Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat - NL

August 12, 2010 @ 12:55:00

By Tim Heaney
Edited by Nicholas Minnix

Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat: AL | NL

Fantasy baseball closer depth charts: AL | NL

In fantasy baseball, the closer position remains volatile. Rarely does every closer hang on to the job for an entire season - injuries, poor performance and managerial decisions can cloud a team's bullpen picture.

Should you be concerned about a struggling stopper? Which relievers are climbing the depth chart? Are any injuries popping up? KFFL.com's Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat keeps you informed when you're looking for saves.

Key

Job security (JS) score	1 (unstable) to 5 (untouchable)
Health (H) score	1 (injury-prone) to 5 (durable)

 

New York Mets

Closer: Francisco Rodriguez

Understudy: Bobby Parnell

Lurkers: Pedro Feliciano, Manny Acosta, Hisanori Takahashi

Rodriguez was suspended two games and placed on the restricted list Thursday. The right-hander was arrested after Wednesday night's contest and charged with third-degree assault after he reportedly punched his father-in-law. He was kept in a Citi Field holding cell overnight and was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning.

Did K-Rod KO an in-law?

Rodriguez was reportedly upset that he wasn't used in a tight spot during Wednesday's affair. Manager Jerry Manuel was uneasy about adding to K-Rod's workload; the righty had pitched the previous evening. Instead of K-Rod coming in, Manny Acosta gave up the game-losing grand slam.

K-Rod reportedly won't be disciplined further by Major League Baseball but will have to attend anger management classes. As long as that stands, picking up anyone below K-Rod in this hierarchy will likely be a fruitless investment, even for the short term. The Mets will probably play the matchups for as long as necessary.

Job security score: 5

Health score: 5

Mound meetings

• Another Philadelphia Phillies save chance, another Brad Lidge closure. In throwing nine sliders in his 11 pitches, the righty went 1-2-3, striking out the final two batters. He hasn't given up a run in 5 1/3 August innings, during which he has fanned six and allowed two hits and no walks.
• Huston Street returned to action for the Colorado Rockies, pitching a scoreless inning in non-save duty last night. He was unavailable Tuesday due to the birth of his son.
• Maybe the Houston Astros will nudge Matt Lindstrom back from the sidelines quicker than expected. Brandon Lyon, pitching during a tied extra-inning game, allowed five runs on three hits in the top of the 10th, recording just one out in his second inning of work.
• In that same game, Billy Wagner blew a one-run advantage and let an Atlanta Braves save chance slip away; at least he backed into the win. Over his last 11 appearances, though, he holds a 4.22 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP and was scored upon in six outings.
  It'd be tough for the Bravos to remove him during their race for a postseason berth. Speculators on Takashi Saito and Jonny Venters would only see minimal saves return unless Wags encounters health problems.

Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat: AL | NL

Fantasy baseball closer depth charts: AL | NL

KFFLians are saying....

Comment

 

---

What do you think? We want to hear from you!

Name: E-mail: Please, enter the number that you see

Comment Guidelines

Tim Heaney

Since the Boston University alum joined KFFL in 2006, his work has been featured by USA Today/Sports Weekly and Yahoo! Sports, among numerous publications.

Tim competes in Tout Wars and LABR and appears every Wednesday on 1570 AM WNST in Baltimore, as well as frequently on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio.

Follow him on Twitter.

Talk Sports 24/7!
KFFL Sports Forums: Over 24,000 strong and growing!

Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: Vernon Wells to the DL opens up PT for Peter Bourjos (05/21)
Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat: Aroldis Chapman, Addison Reed, Jose Valverde, Frank Francisco, more (05/21)
Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: Gaby Sanchez's demotion, Emilio Bonifacio's deactivation (05/21)