Bullpen Report: Giant Relief Problems

June 30, 2017 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 30 Comments

Just when the ship couldn’t sink any lower, the Giants lost their closer for the second time this year. When it happens once, sure… twice? I have my doubts. Mark Melancon hit the DL with more arm ailments and received a PRP injection in his arm. No, a PRP injection isn’t something that you search for on your go-to-p0rn site of choice. It is never a good thing, especially for a scuffling team like the Giants. They have already had attempts at the closer with Derek law, Hunter Strickland/ and now re-tread candidate Sam Dyson is thrown into the fray. I mean, I am no Nostradamus here, but it doesn’t look good. It’s almost like that 2:00 AM special when you stare across the bar and try to decide if it’s better then going home alone and revisiting that PRP search on that website of choice. We saw earlier this year that Dyson is not to be trusted, granted that saves are saves are saves, but at what cost? An inflated ERA and 1-2 save chances a week… maybe. Hunter Strickland got the first save, but only because Dyson was plucked from the bullpen in 4-of-the-last-5. For a team that struggles to score runs, can’t keep the ball in the yard from a starting pitcher standpoint, and a bullpen with tons of failed attempts at a closer, the benefit just isn’t there. So if you must, the order as of right now is: Dyson, Strickland, then Kontos. But for a team with only 16 saves to show on the season, the chase is more exciting than the ownership. Enough about the city of Rice-A-Roni, and onto the week in Holds and such!

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Bullpen Report: Just The Stats Ma’am

May 5, 2017 | Middle Relievers | 24 Comments

by: Smokey

The biggest question I get regarding the Hold stat is: “How long should I hold onto a stud holds reliever if he isn’t getting the precious stat?” Well, the stat is fluctuation between the sublime and the superfluous. It is usually as explainable as binary calculus. Take, for example, the story of the San Francisco Giants bullpen. They have all the right pieces there to be a successful bullpen. A stud closer and an excellent mix of RH and LH set-up men. Now look closer at the stats. Hunter Strickland is by all intents and purposes the 8th inning guy. He has 12 appearances, 11 of which have come in the 8th inning or later in ball games. He checks every other box for stats, low ERA, K/9 right about where you want it, but the inevitable stat faux pas is he has zero holds. On a team that only has 9 holds collectively, what is going wrong? He isn’t doing anything wrong, he isn’t vexed by a succubus or anything bad. hell I bet he helps old ladies cross the street and then steals their groceries. The simple answer is that the hold stat is an ever flowing team driven ideal. Doesn’t mean I hate it, one bit. i love the secondary save. It just comes out of the blue sometimes and people who sometime deserve to be the beneficiary aren’t that’s all. Hunter will finish the year with his share, but right now in holds leagues he is almost unownable. So look elsewhere for good match-ups, good form in pitching, and the ever important stat with relievers is when did they pitch last. That is the best determinant in acquiring a waiver wire darling. If he pitched yesterday, odds are he won’t today. Be smart as picking reliever for holds is a dumb game, don’t over-think it. Here are some other deets, in the game of set-up…

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Bullpen Report: Hold On For One More Day

February 8, 2017 | Closers, Middle Relievers, SAGNOF | 43 Comments

by: Smokey

Some day somebody’s gonna make you want to turn around and say goodbye. Until then baby, are you going to let them hold you down and make you cry? Don’t you know? Don’t you know things can change, things’ll go your way, if you hold on for one more day.

That music of genius was brought on by a smooth impromptu karaoke session in a West Boston saloon. It was me and Ralph and a girl who was paid by the dollar to talk to us about her kid. It’s all a true story. Fun times were had, and at the time I didn’t realize how correlative the song was back then to this particular stat category and one that is by far my favorite to talk about. Funny, it only took a Wilson Phillips song on the drive home from work to reminisce about Boston, Ralph, and relief pitching. I love the stat, not everyone uses it, but I still love it nonetheless. If your leagues uses it, cool, well I will be your every other week destination for giving you the low-down on the hold situations going across the MLB. So get comfy, with a week to go until Spring Training starts, and the full extent of the 2017 season yet to play. You will get sick of me, in say… 30 weeks. So get comfy on your favorite porcelain fantasy reading chair and welcome to a brand new year!

