Saves and Steals

Saves & Steals: Precious Metals Edition

Written by Darryl DiRocco Thursday, 26 April 2012 08:00

We are on week 4 of the MLB season and the closer position has been the most volatile in the early going. We have had a rash of big injuries to stud closers and some of our other guys are not getting the job done. Let’s take a look at the 9^th inning duties across the bigs, I think the only tier there wasn’t any movement was Tier 1.

Tier 1- Platinum Playa’s

Craig Kimbrel- Braves: He is off to a great start and has locked down 7 ball games in April with an ERA of 1.12 and 14 Ks in only 8 innings pitched. He is the best in the business and if you own him continue to enjoy the spoils of your pick.

Jonathan Papelbon- Phillies: He has converted 6 saves in his first month with his new club and he has also basically been UN hittable so far this year. His ERA is hovering around 1.1 and the only problem with Paps might be how banged up his club’s offense is right now.

Mariano Rivera- Yankees: Mo did blow a save in the first week of the season but since then he has gone 4 for 4 in save opportunities.

John Axford- Brewers: he hasn’t blown a save yet and has been flawless in his last two outings but he has been hit a little bit in the early going and his ERA currently sits at 5.4. Unless the wheels begin to fall off Axford is still worthy of the first tier.

Saves & Steals: Opening Day Edition

Baseball - Saves and Steals

Written by Darryl DiRocco Wednesday, 04 April 2012 10:04

Opening Day is upon us and we are dialed in for another season of Baseball, the one day of the year that all 30 teams are tied in the standings and theoretically still has a chance at leaving their mark on the upcoming grind of the 162 game schedule. One of the hot topics so far in the Spring is the amount of closers around the league who are already banged up and starting the season on the DL. I wasn’t going to do a Bullpen post until week 2 but seeing as there are so many 9^th inning gigs that are already in flux it made sense to get started today.

Tier 1- The Cream Has Risen

Craig Kimbrel-Braves- He broke onto the scene last year in Atlanta and he got the attention of fantasy nation with his record setting rookie season. The kid is a bonafide closer and if you own him you can rejoice in your inner genius.

Jonathan Papelbon-Phillies- The Pap switched teams in the off-season and he left Bean-town to anchor the best pitching staff in the bigs. He is gonna have to be solid early on as Philly is missing a lot of their fire power in the early part of the season with Howard and Utley starting the season on the DL.

Mariano Rivera- Yanks- This is apparently Mo’s swan song season and he intends to call it a career at the end of the season. Retiring or not Mo is still dominant and until we see him start to act his age, he is a tier 1 closer.

John Axford- Brewers- The big Ax is dialed in for the brew crew and he should be in line to notch up big time closer numbers again.