox start giving him periodical rests. Other Appearances:Matt Capps (19) - Pitched a perfect inning for the easy 6-3 win over Houston. Chad Qualls (16) - Surprisingly Qualls pitched a perfect inning. Bravo! Sergio Romo (1) - Got a cheap save with Brian Wilson getting the night off. Brad Lidge - Came into a tie game and did what Brad does best, blew the lead. It is his fourth loss of the season.
Saves: 6Save Opportunities: 6 Wilson gets his 22nd save, while Soria remains hot Brian Wilson is easily one of the most underrated closers in the game today. Tonight he got his 22nd save of the season, but it wasn't a pretty one. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. You probably got him  later in the draft and he has produced results for his owners, but at a cost. For a closer, he is hurting your ERA (3.79), WHIP (1.29), and is average in strikeouts. As we approach the all-star break we can say that Wilson has been a success and has certainly developed into a stud closer. Let's just hope he doesn't get traded closer to the deadline and becomes a setup man. Joakim Soria saved another game tonight. It's his fifth save in a row and third in three days. He needed 20 pitches for the save and struck out two. There is no doubt we won't see Soria tomorrow, but he is producing rapidly for his owners. Jason Frasor got his third save for the Blue Jays, but it didn't come easy. Lucky for Frasor he had a three run league or we would be saying, "down goes Frasor!" He gave up two runs and needed 29 pitches to end the inning. This performance ballooned his ERA to 2.40, but his WHIP is still excellent at 1.03. Kevin Gregg has been insanely hot. Since June 13th, Gregg is 3-0 with four saves. He has dropped is ERA down to 3.52 from 4.13 and he has had impeccable control walking only three batters in that time span. From April through June 12 he had 13 walks, so Gregg's control is a big reason behind his success in the last three weeks. Last, but not least was Jose Valverde nailing his seventh save of the season. I've been worried about his performance lately, but today he looked outstanding. He struck out the side and pitched a perfect inning. All reports indicate he is healthy, but if you have Valverde, you should have Hawkins as well. Other Appearances: Huston Street (20) - Street saved a tight game winning 1-0. The pressure was on the hot closer and he came through needing only six pitches to end the game. Impressive!
Fernando Rodney - Took the loss today, giving up a run in the ninth inning.
Saves: 8Save Opportunities: 8 Frank Francisco gets first save since June 3rd, while Broxton gets his 20th save. By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com Frank Francisco finally got his lucky thirteenth save and believe it or not, only needed 13 pitches to dispose of the Rays. He struck out one and looked very sharp tonight. A far cry from his last appearance. Mariano Rivera is absolutely on fire since June 16. He got his  21st save of the season beating the Blue Jays 4-2. He struck out two and his WHIP has dropped down to 0.92 and his ERA (2.67) is at its lowest point since June fourth. Today was Rafael Soriano's turn to get the save for the Braves. Mike Gonzalez came in the eighth inning and looked great striking out the side, but I can't say the same for Soriano. He was all over the place Friday night, starting the inning with back-to-back walks. Before it was all over he gave up two runs, but held on for his eight save. Ryan Franklin continues to get results with his 20th save of the season, but made it exciting for his owners. He walked the bases loaded before finally getting the final out. He had a calming 3-run lead and surprisingly he got a pair of strike outs. He now has 21 strikeouts on the season. Jonathan Broxton finally joined the 20-something group of closers. His 20th save was outstanding as he struck out two batters and only needed ten pitches for the save. When Broxton pitches like this, which is most of the time, he is by far the most dominating closer in baseball. Other Appearances: Mark Lowe (1)- Got the save because David Aardsma was resting. George Sherrill (18) - Another clean and easy save for Sherrill. He is on pace for 37 right now. Scott Linebrink (2) - Pitched 1.2 innings to earn his second save of the season.
Kevin Gregg - Pitched two innings for the win. He continues to get better and stronger. Joe Nathan - Struck out two in an inning of a tied game. Fernando Rodney - Pitched two perfect innings in a tie game.
Saves: 8Save Opportunities: 9 June is over, and for several closers it was a big month. Here are a few of the top closers for June. Joe Nathan - 11 saves, 0.00 ERA, 17 strikeouts. Huston Street - 11 saves, 1 win, 15 strikeouts, 4 ER. Brian Fuentes - 9 saves, 11 strikeouts, 0 ER. Heath Bell - 7 saves, 1 win, 10 strikeouts, 2 ER. Jonathan Broxton - 7 saves, 1 win, 21 strikeouts, 5 ER. Mariano Rivera - 9 saves, 1-1, 14 strikeouts, 4 ER. July got started with a eight save day. Several of the top closers started the month with a save. Joe Nathan is pitching insane right now. He got his 21st save of the season defeating the Royals 5-1. Nathan got called in after R.A. Dickey put a few runners on and it took a 10-pitch battle with David Dejesus to get the save. Jonathan Broxton got his 19th save securing the 1-0 win over the Rockies. Broxton only needed 9 pitches to get three outs. Two of the outs were strikeouts. That is impressive. The other Jonathan (Papelbon) got his 20th save of the season against the Orioles. He had a quick easy inning, which is the first in a long time for Papelbon. He looked more relaxed today then he has over the last few appearances. He bounced back nicely from the blown save the night before. Mariano Rivera continued his tear with his 20th save of the season. Rivera is a rare form, pitching like he did years ago. Between him Nathan, and Papelbon its clear that stud closers still run the show.  Leo Nunez get his second save in as many days and his fourth overall. He made quick work of the Nationals, needing 12 pitches for a two strikeout perfect inning. I will continue to say it, if Nunez performs well over the next month, Lindstrom will not be the Marlins closer when he comes off the DL. Frank Francisco made his first save appearance since getting his job back and he was disappointing. He had a 7-4 lead and after getting a lucky first out (Figgins thrown out at third) he then put a couple of runners on via the walk. Trying to regain his control he threw a fastball down the middle to hot hitting Juan Rivera and he crushed it for a 3-run jack and there is your blown save Mr. Francisco. This is a guy you have to trade. He clearly is not 100% and could continue to have problems. I think he is an outstanding closer, but his injury issues are just two much to deal with and you are better off trading him and getting a healthier closer. Other Appearances:Francisco Rodriguez (22) - Pitched flawless baseball to save the win for Pelfrey. Only needed nine pitches for the save. The real good news, seven were for strikes. Francisco Cordero (19) - Got his first save since June 25. He has slowed down over the past month with only five saves in June. July has started well with the save tonight. Kevin Gregg (14) - Gregg continues to sizzle with another easy save. Mike MacDougal - Pitched .2 innings in a non-save situation. Ryan Franklin - Another perfect inning, but this time no save. Just a win!
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u should ride him out the entire season. He is having a career year and should easily get 40 saves for the first time in his career.
