Ronald Belisario gets vote of confidence; Angels going full-on committee

June 25, 2014

Chicago White Sox — Robin Ventura announced on Tuesday that he was sticking with Ronald Belisario as the White Sox closer despite his troubles — which include 11 earned runs over 11 IP in his 13 appearances in the role. Although Belisario’s peripherals strongly suggest that he’s pitched better than his stats, general manager Rick Hahn made a point of telling the Chicago Tribune that Ventura is free to be “more flexible” in his approach to the ninth, mentioning Zach Putnam, Javy Guerra, and Daniel Webb as options.

Hierarchy remains: Belisario | Putnam | Petricka.

Los Angeles Angels — Mike Scioscia is serious about this committee thing; the last three LA save chances have gone to Cam Bedrosian, Kevin Jepsen, and now Joe Smith. Putative closer Ernesto Frieri worked a clean eighth. We’re keeping things as they have been until we hear something more solid from the Angels brass.

Hierarchy remains: Frieri | Smith | Jepsen.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Tony Watson/Justin Wilson, Pittsburgh Pirates — Mark Melancon struggled through a 25-pitch save on Tuesday night and has pitched on three of four days. Watson has had a similar workload, but Wilson hasn’t pitched since last Friday.
2. Brian Wilson, Los Angeles Dodgers — Kenley Jansen has pitched on four of the last five days.
3. Drew Storen, Washington Nationals — Rafael Soriano has pitched on four of the last five (and six of the last eight) days, and Tyler Clippard has gone in three straight.

Gregg grabs hold in Miami; Nats pitcher picks up vulture save

June 24, 2014

Miami Marlins — Kevin Gregg collected his second hold of the season on Monday, and this one was far cleaner than his previous outing. He mowed down the Phillies on just 12 pitches in the eighth inning to keep Miami ahead, 2-0. It appears he may become part of the Marlins’ late-inning plans after all, but we need to see some consistency before anointing Gregg as the new eighth-inning savior.

Hierarchy remains: Cishek | Ramos | Morris.

Washington Nationals — Yes, it’s actually a Nats update! As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, Tyler Clippard picked up his first save of the season with Rafael Soriano having pitched in three straight contests.

Hierarchy remains: Soriano | Clippard | Storen.

Chicago Cubs – Hector Rondon took the loss after the Reds scored five in the ninth – all with two outs – to earn a 6-1 win. One bad outing shouldn’t immediately threaten Rondon’s job security, but it doesn’t help, either.

Hierarchy remains: Rondon | Ramirez | Strop.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Neil Ramirez, Chicago Cubs – Hector Rondon threw 32 pitches last night.

Tampa Bay committee chugs along confusingly

June 23, 2014

Seattle Mariners – Though he spent part of 2013 as the closer, Danny Farquhar didn’t appear to be the backup to Fernando Rodney — he often pitched the 7th inning, and has only accumulated 6 holds. But on Sunday, it was Farquhar who was the closer du jour with Rodney unavailable. As it turned out, Rodney insisted he was fine despite pitching in three straight, so Farquhar finished off the 8th and Rodney picked up the save in the 9th, but we now know that despite his weird usage, Farquhar is the handcuff in Seattle.

Updated hierarchy: Rodney | Farquhar | Medina.

Minnesota Twins – With Glen Perkins unavailable, Jared Burton picked up his first save of the season on Sunday. It appears that with his blown save earlier this week, Casey Fien (who pitched the 8th ahead of Burton on Sunday) lost his chance to be Perkins’s backup, despite having a far better ERA than Burton.

Updated hierarchy: Perkins | Burton | Fien.

Tampa Bay Rays – It seems pretty common for managers to declare “Committee!” after their stopper proves ineffective, but Joe Maddon is actually following through on it. There have been four saves since Grant Balfour lost his full time job, and Balfour, Juan Carlos Oviedo, Jake McGee, and Joel Peralta have all gotten one of them. (Peralta picked his up on Sunday.) We still like McGee the best of the four, but it may take some time for someone to distinguish themselves.

Hierarchy remains: McGee | Balfour | Peralta.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Danny Farquhar, Seattle Mariners – Fernando Rodney has pitched in four straight.
2. Brian Wilson, Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen has pitched in three straight.
3. Jason Motte, St. Louis Cardinals – Trevor Rosenthal has pitched in three straight.
4. Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals – Rafael Soriano has pitched in three straight.
5. Edward Mujica/Andrew Miller, Boston Red Sox – Koji Uehara has appeared in two straight, including a 2-inning effort last night.

Kevin Jepsen gets save chance for Angels, Coke picks up save

June 22, 2014

Los Angeles Angels – Kevin Jepson got the call in the 9th inning last night to protect a one-run lead, and he promptly gave up the game-tying home run to the first batter he faced.  Mike Scioscia had good things to say about Jepsen the other day after Frieri blew the save.  However, it is hard to say whether or not Jepsen will get another shot after he couldn’t get the job done last night.  Frieri still seems to be the best bet for saves long-term for the Angels but Smith or Jepsen could see also see some save opportunities mixed in there.

Hierarchy remains: Frieri | Smith | Jepsen.

Detroit Tigers – Phil Coke recorded the save in extra innings last night.  Joe Nathan blew the save in the 9th but he has been pitching better recently, as he has 7 strikeouts in his last 3 innings.

Hierarchy remains: Nathan | Chamberlain | Alburquerque.

Seattle Mariners – Yoervis Medina picked up the win last night after pitching a perfect 8th inning in a tie game.  Medina has not given up a run in his last 11 appearances and looks to have moved ahead of Danny Farquhar.

Updated hierarchy: Rodney | Medina | Farquhar.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joba Chamberlain, Detroit Tigers – Joe Nathan threw 32 pitches in the blown save last night.
2. Casey Fien, Minnesota Twins – Glen Perkins has pitched in 3 straight.
3. Luke Gregerson/Dan Otero, Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle has appeared in 2 straight and 4 of the last 5.
4. Yoervis Medina, Seattle Mariners – Fernando Rodney has pitched in 3 straight.
5. Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals – Rafael Soriano has pitched in 2 straight and 4 of the last 5.

Jordan Walden and Rex Brothers seize 8th inning roles

June 21, 2014

Atlanta Braves – After a rare Craig Kimbrel blown save sent the game to extras, Jordan Walden picked up his second save of the year in the 13th inning. Now that he’s back and healthy, Walden appears to be the Kimbrel handcuff.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Walden | Simmons.

Colorado Rockies – It’s been a rough month for Adam Ottavino, who, after allowing yet another earned run on Friday, has seen his ERA climb from 1.46 at the end of May to 4.13 today. With Ottavino struggling, Rex Brothers has reclaimed his 8th inning role thanks to a recent scoreless stretch that has spanned eight outings.

Updated hierarchy: Hawkins | Brothers | Ottavino.

Arizona Diamondbacks – After struggling in his return from the DL, veteran reliever J.J. Putz was designated for assignment. Evan Marshall will see most of the 7th inning opportunities going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Reed | Ziegler | Marshall.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joe Smith, Los Angeles Angels – The Angels are currently using a closer-by-committee.
2. Jonathan Broxton, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman is almost certain to get a day off today after pitching in three of the last four games, including a 33-pitch effort last night.
3. Casey Fien, Minnesota Twins – Glen Perkins has pitched in back to back games (41 total pitches) and is coming off a minor back injury. He might get the day off today.