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Bullpen Report: Getting Late Early

September 24, 2016 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 8 Comments

by: Smokey

With the season winding down and most H2H leagues in full-on go mode, this week’s holds post will be the last one of the year. I know, so sad, right? It has been a 25-week journey into the pits and pendulums that are fantasy bullpens. But with the conclusion, it is always good to look ahead to next year for everyone in keeper, dynasty or just anyone looking to get a jump on next year now. I mean, I never stop really doing bullpen research all year, I drink one can of beer at a time and then look to the bottom of the can to see if the answer or answers are printed on the bottom. Alas, I haven’t found one yet, but that won’t stop me from trying again and again in my ever search for bullpen enlightenment. Things to look for late in the year for future bullpen potential; high leverage usage, a great success with stranded runners and a great situational involvement in that teams bullpen moving forward. Just a P.S., those are the things I give you with every bullpen piece in my helpful chart. Yes that last one is tough because we never know who will be traded and add or subtract value from another, but great bullpen arms on one team with potential for holds, saves and just overall decent fantasy return are very rarely ever traded and don’t return to same spot with new team. So put your feet up, I have 10 more beers left before this post is done…

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Bullpen Report: Maximizing Bullpen Arms

September 10, 2016 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 13 Comments

by: Smokey

As the season draws nigh, and it comes to the point in the season when we here at Razzball use words like nigh, verisimilitude, or even rancorous. Don’t ask me what the meaning is, because I could barely spell them without my handy speak and spell. The whole gist of this discussion is to basically look at our roster and think diversification. Look at the bullpen pieces that currently occupy one or several of your pitcher spots. I say this because we all want counting stats at all times, and in a manner… this is why come the end of the year, it is very sexy to have guys who have multiple pitching eligibility for the off chance your don’t have a starter going in a spot or on an innings limit. These fellas help out in K’s, rates, vulture wins, and since we are here for the holds, they do them too. Listen, this isn’t a new thing or a crazy theory that I concocted in my basement after painting too man model airplanes. Though, the thought process after that is kinda cloudy and sorta fun? So here is a rundown of the guys with some dual eligibility late in the fame to aide in your fantasy quest. Cheers!

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Bullpen Report: Hector Holding Down Philly

August 27, 2016 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 24 Comments

by: Smokey

If history teaches us anything about fantasy baseball, it’s that the proof is in the pudding. If history actually teaches us anything, it’s that Brad Pitt killed Hektor. See what I did there, I pulled the ole okie doke. It’s a favorable trick passed down through the years of dudes who vape and like to talk about how a dime won’t even buy a nickle anymore. Those first few sentences are brought to you by filth and non-sense, because life isn’t fitting if there isn’t filthy or nonsensical. So onto Holds, which about six actual readers, and one of the female variety still get all excited about. The title says it all this week for the lede, Hector Neris has been carried in most formats all year because he brings some fantasy goodness to the table. As a handcuff, there’s no way he can do it for the whole year, even with Jeanmar, or the fact that he has sexy enough reliever numbers, 11-plus K-rate, under 3 ERA. I could go on and on and bore the crap out of you, but let’s just put it this way: he has 27 Holds behind a closer that has 34 saves for a surprise bullpen asset in the Phillies. So in the last two weeks with the Phil’s getting there fair share of victories he has been an augmenter to your hold total notching a league high 5 holds. He is a key cog down the stretch for not only the Phils , but for your fantasy team regardless of format. So go take a look, just in case the late year shuffle has thrown him by the wayside. After you do that follow the bottom for some Holds, set-up and other relief goodies…

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Bullpen Report: Everyone Do The Bullpen Shuffle

August 13, 2016 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 12 Comments

by: Smokey

The holds leaderboard has been basically demolished as guys have switched roles. Three out of the top-10 holds guys (Bettances, Herrera, and Watson) currently are holding down the closer roles for their respective teams. Add in two more from the top-20 (Andrew Miller and Ken Giles) and you can see that 20% of the entire holds leaders are double dipping in stats. Not always a bad thing, but when you are counting on one stat from a guy and then it switches to another, it detracts from the previous. Have no fear, because the bullpen aficionado is here to steer you through the muck and mire that is the bullpen shuffle. So for this week, we are going to look at guys who aren’t in a closing role. I have taken current closers out of the equation for the chart, because this is a holds piece and we don’t want “their kind” infiltrating the holds stuff. So be active on the waiver wire as we come down to the end of the season, there should be no commitment in the relief game.

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Bullpen Report, Week 16: Buju Blanton

July 23, 2016 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 20 Comments

by: Smokey

Shaba Antone in the know knows that I am all about Jamaica. Love to visit the place. I also have several friends that reside on the isle and like to partake in the national festivity of… well, you know, don’t make me say. The Dodger pen has been a flux of capacitors all year, and I think at some point I’ll bet a sixer on the leading hold leader from them being someone who may have contracted a melanoma. Enter Joe Blanton. The resurrection project of all resurrection projects. Not only has he flourished in the role of set-up to the stars, but he doesn’t seem to have any competition to say the opposite. In his last 30 days, minus a week off for the All-Star break, he has a one-off the pace total of 7 holds, a K/9 rate of above average, and an ERA of two bills. All this for a team that has lacked stability setting up the dude who sounds like someone you would rent a kickboard from in Jamaica. Now, he isn’t the only reason for the Dodgers having a top-5 bullpen ERA in the last 30 days, but he isn’t not-not the problem. He is someone you may need to own though, add in the fact that in some leagues, I have SP eligibility, and he looks even sexier. So now that we have got the lede out the way, let’s get to the milk and cookies of the bullpen report.

