Frank Francisco has a sore pectoral, Dotel has a sore hammy, I have a boo-boo on my finger. Who’s going to close for the Jays?! Rauch, and there’s no reason to scream. Brian Wilson lost his Smile and may miss Opening Day. Joe Nathan looks like he’s going to be the closer and also like he’ll be nothing like the Joe Nathan of old. I’d handcapp him with Matt Cuffs… Uh, huh? It makes me nauseous to write this but we got a hurt Putz. He should be fine a week or two into the season, so, ya know, still draft him. Fernando Rodney is going to be the closer and he’s going to be dreadful. Andrew Bailey has a forearm strain and can never stay healthy. Same could be said about Lidge, except his pain is in the biceps, or is it bicep? Neftali wants to start, but I still think he closes. Though I would love a decision on this. Kevin Gregg sucks. Storen may not even make the team the way he’s throwing. And Franklin is firmly in the closing role which I don’t think lasts. In other words, it’s the usual closer shizz. Anyway, here’s all of the closers for your fantasy baseball team, as of right now:
$12 Salads
You know that restaurant your girlfriend/wife/what-have-you likes to go to that charges, like, $12 for a salad? Every time you go there, you have a thoroughly solid meal. No complaints, except you just paid $12 for a salad when you could’ve went to McDonald’s and stuffed you and your woman for ten schmools and had $2 in quarters left over to make the hotel bed vibrate. These closers are $12 salads.
1. Mariano Rivera (Rafael Soriano, Joba Chamberlain) 2. Heath Bell (Luke Gregerson, Chad Qualls, Mike Adams, Pat Neshek) 3. Joakim Soria (Robinson Tejeda, Jeremy Jeffress) 4. Carlos Marmol (+1) (Kerry Wood, Sean Marshall, Andrew Cashner)
Donkeycorns
Imagine you’re following a donkey, who’s wearing a wool cap, through a desert for 1700 miles. Why are you following a donkey? Because he promises you something wonderful and you just need to trust him. Does the donkey talk? Yes. Yes, he does talk. So when you and the donkey in the wool cap arrive at his destination, he removes his the wool cap to reveal a horn. The donkey is a unicorn and his gift to you for your trust is saves. These closers are Donkeycorns.
5. Jonathan Papelbon (+1) (Daniel Bard, Bobby Jenks) 6. Jose Valverde (+1) (Joaquin Benoit, Ryan Perry) 7. Brian Wilson (-3) (Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Casilla) 8. Jonathan Broxton (Hong-Chih Kuo, Matt Guerrier, Kenley Jansen) 9. Francisco Rodriguez (+1) (Bobby Parnell, Manny Acosta) 10. John Axford (+1) (Takashi Saito, Zach Braddock) 11. Matt Thornton (+3) (Chris Sale, Jesse Crain) 12.Chris Perez (+2) (Rafael Perez, Tony Sipp) 13. Huston Street (Matt Lindstrom, Rafael Betancourt) 14. Craig Kimbrel (+1) (Jonny Venters, George Sherrill) 15. J.J. Putz (-7) (David Hernandez, Juan Gutierrez) 16. Francisco Cordero (+1) (Aroldis Chapman, Nick Masset) 17.Joe Nathan (+4) (Matt Capps) 18. Ryan Franklin (+4) (Jason Motte, Mitchell Boggs)
Brain Freeze
I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing apples, bananas and Kevin Gregg– Wait, he just gave up 12 earned runs and hit Brian Roberts in the head with a pickoff throw. Brain freeze! Make it stop! Use the following closers at your own risk.
