Who will close in Cleveland? Will it be Mr.Kobayashi, or one of the other usual suspects named Rafael?

Los Angeles Dodgers: Dodgers’ All-Star closer Takashi Saito was removed from a game with two outs in the ninth inning with an apparent arm injury. Saito had an MRI that revealed a sprained ligament in his pitching elbow.  With the tenuous nature of pitching elbows, especially in 38-year-old closers, those who had room hopefully made that fearful, speculative addition of closer in waiting, Jonathan Broxton.  Though Broxton’s numbers are down slightly from a dominant 2007, he is the obvious choice to fill in if not simply take over for Saito.  Other than Broxton, the only other name to consider for saves in the Dodgers pen is Hong-Chih Kuo, although it remains to be seen if the Dodgers will need his services as a starter at some point.  Early reports indicate that Saito will be out at least six weeks.  We’ve all had the misfortune of having to confront “at least” timetables before.  Don’t be suckered in by blind optimism, and start sniffing around for saves as though Saito will not pitch again this year.

Chicago Cubs: Kerry Wood has a blister on his pitching hand.  This is akin to a priceless vase having a crack—there’s still a lot of value there, but you have to worry about that crack becoming a fissure, and the fissure ending the vase’s season.  For now, Wood was replaced on the National League All-Star roster by teammate Carlos Marmol who has dominated most of the year coming out of the Cubs bullpen.  Recent struggles, however, (4ER, 1BB in his last outing, and 11.12ERA over the past month), are perhaps cause for concern.  Marmol’s strikeout numbers alone (70 in 52.1IP) have made him an asset in any league where strikeouts are counted, but if his recent string of poor outings is any indication, he may be dealing with an issue (dead arm?) or two (injury?).  Further down the line, keep an eye on Bob Howry, just in case the afore-mentioned “pen names” have problems coming out of the break.

Pittsburgh Pirates:  With Matt Capps out for at least two months, and very possibly the rest of the 2008 season, Damaso Marte has ascended to the closer throne in the Pirate pen.  Even before the Capps injury, Marte was enjoying a productive season, averaging around a strikeout per inning with useful WHIP and ERA ratios (3.22 and 1.12 respectively).  While he’s never been a full-time closer in his eight plus Major League seasons, Marte has filled in admirably in that role in the past.  The name Tyler Yates has also been thrown around as a backup to the Marte back up plan, but, unless you’re in the deepest of NL Only leagues, Yates shouldn’t be on your radar—at least not now.  Thus far, Marte has shown a strong aptitude for closing, and I fully expect him to maintain his grip on that role as long as his health is strong.

Cleveland Indians: As my colleague, Keith Schirripa pointed out in the last issue of Pen Names, Masahide (Masa) Kobayashi appeared to be next in line for saves in Cleveland following the Indians release of below-average Joe Borowski.  Well, Kobayashi picked up the first save of Cleveland’s post-Borowski era.  With his mediocre K rate, Kobayashi isn’t likely to dominate in the role, but this outing was step one in his journey to closer-ville.  For now, we’ll just assume that Kobayashi is the closer, while paying close attention to any future developments. Be aware that the Indians could just as easily turn their attention to the likes of Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez, or some yet to be determined non-Rafael…perhaps even the dreaded closer by committee. 

Here is a list of closer rankings based on standard 5x 5 scoring systems.  The list is based largely on A) career performance B) 2008 performance to date, and C) expected performance going forward, and is intended for use as a guideline only:

1. Francisco Rodriguez – Los Angeles Angels
2. Mariano Rivera – New York Yankees
3. Joe Nathan – Minnesota Twins
4. Brad Lidge – Philadelphia Phillies
5. Billy Wagner – New York Mets
6. Joakim Soria – Kansas City Royals
7. Kerry Wood – Chicago Cubs
8. B.J. Ryan – Toronto Blue Jays
9. Bobby Jenks – Chicago White Sox
10. Jose Valverde – Houston Astros
11. Houston Street – Oakland Athletics
12. Francisco Cordero – Cincinnati Reds
13. Jonathan Broxton – Los Angeles Dodgers
14. Brandon Lyon – Arizona Diamondbacks
15. Brian Wilson – San Francisco Giants
16. Jon Rauch – Washington Nationals
17. Brandon Morrow – Seattle Mariners
18. George Sherrill – Baltimore Orioles
19. Kevin Gregg – Florida Marlins
20. C.J. Wilson – Texas Rangers
21. Salomon Torres – Milwaukee Brewers
22. Trevor Hoffman – San Diego Padres
23. Todd Jones – Detroit Tigers
24. Mike Gonzalez – Atlanta Braves
25. Ryan Franklin – St. Louis Cardinals
26. Damaso Marte – Pittsburgh Pirates
27. Brian Fuentes – Colorado Rockies
28. Carlos Marmol – Chicago Cubs
29. J.J. Putz – Seattle Mariners
30. Grant Balfour – Tampa Bay Rays
31. Masahide Kobayashi – Cleveland Indians
32. Dan Wheeler – Tampa Bay Rays
33. Taylor Buchholz – Colorado Rockies
34. Scott Linebrink – Chicago White Sox
35. Troy Percival – Tampa Bay Rays
36. Heath Bell – San Diego Padres

Dropped out: Takashi Saito – Los Angeles Dodgers