Fantasy Mlb Always Be Closing

I won't go over the dead horse that is the injury-riddled Atlanta Braves bullpen. I will, however, point out that Mike Gonzalez is returning tonight for the first time in over a full calendar year, after a lengthy bbq eating stint, to pitch for the Braves.

It seems pretty, pretty likely, given that John Smoltz and Rafael Soriano are both currently disabled, that Gonzo could be the closer until he gets hurt too for the remainder of the season.

'He's throwing good, they say,' said Cox, who envisions using him in key situations late in games from the get-go. 'Hopefully we can count on him for the very end - eighth and ninth. If he's back to his old form, it's a huge plus.'

The news is finally positive for a Braves team that has endured watching Rafael Soriano return to the disabled list this week with the same elbow problems that kept him out for the first two months and John Smoltz's attempt to return as closer end in season-ending shoulder surgery.

See? Gonzo could close out of the gate. Or simply tear his rotator cuff on the first pitch. The latter is the most likely scenario if you have followed the Braves at all this year.

Fantasy Spin: Grab Gonzalez now -- the Braves are somehow still potent despite dealing with tons of injuries, and he could provide nice saves totals, if he can stay healthy. Soriano might still nab the gig when he comes back, but if Gonzo deals immediately, there's no guarantee.

When you are adding Jorge "Gasoline Soaked Matchbook" Julio to your bullpen, then things have not gone "well" for your team over the course of whatever season it is. At least with regard to the bullpen. And the Braves find themselves in the unenviable spot of having Julio on the roster.

This stems primarily from Rafael Soriano's return to the disabled list and the news that Tom Glavine will be out until at least after the All Star Break.

Julio, 29, had a 5.60 ERA in 15 appearances for Cleveland before he was released at the end of May. He has a 13-33 career record and a 4.40 ERA with 99 saves in 131 opportunities, including 83 saves in a three-season span with Baltimore in 2002-04.

'He's got great stuff,' Braves general manager Frank Wren said. 'If a guy like that's a free agent, just makes sense for us to give him a chance. We signed him to give us some additional depth.'

Say what you want about Wren's inability to grasp that the Braves desperately need to trade for another starter, but the guy can flat out spin a boring, lifeless free agent addition/trade to make it sound good.

See, I would say ... well, actually what I would say probably isn't appropriate, so let's just stink with what Wren said.

Fantasy Spin: Yes, there is one. If you're in a deeper league and have a bench spot, taking a flier on Julio isn't that absurd; he could conceivably get save opps for the Braves and that would make him a nice add. High risk, etc.

Despite the heat check that the Tampa Bay Rays are on right now, they still suffered some bad news yesterday when shockingly efficient closer Troy Percival injured his hamstring in what was described as a nasty little landing. Nasty enough to get him sent out for an MRI.

That begs the question, who's the new save guy in Tampa? Dan Wheeler would be your likely answer, and if he's not owned, and you need saves, he's an immediate add. If he's already taken, pounce on Al Reyes for a backup. Both guys could see save opps, but Wheeler came in for Percival today and he has the better ratios on the season. Plus, he hasn't been tased at all this season, for whatever that's worth.

In Milwaukee, although nothing is ever made really clear, it does appear as if Salomon Torres has gotten a pretty good grip on the closer's job, picking up three saves and a win over the last week. There's no guarantee that Crazy Joe DaVola Ned Yost will actually stick with him, but for now, he should be getting run in your lineup. And certainly shouldn't be a free agent.

The Braves welcomed back Rafael Soriano on Wednesday while putting Matt Diaz on the disabled list. That's decent news for Soriano's fantasy owners -- of course you want to see him back. The bad news is that John Smoltz is going to close as soon as he is healthy, which could be soon. Start Soriano when he's pitching, but obviously look to trade him if you can.

I've always been one for letting my employer decide when I'm no longer capable of doing my job, but Eric Gagne and Jason Isringhausen apparently feel differently, being "honest" enough to let their managers know they're no longer worthy of the closer role. (Update: Gagne can apparently close again!) Either way, not a lot of confidence. What they did is rare in the sense of being voluntary, but it certainly underlies the basic fantasy notion that saves are easy to come by.

In Milwaukee, if you're looking for saves, you actually love Gagne flip-flopping; Ned Yost will probably go back to the well with him, and you'll have an easier time going after the guy who will probably end up getting the saves. Salomon Torres, Guillermo Mota and David Riske are the official closer by committee. (The reality is they shouldn't have let Francisco Cordero walk, but that's neither here nor there at this point). I've been saying that Riske is my guy since early in the season, but in fairness, he hasn't pitched perfectly. Then again, neither has Torres, so I'm sticking by my guns here and saying Riske ends up with the most saves in the Milwaukee pen this year (unless Yost does something cr-r-r-r-azy and puts Carlos Villanueva in the spot).

