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Sunday, May 20, 2007 Oakland A's Justin Duchscherer still Closer Kiko Calero still 1st in line Jay Witasick still 2nd in line Huston Street DL Duchscherer has yet to appear in a game, (hip injury), since being named the closer after Street went on the DL. In turn the A's have been forced to use a closer committee. With two left handers due up in the 9th last night, the left handed Alan Embree got the call in a 4-2 game and the veteran responded with a perfect inning for his first save of the season. The 37-year-old has a 1.58 WHIP this year in 18+ IP with 14 K and 8 holds. Pittsburgh Pirates Salomon Torres still Closer Matt Capps still 1st in line Damaso Marte to 2nd in line in place of Jonah Bayliss Bayliss has struggled this year with a 6.35 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in 22+ IP. The left handed Marte has a 1.11 WHIP on the season in 12+ IP with 15 K and 4 holds. The veteran 32-year-old closed in parts of four seasons with the White Sox, picking up 31 saves from 2002-2005. Friday, May 18, 2007 Washington Nationals Chad Cordero still Closer Jon Rauch still 1st in line Jesus Colome still 2nd in line Rauch pitched a perfect, 1 strikeout 9th for his second save in two days yesterday. Cordero is to return to the closers' role tonight after being eased back in to the role since coming back from bereavement. The 28-year-old Rauch has a 9 game scoreless outing streak and a 0.85 WHIP on the season in 22+ IP with 15 K. Rauch is an attactive option for Manager Manny Acta if Cordero struggles and his emergence may make it easier for GM Jim Bowden to deal Cordero later in the season, making Rauch the closer. Boston Red Sox Jonathan Papelbon still Closer Hideki Okajima still 1st in line Mike Timiln DL still 2nd in line The Red Sox continue to use Papelbon conservatively resting him in the night cap of a double header following a 13 pitch save effort in the afternoon. Okajima pitched a perfect 9th for his second save of the season, after setting Papelbon up earlier in the day with a perfect, 1 strikeout 8th. The 31-year-old left hander has not been scored upon since allowing a HR on his first MLB pitch. Okajima has allowed just 1 run in 19 outings and has a dominanting 0.63 WHIP on the season in 20+ IP with 23 K and 9 holds. Thursday, May 17, 2007 Florida Marlins Kevin Gregg to Closer in place of Committee Taylor Tankersley to 1st in line from Committee Matt Lindstrom to 2nd in line from Committee Henry Owens DL Gregg pitched a scoreless 9th last night for his second save of the year; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. The Marlins officially have a closer committee with Owens on the DL, but Gregg pitched the 9th Tuesday in a 6 run game and got the save opportunity yesterday. The 28-year-old former Angel has a 1.08 WHIP on the season in 24 IP with 22 K and 6 holds. Washington Nationals Chad Cordero still Closer Jon Rauch still 1st in line Jesus Colome still 2nd in line Rauch pitched a perfect, 2 strikeout ninth for his second save of the year last night. Cordero set up in the 8th with a perfect, 1 strikeout inning. The Nats' are easing Cordero back in to the closers' role after missing a week on bereavement. Manager Manny Acta said yesterday that Cordero will return to the closers' role this weekend. Rauch has emerged as a legitimate closer option and will give Acta a tempting option if Cordero struggles in the closers' role when he gets it back.The 28-year-old Rauch has a 0.89 WHIP in 21+ IP on the season with 14 K and 8 holds. Chicago White Sox Bobby Jenks still Closer Mike MacDougal still 1st in line Matt Thornton still 2nd in line Thornton got the final 4 outs in the first game of yesterdays' double header for his first save of the year; 1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Three of the four hitters the southpaw faced were left handed, which probably played in to manager Ozzie Guillen's strategy of saving Jenks for the night cap. The 30-year-old Thornton has a 1.34 WHIP in 9+ IP on the season with 8 K and 9 holds. Oakland A's Justin Duchscherer still Closer Kiko Calero still 1st in line Jay Witasick still 2nd in line Huston Street DL Duchscherer was named the A's closer with Street out, but has been unavailable for two consecutive save chances with a hip injury. Duchscherer has not appeared in a game since last Friday. Calero got the call last night in a 3-2 game and proceeded to blow the save while taking the loss. Minnesota Twins Joe Nathan still Closer Juan Rincon still 1st in line Pat Neshek to 2nd in line in place of Jesse Crain Crain has landed on the DL with a shoulder injury and is facing potential season ending surgery. The 26-year-old Neshek has a 0.87 WHIP on the season in 18+ IP with 22 K and 2 holds. Kansas City Royals Joakim Soria still Closer David Riske still 1st in line Brandon Duckworth still 2nd line Octavio Dotel DL Riske pitched a perfect 9th yesterday in a 4-3 game for his third save of the season. Soria was rested after throwing 48 pitches the previous 2 days. The 30-year-old Riske has a 1.47 WHIP in 18+ IP on the season with 12 K and 2 holds. Dotel could be back in a week from the DL and his oblique injury. Wednesday, May 16, 2007 Oakland A's Justin Duchscherer to Closer in place of Huston Street Kiko Calero to 1st in line in place of Justin Duchscherer Jay Witasick to 2nd in line in place of Kiko Calero Huston Street to DL Street has been placed on the DL after injuring his elbow in a