19. Leo Nunez (+4) (Clay Hensley, Edward Mujica) 20. Brandon Lyon (+3) (Wilton Lopez, Jeff Fulchino) 21. Brad Lidge (Ryan Madson, Jose Contreras, Danys Baez) 22. Joel Hanrahan (Evan Meek) 23. Neftali Feliz (-2) (Alexi Ogando, Mark Lowe, Darren O’Day) 24. Fernando Rodney (-1) (Hisanori Takahashi, Kevin Jepsen, Jordan Walden) 25. Kevin Gregg (Koji Uehara, Mike Gonzalez) 26. Brandon League (+2) (David Aardsma) 27. Jon Rauch (-3) (Frank Francisco, Octavio Dotel, Jason Frasor) 28. Brian Fuentes/Grant Balfour (-15) (Andrew Bailey) 29. Kyle Farnsworth/Jake McGee (+1) (Joel Peralta, J.P.Howell) 30. Drew Storen/Sean Burnett/Tyler Clippard/Todd Coffey/Bill Cosby
The Brain Freezes lived up to their names last month. With Jenks, Hoffman, Gregg, Dotel, Lidge, Funklin Morales, Qualls, Perez, Wood and Simon all putting dry ice on your fantasy baseball team and then shattering it. No one ever said owning Brain Freezes would be easy, but does it have to be this hard? Can’t I just Ron Popeil my Jenkses and Hoffmen and let them be? No, of course, I can’t. It would be too easy. I come from the school that if a guy has a chance to earn even one save, I’ll own them. Sometimes this yields 6 saves from Alfredo Simon, other times this yields 12 earned runs in a third of an inning from Will Ohman. (It’ll happen, don’t you worry about that.) So they may give you an ulcer, but I’d own them. Brain Freezes are the nuts and sometimes they crack. Anyway, here’s all of the closers for your fantasy baseball team, as of right now:
$12 Salads
You know that restaurant your girlfriend/wife/what-have-you likes to go to that charges, like, $12 for a salad? Every time you go there, you have a thoroughly solid meal. No complaints, except you just paid $12 for a salad when you could’ve went to McDonald’s and stuffed you and your woman for ten schmools and had $2 in quarters left over to make the hotel bed vibrate. These closers are $12 salads.
1. Jonathan Broxton (+1) (Hong-Chih Kuo, Ramon Troncoso, George Sherrill) 2. Mariano Rivera (+1) (Joba Chamberlain, Damaso Marte) 3. Jonathan Papelbon (-2) (Daniel Bard, Hideki Okajima) 4. Carlos Marmol (Sean Marshall, Andrew Cashner)
Donkeycorns
Imagine you’re following a donkey, who’s wearing a wool cap, through a desert for 1700 miles. Why are you following a donkey? Because he promises you something wonderful and you just need to trust him. Does the donkey talk? Yes. Yes, he does talk. So when you and the donkey in the wool cap arrive at his destination, he removes his the wool cap to reveal a horn. The donkey is a unicorn and his gift to you for your trust is saves. These closers are Donkeycorns.
5. Joakim Soria (Kyle Farnsworth, Josh Rupe) 6. Francisco Rodriguez (Pedro Feliciano, Jenrry Mejia) 7. Heath Bell (Mike Adams, Luke Gregerson) 8. Jose Valverde (Joel Zumaya, Ryan Perry) 9. Brian Wilson (Sergio Romo, Dan Runzler) 10. Rafael Soriano (+2) (Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour) 11. Andrew Bailey (+5) (Michael Wuertz, Brad Ziegler) 12. Ryan Franklin (+2) (Kyle McClellan, Jason Motte) 13. Billy Wagner (Takashi Saito, Peter Moylan) 14. Francisco Cordero (-3) (Arthur Rhodes, Nick Masset) 15.Jon Rauch (Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain) 16. David Aardsma (-5) (Brandon League, Shawn Kelley) 17. Leo Nunez (+1) (Clay Hensley, Brian Sanches) 18. Brian Fuentes (-1) (Fernando Rodney, Kevin Jepsen, Scot Shields) 19.Matt Capps (Tyler Clippard, Drew Storen) 20. Matt Lindstrom (Brandon Lyon, Jeff Fulchino)
Brain Freeze
I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing apples, bananas and Chad Qualls– Wait, he just gave up 12 earned runs and hit LaRoche in the head with a pickoff throw. Brain freeze! Make it stop! Use the following closers at your own risk.
21. Neftali Feliz (+7) (Frank Francisco, Chris Ray) 22. Octavio Dotel (+1) (Evan Meek, Brendan Donnelly, Joel Hanrahan) 23. Manny Corpas (+3) (Rafael Betancourt, Huston Street) 24. Kevin Gregg (-1) (Jason Frasor, Scott Downs) 25. Bobby Jenks (-3) (Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz) 26. Kerry Wood (+2) (Chris Perez, Rafael Perez) 27. Chad Qualls (Aaron Heilman, Juan Gutierrez) 28. Jose Contreras/Brad Lidge (-2) (Danys Baez, Chad Durbin) 29. John Axford (-7) (Trevor Hoffman, Carlos Villanueva, Todd Coffey, LaTroy Hawkins, Polish Sausage Mascot) 30. Will Ohman (Frank Mata, Alfredo Simon, Koji Uehara, Mike Gonzalez, Cal Ripken Jr., Cal Ripken Jr. Jr.)
