Fantasy Baseball and MLB News, Rumors and Injury Updates

Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat

August 19, 2009 @ 12:00:00

By Nicholas Minnix
Edited by Tim Heaney

Also see: Fantasy baseball closer depth charts

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

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

Key

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

Chicago Cubs

Closer: Carlos Marmol

Next in line: Angel Guzman, John Grabow

Other possibilities: Kevin Gregg

As you know by now, manager Lou Piniella installed Marmol as his ninth-inning man on Tuesday, reasoning that the right-hander deserved a chance. It's likely more just that Sweet Lou didn't believe that Gregg deserved the opportunities any longer.

Gregg has no issues with the move, at least publicly. As he pointed out, he has served up more round-trippers alone this year than he did extra-base knocks in all of 2008. His captain said he thinks Gregg, who thinks his problems have cropped up only recently, needs to pitch inside more.

It still may be a bumpy ride....

Piniella didn't offer up any info that would suggest what sort of leash Marmol has, but as we pointed out yesterday, the Marmol ride may not be so smooth, either, because of his significant control issues (8.31 BB/9 and 11 hit batsmen in 2009, 5.80 BB/9 lifetime). "Obviously, he has the stuff to do it. He's got the toughness to do it. It's just a question of getting the ball over the plate," stated Piniella.

The Cubs' skipper also confirmed that Angel Guzman and John Grabow will also be in the mix if needed. Guzman, a righty, allowed two earned runs on a hit and two walks, with two K's, against the San Diego Padres last night.

The advice remains the same: Target Marmol. Guzman and, to a lesser extent, Grabow are nice stashables in very deep leagues, particularly NL formats. Don't drop Gregg in NL setups just yet, but Lou is not one to play musical chairs back there. He'll probably go to someone else before Gregg if Marmol falters, unless Gregg is disgustingly good following his demotion.

Job Security score: 2

Health score: 5

Mound meetings

The Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants were tied heading into the 10th at Great American Ball Park last night when Francisco Cordero came on. The 34-year-old yielded three earned runs on three hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. In tied games, opponents are hitting .346 against the right-hander in 26 at-bats, nearly 100 points higher than in any other scenario. Manager Dusty Baker offered up a defense: The Reds haven't used him much lately. It was Cordero's sixth appearance of the month, and he has thrown only 15 innings in July and August combined.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have given Jonathan Broxton consistent work in the past few days. The right-hander began bouncing back from his poor first half of this month with back-to-back appearances against the St. Louis Cardinals. He tossed 2 1/3 innings (34 pitches) with one hit and one walk allowed and four K's. Manager Joe Torre thought Broxton attacked hitters a little better for Tuesday night's save.
On Tuesday Jim Johnson left the Baltimore Orioles to be with his wife and witness the birth of their daughter, Abigail Grace. Beautiful name, kids. The club isn't certain how long Johnson will be absent (a few days, tops?), but Danys Baez is expected to fill in. The O's also called up another potential future closer in 6-foot-9 Kam Mickolio. He has control issues, but he creates great leverage with that frame and throws in the mid- to upper 90s.
Huston Street ran into serious trouble in a save situation for the first time in two months in Tuesday's save against the Washington Nationals. He gave up three hits and an earned run in an inning but still notched his 30th save for the Colorado Rockies.
The Tampa Bay Rays turned to J.P. Howell for his first save opp since Aug. 5. The lefty struck out three while allowing a hit and a walk in a scoreless frame against Baltimore.
Mark Lowe hasn't been too swift in his setup role for the Seattle Mariners lately. In his last two games (Aug. 14 and Aug. 18), Lowe went two innings, allowing six hits (including two dingers), six runs (four earned) and a walk, with one strikeout. He was credited with a blown save last night. The good news: Walks haven't led to his downfall. The bad: He's missing his spots and his fastball was flat.