Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat - NL

June 30, 2010 @ 12:30:00

By Bryce McRae
Edited by Tim Heaney

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)

 

Philadelphia Phillies

Closer: Brad Lidge

Lidge out on the ledge? Not really

Lidge blew his second save in his last three chances yesterday. The Phillies' closer registered the first two outs before going walk, single then three-run homer. Romero earned the save after Philadelphia took the lead in the 10th; the southpaw faced two lefties.

One reason for the blown saves: Lidge said he has been relying too much on his slider. Eleven of his final 14 pitches last night were sliders. It was also Lidge's first game action in a week. The critics will come out of the woodwork after Lidge's latest effort. He's still the Phillies' best shot in the ninth; his leash is sizable, for now.

Job security score: 4

Health score: 3

Mound meetings

• The Milwaukee Brewers' John Axford earned his eighth save yesterday in as many chances. It wasn't perfect, though. He gave up two hits and walked one while allowing one run to cross the plate. He struck out two.
  You might want to try shopping the Canadian Ax, if you are relatively secure in saves. His long-term outlook isn't strong; his 3.00 ERA and 1.33 WHIP are hardly elite. Also, Trevor Hoffman probably will earn some save chances, if not return to the job, eventually in 2010.
• Justin M. Miller and Ronald Belisario teamed up to work the ninth for the Los Angeles Dodgers yesterday. Jonathan Broxton and Hong-Chih Kuo were unavailable.
  Miller started the inning but surrendered a one-run dinger before recording two outs. Manager Joe Torre then turned to Belisario, who he previously said wouldn't be available, to record the final out and earn the save. J-Brox should be back in his usual role tonight.
• Florida Marlins closer Leo Nunez blew his fourth save of the year yesterday. He gave up two runs on three hits in just one inning of work. Even if his form were worse, the Fish have no one else in their bullpen to take over. He's safe.
• The Colorado Rockies' Huston Street earned his first save yesterday since returning from the DL. He struck out two in one inning of work. Note: If Manuel Corpas records a save today, it'll probably be because Street has thrown 30 pitches over the last two days. It wouldn't be surprising if they rested the latter.
• New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel didn't have the luxury of using Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth yesterday. Manuel called on K-Rod to keep the game close when they were down by two in the eighth inning. Pedro Feliciano then blew the game by giving up a walkoff hit in the ninth, Rodriguez's usual inning.

Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat: AL | NL

Fantasy baseball closer depth charts: AL | NL

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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