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Bullpen Report, Week 12 – We’ve Got Bush

June 25, 2016 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 25 Comments

by: Smokey

Whatever your cultivation of choice may be, go with it. Oscar Gamble was, and is still a pimp in social culture, as is California sensemilia. So whatever your subset of life is, that’s cool with me. My obsession is a little of column A, a lot of column B, and I incorporate column C. Column C being my love and passion for the deliverance of the most finite bullpen jargon on the web. Go look, there isn’t anything better than me. I checked, if I added a pretty colorful chart with catchy funny names, then I would literally have to kick my own ass. So here we sit, and look at what the Rangers are doing. They have been doing, in the last 30 days what the Cubs did over the first 30. They are, in no large part, being buoyed by a stout bullpen. Their starters are all hitting the DL and fast. The trio of Matt Bush, Jake Diekman, and Sam Dyson are about as tight as a bullpen can get, and the best group I have seen since the Isley Brothers concert Prospector Ralph and I went to see. I have talked about Dyson and Diekman on separate occasions this year. So no, it’s the one without voting privileges turn. Bush has basically been a la machina since promotion on May 12th. He has appeared in 13 games for the Rangers to date, and his usage has only recently spiked having pitched in 13 of the last 22 overall for the Rangers. His 10-plus K-rate over that time is coupled with an ERA under a buck and his xFIP is basically what David Phelps is giving you. Who, in most hold leagues right now, is pretty much a must own and isn’t a guy you yawn at in mixed company leagues either. Bush is a feel good story that I think can continue as long as the Rangers can duct tape their starting rotation together long enough to maintain their AL West dominance. He should be rostered in most leagues going forward for his usage potential as the remaining Rangers starters, minus Cole Hamels, average less than 6 innings per start. So head for the mountains and roster some Bush. Stick with me for some other diatribes of greatness…

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Bullpen Report, Week 2 – Early Usage, Builds Trends

April 15, 2016 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 61 Comments

by: Smokey

As much as I love publishing and giving you the “haps” on the closer ranks, I love the depth that a bullpen can give you and how it can affect your roster. It is way to early to look into my Grafix crystal ball and say this guy and that one will be the crowned prince of the hold this year… to some degree. Early usage and situations prove a lot. Yes, injuries happen, and ineffective spells happen, and sometimes trades happen, but if you were good enough to make the team out of Spring, then usually you are good enough to make yourself an established piece of the bullpen. The top names are still the top names. The cream either rises to the top or it rules everything around me, both perspectives are interesting because how can you not believe the Wu or old school rhetoric. So with the first bullpen piece of the year, we will cover all the same things you are accustomed to from last year as I get more in-depth than anyone else when it comes to holds. Some don’t care or are on the fence, as if it’s a completely comical or made up stat. It is no more made up then saves, because that is exactly what it is, just before the save… so it is basically a pre-save. Either way, I care and will give you some early trends to look at and some names to go with it. Trends rule everything around bullpens or TREAB, dolla dolla bill y’all.

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2016 Team Previews: Colorado Rockies

March 12, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Team Previews | 8 Comments

by: M@

Welcome to the 2016 Razzball Team Previews! You’ll find everything you need to know about each team to get yourself ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season. And I mean everything, folks. We’ve got line-ups, charts, Slurpees, lube, a guide for beginner electricians, and even a cactus! Well, that’s a lie. That’s what Jay had last year sitting in front of him. This year? Um…a little less lube? Take that as you will. But hey, we’ve got teams to preview and questions to ask, so let’s hop to it. We a very special guest for this post…Bryan Kilpatrick, to provide his take on what the team has in store this season. Now enough rambling, let’s see what 2016 holds for the Colorado Rockies!

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Bullpen Report, Week 22: Go Go Power Rangers

September 3, 2015 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 12 Comments

by: Smokey

It’s telling over a period of time, taken into account the teams success rate naturally, how well their bullpen is performing. Take a look at the Texas Rangers over the last 30 days. They are a 19-10 and steaming toward playoff relevance… maybe. During that time they had 17 save/hold situations. Those of you that can’t count well, that is a lot. Leading the charge for them has been bullpen recall and future closer dubbed by me Keone Kela, who over that same 30 day period is contributing a hold basically every third game with 8. As a team, they have 28 team holds which is more than the White Sox, Orioles, Phillies, Athletics and Mets… combined. So basically they are the Costco of holds for those who like to buy in bulk. Kela isn’t alone in his fantasy hold-em, Sam Dyson has kicked in 7, Jake Diekman 6 and Sam Freeman with 4. The best part of this whole thing is that the latter three guys were not on the roster to start the year. I love that kind of stuff, that’s like wearing matching t-shirts with your friends whether it be on purpose or not. Awesomely awkward. Stick it here for some more bullpen tidbits and a fancy chart with gadgets and numbers that show an order. Cheers!

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