The Closer Report: April 13, 2010 7 Saves

SAVES:
Mariano Rivera (3) - Came in for a short .2 inning save and nailed it over the Angels, striking out one.  Rivera is already in mid-season form and not showing his age at all.  For all of you that are expecting Rivera to falter and regress in 2010, it won't happen.  I feel he's due to regress a bit next year, but even that is a solid closer.

Jose Valverde (2) - Valverde mowed down the Royals 1-2-3 in 12 pitches and was fired up as usual completing the comeback for the Tigers.  So far so good for Valverde.

Rafael Soriano (2) - Got another ugly save.  Something hasn't been right with Soriano so far, but he did get the save and a strikeout.  His one blip was a solo home run to Ty Wiggington.

Kevin Gregg (3) - The Blue Jays won their 6th straight game and their bullpen has been taxes.  Everything out of Toronot is that Frasor is just getting rest after making five appearances already in this early season.  Gregg looked fantastic, facing the minimum number of batters and recording two strike outs.

David Aardsma (3) - Had some control issues tonight, but overwhelmed the A's onward to his third save of the season.  The two walks were a small blip on an otherwise nice night.

Francisco Cordero (4) - Second save in 2 days.  He made quick work of the Marlins, disposing of them on 11 pitches, striking out two.  Cordero has looked nothing less then superb to start the 2010 season.

Octavio Dotel (2) - Dotel got ripped for a 2-run home run from none other then Eugenio Velez, but luckily had a three run lead.  His season WHIP is still low at 1.00, but his ERA balloned to 4.50 in the short season.

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!

The Closer Report: April 5, 2010 - 4 Saves, 1 Win, 12 Appearances

By Todd Farino, http://www.thecloserreport.com/

Baseball is here and the closers are coming out to play.  Here is the report from April 5, 2010. 

Note: since there are days off early in the season we are seeing lots of closers just getting work in, but not coming in for a save opprotunity.

SAVES:

Franklin Morales (1)- Pitching for the injured Huston Street, Morales looked good, but still got roughed up my the Brewers. He opened up the ninth a bit nervous and hit Rickie Weeks. He then gave up a double to Carlos Gomez, but settled done after that getting the next three batters out on hard line drives. Morales looked good, but he was hit hard. Let's hope he can improve on that and rack up the strikeouts.

Brian Wilson (1) - Wilson entered the game with one out in the ninth after Brandon Medders gave up a couple of runs.  Wilson looked very sharp getting out both batters he faced, striking out Manzella.  In all, he needed seven pitches to end the game.

David Aardsma (1) - Aardsma got a save thanks to the Kevin Kouzmanoff.  Aardsma shaked off a shakey spring to mow down three batters, striking out two.  His command owas a little off, but his fastball was shapr and looked much better than it did just a week ago.

Brian Fuentes (1) - Fuentes started off strong with a 1-2-3 perfect inning save.  He struck out one on 10 pitches.  He was setup nicely by Fernando Rodney and her looked in mid-season form already.

BLOWN SAVES:

Jason Frasor (1, 0-1) - Frasor blew his first save of the season and looked awful against a tough Texas lineup. Frasor was hit hard, giving up 2 doubles and a game winning long single to Saltalamacchia. The line isn't pretty, .1 IP, 2ER, 4H, 1 IBB, 1K. Frasor's pitches looked week. His velocity wasn't there and his breaking ball was flat. He should be fine and get better with time.

CLOSER WINS

Frank Francisco (1-0) - Francisco pitched a near perfect ninth and ended up with the win for Texas. On 17 pitches he struck out two and gave up one hit.

APPEARANCES

Ryan Franklin - Here is the Ryan Franklin I know.  Granted it's his first appearance of the season and the score was 11-4 when he came in, he still didn't pitch well.  His pitches were flat and very hittable.  He got lucky bad swings form Gnomes and Cabrera for outs, but gave up three hits to
Dickerson, Votto, and Phillips.  The end result was 2 runs and no strikeouts in a wasted appearance for the Cardinals closer.

Andrew Bailey - Bailey looked healthy, but he wasn't his sharpest.  He got screwed on an error by Kevin Kouzmanoff and them gave up a 2-1 base hit to Casey Kotchman that scored two unearned runs.  Regardless of the outcome, Bailey owners can let out a sigh of relief that their closer is alright.  Brad Ziegler took the loss.

Francisco Rodriguez - Pitched a perfect and quiet ninth inning for the Mets.  He showed excellent command, only needing 14 pitches to take out the Marlins.

Octavio Dotel - Faced three batters, striking out one.  He only needed 10 pitches to end the game and looked outstanding.

Billy Wagner - Wagner made his first appearance as a Brave and looked like the Wagner of old.  He struck out two on 11 pitches.  He faced the minimum three batters.

Jose Valverde - Valverde came into the ninth inning with a 4-run lead and he was pumped up as only Valverde can be.  He wasn't his sharpest as he needed 24 pitches to close out the game.  He did have to work around a walk and a error, but in the end a strong inning.  He recorded one strikeout.

SIDE NOTES:

Matt Thornton - Thornton looked great for the White Sox pitching a perfect ninth.  He struck out two and needed 10 pitches, throwing all strikes.  He's my odds on favorite to get the job if Jenks fails to hold onto it.

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.

The Diamondbacks looking to bring back Jose Valverde

According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks are eyeing Valverde and they would like to sign him to a 1 or 2 year deal.
Full Article:
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/NickPiecoro/70150

This is a great fit for Valverde and the Diamondbacks.  Chad Qualls has some health issues and clearly is not a closer.  If the Diamondbacks sign Valverde, expect the value of Valverde to risae and that of the entire Diamondback pitching staff.  Qualls would be the primary setup man if they sign Valverde

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

Jose Valverde placed on the D.L.

The Houston Astros placed closer Jose Valverde on the 15 day D.L. today with a strained calf. This is not a serious injury it just needs some time to heal.

Latroy Hawkins will fill in for the Astros until Valverde is ready to return. Hawkins is only owned in 13% of Yahoo leagues so pick him up if you can.

The Bay State Scout

Valverde Earns Save; May Miss Time With Calf Injury

Despite earning his second save of the season on Sunday, Jose Valverde may miss up to a week due to a calf injury. Valverde reportedly felt pain with every pitch he threw on Sunday as he worked through lingering calf soreness. He originally suffered the injury while closing out Houston's win over the Dodgers on April 21st. He has struggled in two appearances since then, blowing a save on Saturday, then fighting through pain Sunday. Right now it appears that Valverde will be back towards the end of the week, but this is a situation to monitor. LaTroy Hawkins makes for a good speculative add, as he is next in line for saves in Houston.