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The save is a source of angst for real-life and fantasy baseball managers alike. Real managers love to have a stopper to get the final three outs of a game, and the role has become super specialized in the 21st century. Fantasy players tend to flock to closers even though saves are usually just one of 10 categories in a typical league. To truly understand how insignificant the save stat is one only has to look at the Mets on Wednesday. John Maine came off the DL and pitched five terrific innings allowing no runs against the Nationals leaving the game with a 12 run lead. Journeyman reliever Brian Stokes finished off the game pitching the final four innings and got a save protecting a 12 run lead. Given the mess the Mets’ bullpen is in, does that mean Stokes should now be in the mix for the closer role? Absolutely not; he’s still just Brian Stokes. It also means nothing in fantasy. Either way, the save statistic colors the perception of teams and players and greatly affect the value of pitchers in real-life and fantasy. More closer related fantasy news to follow. • If you’ve been using any member Mets’ bullpen over the past couple weeks I have to say I told you so. I never recommended any player, and I still can’t. Jerry Manuel suggested he might move a starter into the bullpen possibly Oliver Perez, but he has been too good as a starter recently for that to happen. New York needs Billy Wagner back quickly or else it won’t be making the playoffs. He is eligible to be activated on 8/18. • Pittsburgh has appeared to have gone with John Grabow as its interim closer. He got his third save Wednesday and has pitched pretty well this season with a 3.14 ERA. Matt Capps however is currently on a rehab assignment and could be activated in the coming week. He was likely dropped in most leagues when he went on the DL. Jump on him early before he comes back and reap the benefits. • Brian Fuentes made it a bit adventurous but he saved his 22nd game against Arizona. He walked two and allowed two hits and a run. Facing Adam Dunn with the bases loaded however he induced a weak ground ball to end the game. Jon Rauch was the loser for the D-Backs allowing a 2-run home run in the 8th inning to Brad Hawpe. Brandon Lyon hasn’t been perfect, but he looks completely safe as the closer. If for some reason you still have Rauch on your roster, you probably shouldn’t. He doesn’t hold value as a middle reliever. • Tony LaRussa says he doesn’t have a clear closer but his actions beg to differ. Rookie Chris Perez appears to have won the role as he notched his third save of the year Wednesday. He has the best stuff in the Cardinal bullpen so he would be a good choice. Adam Wainwright supposedly is prepping to make a return as a reliever, but with the continued injury woes for Chris Carpenter I think he will be back in the rotation where he is more valuable. • This just in: Joe Nathan is good. His ERA is a miniscule 1.05 for the year and his WHIP is 0.89. He got his 32nd save as the Twins remained 0.5 games back of the White Sox for the Central Division lead. • Jonathan Broxton didn’t get a save Wednesday, but instead got a win. He pitched a perfect ninth, and Nomar Garciparra hit the game-winning home run in his second game back from the disabled list. He has had some recent troubles, but chalk that up to overuse. Broxton wore down similarly last season when he was used on five consecutive days. There shouldn’t be any worries about his effectiveness the rest of the way as long as Joe Torre continues to be smart and give him rest. The Dodger lineup is now much more formidable with the acquisition of Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake, and Andre Ethier playing everyday. Garciaparra has played ok defensively at short and he provides a bit more pop as evidenced by his home run. • Brandon League got his first save of the year, but it was in a bit of a forced situation. The Blue Jays led 4-0 heading into the 9th so Scott Downs came in to finish the game. He allowed a leadoff walk and then a single before exiting the game with a sprained ankle he suffered trying to cover third on the play. League gave up an RBI groundout and then an error lead to two more runs. B.J. Ryan had pitched the previous two days so he wasn’t available to pitch. League did eventually finish the game so don’t read anything more into this. • The Mariners and Angels had a terrible day blowing saves left and right. Seattle eventually won 10-7 in 12 innings. J.J. Putz got his 7th blown save allowing a run in the ninth. The Angels topped him by blowing the save three times. Jose Arredondo allowed an inherited runner to score in the seventh. Scott Shields gave up a run in the eighth. Fantasy closer darling Francisco Rodriguez played more to his peripheral statistics and a walk and three hits yielding three runs in the process while recording just one out. It was his fifth blown save of the year. Really besides the 46 saves, this has been K-Rod’s worst year in the major leagues. His strikeouts are way down and his walks are up, and his delivery is as violent and uncontrollable as ever. Some team is going to make a massive mistake handing home more than $10 million per year.
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Jonathan Lee AccuScore Analyst
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