Joakim Soria, Royals

Pen Names is getting a little meatier than it was intended to be, so this week I’m scaling back the introductory prose in favor of expanded analysis, if you choose to call it that.  Getting right to the heart of the order, we’ll take a look at some of the more important bullpen developments from around the Major Leagues over the last calendar week.  A’ight?!?!?

We’re startin’ in Kansas City; Kansas City here we come.  If we’re talking KC bullpens, we’ll have to talk Joakim “The Mexicutioner” Soria.  On the DL for some time with a shoulder injury, he’s deemed himself healthy and ready to pitch.  More importantly, the team seems to be in agreement.  He should be activated some time this week (tonight?), and his return can’t come soon enough, especially for those who were brave enough to plug in Juan Cruz (6.00 ERA, 1.75 WHIP in May) in his stead.  Cruz was nice enough to sport a negative K/BB ratio over that same stretch, and has accrued as many blown saves as saves on the year (2).  Will there be any lag following Soria’s time off?  Maybe.  Am I personally willing to risk it to find out?  Yah, probably.  When he’s healthy (and he says he is), he’s as good as any closer in the league.  So, feel free to play him right out of the gate, but do be aware that dust and rust often accumulate during prolonged periods of rest.  And, unless your league counts HLDs, feel free to sever all ties with Cruz. 

Matt Capps, a Pen Names favorite is back in the closer carousel this week after he returned to health following a scary encounter with a batted ball.  The injury he sustained wasn’t serious, and “the industry” may have jumped to some dread-filled conclusions regarding Capps’ overall health and well-being.  I suppose I’m as guilty as anyone in that regard.  That’s just one of the many drawbacks of doing a weekly update of the Major League bullpen scene.  Another, of course, is that you only get to read my Shakespearian-like prose only one day out of the week.  Well, the good news is two-fold.  One, you can have faith in Capps’ health, for the moment anyhow.  Two, you can always read Pen Names more than once, or, space out the article over the period of a couple of days.  Giving it all time to sink in might be a good thing.  Capps now has 11 saves on the year and John Grabow’s name is no longer on the tips of our collective tongues. 

I have a friend that lives in the greater Tampa Bay area.  He grew up right down the street from Hulk Hogan, actually.  Now, for all the Hulkamaniacs out there, we’re going to talk a little Rays bullpen right now.  That is to say, we’re going to talk a bunch of gibberish and hope that some of it makes even a little sense—like in rasslin’.  On behalf of Pen Names and Sportsgrumblings.com, I really wish I could make heads or tails of the Rays’ closer nonsense, but if manager Joe Maddon can’t make sense of it, how can I?  Troy Percival is on the Dl because he doesn’t have feeling in his pitching arm.  Did he before?  Grant Balfour, a preseason Pen Names favorite, hasn’t been able to duplicate his 2008 success.  The logical choice here seems to be sometimes middle reliever, sometimes closer, sometimes frustrating Dan Wheeler.  But, wouldn’t you know it, Randy Choat of all people swoops in and picks up back-to-back saves on May 29 and 30.  If I had to venture a guess, and I guess I sort of do (that’s what they pay me for around here), I’m going to say it’s Wheeler in the short term, and maybe for the year.  The name David Price would make for an interesting dark horse closer candidate, as would Scott Kazmir, frankly, although I’ve heard nothing to substantiate my imaginative speculation. 

Our rankings…

First Tier (the best of the best):

1. Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers: East Coast bias might be keeping believers at bay.
2. Francisco Rodriguez, Mets: Suddenly it’s teammate JJ Putz we need to worry about.
3. Mariano Rivera, Yankees: Old and sometimes overused, he still has only 1 BB…ONE.
4. Joe Nathan, Twins: He’s picking up the pace on saves.  Buy low window is closed.
5. Heath Bell, Padres: Ladies and gents, your MLB saves leader…no signs of letting up.
6. Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox: Back to back rocky outings drops him in the rankings.

Second Tier:

7. Bobby Jenks, White Sox: Finally blew his first save but he’s still a strong option.
8. Francisco Cordero, Reds: Bound to return to Earth, but he’s been amazing thus far.
9. Trevor Hoffman, Brewers: Still hasn’t surrendered a run on the year.  Luck?
10. Frank Francisco, Rangers: Hey…he blew a SV.  Hey, he’s still pretty damn good.
11. Chad Qualls, Diamondbacks: D-Backs struggling offense is a good thing for Qualls.
12. Joakim Soria, Royals: Until he shows he’s 100% healthy, I’m ranking him here-ish.

Third Tier:

13. Brian Fuentes, Angels: I’ve always been a Fuentes guy, even with the Rockies.
14. Brad Lidge, Phillies: Seems to be shaking off early season jitters.  Fina-frickin’-ly.
15. Ryan Franklin, Cardinals: The numbers are getting harder and harder to ignore.
16. Brian Wilson, Giants: Still a reliable source of saves, but still shaky at times.
17. Scott Downs, Blue Jays: Not getting a lot of SV chances, but pitching well.

Fourth Tier:

18. Kerry Wood, Indians: Hasn’t surrendered a run since May 19.  That’s a while.
19. Mike Gonzalez, Braves: He’s still the man, but Soriano looms large and effective.
20. Houston Street, Rockies: Regained the form that once made him an elite closer.
21. Matt Capps, Pirates: A healthy Capps beats anything else in the Pirates pen.
22. Aaron Bailey, Athletics: Only has 2 SVs, but Ks (38 in 31 IP) make him a solid option

Fifth Tier:

23. Fernando Rodney, Tigers: He’s still not a good pitcher, but even bad pitchers get SVs.
24. George Sherrill, Orioles: Chris Ray is in the minors, further securing Sherrill’s job.
25. David Aardsma, Mariners: Morrow still stinking bodes well for Aardsma and his owners.
26. Kevin Gregg, Cubs: He’s harder and harder to like these days.  SVs but not much else.
27. LaTroy Hawkins, Astros: Valverde is throwing off a mound.  Hawkins’ clock is ticking.

Some “other” names:

28. Matt Lindstrom, Marlins: Sporting a 5.82 ERA and that seems about right, actually.
29. Joel Hanrahan, Nationals: Hanrahan not closing “officially”, but he’s the guy.
30. Mess in Tampa, Rays: I said earlier to get Wheeler (by default) and I stand by it.

“Holding On” is the part of Pen Names where we turn our collective attention to those “other” members of the relief corps around baseball, the middle relievers, set-up men, and, in many cases, the Holds candidates.  We like to think of the Holding On nominees as the “best of the rest” of the Major League relief world.  We’re here to do what we do best—keep you from suffering.  So, tell your friends and alert the press.  Wait, we’re the press.  Anyway…

Leo Nunez, Marlins: Get used to seeing him here, and possibly in the closer rankings too.

J.C. ROmero, Phillies: 2.35 ERA and a 7:2 K:BB ratio in rehab assignment.  Back this week.

Mark DiFelice, Brewers: 1.16 ERA,  0.81 WHIP may be sidelined with an elbow issue.

Rafael Betancourt, Indians: Sung his praises last week, and he lands on the DL.  My fault?

JJ Putz, Mets: Another Holding On jinx candidate.  May lose 8^th inning duties to Bobby Parnell.

If you want to email, you can reach me at: damianschaab@sportsgrumblings.com

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