Closer Monkey

Tag: Joel Peralta

  • Brandon Lyon re-establishing himself; Fernando Rodney struggling

    May 17, 2013 Detroit Tigers – After taking the loss on Wednesday, Al Alburquerque was sent to the minors to work on his control.  With 26 Ks in 14.1 innings, Alburquerque has electric stuff, but he’d walked 13 batters and thrown six wild pitches, good to lead the majors (which is hard to do as…

  • Kenley Jansen closes for the Dodgers; John Axford is still lousy

    May 15, 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers — After 132 pitches got Clayton Kershaw only 26 outs, Don Mattingly turned to Kenley Jansen, not Brandon League, to finish off the 2-0 win. Although Mattingly recently declared League his closer “for now,” that tepid reassurance apparently came with an expiration date. The Dodger relievers might swap roles over the next few…

  • A new closer every day in Boston

    May 7, 2013 Boston Red Sox — Joel Hanrahan’s ignoble return to the Boston bullpen lasted for precisely four batters, one of whom tapped him for a game-tying home run. To add injury to insult (and injury), Hanrahan left shortly thereafter with “right forearm tightness.” We believe Junichi Tazawa has a slight edge over Koji Uehara, but either…

  • Jim Henderson blows second straight, 23rd for Brewers bullpen overall

    August 16, 2012 Boston Red Sox – Before Vicente Padilla hit the DL, Andrew Miller was often the man who was summoned just ahead of him, as Bobby Valentine counted on the hard-throwing lefty to get key outs late in the game.  But oddly, that’s changed over the past week, as Miller’s last three appearances…

  • James Russell, Shawn Camp to share closer role in Chicago

    May 28, 2012 Los Angeles Angels – The Angels continue to employ a true platoon, with Scott Downs picking up the save last night against a lefty-heavy top of the lineup for the Mariners.  ”Right now, we’re going to just slot them in when they have a chance to get outs,” Mike Scioscia said to the…