Handicapping the A’s bullpen with Sean Doolittle on the DL

August 25, 2014

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle has been placed on the DL with an intercostal strain. Luke Gregerson was expected to see the majority of save chances, but before Sunday’s game, Bob Melvin said that Gregerson would stay in the eighth inning while Dan Otero, Ryan Cook, and Eric O’Flaherty share save chances. It’s an odd decision, since Gregerson closed earlier this year and has pitched the 8th ever since, but it’s all we’ve got to go on for now, so we’ll do our best to handicap things based on the one-game sample size that we’ve got. On Sunday game, Otero pitched in the 7th inning with the A’s down by nine runs, while Cook pitched the 9th and O’Flaherty was idle. The fact that O’Flaherty didn’t pitch, combined with this strong endorsement from A’s beat writer Susan Slusser, means that O’Flaherty starts at the top of the committee for now. We’ll slot Cook in afterwards, since he’s got the past closer experience, and follow him with Gregerson, mostly because we’re stubborn and still think he’s the guy for the job. And despite his usage yesterday, Otero is in the mix as well.

Updated hierarchy: O’Flaherty | Cook | Gregerson.

Tampa Bay Rays – After Jake McGee pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th inning for the Rays, Brad Boxberger picked up the save after the Rays took the lead in the 10th. We said a little while back that McGee was getting 86% of the Rays save chances — that still seems about right.

Hierarchy remains: McGee | Boxberger | Peralta.

Cincinnati Reds – The Reds entered the 9th inning on Sunday with a four-run lead, but Logan Ondrusek couldn’t quite close the door and allowed two runs to score before Jonathan Broxton came in to get the last out. Broxton picked up his 5th save of the season and remains the handcuff for Aroldis Chapman, who got the day off.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Broxton | Diaz.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Dellin Betances, New York Yankees – David Robertson has pitched in three straight.
2. Adam Ottavino, Colorado Rockies – LaTroy Hawkins has pitched in back to back games.

Doolittle to DL, committee to close for now

August 24, 2014

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle has been placed on the DL with an intercostal strain.  Luke Gregerson was expected to see the majority of save chances, but before Sunday’s game, Bob Melvin said that Gregerson would stay in the eighth inning while Dan Otero, Ryan Cook, and Eric O’Flaherty share save chances. It’s an odd decision, since Gregerson closed earlier this year and has pitched the 8th ever since, but we’ll trust he’s telling the truth until we see otherwise.

Updated hierarchy: Cook | Otero | Gregerson.

Doolittle records painful save, Nathan continues to give up runs

August 24, 2014

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle recorded his 20th save of the season last night, but he may have injured himself in the process.  Doolittle grimaced in pain after making the throw to first to end the game.  The trainers did tests on him after the game and he was optimistic after he was able to complete the tests.  It doesn’t sound like it will be serious but it will be something to monitor, and if Doolittle does miss any time, Luke Gregerson should take over as closer.

Hierarchy remains: Doolittle | Gregerson | Cook.

Detroit Tigers — Joe Nathan gave up another run in a save situation but was still able to pick up his 27th save of the season.  Nathan has converted his last three save chances, but he has also given up a run in each of those appearances.  Joakim Soria is eligible to come off the DL tomorrow and his return will give the Tigers another option if Nathan continues to struggle.

Hierarchy remains: Nathan | Chamberlain | Alburquerque.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jonathan Broxton, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman has thrown 64 pitches over the past three days.
2. Luke Gregerson, Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle has pitched in two games in a row and could also be unavailable after he experienced some soreness at the end of the game yesterday.

Joakim Soria going through odd stretch; Giants turn to committee

June 30, 2014

Chicago White Sox – We’re paying close attention to the White Sox, who on Sunday used Jake Petricka to protect a 4-run 9th inning lead. Robin Ventura keeps saying that he isn’t ready to name a new closer yet, but based on the last several days, Zach Putnam and Petricka continue to look like the two main options.