Inspired by Seattle’s Doug Fister-Adam Moore battery, we’ve compiled a list of pitcher-batter combinations that, at their worst, make us wincingly smile like a corny Jay Leno weddings segment and, at their best, make us laugh like Jay Leno’s audience does at the aforementioned segment.
If you’ve got a got a good one, post it to the comments and we’ll consider adding it to the post (giving you credit). Here are the rules:
Has to be one pitcher and one catcher. No “If Scott Rolen was a catcher, him and Steve Stone would rock!”
Has to include both last names. Incorporating the first name is optional.
A last name can be used only once. Best one wins. So if you want to use one with ‘Moore’, you’ll have to find a better one than Fister (which is already at 11).
Either the pitcher or catcher would be known by someone who has followed baseball since 1980. (no submissions with two players from the deadball era.) Unless it’s really funny…
Current Players
Fister/Moore (Doug Fister + Adam Moore) = The preferred Mariners battery of the Seattle Storm.
Coffey/Teagarden (Todd Coffey + Taylor Teagarden) = Very hospitable to hitters.
Morton/Saltamacchia (Charlie Morton + Jarrod Saltamacchia) = Taste like their fantasy owners’ tears.
Lyon/Treanor (Brandon Lyon + Matt Treanor) = Can handle dangerous situations.
Rzepczynski/Pierzynski (Mark Rzepczynski + A.J. Pierzynski) = Guaranteed will win you the game….of Scrabble (submitted by commenter El Famous Burrito)
Buck/Hunter (John Buck + Tommy Hunter) = Dangerous tandem that will take your head off and mount it when they’re finished (submitted by commented Matt Belanger)
Flores/De La Rosa (Jorge De La Rosa + Jesus Flores) = Seduce umpires to expand their strike zone (submitted by commenter peter)
Soto/Moyer (Geovanny Soto + Jamie Moyer) = Old but still reigning supreme. (submitted by commenter swpayton)
Capps/Zaun (Matt Capps + Gregg Zaun) = THIS DUO MAKES HEADLINES! (submitted by commenter DrEasy)
Current and Historical Players
Manwaring/Colon (Bartolo Colon + Kurt Manwaring) – Smooth operators.
Mlicki/Foote (Dave Mlicki + Barry Foote) – Only Asian batters and A-Rod feel comfortable against this duo.
Daulton/Wade (Cory Wade + Darren Daulton) = The battery to call when your current battery needs to be bounced. How you like that, Brad Wesley?!
Barbee/Kendall (Dave Barbee + Jason Kendall) = Just toys with hitters.
Berra/Wang (Yogi Berra + Chien-Mien Wang) = Look great but expensive.
Ellis/Eiland (Dave Eiland + A.J. Ellis) = Most accommodating tandem to international hitters.
Maddux/Porter (Greg Maddux + Darrell Porter) = Skilled at making batters want to leave the country.
Ausmus/Mel Wright (Mel Wright/Brad Ausmus) – A tandem that would stink and be comfortable with it.
Watson/McCann (Allen Watson/Brian McCann) – By the time you realize they’re in the game, it’s already too late.
May/Flowers (Rudy May/Tyler Flowers) – Much like Teixeira, looks ugly in April. Fine after that.
Wynegar/Duchscherer (Justin Duchscherer + Butch Wynegar) = Perform best when fresh.
Dean/Martin (Dizzy Dean + Russ Martin) = Perform best when drunk.
Street/Walker (Huston Street + baseball pioneer Moses Fleetwood Walker) = Tandem for hire.
Raschi/Johnson (Vic Raschi + Charles Johnson) = Hung out with Street/Walker too much.
Yeager/Baumann (Frank Baumann + Steve Yeager) = Popular among college kids.
Rivera/Coke (Phil Coke + Mike Rivera) = Popular among late ’70s/early ’80s MLB players, the 1986 Mets and Ron Washington (submitted by commenter Awesomus Maximus)
Lloyd/Christmas (Graeme Lloyd + Steve Christmas) = Chance of these two coming together? About a million-to-one. So I’m telling you there’s a chance…
Nomo/McCarver (Hideo Nomo + Tim McCarver) = The battery I wish Fox would honor.
Bill Lee/Grote (Bill Lee + Jerry Grote) = The battery that cursed the Cubs.
