Closer Monkey

Category: Pittsburgh Pirates

  • Weekly Hot Seat Update: May 15, 2015

    Hot Seat quick hits: Mark Melancon, Pittsburgh Pirates Most disturbing stats? — 41% decrease in K/9 from 2014; 69% increase in BB/9 from 2014; 2015 FIP and ERA each higher than his 2013 and 2014 versions combined. Harbinger of doom? — Melancon has made 16 appearances in 32 games, including the first two back-to-back-to-back save chances of his career. How’s his velocity? — Down 3.3 MPH on…

  • 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…