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Saturday, June 2, 2007 Pittsburgh Pirates Matt Capps to Closer in place of Salomon Torres Salomon Torres to 1st in line in place of Matt Capps Damaso Marte still 2nd in line The Pirates have pulled Torres from the closers' role after his fourth blown save of the season on Thursday. Capps has been named the new Pirates' closer. The 23-year-old Capps has solid numbers on the season; 1.09 WHIP in 29+ IP with 24 K and 15 holds. However, the hard throwing right hander has been inconsistent in May allowing at least one run in 4 of his past 8 appearances. Los Angeles Dodgers Takashi Saito still Closer Jonathan Broxton still 1st in line Brett Tomko to 2nd in line in place of Yhency Brazoban Brazoban has landed on the DL with a shoulder injury after making just four appearances since his return from Tommy John surgery. Tomko has pitched well after moving to the bullpen earlier this month; 4+ IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. The 34-year-old has the potential to develop in to an effective late inning reliever with his plus velocity if kept in a relief role. Friday, June 1, 2007 San Francisco Giants Brad Hennessey to Closer in place of Armando Benitez Kevin Correia to 1st in line in place of Brad Hennessey Randy Messenger to 2nd in line in place of Kevin Correia The Giants traded Benitez to the Marlins yesterday for Messenger, making Hennessey the Giants' closer. Hennessey has stepped up as a quality late inning reliever this year after entering the season as a swingman. The 27-year-old has a 1.03 WHIP on the season in 22+ IP with 14 K, 8 holds and 3 saves. The 6' 6" hard throwing Messenger has been an inconsistent pitcher over his initial 3 seasons in the majors. The 25-year-old had a 1.52 WHIP in 23+ IP with 12 K and 6 holds with the Marlins this year. Florida Marlins Kevin Gregg still Closer Armando Benitez to 1st in line in place of Henry Owens Henry Owens to 2nd in line in place of Matt Lindstrom Manager Fredi Gonzalez did not commit to moving Benitez immediately in to the closers' role when talking about the trade yesterday. Gregg is a perfect 6 for 6 in save chances and may keep the job initially. The 28-year-old Gregg has a 1.11 WHIP in 31+ IP on the season with 35 K. The 34-year-old Benitez has a 1.50 WHIP in 17+ IP with 18 K and was 9 for 11 in save chances with the Giants. Colorado Rockies Brian Fuentes still Closer Jorge Julio to 1st in line in place of Manuel Corpas Manuel Corpas to 2nd in line in place of Ramon Ramirez Ramirez is struggling this year after his surprise rookie campaign last year. The 25-year-old has a 7.94 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 11+ IP with 8 K and 2 holds on the season. Julio has settled down with the Rockies after losing the closers' role in Florida while posting horrendous numbers. The 28-year-old former Oriole has allowed just 1 run in 6 outings with the Rockies; 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K. Thursday, May 31, 2007 San Francisco Giants Armando Benitez still Closer Brad Hennessey still 1st in line Kevin Correia still 2nd in line Hennessey pitched a perfect, 1 strikeout 9th in a 3-0 game last night for his second save of the season. Benitez is unavailable for a few days after having fluid drained from his troublesome knee on Wednesday. The 34-year-old Benitez could be a risky closer the remainder of the season due to inconsistent pitching (1.50 WHIP in 17+ IP) and weary knee(s). The 27-year-old Hennessey has a 1.20 WHIP in 22+ IP on the year with 14 K and 8 holds. New York Mets Billy Wagner still Closer Aaron Heilman still 1st in line Guillermo Mota to 2nd in line in place of Joe Smith Mota made his 2007 debut last night, coming back from a steroid suspension, throwing 2 scoreless innings; 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. The 33-year-old had a strong second half (0.83 WHIP in 18 IP) with the Mets last year after struggling in the first half with Cleveland (1.70 WHIP in 37+ IP). The 23-year-old Smith has emerged as a reliable setup man in his rookie campaign; 0.93 WHIP in 22+ IP with 26 K and 6 holds. Mota, who failed as the Marlins' closer due to injury in 2005, has the experience over Smith serving as a top setup man for several years. Wednesday, May 30, 2007 Florida Marlins Kevin Gregg still Closer Henry Owens DL to 1st in line in place of Taylor Tankersley Matt Lindstrom still 2nd in line Owens is expected back from the DL within the next week. However, manager Fredi Gonzalez went on record last week that Gregg would retain the closers' role when Owens returns. The 28-year-old Gregg struck out the only 2 batters he faced last night for his sixth save of the season and his 6 for 6 in save chances. The former Angel has a 1.11 WHIP in 31+ IP with 35 K. The left handed Tankersley has struggled this year after being slowed by a shoulder injury. The 24-year-old has a 6.89 ERA and 1.85 WHIP in 15+ IP with 12 K and just 2 holds. Boston Red Sox Jonathan Papelbon still Closer Hideki Okajima still 1st in line Mike Timlin DL still 2nd in line Okajima pitched a scoreless ninth in a 4-2 game last night for his fourth save of the season; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. The Red Sox continue to use Papelbon very cautiously resting him after throwing 23 pitches the day before despite not being used on Sunday. The manner in which the Red Sox are using Papelbon has created more than the usual amount of save opportunities for setup man Okajima. The 31-year-old former Japanese Leaguer has emerged as a solid late inning reliever in his debut Major League season; 0.82 WHIP in 25+ IP with 26 K and 10 holds. Tuesday, May 29, 2007 Arizona Diamondbacks Jose Valverde still Closer Tony Pena still 1st in line Brandon Lyon still 2nd in line Lyon got the final out in a 5-4 game last night to record his second save of the year. Valverde created the save opportunity after allowing 3 runs in a non save opportunity. The 27-year-old Valverde has just 2 blown saves in 20 chances on the season. The hard throwing right hander has a 1.32 WHIP in 22 IP with 24 K. The 25-year-old Pena has increased his future closer value this year with a 0.85 WHIP in 27 IP with 15 K, 8 holds and 1 save. The 27-year-old Lyon has a 1.25 WHIP in 22+ IP with 9 K and 12 holds on the season. Monday, May 28, 2007 Boston Red Sox Jonathan Papelbon still Closer Hideki Okajima still 1st in line Mike Timlin DL still 2nd in line Okajima recorded his third save of the season yeterday while allowing 1 run ninth inning run; 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K. Papelbon was rested after pitching the previous 2 days. The left handed Okajima has a 0.81 WHIP on the season in 24+ IP with 24 K and 10 holds. Chicago White Sox Bobby Jenks still Closer Matt Thornton to 1st in line in place of Mike MacDougal Mike MacDougal to 2nd in line in place of Matt Thornton MacDougal continues to struggle this year giving up 2 more runs yesterday to raise his ERA to 6.88 in 16+ IP with a 2.12 WHIP. Thornton has a 1.21 WHIP in 14 IP with 11 K, 10 holds and 1 save. The 30-year-old left hander is tough on right hand hitters with a .572 opposition OPS with a .798 mark versus left hand hitters. Closer Watch Blog Archive: 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 |
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