He's coming back!

The Atlanta Braves have never been afraid to make the moves that most teams never would. If the best move is jumping an underage shortstop from A-ball to the majors then that is precisely what the Braves will do. Most teams won’t part with any competent starting pitchers; the Braves have dealt a recognized ace for what appeared to be a mediocre catching prospect. Can you imagine any other team trading away a young and relatively cheap 30-homer first baseman for prospects in a year they once again expect to contend for the NL East title? The Braves have done it and will continue to do it as long as Bobby Cox and John Schuerholz are running things. So when the Braves released their closer, Bob Wickman, on Friday it was just business as usual.

This season, Bob Wickman has pitched 43.2 innings with a 3-3 record. He recorded 20 saves in 26 opportunities with a 3.92 earned run average. For a pitcher who was ready to retire last season this is a pretty decent performance. Wickman’s release had nothing at all to do with his performance but rather with his attitude. Apparently Wickman had a tendency to complain whenever he was brought into a non-save situation. The Braves and several of Wickman’s teammates grew tired of this me-first attitude and the Adam Dunn homer Wickman allowed in extra innings on Thursday was the last straw.

The Braves will return to an old favorite to close out games, the closer-by-committee. Many fantasy owners will groan whenever they hear a team announce that they will not name any one individual their primary closer. I get excited. Any idiot can grab the guy named the closer but the fantasy owner willing to do a little research can grab the most likely man for the job a week before he collects his first save. If you have read any article on the topic you have heard Rafael Soriano as the reliever most likely to collect saves at least until the sore-shouldered Octavio Dotel is healthy again. My gut (and a considerable gut it is) tells me that the player you fantasy owners should grab is Peter Moylan.

Rafael Soriano is a very talented pitcher. He has also had his problems this season with giving up the long ball. Octavio Dotel has been very good when healthy but those bouts of healthy pitching have been few and far between. Former closer of the future Joey Devine has lost most of his luster and will not be getting many save opportunities despite being called up again on Friday. The one pitcher on the Braves who has been competent all season long and has the stuff to get the job done is Peter Moylan.

Moylan began his career with the Minnesota Twins but was held back by chronic back problems. In fact he had major back surgery in 2001 and 2003. Moylan re-made his delivery pitching in Australia and now pitching sidearm hits the mid-nineties without the stress on his back that bothered him previously. He has delivered 70.1 innings with a 2.05 earned run average, with 46 strikeouts, 26 walks and just 5 home runs and 50 hits allowed. That hit-rate makes his walk-rate tolerable and it might also be the very thing that makes your league mates who only glance at strikeouts and walks pass him over. FAAB him for $5 and you may just have a cheap closer to finish out 2007 and for the entirety of the 2008 season.

Coming Soon...

Chase Utley could be back in your life as soon as Sunday. You guys who grabbed Tadahito Iguchi probably aren’t in any hurry to see him activated but be prepared as the Phillies want him back in the lineup yesterday. He played in a doubleheader at Double-A Reading on Friday and will play again on Saturday. Usually I would caution you not to expect to see Utley’s usual power but I think that Utley’s injury was minor enough that it shouldn’t hamper his power very much.

Pedro Martinez will make a third rehab start for Single-A St. Lucie as the Mets’ ace continues to recover from shoulder surgery. You and fantasy owners like you might worry about things like mediocre velocity and ordinary results pitching in A-ball but I do not. Pedro is pitching in St. Lucie precisely so he can get his pitches in without worrying about the results. As soon as he hits the majors Pedro will crank it up a notch; whether that is enough to lead the Mets to the World Series is the only doubt Mets fans should have.

You can send Jon your questions comments and insults at JonWilliams@SportsGrumblings.com and he will no doubt respond.