Closer Monkey

Tag: John Axford

  • Steve Cishek struggles after Edwin Diaz is demoted

    May 17, 2017 Seattle Mariners — Edwin Diaz was demoted from the closer role Tuesday, replaced by a committee that will include Nick Vincent, Tony Zych, newly returned Steve Cishek, and Mark Rzepczynski. Two of those guys – Vincent and Zych – were unavailable for Tuesday night’s game, having pitched both three straight. That left…

  • 2017 AL West Preview

    February 27, 2017 Houston Astros – Ken Giles will certainly hope for a better start to 2017 than he had last year. After losing the closer’s job in spring training, Giles yielded 10 earned runs over 10 innings in April. By mid-August, Giles reclaimed the closer job and never looked back, gathering 14 saves over the final…

  • Trevor Rosenthal throwing gas, nearing return

    September 13, 2016 St. Louis Cardinals — Trevor Rosenthal, who has been injured since July 24, is nearing his return to the Cards’ bullpen. He has reportedly been reaching 100 mph on the radar gun during bullpen sessions, so we would expect him to at least make a case for regaining the closer role for the home…

  • Derek Law goes to the DL and Clay Buchholz could be a key reliever

    August 29, 2016 San Francisco Giants — More bad news for the woebegone Giants over the weekend, as Derek Law, the team’s most effective reliever since the All-Star break, went on the disabled list with a right elbow strain. Law had Tommy John surgery in 2014, but says that an MRI showed only inflammation from scar tissue.…

  • Pedro Strop injures his knee; Ken Giles will go on paternity leave soon

    August 11, 2016 Chicago Cubs — Hector Rondon hasn’t pitched in nine days (sore triceps), but Joe Maddon remains confident that he’ll return soon and avoid the DL. The need became more dire when Pedro Strop left Wednesday’s game with an apparent knee injury, unable to support his own weight. Filling in admirably was 24-year-old C.J. Edwards, who has a…