The Inside Pitch Closer Watch Blog |
August 26, 2007 New York Mets Billy Wagner still Closer Aaron Heilman still 1st in line Guillermo Mota still 2nd in line Heilman pitched a scoreless 9th (1 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K) in a 4-3 game yesterday for his first save of the season. Wagner was rested after throwing 43 pitches over the previous 2 days. The 28-year-old Heilman has a 1.10 WHIP in 67 IP with 49 K and 15 holds on the season. San Francisco Giants Brad Hennessey still Closer Brian Wilson still 1st in line Randy Messenger DL still 2nd in line Wilson pitched out of an 8th inning jam yesterday than stayed on for the 9th in a 4 run game to earn his second save of the season; (1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K). The 25-year-old Wilson now has a 0.69 WHIP in 8+ IP with 8 K and 3 holds since being recalled from AAA earlier this month. The hard throwing right hander is quickly building future closer value and could enter 2008 with a chance to supplant Hennessey as the Giants' closer. August 25, 2007 Atlanta Braves Rafael Soriano to Closer in place of Bob Wickman Peter Moylan to 1st in line in place of Rafael Soriano Octavio Dotel DL to 2nd in line in place of Peter Moylan The Braves surprisingly designated Wickman for assignment yesterday (1.56 WHIP in 43+ IP with 6 blown saves in 26 chances). The veteran closer took the loss on Thursday night in a non save situation and there are rumors that the 38-year-old Wickman complained about pitching out of the typical closers' role. Manager Bobby Cox talked about replacing Wickman with a closer committee. Soriano could be the lead of that committee. The hard throwing right hander was 4 for 4 in save chances back in May during a Wickman DL trip. The 27-year-old Soriano has an impressive 0.95 WHIP on the season in 57+ IP with 51 K and 19 holds. The former Mariner has a current 4 game scoreless appearance streak; 5 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K. The 28-year-old Moylan has emerged as a quality reliever in his rookie campaign with a 1.08 WHIP in 70+ IP with 46 K and 4 holds. Dotel remains on the DL with a shoulder injury that still caused discomfort in a throwing session yesterday. San Diego Padres Trevor Hoffman still Closer Heath Bell still 1st in line Cla Meredith still 2nd in line Bell pitched a scoreless 10th inning (1 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K) in a 9-8 game on Thursday night for his first career save. Hoffman blew his 5th save of the year in the 9th inning. The 29-year-old Bell has picked up future closer value this year behind the aging Hoffman. The right handed Bell has a 1.06 WHIP in 72+ IP with 74 K and 25 holds on the season. August 21, 2007 San Francisco Giants Brad Hennessey still Closer Brian Wilson still 1st in line Randy Messenger DL still 2nd in line Wilson pitched a scoreless 9th (1 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K) in a 8-7 game yesterday for his first save of the season. Hennessey was rested after recording saves each of the previous 3 days. The 25-year-old Wilson is quickly rebuilding his future closer value with 5 scoreless outings since being recalled from AAA; 5 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K with 2 holds. Detroit Tigers Todd Jones still Closer Fernando Rodney still 1st in line Joel Zumaya to 2nd in line in place of Tim Byrdak Zumaya was activated from the DL yesterday after missing 3 1/2 months after having surgery on a ruptured tendon in his finger. The hard throwing right hander had a 1.38 WHIP in 17+ IP with 17 K and 3 holds prior to the injury. New York Yankees Mariano Rivera still Closer Luis Vizcaino still 1st in line Joba Chamberlain still 2nd in line Edwar Ramirez pitched a perfect 8th inning in a 6-3 game on Sunday, then stayed on for a perfect 9th in a 9-3 final to record his first career save; 2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K. The 26-year-old rookie has a 1.35 WHIP in 6+ IP on the season with 10 K and zero holds. Chamberlain continued to impress with a perfect, 2 strike out 7th in front of Ramirez on Sunday. The hard throwing rookie now has 5 scoreless outings with a dominant line of 7 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 11 K with 3 holds. Closer Watch Blog Archive: Week 20 2007 Week 19 2007 Week 18 2007 Week 17 2007 Week 16 2007 Week 15 2007 Week 14 2007 Week 13 2007 Week 12 2007 Week 11 2007 Week 10 2007 Week 9 2007 Week 8 2007 Week 7 2007 Week 6 2007 Week 5 2007 Week 4 2007 Week 3 2007 Week 2 2007 Week 1 2007 Spring Training 2007 Vol II Spring Training 2007 Vol I December 2006 October 2006 2006 Season |
Sign up for Email Alerts for Closer Watch Blog Postings |