The Inside Pitch Closer Watch Blog |
Sunday, August 6, 2006 Cincinnati Reds Eddie Guardado still Closer Bill Bray to 1st in line in place of Todd Coffey Todd Coffey to 2nd in line in place of Bill Bray Bray pitched a scoreless inning in a 8-6 game yesterday to earn his second save of the year; 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Guardado was unavailable once again with a forearm injury, making this a close situation to watch. The left handed Bray has decent future closer value and the rookie moves up the Reds' current closer chart picking up his second save since coming over from Washington. Bray has allowed just 2 earned runs over 11 outings since joining the Reds; 9 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K. The 23-year-old has a 1.44 WHIP and 3.38 ERA in 32 IP with 21 K on the season. Cleveland Indians Fausto Carmona still Closer Jason Davis still 1st in line Rafael Betancourt still 2nd in line Carmona is still looking for his first career save as he suffered his third blown save/loss in the past week yesterday. Manager Eric Wedge didn't announce anything after the game, but he may have to look for an alternative to Carmona who's taking a loss in all 4 of his past appearances. Davis set Carmona up yesterday with a scoreless 1 1/3 and picked up a fill in save on Thursday. The hard throwing Davis has a 1.44 WHIP in 39+ IP with 27 K and has a 4 game consecutive scoreless streak; 8+ IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. The veteran Betancourt has a 1.08 WHIP and 4.14 ERA in 37 IP with 32 K and 4 holds on the season. Saturday, August 5, 2006 Houston Astros Brad Lidge still Closer Dan Wheeler still 1st in line Fernando Nieve to 2nd in line in place of Chad Qualls Lidge's struggles continue as he was pulled from a save opportunity last night with Wheeler coming on to get the final out and save. Lidge remains on shaky closer ground as manager Phil Garner is making it regular practice to pull him from save opportunities when the former stud closer gets in trouble. Lidge has a 1.48 WHIP and 5.76 ERA in 50 IP with 71 K and 4 blown saves on the year. Wheeler has a 1.18 WHIP and 3.15 WHIP in 45+ IP with 41 K, 17 holds and 3 saves. Nieve is back from the minors where he impressed in 4 AAA outings; 5+ IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K and 2 saves. The hard throwing rookie has high future closer value and could possibly get involved in save opportunties this year with Lidge leaving things wide open. Tampa Bay Devil Rays Brian Meadows to Closer in place of Seth McClung Seth McClung to 1st in line in place of Brian Meadows Ruddy Lugo still 2nd in line McClung remains a very close next in line closer, but the D'Rays still have Meadows in the role. McClung got the win in front of a Meadows' save on Thursday night, and McClung picked up a loss last night pitching in middle relief; 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Meadows is 7 for 7 in save chances with no runs allowed in those outings since taking over as the D'Rays' closer in late June. However, the veteran's season numbers are mediocre; 1.47 WHIP and 4.12 ERA in 43+ IP with 24 K and .830 opposition OPS. Friday, August 4, 2006 Cleveland Indians Fausto Carmona still Closer Jason Davis to 1st in line in place of Rafael Betancourt Rafael Betancourt to 2nd in line in place of Fernando Cabrera Davis pitched a perfect 9th last night in a 1 run game to earn his first save of his career. Carmona wasn't used after a 23 pitch blown save effort the day before, following a blown save on Monday and a loss on Sunday. The Indians may still want Carmona to succeed as the closer, but there has to be questions now as to whether the rookie is ready for the role. The 26-year-old Davis has a 1.46 WHIP in 38+ IP with 27 K and 2 holds on the season. Tampa Bay Devil Rays Seth McClung still Closer Brian Meadows still 1st in line Ruddy Lugo still 2nd in line Meadows pitched a scoreless 9th yesterday in a 2-1 game to earn his 7th save of the season. McClung picked up the win with a nice initial outing back from the minors; 1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. McClung is on the right track to take over as the closer here and could possibly get the next save opportunity for the D'Rays. Thursday, August 3, 2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Seth McClung to Closer in place of Brian Meadows Brian Meadows to 1st in line in place of Seth McClung Ruddy Lugo still 2nd in line McClung has been recalled from the minors and could move right in to the D'Rays' closer role. The 25-year-old hard thrower was sent to AAA to convert to relief with closer aspirations and McClung responded with a 1.10 WHIP in 16+ IP with 26 K and 5 saves. San Francisco Giants Armando Benitez still Closer Mike Stanton