The bullpen upheaval has begun in earnest. If you need saves you’re about to get your chance to bid for some. The NFL draft also starts tonight, so I went with NFL movie themed tiers.
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- Mike Scioscia’s spirit must be haunting the hallways of Angel stadium. Brad Ausmus tried to get twelve outs from Ty Buttrey but he only had 11 in him and gave up a run and the lead to New York. Hansel Robles, who hadn’t pitched the day before, was called on for the last out of the loss. I’m more confused about the LA situation than ever.
- Mychal Givens notched an honest to goodness save Wednesday. A six-outer, to boot! Maybe that means manager Brandon Hyde is starting to realize that Givens his only real fit for the ninth.
- Ryan Brasier has grabbed the upside to the Boston closer Schwartz. He’s viewed as the more straight-line ninth inning guy, while Matt Barnes has more value as a fireman.
- Baseball is weird. Shane Greene has eleven saves and two earned runs. He’s the second best closer in baseball on one of it’s worst teams.
- With David Robertson on the IL the Phillies have been turning to Hector Neris mainly. That’s shocking for Gabe Kapler. When Neris has his split-piece working it’s nasty, though. We can back the Kapler meddling threat level to yellow for now.
- Both Jose Alvarado and Diego Castillo needed some well-deserved rest this week. Kevin Cash turned to Emilio Pagan for back to back saves. Pagan was cast off by Oakland after they traded for him and didn’t get the reliable reliever they expected. Their loss could be Tampa’s gain.
The Replacements
Has a sports movie done more with less? Gene Hackman nails Coach Jimmy McGinty. Keenu Reeves dusts of his Johnny Utah notes. Brooke Langton is endearing as the love interest. Despite the corny levels of comedic relief, the movie still shines. It’s a dependable rewatch ten times out of ten.
- Edwin Diaz (Jeurys Familia)
- Kirby Yates (Craig Stammen)
- Blake Treinen (Fernando Rodney, Lou Trivino)
- Felipe Vazquez (Keone Kela, Richard Rodriguez)
- Roberto Osuna (Ryan Pressly, Hector Rondon)
- Kenley Jansen (Joe Kelly, Pedro Baez)
- Brad Hand (Adam Cimber)
- Josh Hader (Jeremy Jeffress)
Varsity Blues
It loses some luster upon rewatch, but you’d be lying if you said your adolescent self wasn’t geeked for the whipped cream bikini. I wish I could give it ten, but these days it’s more of a 7.5.
- Aroldis Chapman (Adam Ottavino / Zach Britton)
- Sean Doolittle (Kyle Barraclough, Trevor Rosenthal)
- Will Smith (Mark Melancon, Tony Watson)
- Jose Leclerc (Shawn Kelley)
- Jose Alvarado (Diego Castillo)
- Shane Greene (Joe Jimenez)
- Jordan Hicks (Andrew Miller)
- Wade Davis (Seung-Hwan Oh, Scott Oberg)
- Ken Giles (Joe Biagini, IL: Ryan Tepera)
The Program
The acting is bad, the plot is cliche, and the deleted scene of laying on the highway resulted in at least one copycat death. It still hit alarmingly close to the mark of what goes on in college athletics. Dismiss it at your own peril.
- Ryan Brasier / Matt Barnes (Tyler Thornburg)
- Alex Colome (Kelvin Herrera, Nate Jones)
- A.J. Minter (Chad Sobotka)
- Raisel Iglesias (Jared Hughes, David Hernandez)
- Blake Parker / Taylor Rogers (Trevor May)
- Anthony Swarzak / Roenis Elias
- Greg Holland (Archie Bradley, Yoshihisa Hirano)
- Pedro Strop (Steve Cishek / IL: Brandon Morrow)
The Longest Yard (2005)
Having a cast of names doesn’t necessarily equal a quality product. This is vintage Adam Sandler giving zero damns about what the final product is. There’s money to be made, so he makes it.
- Hector Neris / Seranthony Dominguez / Pat Neshak
- Ty Buttrey / Hansel Robles / Cody Allen
- Ian Kennedy / Wily Peralta / Brad Boxberger
- Drew Steckenrider / Sergio Romo / Adam Conley
- Mychal Givens / Paul Fry / Richard Bleier
