Casey Fien having a strong season

September 26, 2012

Minnesota Twins – Casey Fien pitched the 7th inning on Tuesday, earning the win ahead of Jared Burton and Glen Perkins. Fien has a 1.62 ERA on the year and has allowed 0 or 1 earned runs in all but one of his 32 appearances.  Hierarchy change: Casey Fien to 2nd in line, replacing Alex Burnett.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedMIN |Perkins |Burton |Fien |Perkins |9/26/12 |Capps(DL) |

 
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Javier Lopez, San Francisco Giants – Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo continue to share the 9th inning role for the Giants.
2. Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals – Drew Storen is likely to get the majority of opportunities from here on out, but Davey Johnson said that Tyler Clippard could still occasionally get a save chance.

Storen has the edge in the Washington bullpen

September 25, 2012

Washington Nationals – In Monday’s 10-run blowout, the Nats went to Tyler Clippard in the 8th inning and Drew Storen in the 9th.  After the game, Davey Johnson said that Storen is now more likely to be used in the 9th, although the two will both close, depending on matchups. “The guy that goes out there is the closer that day,” Johnson told the Washington Post. “How’s that?”  Hierarchy change: Drew Storen to Closer, Tyler Clippard to Set-up.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedWAS |Storen |Clippard |Burnett |Storen |9/25/12

 
Chicago White Sox – After the White Sox grabbed the lead from the Indians in the bottom of the 8th, Robin Ventura sent lefty Matt Thornton out in a save situation in the 9th. Thornton gave up hits to two of the three batters he faced, so he was pulled for another lefty — Donnie Veal — who ultimately earned his first major league save. Although Addison Reed remains on the Hot Seat, it’s likely that this was just a reaction to an unexpected lead change.  No hierarchy change. 

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedCHW |Reed |Thornton |Myers |Reed |9/25/12

 
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Javier Lopez, San Francisco Giants – Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo continue to share the 9th inning role for the Giants.

Drew Storen to close for Washington

September 24, 2012

Washington Nationals – In today’s 10-run blowout, the Nats went to Tyler Clippard in the 8th inning and Drew Storen in the 9th.  After the game, Davey Johnson said that Storen is now the 9th inning guy, according to MASNsports.com.  Hierarchy change: Drew Storen to Closer, Tyler Clippard to Set-up.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedWAS |Storen |Clippard |Burnett |Storen |9/24/12

Jose Valdez rising as Wesley Wright returns to specialist role

September 24, 2012

Houston Astros – Wesley Wright pitched in the 5th inning on Sunday, and isn’t likely to see any more save opps, even if Wilton Lopez is unavailable.  These chances will likely go to Jose Valdez, the team’s AAA closer who was called up in September.  Hierarchy change: Jose Valdez to Set-up, Wesley Wright to 2nd in line.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedHOU |Lopez |Valdez |Wright |Lopez |9/24/12

 
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Edward Mujica, St. Louis Cardinals – Jason Motte and Mitchell Boggs have both pitched in two straight and five of the last six.
2. Jon Rauch, New York Mets – Frank Francisco’s availability has been inconsistent for the past week, as he’s been battling a few nagging injuries.

Josh Kinney, Junichi Tazawa ascending

September 23, 2012

Boston Red Sox – Junichi Tazawa pitched the 9th inning in a tie game on Saturday.  He’s been the most reliable Boston reliever over the last few weeks, including Andrew Bailey, and has earned the trust of Bobby Valentine.  Hierarchy change: Junichi Tazawa to Set-up, Vicente Padilla to 2nd in line.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedBOS |Bailey |Tazawa |Padilla |Bailey |9/23/12

 
New York Mets – Jon Rauch picked up a save on Saturday.  Frank Francisco was reportedly available, but the Mets left Rauch in even after he allowed a HR.  Francisco remains on the Hot Seat, which has basically been a second home for the Mets closer this year, but he hasn’t lost the job yet, as the Mets were probably just giving him an extra day to recover from a nagging injury that kept him out of a few games earlier this week.  No hierarchy change.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedNYM |Francisco |Rauch |Parnell |Francisco |9/23/12

 
Seattle Mariners – Josh Kinney pitched the 8th inning ahead of Tom Wilhelmsen on Saturday.  Charlie Furbush, one of the most consistent relievers in the Seattle bullpen earlier this year, hasn’t seen much action as of late.  Hierarchy change: Josh Kinney to Set-up, Charlie Furbush to 2nd in line.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedSEA |Wilhelmsen |Kinney |Furbush |Wilhelmsen |9/23/12

 
Kansas City Royals – As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, Kelvin Herrera got the save for the Royals on Saturday.  Greg Holland had pitched in three straight and got the night off.  No hierarchy change.

 |Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedKC |Holland |Herrera |Crow |Holland |9/23/12 |Soria(DL) |

 
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Pedro Strop, Baltimore Orioles – Jim Johnson has pitched in two straight and four of the last five.
2. Josh Kinney, Seattle Mariners – Tom Wilhelmsen has pitched in two straight, and has thrown 6 innings over the past five days.
3. Javier Lopez, San Francisco Giants – Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo continue to share the 9th inning role for the Giants.