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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.

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?

Update Closer Rankings – Brian Wilson Injury Concerns

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Here are my updated closer rankings for 2011 fantasy baseball. Players that moved from the prior rankings are shown with an up or down arrow, with relevant notes about the change. Also make sure to check out the AL Tiers and NL Tiers of Relief Pitching for detail on how I came up with the original rankings.

Rank Player Team
Tier 1
1 Heath Bell SD
2 Joakim Soria KC
3 Mariano Rivera NYY
4 Carlos Marmol CHC
5 Neftali Feliz TEX
  • Mariano Rivera is on schedule for another productive season, although the presence of Rafael Soriano could mean less work than in the past, and much fewer four and five-out saves.
  • Carlos Marmol is a risk because of his checkered history, but he’s still nasty. Hence, he’s worth the risk. And he’s looked good this spring.
  • Neftali Feliz is still unsure of what his role will be with Texas. The informed opinion is that a starting pitcher has more value than a closer (especially in fantasy), although some “classic” baseball minds might disagree. If Feliz ends up as a starter – a decision that could come later this week – Alexi Ogando is probably the best ninth-inning option for the Rangers. Either way, Feliz has plenty of fantasy value.
Rank Player Team
Tier 2
6 Brian Wilson SF
7 Jonathan Papelbon BOS
8 Jonathan Broxton LAD
9 Andrew Bailey OAK
10 John Axford MIL
  • Brian Wilson underwent an MRI on Saturday which revealed a mild strain of his left oblique muscle, a situation that could land him on the DL to start the season. He felt the injury during his most recent appearance Thursday against the Angels. I’ve dropped him to the second tier as a result. Stay tuned.
  • A week after Andrew Bailey walked off the mound clutching his elbow, the diagnosis isn’t nearly as bleak as first proposed. Dr. James Andrews, who cleaned up Bailey’s elbow in September, said it’s just torn scar tissue and a forearm strain. While it looks as if he’ll throw later in the week and could be ready by Opening Day, he’s clearly an injury risk in 2011. The A’s primary backup is Brian Fuentes, so… do with that what you want. I don’t like the guy.
Rank Player Team
Tier 3
11 Francisco Rodriguez NYM
12 Joe Nathan MIN
13 Jose Valverde DET
14 Matt Thornton CHW
15 Huston Street COL
16 J.J. Putz ARI
17 Chris Perez CLE
18 Brad Lidge PHI
19 Drew Storen WAS
20 Francisco Cordero CIN
  • Because of fears surrounding his return from last season’s Tommy John surgery and a possible closer time-share with Matt Capps, Joe Nathan could be the most underrated closer in baseball this season. He retired all six batters he faced during a minor league game Monday, and while there’s chatter about a split of the closing duties, I think that’s just speculative rubbish. Nathan’s the guy.
  • Francisco Cordero has thrown four consecutive scoreless innings in spring training, but he’ll have a tight leash with Aroldis Chapman in the same bullpen. The veteran reliever showed up to camp in much better shape, possibly because he knows his job hangs in the balance.
Rank Player Team
Tier 4
21 Ryan Franklin STL
22 Daniel Bard BOS
23 Rafael Soriano NYY
24 Brandon League SEA
25 Aroldis Chapman CIN
26 Craig Kimbrel ATL
27 Jonny Venters ATL
28 Joel Hanrahan PIT
29 Leo Nunez FLA
30 Frank Francisco TOR
31 David Aardsma (injured) SEA
32 Brandon Lyon HOU
33 Fernando Rodney LAA
34 Kevin Gregg BAL
35 Matt Capps MIN
  • Craig Kimbrel’s shaky start has led to speculation that the Braves will, in fact, split closing duties between Kimbrel, a righty, and Jonny Venters, a hard-throwing southpaw. If they were both righties, I’d think this plan was ridiculous, but I’m of the opinion that the best guy for the moment should be in the game in those situations, so a lefty-righty split makes sense. There’s still a chance one guy emerges and takes the job, but for now, it’d be wise to keep them close in your rankings, and down in this tier.
  • Kevin Gregg has struggled this spring, trying out some new mechanics that didn’t work out. He’s still the team’s closer, and with Koji Uehara battling elbow discomfort, the job could eventually go to Mike Gonzalez. Personally, I think Gonzalez is the best man for the job.
  • Aroldis Chapman will open the season in the bullpen, but the Reds still envision him as a future starter. Walt Jocketty admits that while the fireballer could be a top-of-the-rotation guy, he’s also a possible closer. He’s not a setup guy, so look for him to move in one direction or the other as soon as June.
Rank Player Team
Tier 5
36 Sergio Romo SF
37 Kyle Farnsworth TB
38 Hong-Chih Kuo LAD
39 Chris Sale CHW
40 Jake McGee TB
41 Evan Meek PIT
42 Luke Gregerson SD
43 Kenley Jansen LAD
44 Joaquin Benoit DET
45 Ryan Madson PHI
46 Koji Uehara BAL
47 Octavio Dotel TOR
48 Brian Fuentes OAK
49 Scott Downs LAA
50 Clay Hensley FLA
  • With the breaking news of the Brian Wilson injury, Sergio Romo vaults to the top of Tier 5. He’d be a great late-round snag in deeper leagues, and I’d spend a few extra bucks on him in NL-only leagues.
  • Kyle Farnsworth is still the apparent closer in Tampa Bay, but Jake McGee is listed on the World Wide Leader’s closer chart as the first-stringer. While I don’t trust ESPN, I do trust these guys.