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Hypothetical Bullpen Days and Why People Love Big Sexy Bartolo Colon

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Bartolo Colon

Remember this guy, Minnesota Twins fans? It is Bartolo Colon way back in 2000 pitching for the rival Cleveland Indians. Big Sexy celebrated his 45th birthday Thursday.

It’s closing in on two months into the major league season and not a lot of action yet with closers losing jobs. I’m trying hard folks to get some changes but it isn’t working out too well.

However, there are a couple other roads we could look down. With the Tampa Bay Rays starting Sergio Romo two days in a row against the Los Angeles Angels last weekend, I thought I would look at some potential situations in which teams might be able to pull something like this off just for fun. It will look more like a “bullpen” day for each team, assuming they have a pending off day or a long stretch of games.

New York Yankees

The first team I want to look at is the New York Yankees. With all of that fire power in the back end of the bullpen, it would be interesting to see how far Dellin Betances, Aroldis Chapman, Chad Green and David Robertson could go. For the sake of argument, I think I would break it down as follows: start Betances, Green, Chasen Shreve, and Robertson for two each, then bring in Chapman.

Houston Astros

Houston Astros is the next team not because of the greatness of their bullpen but more because of the versatility of the pitchers they have. I honestly think this team could do it and not miss a beat. The wild card would be Collin McHugh starting. He is listed as long relief which means he could throw multiple innings. I’ll take that and assume he can give me three. Even though he only pitched 19.2 innings in 15 appearances this season, he has some starting experience.

I’ll follow McHugh with Brad Peacock for two, Will Harris for two, Ken Giles (typed that very nervously), then Chris Devinski. The great thing about the Astros is that I could switch around Peacock, Giles and Devinski and really not miss a beat. The Astros bullpen is one major reason why they are the team to beat in Major League Baseball.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are my third, what if they had a bullpen day, experiment. If you’ve been reading my column the past few weeks, you’ll know that I’m very big on Josh Hader. Stud. Now that closer Corey Knebel is back, that moves Hader into the setup role, although I still think he should and will have the closer job sooner rather than later.

That being said, the Crew’s bullpen is legit. I’d start with Dan Jennings and as he is long relief, and try and get three innings out of him. Then it’s a piece of cake: Matt Albers for two, Jeremy Jeffress for two, Hader and then Knebel closing it out.

I think the Crew is a starting pitcher away from being mentioned among the contenders in the National League. Their bullpen is better than the Nats, Dodgers, Rockies, Cards, Cubs and Braves. A July trade may give Mr. Baseball, Bob Uecker, another world series in Milwaukee.

Extra Innings

Last week I went on my soap box about Robinson Cano and how people have a tough time taking accountability for themselves. This may sound hypocritical because the guy I want to talk about today is about as beloved a player there is in the league right now. Happy Birthday to Big Sexy Bartolo Colon, who turned 45 on Thursday.

Watching Colon over the years, he is a guy that as a Minnesota Twins fan, I was terrified to see when he was with the Indians. He threw heat plain and simple. I don’t know the exact record against the Twins while he was in Cleveland but I do know I didn’t go to bed happy very often when he pitched.

Then came the PED suspension in 2012 while with the Oakland A’s. Katrina Hamrick of Fanside’s Call to the Pen wrote an article on why we as fans celebrate Colon even though he had the PED suspension. Colon’s quote, in my opinion, is why.

“I apologize to the fans, to my teammates and to the Oakland A’s,” Colon said in a statement released by the players’ association. “I accept responsibility for my actions and I will serve my suspension as required by the joint drug program.”

Yes he apologized but he also took accountability for it. It wasn’t a doctor’s fault or he didn’t know what he was doing. He said I did it and moved on. We are a country of second and third chances and Colon fits into this.

So with this I say happy birthday Bart. You’ve brought smiles to a lot of fans around the country and in the game. You are all of us 40-somethings living through your successes on the field.

Fantasy Baseball Closers Roundup Week 6 – Britton, Osuna

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Baltimore Orioles RP Zach Britton

Baltimore Orioles Zach Britton hopes to return from the 60-day DL in late May. Does he need the Orioles to trade him to a contender to make him one of the top fantasy baseball closers again?

