June 23, 2014
Seattle Mariners – Though he spent part of 2013 as the closer, Danny Farquhar didn’t appear to be the backup to Fernando Rodney — he often pitched the 7th inning, and has only accumulated 6 holds. But on Sunday, it was Farquhar who was the closer du jour with Rodney unavailable. As it turned out, Rodney insisted he was fine despite pitching in three straight, so Farquhar finished off the 8th and Rodney picked up the save in the 9th, but we now know that despite his weird usage, Farquhar is the handcuff in Seattle.
Updated hierarchy: Rodney | Farquhar | Medina.
Minnesota Twins – With Glen Perkins unavailable, Jared Burton picked up his first save of the season on Sunday. It appears that with his blown save earlier this week, Casey Fien (who pitched the 8th ahead of Burton on Sunday) lost his chance to be Perkins’s backup, despite having a far better ERA than Burton.
Updated hierarchy: Perkins | Burton | Fien.
Tampa Bay Rays – It seems pretty common for managers to declare “Committee!” after their stopper proves ineffective, but Joe Maddon is actually following through on it. There have been four saves since Grant Balfour lost his full time job, and Balfour, Juan Carlos Oviedo, Jake McGee, and Joel Peralta have all gotten one of them. (Peralta picked his up on Sunday.) We still like McGee the best of the four, but it may take some time for someone to distinguish themselves.
Hierarchy remains: McGee | Balfour | Peralta.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Danny Farquhar, Seattle Mariners – Fernando Rodney has pitched in four straight.
2. Brian Wilson, Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen has pitched in three straight.
3. Jason Motte, St. Louis Cardinals – Trevor Rosenthal has pitched in three straight.
4. Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals – Rafael Soriano has pitched in three straight.
5. Edward Mujica/Andrew Miller, Boston Red Sox – Koji Uehara has appeared in two straight, including a 2-inning effort last night.