Will Koji Uehara be shut down?

August 26, 2014

Boston Red Sox — Koji Uehara entered the ninth with a 3-0 lead and a bases loaded jam from which to escape, but exited having blown his fourth save of the year. After the Sox regained the lead in the 10th, Craig Breslow came on for his first save of the season. Following the game, manager John Farrell was asked about the possibility of shutting Koji down. He said they haven’t considered it yet, but that may change as the Sox enter September in last place.

Hierarchy remains: Uehara | Mujica | Tazawa.

Oakland A’s – The A’s had just a 3-2 lead entering the ninth and Eric O’Flaherty was warming for his first save chance since Sean Doolittle landed on the DL. However, Oakland scored five runs in the top half of the final frame and O’Flaherty recorded the final three outs in a non-save setting. Melvin mentioned in his postgame comments that he didn’t want to get O’Flaherty warmed up and not use him. He’s still at the top of our hierarchy, but we’ll see if Melvin gets another committee member some ninth-inning reps.

Hierarchy remains: O’Flaherty | Cook | Gregerson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Adam Ottavino, Colorado Rockies – LaTroy Hawkins has pitched in three straight games.
2. Ken Giles, Philadelphia Phillies – Jonathan Papelbon has pitched in three of the last four games, throwing 49 pitches in the process.
3. Neal Cotts, Texas Rangers – Neftali Feliz has hurled 17 pitches in each of the last two contests.

Handicapping the A’s bullpen with Sean Doolittle on the DL

August 25, 2014

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle has been placed on the DL with an intercostal strain. Luke Gregerson was expected to see the majority of save chances, but before Sunday’s game, Bob Melvin said that Gregerson would stay in the eighth inning while Dan Otero, Ryan Cook, and Eric O’Flaherty share save chances. It’s an odd decision, since Gregerson closed earlier this year and has pitched the 8th ever since, but it’s all we’ve got to go on for now, so we’ll do our best to handicap things based on the one-game sample size that we’ve got. On Sunday game, Otero pitched in the 7th inning with the A’s down by nine runs, while Cook pitched the 9th and O’Flaherty was idle. The fact that O’Flaherty didn’t pitch, combined with this strong endorsement from A’s beat writer Susan Slusser, means that O’Flaherty starts at the top of the committee for now. We’ll slot Cook in afterwards, since he’s got the past closer experience, and follow him with Gregerson, mostly because we’re stubborn and still think he’s the guy for the job. And despite his usage yesterday, Otero is in the mix as well.

Updated hierarchy: O’Flaherty | Cook | Gregerson.

Tampa Bay Rays – After Jake McGee pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th inning for the Rays, Brad Boxberger picked up the save after the Rays took the lead in the 10th. We said a little while back that McGee was getting 86% of the Rays save chances — that still seems about right.

Hierarchy remains: McGee | Boxberger | Peralta.

Cincinnati Reds – The Reds entered the 9th inning on Sunday with a four-run lead, but Logan Ondrusek couldn’t quite close the door and allowed two runs to score before Jonathan Broxton came in to get the last out. Broxton picked up his 5th save of the season and remains the handcuff for Aroldis Chapman, who got the day off.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Broxton | Diaz.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Dellin Betances, New York Yankees – David Robertson has pitched in three straight.
2. Adam Ottavino, Colorado Rockies – LaTroy Hawkins has pitched in back to back games.

Doolittle to DL, committee to close for now

August 24, 2014

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle has been placed on the DL with an intercostal strain.  Luke Gregerson was expected to see the majority of save chances, but before Sunday’s game, Bob Melvin said that Gregerson would stay in the eighth inning while Dan Otero, Ryan Cook, and Eric O’Flaherty share save chances. It’s an odd decision, since Gregerson closed earlier this year and has pitched the 8th ever since, but we’ll trust he’s telling the truth until we see otherwise.

Updated hierarchy: Cook | Otero | Gregerson.

Doolittle records painful save, Nathan continues to give up runs

August 24, 2014

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle recorded his 20th save of the season last night, but he may have injured himself in the process.  Doolittle grimaced in pain after making the throw to first to end the game.  The trainers did tests on him after the game and he was optimistic after he was able to complete the tests.  It doesn’t sound like it will be serious but it will be something to monitor, and if Doolittle does miss any time, Luke Gregerson should take over as closer.

Hierarchy remains: Doolittle | Gregerson | Cook.

Detroit Tigers — Joe Nathan gave up another run in a save situation but was still able to pick up his 27th save of the season.  Nathan has converted his last three save chances, but he has also given up a run in each of those appearances.  Joakim Soria is eligible to come off the DL tomorrow and his return will give the Tigers another option if Nathan continues to struggle.

Hierarchy remains: Nathan | Chamberlain | Alburquerque.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jonathan Broxton, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman has thrown 64 pitches over the past three days.
2. Luke Gregerson, Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle has pitched in two games in a row and could also be unavailable after he experienced some soreness at the end of the game yesterday.

Uehara has worst outing of career, Qualls returns

August 23, 2014

Boston Red Sox — Koji Uehara had the worst relief outing of his career last night.  He gave up 5 runs, all with two outs, and blew his third save of the season.  Uehara has given up at least one run in three straight appearances, after giving up zero runs in his previous thirteen outings.

Hierarchy remains: Uehara | Mujica | Tazawa.

Houston Astros — Chad Qualls was back on the mound Friday night, pitching a scoreless 9th to finish off an Astros win.  He appears to be over the tightness in his lower back that kept him from pitching on Wednesday and Thursday.

Hierarchy remains: Qualls | Fields | Sipp.

Philadelphia Phillies — Jake Diekman got the last two outs of the 7th inning last night, protecting a one run lead.  Diekman picked up his 15th hold of the season, and it was his second straight appearance pitching the 7th inning ahead of Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon.  Antonio Bastardo, on the other hand, has taken the loss in three of his last four appearances.  Diekman should continue to see time in the later innings for the Phillies.

Updated hierarchy: Papelbon | Giles | Diekman.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Junichi Tazawa, Boston Red Sox – Koji Uehara threw 38 pitches last night and Edward Mujica has pitched in three straight
2. Jonathan Broxton, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman has pitched in two straight, including a 2 inning, 36 pitch appearance last night.
3. Kevin Quackenbush, San Diego Padres – Quackenbush could get the call if Benoit is still unavailable on Saturday.