Save situations, July 28: Tigers, Pirates, Cardinals

Looks like Todd Jones' time is up as the Tigers' closer, at least for the time being. Fernando Rodney has supplanted him after Jim Leyland had seen enough of Jones' awfulness this year. Fantasy owners might have been willing to put up with the 4.99 ERA and 1.59 WHIP if there was at least a promise of coming close to 40 saves like the past three seasons, but now it's safe to put Jones on your bench or even cut him. His 18 saves and measley 13 strikeouts were barely worth the trouble.

Rodney certainly has the stuff to succeed in this role, but injuries have been a problem, so his grip on the job will be tenuous at best. Still, he's got to be picked up immediately, with Joel Zumaya's value also rising if Rodney should falter or get hurt again.

g The Pirates' trade of Damaso Marte means his fantasy value in most leagues is shot. Marte (right), who had taken over for the injured Matt Capps in Pittsburgh, will strictly be a left-handed specialist now that he's with the Yankees. That leaves another void in the Pirates' bullpen, and it's unclear where they might turn next. John Grabow didn't exactly inspire much confidence Sunday by allowing two home runs, Tyler Yates has been shaky for the past few weeks (seven earned runs in his past 10 2/3 innings), and Denny Bautista is pretty much the epitome of an average middle reliever. In other words, stay away from Pirates relievers unless you're absolutely desperate for saves.

g In St. Louis, the news isn't quite as bad, but it's still a mess. Closer Ryan Franklin has been bad his past three times out (two blown saves and two losses), but luckily for him, Jason Isringhausen hasn't exactly made a case for taking back his old job, either. It looks like the Cards will ride it out with Franklin for the time being, which means he still has value, although I'd probably relegate him to my bench until he snaps out of his funk. Bradenton's Chris Perez showed lots of promise in his brief call-up, but after the league adjusted to the rookie he was sent back down to the minors for some more seasoning. He's the guy to really keep an eye on, although he probably won't be making much more of a fantasy contribution until 2009.

Photos by The Associated Press

Save Situations, May 17: An update

Just a quick update since the last time we chatted about closers ...

g Eric Gagne is already back in the closer's role and earned his 10th save earlier this week. He says he's cleared of whatever mental demons that haunted him, and manager Ned Yost says Gagne is his "guy."

It also doesn't help that David Riske was put on the DL and Guillermo Mota imploded in a loss to the Brewers. So, it looks like Gagne's the guy, until the next meltdown at least. Stay tuned ...

g Turns out Jason Isringhausen did have something physically wrong with him: He was pitching with a lacerated hand, which he apparently gave himself by whacking a TV. Nice.

Now Izzy's on the DL, and the Cardinals called up Manatee County's own Chris Perez as we discussed the other day. Perez, who had some fine numbers closing in Triple-A, worked a scoreless inning Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays and hit 100 mph on the radar gun in his debut. Tony La Russa says he'll use a variety of pitchers to close out games, but I still think Ryan Franklin is going to get the call in the ninth most of the time. But Perez has got a very bright future.

g The Indians also find themselves in a closer-by-committee situation after fill-in Rafael Betancourt's ERA has floated above 7. Indians manager Eric Wedge told the Associated Press he plans to use four guys - Betancourt, Masa Kobayashi, Jensen Lewis and Rafael Perez - to close out games until Joe Borowski returns from the DL. In the meantime, my money's on Kobayashi, who's got prior closing experience in Japan and has already come in to save Betancourt's butt and pick up a save Thursday.

Save situations, May 12: Izzy, Gagne demoted

Times are tough. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Foreclosures are on the rise. The economy is slumping, and job security is a big concern for Americans everywhere.

Jason Isringhausen and Eric Gagne feel your pain.

Well, OK, maybe that's an overstatement. Those guys are still collecting multi-million-dollar paychecks while the rest of us are scrounging up loose change from the couch cushions just to fill up our gas tanks. But Izzy and Gags are understanding the uneasiness some of us feel about our job futures. Both of those guys were demoted from their team's closer role on successive days over the weekend after piling up the blown saves this year.