The first week of May is in the books and what a May so far. We had a team no-hitter by the Los Angeles Dodgers using four pitchers versus the San Diego Padres in Monterrey, Mexico. That was the first ever MLB no-hitter thrown outside the U.S. or Canada. Albert Pujols recorded the 3,000th hit of his career. Coincidentally, those events both happened on the same day.

Then James Paxton of the Seattle Mariners, a Canadian, threw a no-no on his homeland turf at Rogers Centre against the Toronto Blue Jays. With these non-U.S. no-hitters, maybe the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees shouldn’t play two games in London, England next season.

Speaking of the team many think will represent the American League in the World Series, the Yankees flexed their muscle to the tune of winning nine of their last ten games and 17 of 18. That is… pretty good.

In fantasy baseball closers news, things are active on that front too. An elite closer could be returning from the DL soon to potentially be a big trade chip at the deadline or sooner.

Baltimore Orioles

Who is it, Brad Brach or Darren O’Day? Brach picked up a save against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night to push his season total to four. O’Day has two saves on the season. Who is “the guy” for the Orioles?

Two things come to mind when looking at this situation. First, if Brach and O’Day are a team’s closers and they combine for six saves, the team isn’t very good. Thank you Captain Obvious.

Second, it’s a moot point when Zach Britton comes back at the end of May (he’s hopeful), as he should slot right back into his closer role. But will Britton even be around in June? The Orioles are quickly approaching sell-off mode, which was anticipated with their pending free agents and aging roster, if they aren’t competitive.

Holding on to Brach and O’Day could be worth it if Britton gets dealt. If you drafted Britton in the late rounds and stashed him, your patience may be rewarded soon whether he stays with the O’s or (hopefully for Britton owners like yours truly), is traded to a contender.

Milwaukee Brewers

Corey Knebel was activated this week after about a month stay on the DL. During his time on the shelf, Josh Hader really solidified himself as, at the very least, a lock down set up man. Hader has five saves and an unbelievable 46 strikeouts in 22 innings while also sporting an unheard of 0.50 WHIP. Hader is the real deal.

However, Knebel in 2017 had 39 saves and 126 strikeouts in 76 innings of work. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, manager Craig Counsel stated that Knebel won’t have a defined role, at least at first, when he comes back.

If I’m Craig Counsel, then I love this, even if Knebel is less than thrilled. No one likes losing their starting spot due to injury but unfortunately it happens. The Brewers have potentially two solid closer types who can not only flip-flop roles, but can get the big strikeout when you need it.

From a fantasy standpoint though, it’s a bear. Hader was on a roll in Knebel’s absence and one of the top pitching prospects in the Brewers organization. Knebel is making over $3 million a year while Hader is a little over $550k. The Brewers may decide that having that money invested in Knebel gives him the upper hand in retaining the closer role.

Bottom line, if you have one of the two, you may want to consider trading for the other one given the current uncertainty about who will be the primary closer (if there is one). Both are valuable, so hold either for the time being.

Toronto Blue Jays

Usually, I try to gear this article towards a little humor while offering fantasy baseball advice. The situation in Toronto with closer Roberto Osuna is not the least bit humorous.

According to CBC, Osuna was arrested Tuesday morning for assaulting his girlfriend and was immediately put on administrative leave by Major League Baseball. Osuna is not allowed to be around the team during his suspension.

Manager John Gibbons stated that he would go with a closer by committee approach. If I had to guess, I would say John Axford would be the main 9th inning guy for the Blue Jays. Although on Wednesday Axford appeared in the 7th of a tie ball game, Ryan Tepera pitched the 8th and Tyler Clippard the 9th, earning the save, striking out two and giving up one hit.

Extra Innings

The Minnesota Twins placed Miguel Sano on the DL, again. This time, the offensive production that they missed in the past isn’t missing this time around. Eduardo Escobar is more than handling his own at third base. If Sano wasn’t so young and had so much potential, I’d really look at trading him for pitching. Maybe even to the Brewers?