Hierarchy remains: Putnam | Petricka | Guerra.

Texas Rangers – Something odd is afoot with Joakim Soria. He didn’t pitch for 10 days from June 14 to June 24, and then, when Ron Washington finally decided to get him some work, Soria entered in the 9th inning of a blowout, threw 8 pitches, got 2 outs, and then was yanked for Scott Baker, who faced the final batter. Three days later, Soria had his worst outing of the year, blowing the save against the Twins. And then, two days after that — yesterday — he took the loss after allowing the tie breaking run in the 9th. He’s earned way too much trust to be placed on the Hot Seat just yet, but it’s certainly been a strange week for Soria, who has a troubled injury history. We’ll keep an eye on him in the coming days.

Hierarchy remains: Soria | Frasor | Cotts.

Houston Astros – Chad Qualls has been nursing a minor groin injury, so rather than use him on three straight days, Bo Porter called for Tony Sipp in the 9th inning on Sunday. Qualls was warming up just in case and should be fine for the next save chance.

Hierarchy remains: Qualls | Sipp | Veras.

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle and Luke Gregerson had both pitched in two straight and three of four, so the A’s used Ryan Cook to get the last four outs of the game on Sunday. Cook, Dan Otero, and Fernando Abad will continue to jockey for 7th inning chances.

Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Gregerson | Cook.

San Francisco Giants — Bruce Bochy announced on Sunday that the struggling Sergio Romo would move into a setup role, and that closing duties would be handled by the newest rage: a committee, prominently featuring Santiago Casilla and lefthander Jeremy Affeldt. Romo himself could see work as part of the committee, depending on — say it with us now — matchups.

Updated hierarchy: Casilla | Affeldt | Romo.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jake Petricka, Chicago White Sox – Zach Putnam and Jake Petricka appear to be sharing save chances in Chicago.

Joe Nathan to Hot Seat; Ryan Cook returns

June 4, 2014

Detroit Tigers — Hometown hero RoboCop threw out Tuesday’s first pitch; even his bounced eephus looked good up against the offerings of closer Joe Nathan, who yielded four runs in one-third of an inning to raise his ERA to 6.86. Nathan’s reduced velocity and deteriorating command has put Brad Ausmus in a difficult position: stick with his $10 million man, who reports feeling “damn good,” or give Joba Chamberlain and his 10-game scoreless streak a shot. After last night’s game, Ausmus made no promises, saying only that he wouldn’t discuss the issue publicly without talking to Nathan first. Joba is the heir apparent, but if RoboCop is still available in your league, do yourself a favor and buy that for a dollar.

Joe Nathan to Hot Seat.

Los Angeles Angels — Michael Kohn was sent to the minor leagues on Tuesday after battling some control problems recently. Promoted to replace him was former first-round pick Cam Bedrosian, who boasts 45 strikeouts in 24 low-minor innings, and could ascend quickly. For now, Kohn’s spot in the hierarchy should be filled by Fernando Salas or, better yet, impressive 23-year-old rookie Mike Morin — but this being Mike Scioscia’s team, our money is on the pedestrian Kevin Jepsen, who pitched after both of those guys on Tuesday. In his defense, Jepsen hasn’t allowed a run in his last 10 outings, and has shown an improved strikeout rate.

Updated hierarchy: Frieri | Smith | Jepsen.

Oakland A’s — Ryan Cook was reactivated from the disabled list on Tuesday and, although he didn’t make it into the game, Bob Melvin had him warming along with lefty Fernando Abad in a tied seventh inning. If Cook can return to form, he should move into a seventh-inning role right away.

Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Gregerson | Cook.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Brad Ziegler, Arizona Diamondbacks — Addison Reed has pitched on three of the last four days.
2. John Axford/Bryan Shaw, Cleveland Indians — Cody Allen has pitched in two straight, four of five, and six of eight. Shaw pitched in three straight before Tuesday’s day off. Meanwhile, Axford hasn’t pitched in a week, but is aching to get back to his old role.