Tommy Hunter could lose his job; Mets and A’s closing by committee

May 14, 2014

Baltimore Orioles — After an overturned call on a Rajai Davis steal, Tommy Hunter blew his second straight save and boasts a 21.60 ERA over his last four appearances. Hunter has allowed 29 baserunners in his 15 IP so far this year, and the cries to replace him are getting louder. Buck Showalter is speaking in generalities thus far: “You’re alert to it, you keep an eye on it. And if there’s some adjustments that need to be made, we’ll make them . . . we’ll constantly see what gives us the best option to pitch nine innings and be competitive and continue to be in first place. And that’s what we’ll do.” Here’s a link to his postgame news conference.

Tommy Hunter to Hot Seat. Hierarchy remains: Hunter | Britton | O’Day.

New York Mets — If you woke up this morning wishing for another ill-defined closer committee, you owe Terry Collins a thank-you note. Kyle Farnsworth is the putative head of a motley crew that also includes Jose Valverde, Jeurys Familia, and Daisuke Matsuzaka — although Dice-K’s 3.2 IP on Tuesday are likely to keep him on the sidelines for a few days. Jenrry Mejia is not yet a candidate to close, according to Collins, but his “swing-and-miss stuff” could change that quickly going forward. As committees go, this one is more Aging than Intelligence.

Hierarchy remains: Farnsworth | Familia | Mejia.

Oakland A’s — Bob Melvin renewed Oakland’s commitment to a closer committee on Tuesday, noting that Sean Doolittle’s value with men on base can sometimes keep him from finishing close games. That acknowledgment suggests to us that Johnson still has a slight edge in the saves race going forward, but it’s anything but a full-throated endorsement.

Hierarchy remains: Johnson |  Doolittle | Gregerson.

New York Yankees — Shawn Kelley was placed on the DL with a lower back injury, retroactive to May 7; this will force Joe Girardi to lean on Adam Warren and Dellin Betances even more.

Hierarchy change: Robertson | Warren | Betances.

Chicago White Sox — Hope you didn’t run out and buy that Frank Francisco White Sox jersey. In his second appearance of the year, he gave up three runs to Oakland, raising his ERA to 13.50. Meanwhile, Matt Lindstrom, who’s supposed to be the class of this outfit, pitched the eighth inning down nine runs and got tagged for two more.  No hierarchy change.

Hierarchy change: Lindstrom | Belisario | Webb.

Los Angeles Angels — Although Joe Smith set up Ernesto Frieri for Tuesday night’s save, it was actually Smith who faced the tougher part of the Phillies lineup. Either man could see a save on a given night.

Hierarchy remains: Frieri | Smith | Kohn.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Brett Cecil/Steve Delabar, Toronto Blue Jays — Casey Janssen, fresh from a DL stint for a back injury, has pitched in two straight games.
2. Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians — Allen and Bryan Shaw may share save chances.
3. Anthony Bass, Houston Astros — Chad Qualls has been more effective as of late, but Anthony Bass could get a 9th inning chance at any time.
4. Brandon Kintzler, Milwaukee Brewers — K-Rod has been a workhorse this year, but if he gets a day off after pitching three of the last four days, Kintzler is the best-rested alternative.

Johnson returns to hot seat; Mejia moves into Mets ‘pen

May 13, 2014

Oakland A’s — The A’s were seemingly on their way to a comfortable win over the White Sox, but after starter Jesse Chavez allowed a leadoff homer in the ninth and Fernando Abad followed that up with a walk, Jim Johnson made a mess of things. He faced just two batters, allowing a double and an RBI single before giving way to Sean Doolittle. After a sac fly cut Oakland’s lead to 5-4, Doolittle fanned the next two batters to pick up the save. Manager Bob Melvin praised Doolittle after the game and after being booed off the field, Johnson may be another poor outing away from losing the job he just reclaimed.

Jim Johnson to Hot Seat; Hierarchy change: Johnson | Doolittle | Gregerson.

New York Mets – Jenrry Mejia was moved to the bullpen prior to Monday’s game and he made an immediate impact, picking up the win in 1.1 innings over work. Mejia retired the only batter he faced in the seventh inning  and allowed just two hits in the eighth after the Mets regained the lead. If he continues to pitch this way, he may quickly move up the depth chart.

Hierarchy change: Farnsworth | Familia | Mejia.

Toronto Blue Jays – A day after being activated from the disabled list, Casey Janssen returned to his familiar ninth-inning role. It wasn’t a save situation, as the Jays had a four-run lead, but Janssen preserved the win. After a leadoff walk, Janssen retired the next three hitters, throwing 10 of his 19 pitches for strikes.

Hierarchy remains: Janssen | Cecil | Delabar.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Chris Perez, Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen has pitched in two straight games.
2. Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians – Allen and Shaw may share chances in the Indians’ new committee.
3. Anthony Bass, Houston Astros – Chad Qualls has been more effective as of late, but Anthony Bass could get a 9th inning chance at any time.

