The Closer Report: April 23, 2010

CLOSER NEWS:

SAVES:

Brian Wilson (3) Wilson finally recorded a save.  It was his first save since April 6, and he went out there with a vengeance.  Besides a simple single, Wilson struck out the side for his third save of the season.  His ERA remains at 0.00.

Jonathan Papelbon (4) - Paps had another tough outing.  He did get the save, but in the process looked wild walking two batters and giving up a hit.  To put a positive spin on the save, he did intentionally walk Wiggington and he struck out Lugo to end the game.  That is how expereinced closers do it.

Francisco Rodriguez (2) - Recorded his second save in as many days.  He is still lacking his trademark sharpness that we haven't sen in awhile.  He needed 22 pitches to close he game and gave up a hit and a walk, while striking out two. His WHIP rose to 1.27, but his ERA lowered to an impressive 1.04.

Kevin Gregg (5) - Gregg was needed for 1.1 innings, but got a clean save. He looked great giving up a hit and striking out two.

Matt Lindstrom (5) - Another 12 pitch save for Lindstrom.  No hits and a strikeout.  Lindstrom has clearly found his closer niche.

Briean Fuentes (2) - Fuentes was back in the closer role and frankly it was a shocker.  When I saw Fernando Rodney coming into the eighth inning I was thinking someone got screwed.  I did assume that since the Yankee lineup is loaded with lefties and switch hitters that maybe Scioscia went with his lefty.  Thames did pitch hit for Johnson and Fuentes turned Teixeira around.  Will see what he does next.

Chad Qualls (3) - Qualls had a hefty three run lead to work with and he didn't even need it.  Why?  He only needed one out.  It was 7-3 going into the ninth and after Heilman gave up a run, Qualls entered the game with two outs and a runner on second.  He dispatched of Polanco on five pitches.


BLOWN SAVES:

Neftali Feliz (1-0 BS1) - Feliz got rocked tonight and badly.  Well, maybe not that badly, but he gave up three hits, including a wacky shallow double to Johnny Damon.  He couldn't close the deal on Magglio Ordonez who with two outs got the big hit to tie the game at 4-4 and blow the game for Feliz.  He did manage to get the win, so it wasn't all bad.

APPEARANCES:

Carlos Marmol - Pitched 1.1 innings for some odd reason in a blowout.  Still, he struck out three out of the four batters he retured.

Jim Johnson - Gave up a hit in 1/3 of an inning against the Red Sox.

Rafeal Soriano - Got some work in against the Blue Jays.  Struck out two in an inning of work. His WHIP has gone down to 1.14 and his ERA is loking much better at 2.57.

The Closer Report: April 21, 2010

SAVES:

Matt Lindstrom (4) - Lindstrom threw a near perfect 12 pitch inning giving up a lone hit.  His WHIP (1.14) and ERA (3.86) are still a bit high, but both are coming down.

Mariano Rivera (6) - Rivera is absolutely unhittable.  He recorded his sixth straight save, but showed a chink in his armor.  He gave up a hit and needed 26 pitches to close out the game.  His season ERA is still 0.00.

Jose Valverde (4) - Valverde made quick work of Angel hitters needing only 10 pitches to get his fourth save.   He got one strikeout and lowered his WHIP to 1.00.

Joakim Soria (4) - SOria got back on track with his fourth save of the season beating the Blue Jays 4-3.  He had a quite 1-2-3 inning and struckout one closing out the game.

Matt Capps (7) - Capps recorded his league leading seventh save of the season and did it in wow fashion.  Capps struckout the side, raising his strikeout total from 5 to 8 in one appearnce.  He did give up a hit and a walk, but an overall very impressive outing for Capps.

BLOWN SAVE:

Brian Fuentes (BS1) - Fuentes made his first appearance since coming off the DL and he entered the game in the eighth inning as expected and blew the lead.  Before his work was done, he gave up two runs on two hits and two walks.  The big blast was a solo homerun to Miguel Cabrera.  He also took the loss 4-3.

APPEARANCES:

Brain Wilson - Pitched a quite inning in a losing cause.  He only threw 10 pitches, so he should be fine for tomorrow.

Jonathan Papelbon - Pitched a strong two innings in a 7-7 game with Texas.  He gave up one hit and struckout one.  There is no chance he will pitch tomorrow.  Since Bard also went two innings, I'm not sure who will get the call to close if the Red Sox lead going into the ninth inning.

Carlos Marmol - Worked one inning in a 9-3 blow out.  Walked one and struck out one. 

Neftali Feliz - Another impressive outing for Feliz.  He pitched two innings for the Rangers in an extra inning game.  He threw 23 pitches and struck out three batters, while giving up no hits or walks.  His WHIP is now at a microscopic 0.75.

The Closer Report: April 20, 2010

SAVES:

Kevin Gregg (5) - Gregg mowed down the Royals on 13 pitches surrendering a hit and recording a strikeout.  Gregg has a firm hold on the job and Frasor is not a threat.  In fact, during spring training I reported that the Blue Jays are best served with Frasor as the setup man and Downs as the lefty specialist.  That is the way it is setup now.

Francisco Cordero (5) - Cordero continues his hot start, saving his fifth game in a row and did it with two strikeouts. I have to admit Cordero is unstoppable right now.