save outing this past Saturday. The extent of the injury is to be determined. Manager Bob Geren named Justin Duchsherer the interim closer, but rested him last night when a save opportunity came up. Duchsherer threw 24 pitches on Monday and has been pitching through a hip injury. The 29-year-old has a 1.59 WHIP in 16+ IP on the season with 13 K and 5 holds. Duchsherer has filled in as closer for Street for stints in each of the past 2 seasons picking up 9 saves last year and 5 in 2005. Alan Embree started the 9th last night with a 4-1 lead and was lifted after allowing 2 hits and getting just 1 out. Witasick came on for the save and proceeded to blow it sending the game to extra innings. The 34-year-old Witasick has a 1.18 WHIP in 11 IP this year with 9 K and 1 hold Cleveland Indians Joe Borowski still Closer Rafeel Betancourt still 1st in line Tom Mastny to 2nd in line in place of Fernando Cabrera Cabrera is struggling in May having allowed runs in all 4 of his past outings, which includes a 2 HR outing last night. The 25-year-old future closer has a 1.47 WHIP on the season in 17 IP with 24 K and 1 hold. Mastny has a 0.86 WHIP in 16+ IP on the season with 15 K and 3 holds. The 26-year-old closed briefly for the Indians in the 2nd half last year picking up 5 saves before losing the job to Betancourt. Borowski could be on shaky closer ground. The 36-year-old veteran has just 2 blown saves on the season, but has ugly overall numbers of a 9.00 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in 15 IP. Top setup man, Betancourt has a 1.02 WHIP in 14+ IP with 13 K and 6 holds on the season. The 32-year-old veteran closed for the Indians at the end of last year picking up 3 saves. Toronto Blue Jays Jeremy Accardo still Closer Casey Janssen to 1st in line in place of Jason Frasor Jason Frasor to 2nd in line in place of Casey Janssen Manager John Gibbons said Accardo would be rested on Tuesday after pitching on 3 of 4 days and Janssen would be his fill in closer. The manager changed his mind as Accardo was used to get the final out in 2-1 game last night for his 3rd save of the year. The 25-year-old extended his scoreless outing streak to begin the year to 16 games and has dominant season numbers of 0.78 WHIP in 18 IP with 19 K. The 25-year-old Janssen has a 0.98 WHIP in 19+ IP with 5 K, 6 holds and 1 save on the season. St. Louis Cardinals Jason Isringhausen still Closer Ryan Franklin still 1st in line Russ Springer to 2nd in line in place of Brad Thompson Thompson has had 2 quality starts since moving to the rotation after failing to secure a setup role. The 38-year-old veteran Springer has a 1.05 WHIP in 12+ IP with 14 K and 1 hold. Tuesday, May 15, 2007 Washington Nationals Chad Cordero still Closer Jon Rauch still 1st in line Jesus Colome to 2nd in line in place of Saul Rivera Colome pitched a scoreless inning in a 2-1 game for his first save in 3 years yesterday; 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Cordero was not used in his first game back from bereavement, nor was Rauch who had pitched on 3 consecutive days. The 29-year-old Colome has not allowed a run in 4 of his past 5 appearances and has a 1.50 WHIP on the season in 24+ IP with 15 K and 1 hold. Atlanta Braves Bob Wickman to Closer in place of Rafael Soriano Rafael Soriano to 1st in line in place of Mike Gonzalez Mike Gonzalez to 2nd in line in place of Bob Wickman Wickman is to return from the DL today and move back in to his closers' role with capable closers' Soriano and Gonzalez returning to set up duty. Soriano was 4 for 4 in save chances while Wickman was out and has a dominating 0.71 WHIP on the season in 18+ IP with 16 K and 6 holds. Gonzalez was 2 for 2 in save chances in the same timeframe and has a steak of 29 consecutive saves converted dating back to 2005 with the Pirates. The left hander has a 1.35 WHIP in 16+ IP on the season with 13 K and 5 holds. Monday, May 14, 2007 Florida Marlins Taylor Tankersley to Closer Committee Matt Lindstrom to Closer Committee Lee Gardner to Closer Committee Henry Owens DL The Marlins traded failed closer Jorge Julio to the Rockies yesterday for Byung-Hyun Kim. With Julio no longer an option, Florida will continue to go with a closer committee while Henry Owens (shoulder) is on the DL. Tankersley blew a 1 run save opportunity on Saturday and received the loss after Julio allowed 3 inherited runners to score on a walk off grand slam. The 24-year-old left hander has a 1.41 WHIP in 10+ IP with 7 K and 2 holds on the season. Washington Nationals Chad Cordero to Closer in place of Jon Rauch Jon Rauch to 1st in line in place of Chad Cordero Saul Rivera still 2nd in line Cordero is expected back from bereavement on Monday. Rauch received 1 save opportunity in his absence and recorded it yesterday with a scoreless inning; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. The 28-year-old Rauch could close in the second half if the Nationals decide to trade Cordero. Rauch has a 0.93 WHIP in 20+ IP with 12 K and 8 holds on the season. San Francisco Giants Armando Benitez still Closer Brad Hennessey still 1st in line Kevin Correia to 2nd in line in place of Billy Sadler Hennessey remains day to day with a shoulder injury. The 26-year-old Correia has a 1.17 WHIP in 18 IP with 17 K and 1 hold on the season. Sadler remains at AAA with a 1.19 WHIP in 14+ IP with 20 K and 2 saves. Closer Watch Blog Archive: 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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