The Inside Pitch Closer Watch Blog |
Sunday, May 6, 2007 Detroit Tigers Todd Jones still Closer Fernando Rodney to 1st in line in place of Joel Zumaya Joel Zumaya DL to 2nd in line in place of Fernando Rodney Zumaya has been placed on the DL after injuring his knuckle warming up in the bullpen last night. The hard throwing reliever could be out for a minimum of a month and potentially longer. Rodney, who has pitched better of late after a shaky start to his season, has a 1.23 WHIP in 14+ IP with 14 K and 2 holds. Veteran closer, Jones has a 1.00 WHIP in 16 IP with 7 K and is 12 for 14 in save chances. New York Mets Billy Wagner still Closer Aaron Heilman still 1st in line Joe Smith to 2nd in line in place of Ambiorix Burgos Burgos has been sent to the minors to make room on the roster for starting pitcher Jorge Sosa. The hard throwing Burgos still has decent future closer value, but he needs to show more consistency, which contributed to this demotion. The 23-year-old former Royals' closer had a 4.11 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 15+ IP with 12 K and 1 hold on the season. Smith has been an impressive rookie after spending only 33 innings in the minors last year as a 3rd round pick that same season. The 23-year-old Smith has not allowed a run in 17 appearances with a 0.98 WHIP in 15+ IP with 18 K and 3 holds. The sidearming reliever was expected to be tough on right hand hitters and he has with a .425 opposition OPS, with a .624 mark against left hand hitters. Friday, May 4, 2007 Philadelphia Phillies Brett Myers still Closer Tom Gordon still 1st in line Antonio Alfonseca still 2nd in line Myers pitched a perfect 1 strikeout 9th for his first career save in a 2 run game last night. Gordon has been shut down for a least a week with his shoulder injury and could be placed on the DL today. This could be a situation where Myers keeps the closers' role if and when Gordon is ready to return. The Phillies moved a 26-year-old potential ace in Myers to the bullpen with the idea that at some point he would be the closer. Boston Red Sox Jonathan Papelbon still Closer Hideki Okajima still 1st in line Mike Timlin DL still 2nd in line Papelbon was not available for a save opportunity last night as he was surprisingly rested for a second straight day. The Red Sox claim there is nothing physically wrong with Papelbon, but this is still concerning after his velocity was down during his blown save effort on Tuesday. J.C. Romero relieved Brendan Donnelly in the 9th last nigth after a walk in a 8-7 game and proceeded to get 3 straight outs for his third career save. Okajima was not available either after appearing on each of the previous 2 days. Romero has been inconsistent this year with a 1.80 WHIP in 8+ IP with 3 K and 1 hold. Timlin has been placed on the DL with a shoulder injury. The Sox do not have an obviously 2nd in line closer at this point. Seattle Mariners J.J. Putz still Closer Brandon Morrow to 1st in line in place of Chris Reitsma Chris Reitsma to 2nd in line in place of Brandon Morrow Manager Mike Hargrove mentioned prior to last nights' game that Morrow would receive the potential save opportunity for Putz who needed a rest after appearing in 3 of 4 games. The hard throwing Morrow has a 1.50 WHIP in 11+ IP with 12 K and 2 holds. The former college closer and 5th pick in last years' MLB draft has clearly emerged as the Mainers' future closer. Kansas City Royals Joakim Soria still Closer David Riske still 1st in line Brandon Duckworth to 2nd in line in place of Joel Peralta Octavio Dotel DL Duckworth has been used as the primary setup man since being pulled from the starting rotation. After a perfect 8th in front of Soria last night, Duckworth has 3 holds in 4 of his past appearances and has a 0.75 WHIP in 8 relief IP. Peralta has a 5.94 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in 16+ IP. Dotel could be back from his oblique injury later this month barring any more setbacks. Thursday, May 3, 2007 Philadelphia Phillies Brett Myers to Closer in place of Tom Gordon Tom Gordon to 1st in line in place of Brett Myers Antonio Alfonseca still 2nd in line Gordon experienced shoulder pain the day after recording a save yesterday and is being sent to Philadelphia to be checked out. This makes Myers at a minimum the day to day closer for the Phillies. This potentially could be a DL bound or more serious injury for Flash as he also had a shoulder issue during Spring Training. The Phillies, obviously concerned over Gordon's health, surprisingly moved Myers in to the bullpen in mid-April. The 26-year-old Myers has only been scored upon in 1 of his 8 relief outings posting a 1.68 WHIP over 8+ IP with 13 K and 3 holds. Atlanta Braves Rafael Soriano still Co-Closer Mike Gonzalez still Co-Closer Bob Wickman DL Soriano received the Braves' first save opportunity with Wickman out, pitching a scoreless inning in a 1 run game last night; 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. Gonzalez was used in the 8th inning with two big left handers due up in Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. The former Pirates' closer struck both sluggers out in a perfect 2 strike out inning. This remains a co-closer situation with two relievers that are capable of being short and long term closers. The 27-year-old Soriano has a 0.98 WHIP in 13+ IP with 11 K, 2 saves and 5 holds on the season. The 28-year-old Gonzalez has pitched well since returning from a recent elbow scare; 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. San Francisco Giants Armando Benitez still Closer Bred Hennessey still 1st in line Billy Sadler to 2nd in line in place of Brian Wilson Benitez was unavailable for a save opportunity last night due to a sore knee. Hennessey got the final out of the 8th in a tie game and stayed on for the 9th with the Giants up by two earning a win; 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. The 27-year-old former swingman