Jason Isringhausen is getting a good long rest, whether he needs it or not.

After a brief lull, this past week was another tumultuous week in the world of major league bullpens.  This week we will highlight the three Central division situations that span across both leagues.  These situations remain volatile and it is unlikely they are sorted out in the immediate future as no bullpen clearly contains obvious “backup” closers or closers-in-waiting.  We will begin with the situation that currently has the most clarity:

St. Louis – The first week and a half of Jason Isringhausen’s season was going as well as can be expected.  Five saves in five opportunities and no runs allowed in his first six innings pitched, and all was well.  Since that time, Isringhausen has made 15 appearances, during which he has totaled as many saves as blown saves (six) and has suffered five losses; all of which has ultimately led to his removal as the Cardinals’ closer and as of this writing, a trip to the disabled list.  There are those in the St. Louis media who are questioning whether this trip to the DL is the result of an actual physical or is more of an excuse to give Isringhausen a mental break.  Either way, all indications point to Isringhausen receiving a significant break from the action with the All-Star break looking like an optimistic return date.  He cannot be dropped in most leagues, but could be drop-worthy if it appears his rehab is not progressing or the interim closer begins to have the look of permanence. 

All of which brings us to the most important information for fantasy: who is the likely replacement?  In the short-term, the answer is clearly Ryan Franklin.  Franklin had been an inconsistent pitcher prior to arriving in St. Louis, spending time in Seattle, Cincinnati and Philadelphia as both a starter and a reliever.  With the exception of a few seasons, Franklin exhibited average to below per-inning rates at all stops.  Since arriving in St. Louis prior to last season and falling under the tutelage of pitching guru, Dave Duncan, Franklin has been a consistent, if not particularly exciting performer (and should not be a mystery to those in holds leagues).  In his past 100 relief innings (all for the Cardinals), Franklin has a 2.79 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP with a K to BB ratio of nearly 3 to 1.  While it can be argued that Franklin has not even been the best, non-closing Cardinal reliever in his time with St. Louis (Russ Springer last season and Kyle McClellan this season), he is clearly manager Tony LaRussa’s first choice to pitch in Isringhausen’s stead.  Franklin should be grabbed in all leagues.  For those looking a bit deeper, there remains the possibility that Isringhausen’s replacement may come from down on the farm.  It is has universally been assumed that former University of Miami closer, and 2006 first round pick Chris Perez would be the Cardinals closer in 2009, following the expiration of Isringhausen’s contract.  While it seems unlikely that the organization would thrust Perez into the role immediately following their long-time closer’s implosion, it looms as a remote possibility later this season.

Cleveland – A year after being arguably the top middle reliever in fantasy leagues, many ran to the wire or rejoiced the presence of Rafael Betancourt on their fantasy squads when news of Joe Borowski’s trip the disabled list broke just a few short weeks ago.  That exultation has turned to horror as Betancourt’s performance level has been, on balance, among the AL’s worst relievers with at least a significant sample during that time.  Using 15 innings as the cutoff, Betancourt has the 2^nd worst HR and Hits allowed per 9 innings rates of all AL relievers.  He has exhibited solid strikeout and walk rates as always but they have not been enough to overcome the negatives.  His poor hit rate can be partially blamed on his abnormally high BABIP (.358) but even assuming a regression to the league mean wouldn’t cure all of Betancourt’s ills.  The crux of his disastrous run as Indians closer may be due to the non-quantifiable mental aspect of closing.  It is unfair to say that Betancourt doesn’t possess “what it takes” to close but there is a growing sentiment that may just be the case. 

While Betancourt hasn’t “officially” been removed from the interim closer role, it is safe to examine the alternatives.  First and foremost, is the reliever who was brought in to bail Betancourt out of his last failed save opportunity and has recorded two saves this season, Japanese import Masa Kobayashi.  Prior to the season, Matt Murphy did an in depth Japanese reliever study and highlighted Kobayashi’s elite performance in the Japanese leagues.  In fact I will pull the following section directly to his preseason recommendation because it is relevant to the discussion:

Kobayashi comes over with the best credentials of the three as he is one of 3 relievers in Japanese League history to record 200 saves (Sasaki and Takatsu being the others) and recorded 90 saves over his final three seasons in Japan.  His 3-year rates in Japan are as follows:

