Year: 2015

  • Yimi Garcia and A.J. Ramos excelling; complications for Bobby Parnell

    April 25, 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers — With 16 strikeouts in nine appearances, rookie Yimi Garcia has been the best pitcher in the Dodgers’ bullpen this season. On Friday night, he finally got a shot at closing — and he mowed down the Padres with two strikeouts and a foul pop. Don Mattingly isn’t ready to abandon the committee system, but Garcia will surely…

  • Weekly Hot Seat Update: April 24, 2015

    This week, we’ll spotlight the Pirates and check in on the four committees on our depth chart. Pittsburgh Pirates We’ve already written a lot about Mark Melancon’s velocity. Now, we’ll look at the arms behind him. But before we dive in, let’s state one thing up front so the rest of this section doesn’t get…

  • Joe Nathan out for year; Mark Melancon picks up save despite continued low velocity

    April 24, 2015 Detroit Tigers – Former closer Joe Nathan, the active leader in saves and the second-oldest player in the AL, is out for the season with a torn UCL in his pitching elbow. Nathan suffered the injury on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday morning. Although Nathan will require a second Tommy John surgery, he insists…

  • Joe Nathan suffers setback Wednesday

    April 23, 2015 Detroit Tigers – The big league club got blown out, but the real story was with the Toledo Mud Hens. Joe Nathan was pulled from his rehab assignment after re-injuring his throwing arm. This is bad news for Nathan owners, but good news for Soria owners, as Soria seems locked in to the…

  • Mark Melancon’s woes continue; Joe Nathan nears return

    April 22, 2015 Pittsburgh Pirates – Mark Melancon had another rough outing on Tuesday in what has been a less than stellar year for the Pirates closer. His velocity has been down all season and his ERA moved to 8.53 after he allowed three runs on Tuesday. Melancon doesn’t “pay attention” to the drop in his fastball and…