has stepped up in the thin Giants' bullpen with a 0.91 WHIP in 11 IP with 4 K, 1 save and 4 holds. Benitez' health was a real concern during Spring Training, but the 34-year-old quieted those concerns with a successful April; 1.44 WHIP in 9 IP with 9 K and 7 for 7 in save chances. It remains to be seen if this current injury is just a minor day to day issue. Wilson has been shut down at AAA with an arm injury, which could explain his sudden drop in performance at the end of Spring Training. Sadler is also at AAA and is pitching well with a 1.08 WHIP in 12 IP with 17 K and 1 save. The 25-year-old has decent future closer value with his plus velocity. Toronto Blue Jays Jason Frasor still Closer Jeremy Accardo to 1st in line in place of Shaun Marcum Casey Janssen still 2nd in line B.J. Ryan DL Frasor could be one blown save from being replaced in the closers' role by Accardo. Manager John Gibbons expressed concern over his current closer situation on Wednesday and discussed how effective Accardo has been. The 25-year-old Accardo has not allowed a run in 13+ IP this year with a 0.80 WHIP, 13 K and 1 hold. Frasor has allowed 6 runs over his last 2 outings which included 1 blown save. Marcum has dropped off of late with his ERA up to 8.25 in 12 IP. Best case scenario has Ryan back in mid-June from his elbow injury, but it's also possible this could be potential season ending surgery type injury. Boston Red Sox Jonathan Papelbon still Closer Hideki Okajima still 1st in line Mike Timlin to 2nd in line in place of Joel Pineiro Papelbon was unavailable last night after a 35 pitch blown save outing on Tuesday. Timlin allowed 1 run while picking up his first save of the season filling in last ngiht in a 6-4 final; 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Okajima pitched a scoreless 8th in front of Timlin; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. The 31-year-old former Japanese Leaguer has been one of the biggest surprises in the AL this year with a 0.61 WHIP in 14+ IP with 19 K, 1 save and 6 holds. The 41-year-old Timlin has a 1.50 WHIP in 8+ IP with 4 K and 2 holds. Pineiro, who was the leading candidate to close for the Sox at the begining of Spring Training, has a 1.66 WHIP in 9+ IP with 4 K and zero holds. Tuesday, May 1, 2007 Atlanta Braves Mike Gonzalez to Co-Closer Rafael Soriano to Co-Closer Bob Wickman to DL Wickman has been placed on the DL with a back injury explaining his shaky weekend in Colorado that resulted in a blown save on Sunday and a near blown save on Friday. The Braves have two legitimate closer options in Soriano and Gonzalez, and manager Bobby Cox indicated yesterday he would use both to close while Wickman is out. The 27-year-old Soriano has been the better reliever this year with his dominant stuff; 0.97 WHIP in 13 games; 12+ IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 BB, 11 K with 5 holds. Gonzalez has the experience, (24 for 24 in save chances with Pitt last year), and has started to pitch well after a shaky start to his season, which inluded an elbow scare. The former Pirates' closer picked up a win last night pitching a perfect 1 strike out 9th in a tie game and now has 3 scoreless outings since missing a few days with the elbow; 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. Florida Marlins Henry Owens still Closer Taylor Tankersley still 1st in line Matt Lindstrom still 2nd in line Owens pitched a perfect 1 strike out 9th in a 3 run game for a save yesterday, solidifying his stance as the Marlins' closer. The Marlins haven't provided many save opportunities since Jorge Julio blew up, as this was only Owens' first save since then, blowing his only other chance. The 28-year-old rookie has a 1.23 WHIP in 13 games; 14+ IP, 11 H, 4 R, 7 BB, 10 K. Detroit Tigers Todd Jones still Closer Joel Zumaya still 1st in line Fernando Rodney still 2nd in line Rodney recorded a non-conventional save last night pitching a perfect 2 1/3 IP in a 8-4 game; 2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. The 30-year-old had a rough April picking up 4 losses with 0 holds and a 6.55 ERA prior to last nights' outing. On the season Rodney has a 1.28 WHIP in 11 outings; 13+ IP, 13 H, 9 R, 4 BB, 13 K. Monday, April 30, 2007 Arizona Diamondbacks Jose Valverde still Closer Brandon Lyon still 1st in line Tony Pena still 2nd in line Lyon recorded his first save of the season yesterday, despite loading the bases in a 1 run game. Valverde was rested after picking up saves on 3 consecutive days. The 27-year-old Lyon is Valverde's primary set up man with just 1 run allowed in 12 outings; 11+ IP, 13 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 3 K with 6 holds. Cincinnati Reds David Weathers still Closer Mike Stanton to 1st in line in place of Kirk Saarloos Kirk Saarloss to 2nd in line in place of Mike Stanton Manager Jerry Narron talked about Stanton moving in to the teams' primary setup role a few days ago. The 39-year-old veteran has a 0.95 WHIP in 12 appearances; 7+ IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K with 3 holds. Saarloos has been inconsistent since beginning the season as the Reds' primary setup man. The 27-year-old has a 1.41 WHIP in 14 games; 11+ IP, 10 H, 8 R, 6 BB, 9 K with 2 holds. Eddie Guardado is rehabbing from reconstructive elbow surgery and could return, barring setbacks, in June. If the Reds are still closing with Weathers it's likely Guardado would be given a chance to secure the closers' role when healthy. The Reds may have picked up a future closer over the weekend in Marcus McBeth from the A's in the Chris Denorfia deal. The 26-year-old McBeth had a 1.00 WHIP in 8 AAA appearances this year with 5 saves; 10 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K. The converted outfield prospect has plus velocity and a plus changeup. McBeth could be promoted to Cincinnati in the next month or two. Closer Watch Blog Archive: 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 |