ERA                2.95

WHIP              1.23

H / 9                9.29

HR / 9             0.86

BB / 9             1.78

K / 9                7.13

Very respectable numbers to be sure.  However, his final season in Japan was by far his worst in recent memory.  He experienced moderate to severe erosion in all of his per inning rates, including a ballooning of his WHIP from 1.06 to 1.37.  Finally, he enters his rookie season at the somewhat advanced age of 34.  These factors, combined with the fact that the Indians bullpen is deep, with candidates capable of stepping in for Joe Borowski, and I would call Kobayashi a name to consider for AL-only bullpens and a name to watch in mixed leagues as a turnaround in performance is not out of the question.

It appears that the turnaround that Matt advised to be mindful us has occurred as his Kobayashi has exhibited elite control thus far (he is walking less than a batter per 9 innings pitched – only 3 relievers have exhibited a superior rate over 15 innings minimum).  While his ratios are slightly better than they were in Japan, it is not uncommon for a Japanese reliever to experience a positive bump in performance their first tour through the league.  It is recommended that any in search of saves add Kobayashi until this situation becomes clearer.  There is one aspect of the Cleveland bullpen that has yet to be mentioned but is perhaps most important: when healthy, the preferred choice of closer of the manager of the Indians is Joe Borowski.  I hope it goes without saying that Borowski should not be lingering on the waiver wires of your league and it at least stashed on someone’s DL.  Saves are saves, sometimes they aren’t pretty but they are necessary evil as owners of Borowski will tell you.

Milwaukee -

The Brewers bullpen is that bullpen this year.  For the fantasy veterans, we are well aware that every year there is always at least one bullpen which results in a generous mix of ugly blown saves, uncertain manager proclamations and seeing one owner after another in your league speculating on nearly every member of the bullpen.  The Brewers pen has all the classic signs of being that bullpen:

*A former dominant closer spectacularly blowing saves on a nightly basis?  Check

*A host of former lower-echelon closers with a history of breaking fantasy owner’s hearts present?  Check

*An emerging team that has stalled in part because of this situation?  Unfortunately, Check

I am usually of the mind that there is no bullpen in existence that is completely bereft of assets that can benefit the fantasy owner.  I may have met my match this time. Is it possible that one of the members of this pen (Eric Gagne, Salomon Torres, Guillermo Mota, David Riske, the currently banished to AAA, Derrick Turnbow) eventually develops into a quality closing option this season?  Sure it’s possible but it is not worth the heartache to find out.  I won’t say this often but this is a situation to steer clear of.  

Tier One: The Elite Closers

Jonathan Papelbon – Boston Red Sox
Mariano Rivera – New York Yankees
Billy Wagner – New York Mets
Joakim Soria – Kansas City Royals
Joe Nathan – Minnesota Twins
Brad Lidge – Philadelphia Phillies
J.J. Putz – Seattle Mariners
Francisco Rodriguez – LA Angels of Anaheim

Tier Two: Your Average Joes

Kerry Wood – Chicago Cubs
Jose Valverde – Houston Astros
Takashi Saito – LA Dodgers
Bobby Jenks – Chicago White Sox
Brandon Lyon – Arizona Diamondbacks
Francisco Cordero – Cincinnati Reds
Huston Street – Oakland Athletics
B.J. Ryan – Toronto Blue Jays
George Sherrill – Baltimore Orioles
Matt Capps – Pittsburgh Pirates
Jon Rauch – Washington Nationals
Troy Percival – Tampa Bay Rays

Tier Three: Looking Over Their Shoulders

Brian Fuentes – Colorado Rockies
Trevor Hoffman – San Diego Padres
Todd Jones – Detroit Tigers
Brian Wilson – San Francisco Giants
Kevin Gregg – Florida Marlins
C.J. Wilson – Texas Rangers
Ryan Franklin – St. Louis Cardinals
Masahide Kobayashi – Cleveland Indians
Manny Acosta – Atlanta Braves
Eric Gagne – Milwaukee Brewers

Top 5 Middle Relievers

Carlos Marmol – Chicago Cubs
Hideki Okajima – Boston Red Sox
Joey Devine – Oakland Athletics
Hong-Chih Kuo – Los Angeles Dodgers
Santiago Casilla – Oakland Athletics (Disabled)