May 30, 2014
Oakland A’s – With $10 million invested, the A’s really want Jim Johnson to succeed — or at least be a usable reliever. But after giving up 2 runs in the 7th inning of a close game on Thursday afternoon, Johnson’s ERA sits at 6.55. The A’s season is exactly 1/3 over, so we’ve reached the point where a small sample size is no longer an excuse, and with the rest of the bullpen essentially dominating, Johnson is unlikely to sniff a save opportunity again for a long time.
Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Gregerson | Abad.
Houston Astros – One million points to the person who picked up Josh Fields right after he was called up from AAA on May 14. When the one-time closer was sent down, his ERA was an even 12.00. Since returning? 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 13 K. Fields got the win last night, pitching two clean innings before giving way to closer Chad Qualls, who now has an 11.1-inning scoreless streak of his own. Tony Sipp, meanwhile, who was signed off the scrap heap, still has a 0.00 ERA through 9.2 absolutely dominant innings (1 H, 1 BB, 13 Ks). That adds up to a 29 scoreless innings for the top three Astros relievers. What the hell is going on here?
Updated hierarchy: Qualls | Sipp | Fields.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jason Frasor, Texas Rangers – Joakim Soria has pitched in three straight.
2. Joba Chamberlain, Detroit Tigers – Joe Nathan has pitched in three straight.