Cleveland committee gets murkier; Jeurys Familia poised to seize closer role

May 12, 2014

Cleveland Indians – Marc Rzepczynski was struggling in the 8th inning, so Cody Allen came on to clean up the mess, but the de facto leader of Cleveland’s closer by committee struggled to throw a strike, ultimately hitting a batter and allowing a base hit and sacrifice fly before escaping the inning. With Allen having thrown 22 pitches, the 9th went to Bryan Shaw, who pitched a clean frame for the save. It’s hard to know what would have happened if Scrabble hadn’t needed the 8th inning bailout — had he gotten through the 8th, it might’ve been Allen who got the save opp. Regardless, managers tend not to mess with formulas they’ve had success with, so Shaw’s spotless outing inches him into the lead for saves in Cleveland. We suspect Allen could still get 9th inning chances while John Axford sorts himself out, though Francona’s tendency to summon him in high-leverage spots, regardless of the inning, might end up hurting his value.

Hierarchy change: Shaw | Allen | Atchison.

Toronto Blue Jays – Casey Janssen was activated from the disabled list on the same day that former fill-in closer Sergio Santos hit the DL. Janssen should resume closing immediately.

Hierarchy change: Janssen | Cecil | Delabar.

New York Mets – On the heels of another strong outing by Jeurys Familia, manager Terry Collins is getting close to giving the young righty the keys to the 9th inning, saying after Sunday’s game that “he’s real close” to winning the job from a struggling Kyle Farnsworth. This assertion comes as a bit of a surprise, as Collins has had a tendency to value experience in the 9th inning, especially this year, when he gave Jose Valverde, Farnsworth, and Daisuke Matsuzaka chances in the 9th inning before allowing either Familia or Gonzalez Germen a crack at closing. But for Familia, at least, that appears to be changing.

Hierarchy change: Farnsworth | Familia | Matsuzaka.

Atlanta Braves – David Carpenter pitched a clean 9th inning for the Braves on Sunday, earning his second save of the season. As mentioned in the Vulture Save Watch, Craig Kimbrel had thrown 43 pitches over the previous two days and got the night off.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Carpenter | Varvaro.

Milwaukee Brewers – Will Smith picked up his 10th hold of the season on Sunday, pitching a clean 8th inning ahead of Francisco Rodriguez. We at Closer Monkey are excited about Smith’s ascension, as it gives us the ability to make more terrible jokes about his name.

Hierarchy change: Rodriguez | Smith | Kintzler.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen allowed 5 baserunners to reach in the 10th inning on Sunday, and after 3 of them scored, saddling him with the loss, his ERA climbed to 4.58. Once considered a top closer in the game, Jansen has had a rough go of it so far this year, and with Chris Perez doing fine work in the 8th inning, the hard-throwing righty has reasons to be concerned about his job.

Kenley Jansen to Hot Seat.

San Francisco Giants – Jean Machi picked up a 10th inning save on Sunday after Sergio Romo had already pitched. Romo blew the save in the 9th, but it was his first blown save in 13 chances, and his job is not in jeopardy.

Hierarchy remains: Romo | Casilla | Lopez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Anthony Bass, Houston Astros – Chad Qualls has been more effective as of late, but Anthony Bass could get a 9th inning chance at any time.

Chapman back as closer, Joe Smith picks up save

May 11, 2014

Cincinnati Reds — The Reds officially activated Aroldis Chapman from the disabled list before yesterday’s game, and manager Bryan Price has said that he won’t hesitate to go to Chapman in a save opportunity.

Hierarchy change: Chapman | Broxton | LeCure.

Los Angeles Angels — Joe Smith picked up the save yesterday, but he made it interesting.  Smith came on with two men on  and nobody out in the 9th inning, with the Angels up four runs.  He gave up a couple run-scoring singles before finally getting Adam Lind to ground into a double play to end the inning.  We think Frieri will get the bulk of the save chances, but Smith could still see some saves from time to time.

Hierarchy remains: Frieri | Smith | Kohn.

Chicago White Sox — The White Sox have called up Frank Francisco.  Francisco was dominating Triple-A, having allowed 0 runs with 12 Ks in 8 innings.  Lindstrom has been solid as the closer recently, and it’s not clear how the White Sox will use Francisco immediately, but he could start seeing high-leverage situations if he can continue to pitch as well as he did in Charlotte.

Hierarchy remains: Lindstrom | Belisario | Webb.

Atlanta Braves – The Braves have placed Jordan Walden on the DL with a strained hamstring.  David Carpenter should take over Walden’s set-up role, while Anthony Varvaro could see more time in the later innings.

Hierarchy change: Kimbrel | Carpenter | Varvaro.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. David Carpenter, Atlanta Braves – Craig Kimbrel has pitched in 2 straight, throwing a total of 43 pitches.
2. Zach Britton/Darren O’Day,  Baltimore Orioles – Tommy Hunter has appeared in two straight days and four of the last five.
3. Aaron Loup, Toronto Blue Jays – Cecil got the last save chance so the Blue Jays could turn to Loup for the next save opportunity.
4. Anthony Bass, Houston Astros – Bass blew the save yesterday so it would likely be Qualls’s turn today but you never know with the Astros.