David Aardsma (6) - Looked very sharp against the Orioles.  The only smudge on the save was a bloop single by Matt Weiters.  14 pitches and a strikeout.

Matt Lindstrom (3) - Got his thrid save, but got roughed up in the process.  He gave up two hits and a wild pitch on way to his third save of the season.  Needed 24 pitches to close the game out, so expect Lyon to close out a possible save tomorrow.

Bobby Jenks (3) - Had a relatively good outing.  19 pitches, a hit, and a strikeout.

Chad Qualls (2) - Qualls came through with a great save tonight.  Gave up no hits, one ground ball and two strikeouts.  Its rare, but he does have some good outings.

Fernanado Rodney (5) - Rodney is insane right now.  Here are some numbers to digest.  He has five saves in the past seven days.  In those five innings pitched, no hits, one walk and four strikeouts. His ERA in that period, ZERO.  I don't think Fuentes is taking the job back anytime soon.

BLOWN SAVES

Ryan Madson (BS 1)- Get off the Madson Express.  He got hammered.  He gave up three runs on two home runs.  His season WHIP is now at 1.71 and his ERA is just lost at 7.71.  I'm beginning to think it's the curse of the Phillies closer.  In Madson's defense, it was his first blown save of the season.

APPEARANCES:

Jonathan Papelbon (2-0) - Got the win pitching the ninth inning of a 6-6 game.  He threw allot of pitches (20) and walked a batter in the effort.  He also recorded a strikeout.

Francisco Rodriguez - Still no saves, but got a wasted inning of work tonight.  He needed a whooping 26 pitches to end the game.  He walked two and struck out a pair as well.

Billy Wagner (1-0) - pitched a perfect 10th inning for his first win of the season.  He also added a strikeout.

Heath Bell (4) - After blowing a save yesterday, Bell came through with his fourth save of the season tonight.  He did make it intersting by giving up a hit and walk, but after 19 pitches the game was over.

Franklin Morales - Pitched with a 6-run lead and struck out two and walked one.

 Listen to Todd "The True Guru" Farino breakdown all the closer activity three times a week on Blog Talk Radio. Every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 11pm PST. www.blogtalkradio.com/the-closer-report  or download the podcast on ITunes!

Status of Closer Roles: Phillies, Astros, Diamondbacks

Some closer roles still not set
Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com 1/11/2010.

It's still quite awhile from the opening of spring training and there are still a few closer jobs that managers are undecided on.
Let's start with Brad Lidge. Lidge had off-season surgery on his ailing strike zone (I mean elbow). Reports are that he may not be ready by the start of the season. If that happens, this dramatically increases the value of setup man Ryan Madison. The Phillies bullpen is a recovery room of arms as spring training looms. In the off-season, Lidge and Romero had elbow surgery, while newly acquired Denny Baez is recovering from shoulder surgery.

This is great news for Madson Maniacs. If he has a solid spring and Lidge doesn't, Madson should be the opening day closer for the Phillies. I think Charlie Manuel would be much happier with Ryan Madson as closer, then a recovering and nervous Brad Lidge.

Madson makes a great sleeper and should be considered a fifteenth round pick with the possibility of Lidge not being ready. Track how both Madson and Lidge are doing this spring before you draft. If all goes well, Madson could be this years Ryan Franklin. It is a bit of a long shot, but an acceptable risk in rounds 15-17.

Jose Valverde is still a free agent. The concerns with signing Valverde are valid, but not likely. His age and length of contract he's asking for compensation picks lost and his health issues as well are all concerns teams have with signing the big time closer. With all that said, Valverde is a reliable pitcher, who if stays healthy will get you 42-47 saves. It's worth the risk to any team searching for a closer, and the two teams making offers are the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks.  My money is on Detroit. They let Fernando Rodney go, so Valverde would be a welcome site in the Tigers bullpen. He's never pitched in the American League only interleague play, so he should have the advantage for a few months. It's a great fit and in the end, if the Tigers want to remain competitive they have to sign Valverde and secure a veteran closer.

Chad Qualls is not the closer for the Diamondbacks. Well, Maybe. The Diamondback are in the market for a closer and are reported to be making offers to Jose Valverde. If they don't sign Valverde, then there will likely be a competition for the job between a few pitchers. Assuming Qualls has fully recovered from his dislocated knee; he should have the advantage for the job. Either way, Qualls is a risk and should be avoided in drafts until the situation improves.

Matt Lindstrom should be the opening day closer for the Astros if he is able to control his pitches in spring training. Lindstrom has everything to be dominant closers, the mentality, a hard fastball, and experience. He just needs to throw strikes. As insurance for Lindstrom, the Astros signed Brandon Lyon. Lyon is planned for the setup role with Lindstrom following in the ninth. It will be a competition, but it's Lindstrom's job to lose.

Astros' Sampson Gets 2nd Save

Former starting pitching prospect, Chris Sampson, has picked up his 2nd save of the season in the Houston Astros 6-4 win over the Brewers.

Sampson is now 2-0 with 2 saves and a 2.13 ERA.

With Jose Valverde on the DL and LaTroy Hawkins (hip) banged up, Sampson got the call.

He is worth a look, as all possible closers are, but his low k-ratio combined with his temporary closer status (about two weeks) makes Sampson a pick up only if you are carrying dead weight.

His value is a bit more if you get points for holds plus he qualifies as a RP and SP.

Sin City Scout