Ferrell/Wolf (Rick Ferrell + Randy Wolf) = Dangerously wild
Savage/Lyons (Jack Savage & Barry Lyons) = Dangerously wilder. (submitted by commenter Jif & The Choosy Mothers).
LaRue/O’Day (Darren O’Day+ Jason LaRue) = Managers regret putting this duo in. (submitted by commenter peter)
Gross/Torre (Kevin Gross + Joe Torre) – So instead of applying a foreign substance by using his cap or leg, he would reach down into his _________ for it.
Peavy/Herrmann (Jake Peavy + Ed Herrmann) = Quite the adventure.
Palmer/Gooch (Jim Palmer + Johnny Gooch) = Likes to pick people off at 1st base.
Fingers/Surhoff (Rollie Fingers + BJ Surhoff) = Relieves Palmer/Gooch but removed for Fister/Moore on special occasions.
Good/Servais (Andy Good + Scott Servais) = They’d clean home plate before each batter and leave a mint on top of it (submitted by commenter swpayton)
Forsch/Shaw (Bob Forsch + Al Shaw) = Very trustworthy.
Pagnozzi/Hunter (Tom Pagnozzi + Catfish Hunter) = These two were inglorious basterds.
Wilcox/Estrada (Milt Wilcox + Johnny Estrada) = Best when the CHIPs are down.
Mossi/Valle (Don Mossi + Dave Valle) = Sounds like the results would be pretty until you see them up close.
Leonard/Skinner (Dennis Leonard + Joel Skinner) = Would play for free if signed by the Cardinals, Orioles, Blue Jays, or any team located in Alabama.
Holland/Oates (Al Holland + Johnny Oates) = Watch out other team, they’ll chew you up (submitted by commenter Ana-Jaime)
Gomez/Adams (Mike Adams + Randy Gomez) = Scary duo to face. (submitted by commenter Ana-Jaime)
Richard/Simmons (J.R. Richard + Ted Simmons) = Even scarier duo to face.
Scott/Towles (Mike Scott + Justin Towles) = This multi-generational Astro battery helps if the game gets messy.
Black/Decker (Bud Black + Steve Decker) = When Scott/Towles isn’t enough. (submitted by commenter Jay)
Fabregas/Face (Roy Face + Jorge Fabregas) – Painful to watch.
Heath/Barr (Jim Barr + Mike Heath) = No one’s first selection but better than nothing.
Odom/Alomar (Blue Moon Odom + Sandy Alomar) = They throw junk that Balbonis wax poetically about.
French/Fry (Luke French + Jerry Fry) = Another unsuccessful duo against Balbonis (submitted by commenter Beer Bum).
Lake/Trout (Steve Lake + Steve Trout) = Popular tandem in Baltimore (submitted by commenter royce!)
Eaton/Napoli (Adam Eaton + Mike Napoli) = When this duo comes in, fughettaboutit (submitted by commenter Awesomus Maximus).
Cox/Porter (Danny Cox + Darrell Porter) =Not afraid to throw the high, hard one. Pedro Martinez, Juan Marichal, and Jim Palmer are three notable examples.
Gooden/Snyder (Dwight Gooden + Chris Snyder) = It’s coming right down the middle. (submitted by commenter AZ Bobblehead)
Harden/Long (Rich Harden + Jimmie Long) = Just the type of battery that Pat ‘The Bat’ Burrell would like (submitted by commenter Smell the Glove)
Lilly/White (Ted Lilly + Sammy White) = A battery that Tom Yawkey would’ve loved.
Small/Dickey (Aaron Small + Bill Dickey) = Underwhelming performance.
Gott/Doumit (Jim Gott + Ryan Doumit) = The embodiment of two decades of Pirate performance. (submitted by commenter bostonaccent)
Murphy/Law (Vern Law + Dale Murphy) = Expect anything from balks to catcher interference to grand slams. (submitted by commenter AZ Bobblehead)
Nova/Scoscia (Ivan Nova + Mike Scoscia) = Best tandem to bring in against Tim Salmon.
Buck/Rogers (Kenny Rogers + John Buck) = Pretty good given that baseball didn’t even exist 500 years ago. (submitted by commenter peter)
Hancock/Cummings (Sterling Hancock + Jack Cummings) = Best when not brought in to finish a game prematurely. (submitted by commenter and1mcgee)
Tingley/Pole (Dick Pole + Ron Tingley) = Often precede Hancock/Cummings (submitted by commenter royce!)