Gagne's "temporary" demotion certainly isn't surprising for anyone who's followed The Goggled One since last year. He almost single-handedly sabotaged the Red Sox's playoff push at the end of last year in a trade deadline deal gone horribly wrong, then imploded as the Brewers' closer this year (three blown saves in his past six chances) after somehow wrangling $10 million from Milwaukee this offseason.

Gagne's glory days as the NL's premier closer (152 saves from 2002-04 with the Dodgers) are clearly behind him, as injuries and now a case of a battered confidence have derailed him. The door was left open for Gagne to return to the closer's spot eventually this season after he works out his issues and earns back manager Ned Yost's trust. In the meantime, the Brew Crew will use an all-hands-on-deck approach in the ninth, with Guillermo Mota, David Riske and Salomon Torres, among others, all getting save chances as Yost sees fit.

If I'm a Gagne owner in a league where saves are scarce and I've put up with this nonsense all along just to fill that category, I'm holding onto him on the off chance he does figure things out. Otherwise, I'm dumping him and looking elsewhere. And if you're scrounging for saves and looking at this situation, Mota (2.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 19 Ks, 11 BBs in 16 IP, five holds) is probably the favorite to get most of the ninth-inning chances, although Riske and Torres also have some prior closing experience.

Now, onto Isringhausen. It's a similar case of lost confidence after an MLB-high five blown saves this year, and Tony LaRussa's suggestion of a temporary break isn't really a shock. But I do think Izzy is more likely to regain his job, and sooner. After all, he's got a much better track record in recent years than Gagne, even though he's been "pitching like a second-grader" (his words) of late. He's got a lot of miles on his arm but this doesn't seem to be an injury issue at this point. Looks like you'll have to hold onto him, too, if you're looking to boost your save totals, but obviously this rough patch is a concern.

In the meantime, the Cards appear to be going down the "closer-by-committee" road too, although Ryan Franklin, who's having a nice year (1.89 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) worked the ninth and earned the save the day of Izzy's removal. Also, looking further down the road, 24-year-old Bradenton native Chris Perez, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound right-hander and one of the majors' top reliever prospects, is waiting in the wings in Triple-A. LaRussa initially considered putting Isringhausen on the DL and bringing up Perez before ruling against that. Keep tabs on him, as he could someday soon be Izzy's ninth-inning heir.

Save situations, April 16: Bye-bye, Borowski

Looks like Joe Borowski's days as a fantasy producer could be numbered. The Indians closer has been put on the DL with a strained triceps, an injury the team's kept secret and partially explains his eye-popping 18.00 ERA and .412 batting average against this season.

Borwoski's been something of an enigma these past few years, a guy who piles up saves and escapes ninth-inning jam after ninth-inning jam, all while giving his manager and fans serious nausea. Yet he's somehow been able to hold onto his job. That may change with Rafael Betancourt, one of the league's best set-up men last year, taking over closing duties in Cleveland. Betancourt doesn't have a great history closing out games (12 of 29 in save opportunities), but he may very well take hold of the job and run with it.

The smart move here is to put Borowski on your DL slot and grab Betancourt if he's available. The Indians say Borowski will resume closing duties when (if) he returns, and although his ratios stink, you probably drafted him purely for saves, and he led the AL in those last year. The bottom line is you want whoever's pitching the ninth inning for the Indians, because there will be plenty of saves to be had.

Elsewhere in closer country:

g The Braves' closing carousel continues. First Rafael Soriano goes on the DL, now replacement Peter Moylan joins him. Just like Soriano, Moylan has an elbow strain, although this one's believed to be much worse, and he's scheduled to take a dreaded visit to Dr. James Andrews, often the baseball equivalent of your girlfriend telling you she just wants to be friends. The good news is Soriano should be back shortly, so Moylan's short-lived fantasy worthiness has probably expired with just one save to his credit this year. Looks like Manny Acosta gets the save chances in the interim by default until Soriano returns.

g The Mariners are taking their sweet old time in getting J.J. Putz (ribcage) back in their bullpen. Seattle's closer-by-committee approach with Putz out has been pretty maddening, so I'd probably look elsewhere in the meantime.