Clayton Kershaw is on his annual trip to the DL. This time it’s much earlier in the season. The good news is it isn’t his back. The bad news is the Dodgers are in a tail spin and losing Kershaw for an extended period of time won’t make it any easier for their club, or the highly drafted ace for your fantasy team, to turn things around.

Reminder – Mother’s Day is Sunday. Take her to a ball game! If that isn’t going to fly, then at least buy her a card, give her a call or FaceTime her, and absolutely make sure you tell her you love her. Until next week.

Closer Roundup – Rays Alex Colome, Astros Ken Giles

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Alex Colome

Tampa Bay Rays closer Alex Colome is struggling and that could prompt a change, but is Sergio Romo a capable replacement? Andy takes a look at the Rays, Astros and Brewers closer situations for us.

We are over half way done with April but haven’t played a whole lot of games yet thanks in large part to Mother Nature. Even dome stadiums aren’t safe from the elements. We’ve had one significant injury among closers to Corey Knebel of the Milwaukee Brewers, and some shaky late inning bullpen situations. Here are three teams to monitor for a potential change before they cause any grief to your fantasy baseball team.

Tampa Bay Rays

Alex Colome Current Closer Sergio Romo Waiting

Although I don’t see Colome necessarily losing his role as closer, mainly because Romo isn’t really a valid option, he’s blown two saves already raising some red flags in Tampa. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times discusses why Colome has been struggling this year.

Kevin Cash said out loud what others have been suggesting, that opposing hitters know Colome is going to rely on his cutter much more heavily than his fastball, and they are able to take advantage of it.

According to FanGraphs, Colome is throwing his cutter 75% of the time so far this year. This is up from 67% in 2017 and 52% in 2016 (Topkin). Teams are indeed sitting on the cutter and much like you would teach a young hitter: sit fastball and adjust to everything else.

Houston Astros

Ken Giles Current Closer Chris Devinski, Brad Peacock Waiting

Giles hasn’t really been setting the world on fire so far this year. He has one save and has been shaky at best during his outings. As of April 8th, manager AJ Hinch committed to Giles as the closer. Since then, Peacock (one save) and Devinski (two saves) have picked up the saves that Giles normally would have earned.

From Astros beat reporter Brian McTaggart, Hinch made comments after the April 13th game that the schedule, matchups and way the games have played out resulted in opportunities for Peacock and Devenski. Hinch added, “I think that at the end of the season Ken Giles will have the most saves, but I don’t know”.

If you trust Hinch, and more importantly Giles, then you have nothing to worry about. I, on the other hand, don’t necessarily like the tone of Hinch and his overall feelings towards keeping Giles in his current role. I prefer Devinski over both Peacock and Giles.

Milwaukee Brewers

Committee Current Closer Josh Hader Waiting and Willing

The good news is Corey Knebel is progressing from his hamstring injury, estimated six weeks recovery from April 5. Speaking from experience, hamstrings are always tough to judge because they can pop or get tweaked again if you step just right or if not warmed up properly.

That being said, the Brewers are using Matt Albers and Jacob Barnes extensively, but Josh Hader is leading the Brew Crew in saves, holds and strikeouts (stats). What this tells me is that Hader is arguably the most valuable relief pitcher the Brewers have.

If you are into sabermetrics, you could argue the reason for the high number of holds is that manager Craig Counsel is using Hader in important situations. If you’re an old school stat person, it might tell you Hader is your prototypical set up person. It tells me Hader is their best pitcher and he will have the full time closer job soon.

Discussion – Cleveland Indians

I thought about everything that I’ve written this season about closers and potential changes that may occur sooner rather than later. I’d like to throw this out there and see what other people think: Is Cody Allen a better closer than Andrew Miller?

Miller is a hard throwing lefty with a wipe out slider. Miller also comes three-quarter delivery and is a beast against lefties. Allen is a righty that depends very much on his curveball as his fastball is 93-95. Although Allen is the current closer, would Tito ever go to Miller?