Howry/Dooin (Bob Howry + Red Dooin) = Okay if a bit needy (submitted by commenter Bring Back Pluto).
Bando/Wagner (Billy Wagner + Chris Bando) = Good for a playoff stretch run but untrustworthy during the tough times (submitted by commenter Terrence Mann)
Lemon/Partee (Bob Lemon + Roy Partee) = Brian Sabean’s favorite duo. Be glad I didn’t link to the real site. (submitted by Terrence Mann).
Joe Nathan and Huston Street are gone and everyone moved up. That’s why people like Matt Capps and Chris Perez have done little but squat on the john yet moved up the rankings. Though I still managed to find a way to not move up Brian Fuentes. The way we’re going there won’t be any $12 Salads by May. Then what? $8 Side Dishes? Who needs roasted cauliflower with truffle oil? Not me! I’m happy with a baked potato. Yes, sir! Hmm… Maybe I shouldn’t write these right before lunch. Anyway, here’s all of the closers for your fantasy baseball team, as of right now:
$12 Salads
You know that restaurant your girlfriend/wife/what-have-you likes to go to that charges, like, $12 for a salad? Every time you go there, you have a thoroughly solid meal. No complaints, except you just paid $12 for a salad when you could’ve went to McDonald’s and stuffed you and your woman for ten schmools and had $2 in quarters left over to make the hotel bed vibrate. These closers are $12 salads.
1. Jonathan Papelbon (+1) (Hideki Okajima, Daniel Bard) 2. Mariano Rivera (+1) (Alfredo Aceves, David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain) 3. Jonathan Broxton (+1) (George Sherrill, Ramon Troncoso, Hong-Chih Kuo)
Donkeycorns
Imagine you’re following a donkey, who’s wearing a wool cap, through a desert for 1700 miles. Why are you following a donkey? Because he promises you something wonderful and you just need to trust him. Does the donkey talk? Yes. Yes, he does talk. So when you and the donkey in the wool cap arrive at his destination, he removes his the wool cap to reveal a horn. The donkey is a unicorn and his gift to you for your trust is saves. These closers are Donkeycorns.
4. Francisco Rodriguez (+1) (Ryota Igareshi, Jenrry Mejia, Eddie Kunz) 5. Heath Bell (+1) (Mike Adams, Luke Gregerson) 6. Carlos Marmol (+1) (John Grabow, Esmailin Caridad) 7. Joakim Soria (+1) (Juan Cruz, Roman Colon, Kyle Farnsworth) 8. Jose Valverde (+1) (Joel Zumaya, Ryan Perry) 9. David Aardsma (+1) (Mark Lowe, Brandon League) 10. Brian Wilson (+1) (Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Romo) 11. Francisco Cordero (+1) (Arthur Rhodes, Nick Masset, Jared Burton) 12. Rafael Soriano (+2) (Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell) 13. Billy Wagner (+2) (Takashi Saito, Kris Medlen) 14. Ryan Franklin (+4) (Jason Motte, Josh Kinney) 15.Mike Gonzalez (+7) (Jim Johnson, Cla Meredith) 16. Brian Fuentes (Fernando Rodney, Kevin Jepsen, Scot Shields) 17. Frank Francisco (+3) (Darren O’Day, Chris Ray, Neftali Feliz) 18. Octavio Dotel (+1) (Brendan Donnelly, Joel Hanrahan) 19. Leo Nunez (+1) (Dan Meyer, Brian Sanches) 20. Trevor Hoffman (+3) (Todd Coffey, LaTroy Hawkins) 21.Andrew Bailey (-4) (Michael Wuertz, Brad Ziegler, Joey Devine)
Brain Freeze
I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing apples, bananas and Matt Capps– Wait, he just gave up 12 earned runs and hit Zimmerman in the head with a pickoff throw. Brain freeze! Make it stop! Use the following closers at your own risk.
