June 20, 2014
Pittsburgh Pirates – Jason Grilli blew his fourth save of the season on Thursday. Four blown saves — and an accompanying 4.34 ERA — isn’t exactly horrendous, but it’s obviously not what you want to see out of your closer, especially when your bullpen has been stellar otherwise. So after the game, Clint Hurdle wasn’t exactly giving Grilli a ringing endorsement, and Mark Melancon might be on the verge of a promotion.
Hierarchy remains: Grilli | Melancon | Watson.
Jason Grilli to Hot Seat.
Detroit Tigers – Before Thursday’s game, Joe Nathan adjusted his arm slot, and proceeded to strike out all three hitters he faced. Might that be all it takes for the once-dominant closer to return to his old self?
Hierarchy remains: Nathan | Chamberlain | Alburquerque.
Los Angeles Angels – A baffling 10th inning in Cleveland saw the Angels take a 2-run lead and then summon youngster Cam Bedrosian while Ernesto Frieri stood idle in the bullpen. Bedrosian struggled and allowed three base runners (jeez, who would’ve expected a guy with a 10.13 ERA to struggle?!?!), before Mike Scioscia finally went to his closer, but Frieri would only be able to retire David Murphy before allowing a walk off grand slam to Nick Swisher. We’ve said previously that Scioscia’s recent decision to limit Frieri’s save chances seemed unnecessarily harsh, and Thursday’s usage just seemed cruel — like he wanted the righty to fail. But either way, after the game, Frieri was pissed and Scioscia offered no real explanation for using Bedrosian (whose ERA is now 14.29, by the way). Frieri is still probably the best Angel reliever to own, but with the way he’s been treated, we wouldn’t be surprised if Joe Smith got the next save chance.
Hierarchy remains: Frieri | Smith | Jepsen.
Toronto Blue Jays – We might now have an explanation for why Brett Cecil went from one of the best relievers in baseball over the first month into a kinda-crappy situational lefty in recent weeks: he’s been trying to pitch through a groin injury. That effort is now over, as Cecil was placed on the DL on Thursday. Look for Sergio Santos — just back from his own DL stint — and Dustin McGowan to get save chances on nights when Casey Janssen is unavailable.
Updated hierarchy: Janssen | McGowan | Santos.
Tampa Bay Rays – The best thing Grant Balfour has going for him is a manager hellbent on getting him back to the 9th inning. But he’s also put together a modest line since being demoted two weeks ago (4.2 IPs, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 Ks, and 1 BB), and for a guy who spent much of the year with a 6+ ERA and more walks than strikeouts, this constitutes tremendous progress. Last night, he got the 9th inning in a 5-run game (pitching behind Joel Peralta, who got the 8th), and struck out the side.
Updated hierarchy: McGee | Balfour | Peralta.
Oakland Athletics – Sean Doolittle, he of the most ridiculous K/BB ratio since 1900, got the night off Thursday after pitching in two games in a row. Righty Dan Otero picked up the save in his place.
Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Gregerson | Otero.
New York Yankees – With most of New York’s top relievers needing a night off, Adam Warren picked up a 2-out save on Thursday.
Hierarchy remains: Robertson | Betances | Warren.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joe Smith, Los Angeles Angels – This is a committee now; see above.