Closer Monkey

Tag: David Hernandez

  • Brad Ziegler at the head of a crowded Arizona committee picture

    May 16, 2015 Arizona Diamondbacks — We warned you in Thursday night’s Hot Seat column that Addison Reed was in grave danger of losing his job; not 15 hours later, he was relegated to the fabled “low-pressure role,” to deal with his (mechanical) issues and get more “regular work.” Skipper Chip Hale mentioned Brad Ziegler by name as a potential…

  • 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…

  • 2014 NL West bullpen preview

    March 7, 2014 Arizona Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks picked up Addison Reed in the offseason, but in a somewhat surprising move, have not handed him the closer gig.  GM Kevin Towers said in February that the closer role will be a competition between Reed and J.J. Putz, a statement backed up by Kirk Gibson yesterday.…

  • Josh Fields is officially Houston’s closer, for whatever that’s worth

    September 17, 2013 Arizona Diamondbacks — David Hernandez and Brad Ziegler ably finished Monday night’s one-run win over the Dodgers, but lurking in the background is the newly healthy J.J. Putz. Kirk Gibson intends to use him in very brief outings at first, but if, as we suspect, the D-Backs intend to use him as their closer next year,…

  • Josh Zeid, David Hernandez rising

    September 12, 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates – Kyle Farnsworth picked up his first save of the season on Wednesday, on a night when Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli were unavailable.  Farnsworth would have been far from our first choice, as the 37-year-old righty was out of a job just a few weeks ago.  But his usage…