The Cardinals end of things appears to be a little more cut and dry, in the sense that Ryan Franklin is the new go-to guy from the bullpen in St. Louis. Russ Springer and Randy Flores are apparently in the mix as well to a degree, but when you look at Springer's walk count -- five! -- since Izzy went down, it's hard to imagine Tony La Russa trusts him. Plus, Franklin is actually locking down the ninth. And the guy you want to grab for your fantasy league.

This picture could have been from one of four different games this year. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

I just wanted to let you know before you visit all the (OTHER) big-name fantasy or real sports engines across the internet, though, that the Cubs are not going to change closers anytime soon.

Nope, those know-it-all types are all wrong in this situation. They will inundate you with information you already knew. You know, all those stats that tell you Carlos Marmol is a better pitcher than Kerry Wood. You'll see strikeout numbers, hear non-stat based arguments, and be reminded about how much better a closer Marmol would be.

Blah blah blah freaking blah.

Here's the problem: Those people aren't talking about what's important. Telling someone that Marmol is a better pitcher than Wood these days is like saying you'd rather have Jay Bruce than Corey Patterson ... only a complete moron would dispute it (oops, sorry Dusty). Everyone that follows baseball knows this. It's no secret, and it wasn't one before the season started.

But the people who are telling you the Cubs are about to make the switch to Marmol are wrong. Plain and simple.

Well, that didn't take very long, did it? Manny Corpas is out as closer, according to MLB.com, and Brian Fuentes will replace him. Fuentes, as you likely remember (from a few hours ago), was the closer last year who lost his job immediately after being named to the All Star team. Corpas took over and never let go of the gig, helping to shut down opposing teams in the midst of a ROX-tacular ROX-tober. But, clearly, he has faltered this year, going just four for eight in save opps.

'I think what you need to do is what's best for the club and that's to give the ball to Brian right now, get the heat off Manny and give him an opportunity to work his way out,' Hurdle said.

While Fuentes had accepted his role as a setup man and not complained, it was no secret that he wanted to close. He has made the All-Star team each of the past three seasons as a closer and was off to a good start last year before his bad run in June eventually led to a stint on the disabled list.

I like this move. A lot actually. As much guff as I gave Hurdle for benching Troy Tulowitzki in what I thought was a premature manner, it's refreshing to see someone with a quick hook on his closer, and an unwillingness to recognize when someone just isn't working out. (Pointing fingers all up in your face, Ned Yost.

Bonus Fantasy Spin: Fuentes is an immediate add, obviously, given that he will have the opportunity to save games for the Rockies (for the rest of the season, presumably, if he doesn't screw it up.) I would not drop Corpas in larger leagues just quite yet though -- he can be a dominant setup guy who provides nice middle relief K's and while Hurdle made the switch now, there's no guarantee it stays like that all season. Smaller leagues can dump Corpas immediately though.

Over the past seven days, a ridiculous 24 major league pitchers have blown a save opp. Now, all of these guys aren't closers, they just happened to land in save situations and cough up some runs. However, a few of them are.

One of those guys is C.J. Wilson. Wilson blew his first save of the season on Sunday afternoon, walking three, allowing two hits and giving up two earned runs to take the loss and the BS.

C.J.'s not going to lose his job immediately by any means, and he's been a very nice, cheap source of saves. But how good does he look for the future? Well, the stats (2.25 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) look very nice. The peripherals look a little less friendly. His BABIP is sub .200 and he's seen a spike in fly ball percentage, in terms of what balls are doing after they leave bats after they leave his hands. Yet he hasn't allowed a single home run this year.

Now, you can take all of that and say, "So what, brah? Sample size." And I'll say, "Yeah, man, cool. Keep using him. I'm not offended if you don't listen." So we take this little formula: (low BABIP + high FB% + 0% HR/FB + horrible home park for pitching = lots of luck). Oh yeah, and he's only struck out two batters all season. So there's that.

Folks, Wilson is a nice lower end option at closer. And I think he has a strong future as a reliever, because he should, in theory, strike people out, and absolutely dominate left handed hitters. But all the junk above, even though it's early, make me a little skeptical.

Why not wait pair him with a decent starter and go right after C.C. Sabathia? Sure, Wilson just blew a save, but most of C.C.'s owners are scrambling to dump the hefty lefty and there is always someone looking for a guy that looks like a lock to save 25 games.