22. Bobby Jenks (+3) (Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz) 23. Chad Qualls (+4) (Juan Gutierrez, Bob Howry) 24. Matt Capps (+2) (Brian Bruney, Tyler Clippard, Mike MacDougal) 25. Jason Frasor (+5) (Kevin Gregg, Scott Downs) 26. Chris Perez (+1) (Rafael Perez, Tony Sipp, Kerry Wood) 27. Jon Rauch/Matt Guerrier (-26) Jose Mijares, Francisco Liriano) 28. Franklin Morales (-15) (Manny Corpas, Rafael Betancourt, Huston Street) 29. Ryan Madson (-4) (Danys Baez, Brad Lidge) 30. Matt Lindstrom/Brandon Lyon (-1) (Sammy Gervacio, Ed Wade’s Toupee)
This week I’ll tackle the National League (Sorry, football season never really ends for me). I know it doesn’t get better than this — let’s party till the ‘rents come home. I don’t know what intrigues me more: relief pitching or if someone is eating ice cream and I don’t know what flavor it is. I digress, but, nonetheless, relief pitching changes from day to day. Who pitches better at night, on the road, on Sunday, on an odd numbered day? More importantly, the NL has managers that are always the leaders in holds for a team. For this reason, make sure to pay attention to the Dodgers, Padres and Cards. This week’s smattering of ‘pens brings up a pretty decent group of hurlers, and now I bring you — without further hubbub — the twenty guys that I see as being the “most bestest” in the land of no DH. The middle relievers for 2010 fantasy baseball:
Nick Massett – Guy has the goods: everything you look for in RP. To name a few: decent control, great K’s, low BA against. My breakout guy for holds.
Todd Coffey – Not a huge K threat, decent peripherals, but when it comes down to it, what’s better than a barrel chested dude sprinting in from the pen?
LaTroy Hawkins – Personally, I’m not a huge fan of this guy. Two capital letters in your first name is just dumb: it’s like cake with no icing. Will be decent for sleeper ‘pen in the “land of hops and ales.”
Sergio Romo - Flame thrower, awesome K/9. Great deep league help for peripheral help. Has future closer potential. Will pitch behind Wilson and in front of…
Jeremy Affeldt – Dual winner of the Arthur Rhodes Trophy last year — minuscule numbers. Should be top 5 in holds again this year.
Pete Moylan - Another year removed from TJ surgery. Pitched great in a reduced role last year. Expect his walk rate to fall.
Takashi Saito – Pitched great in AL last year. Should repeat nicely in front of Wags. Great K, ERA, and WHIP potential.
Pedro Feliciano – Sounds like a singer and pitches like a lefty. Great ratios and a ton of appearances. Great “one and done” guy for the oft-injured Mets. Good source of snipe wins.
Ryoti Igarashi – Great numbers in Japan. Will fool guys with early delivery. Reminds me a lot of Saito. Owns his own “The Igarashi Driving Academy.”
Jason Motte – Blew his chance to close last year. Great stuff — definitely the closer moving forward. The Lou is always top 5 for holds as an organization. Go bet it — $2 bucks on Kryptonite.
Trevor Miller – Guy is a hundred and 12 years old, and gets a 2 yr deal. I want to come back as a lefty reliever. Tiny numbers. Another “LaRussa” go-to guy.
Mike Adams – Great guy for almost all formats. Tiny numbers add up to big help in ERA and WHIP. Awesome across the board — another ‘pen you can rely on.
Luke Gregerson – Snuck up on everyone last year. Great K potential again (93k’s in 75 inn). Yeah, I had to look that up to. Bud’s go-to righty in front of “The Heath Bar.”
George Sherrill – Torre rides success out of the bullpen — he lives by it. Not a lot of K’s, and tends to get sketchy with men on. Great sleeper in deeper formats for 20 holds/ 10 save season.
Hong-Chih Kuo – Awesome down the stretch, great K’s and low ERA. It’s why we all drafted him in the beginning of the year only to drop him and then watch someone else pick him up. Graduate of “Igarashi Driving Academy.”
Ramon Troncoso – Wore down by mid-year, which is what Torre does to young RP. Needs to work on the walks. Win “sniper” if I ever have seen one — think Aceves 2009.
Brian Bruney – Always gets the hype wherever he goes. Has the goods, but needs to keep his wits when pitching. Great stuff — everything required to be a success in the setup for the Senators, uh, Nationals.
Manny Corpas – Another guy that can’t find his role. Closes out games horribly, but sets up great. Needs to stay healthy and the Rocks will benefit.
Juan Gutierrez – Will be closing by A.S break — bank on it. Great K potential. Should be another hold/save contributor. My sleeper pick late in drafts for cheap saves.
Arthur Rhodes – You can’t have a MR discussion without the Godfather. He blows up like Apollonia in the playoffs, but Cincy isn’t invited to those.
Others to consider: John Grabow, Aaron Heilman, Dan Meyer, Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom, Ryan Madson and Danys Baez.
