Closer Monkey

Tag: Jason Motte

  • Jim Johnson adds a seventh blown save to his league-leading total

    July 8, 2017 Atlanta Braves — Arodys Vizcaino’s injury came at a bad time for the Braves. In danger of completely falling out of contention, the team has no obvious backup plan to replace Jim Johnson and his league-leading seven blown saves, and it faces decreasing returns if it seeks to move the veteran before the…

  • Bud Norris is restoring order to the Angels’ bullpen

    July 6, 2017 Los Angeles Angels — Miracle of miracles, the Angels actually had a low-drama save, courtesy of Bud Norris. One more and we jettison the asterisk. Meanwhile, Huston Street’s twingy groin will put him back on the disabled list until the season restarts on July 14. Hierarchy remains: *Norris | Hernandez | Bedrosian.…

  • 2017 NL West Preview

    March 1, 2017 Arizona Diamondbacks — With swole shoulders and an ever-crooked hat, the Fernando Rodney Experience moves on to its fifth team since 2015. The 40-year-old Rodney was signed to a one-year deal, suggesting that the Diamondbacks hope to deal Rodney like the Padres did last June, turning the closer’s uber-fluky .210 BABIP and 1306(!!!) ERA+ into a…

  • Santiago Casilla is still the closer in San Francisco…for now

    September 9, 2016 San Francisco Giants – The Giants were off Thursday, but that didn’t stop some beat writers from writing off closer Santiago Casilla, who has struggled recently. While he’s certainly on the hot seat, there’s still no word on whether he’s off the job. Sergio Romo or even Joe Nathan would be candidates to…

  • Jeurys Familia blows his first (regular-season) save in a year

    July 28, 2016 New York Mets — Pour one out for Jeurys Familia’s 52-game regular-season save streak, the third-longest in MLB history (behind Tom Gordon and Eric Gagne). Familia’s streak is survived by Zach Britton’s 34-game regular-season save streak, Tony Wolters’s five-game hitting streak, and Vin Scully’s 67-year streak of being awesome. Hierarchy remains: Familia |…