to 1st in line in place of Vinnie Chulk Vinnie Chulk to 2nd in line in place of Brian Wilson Benitez was pulled from a save opportunity yesterday after walking the only batter he faced entering the 9th with none on, 2 outs and a 2 run lead. The left handed Stanton came on to face the left handed Ryan Church and retired pinch hitter Alex Escobar to record his first save in 3 years. The Giants are serious about replacing struggling Benitez in the closers' role, but still lack an attactive alternative. In the mean time the 39-year-old Stanton will participate in the potential closer committee here. Stanton has a 1.49 WHIP in 46+ IP with 32 K and 11 holds. Cleveland Indians Fausto Carmona still Closer Rafael Betancourt still 1st in line Fernando Cabrera still 2nd in line Carmona blew his second save in 3 days yesterday and is still looking for his first career save. Manager Eric Wedge said after the game that Carmona would remain in the closers' role. The 22-year-old rookie has a 1.46 WHIP and 5.13 ERA in 47+ IP with 39 K. The Indians may have been too eager to have Carmona step up as their closer, as he's numbers aren't as good as his stuff right now. Betancourt has solid numbers on the season with a 1.06 WHIP in 36 IP with 31 K and 4 holds. Tuesday, August 1, 2006 Milwaukee Brewers Francisco Cordero to Closer from co-closer Derrick Turnbow to 1st in line from co-closer Dan Kolb still 2nd in line Manager Ned Yost announced yesterday that Cordero is now the closer over the struggling Turnbow. Cordero had 3 consecutive scoreless outings after coming over from Texas last Friday; including a save on Sunday while bailing out Turnbow. The former Rangers' closer has a chance to secure this closer role with continued effective pitching. San Francisco Giants Armando Benitez still Closer Vinnie Chulk to 1st in line in place of Brian Wilson Brian Wilson to 2nd in line in place of Vinnie Chulk GM Brian Sabean and manager Felipe Alou talked yesterday about potentially replacing the inconsistent Benitez in the closers' role with a committee. The Giants do not have an obvious next in line closer. However, Chulk is picking up momentum with four scoreless outings since coming over from Toronto; 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. Wilson has been inconsistent with a 1.98 WHIP and 6.41 ERA in 19+ IP. New York Mets Billy Wagner still Closer Aaron Heilman to 1st in line in place of Duaner Sanchez Roberto Hernandez to 2nd in line in place of Aaron Heilman Sanchez injured his shoulder, (potentially season ending), in a car accident over the weekend and is headed to the DL. Hernandez returns to the Mets coming over in a deadline deal with Oliver Perez from Pittsburgh for Xavier Nady. The 41-year-old Hernandez has a 1.63 WHIP and 2.93 ERA in 43 IP with 33 K, 9 holds and 2 saves on the season. Heilman hasn't been nearly as dominate as he was second half last year; 1.35 WHIP in 59+ IP with 45 K, 15 holds and 5 blown saves in a set up role. Tampa Bay Devil Rays Brian Meadows still Closer Seth McClung to 1st in line in place of Ruddy Lugo Ruddy Lugo to 2nd in line in place of Seth McClung Manager Joe Maddon talked this past weekend about McClung becoming the D'Rays' closer once he gets back to the majors in the second half. The hard throwing McClung was sent to AAA a few weeks ago to convert to relief and has impressive numbers; 1.10 WHIP in 16+ IP with 26 K and 5 saves. McClung could be very close to being recalled and inserted in to the closers' role here. Monday, July 31, 2006 Milwaukee Brewers Francisco Cordero to co-closer Derrick Turnbow to co-closer Dan Kolb still 2nd in line Turnbow was pulled from a save opportunity yesterday after allowing a HR and 2 walks around getting 2 outs. Cordero got the final out in a 1 run game to record his first NL save. Manager Ned Yost announced after the Carlos Lee deal on Friday that Turnbow was still his closer and the all-star responded converting a save on Saturday. However, his struggles returned yesterday and Cordero now has to be close to taking over as the closer here. Yost has shown incredible patience sticking with Turnbow, but the Brewers now have a proven closer on the roster in Cordero as an alternative. Philadelphia Phillies Tom Gordon still Closer Rick White to 1st in line in place of Ryan Franklin Geoff Geary still 2nd in line The Phillies designated Franklin for assignment yesterday after posting a 6.35 ERA in 10 July outings. The Phils have a thin late inning bullpen in front of Gordon, as White gets the default nod here. The veteran White has a 1.50 WHIP and 5.54 ERA in 37 IP with 18 K and 4 holds on the season. Closer Watch Blog Archive: Week 17 Week 16 Week 15 Week 14 Week 13 Week 12 Week 11 Week 10 Week 9 Week 8 |
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