Kuzul

It’s time to continue our journey around the league, looking at each team’s closer situation. The National League West is home to one of, if not the, worst bullpens in the league, but also a few of the elite closers.  Let’s take a look at all the updated situations:

Arizona Diamondbacks
Closer: Juan Gutierrez
Waiting in the Wings: Aaron Heilman
Closer of the Future: ?
This situation has been such a debacle all year, there really aren’t many positive things to say about the bullpen as a whole. While Gutierrez may not currently be the hands down closer, there is just no one option that you can say is a good one.  Gutierrez is sporting a 6.09 ERA.  Heilman, who is the star of the group, has a 3.73 ERA, but six blown saves. Outside of Heilman and D.J. Carrasco (though he spent the majority of his season in Pittsburgh), no Diamondback relief pitcher has an ERA below 4.00.  It’s just ugly and a situation that fantasy owners should try to avoid at all costs.  Is there a long-term solution in the minor leagues?  If there is, he probably isn’t close (or is currently working as a starting pitcher), because with how bad as the current relievers have been he’d be up by now.  Time will tell.

Colorado Rockies
Closer: Huston Street
Waiting in the Wings: Matt Belisle
Closer of the Future: Franklin Morales
Street has battled injuries this year, but don’t let his 4.32 ERA deceive you.  He has a horrifically unlucky strand rate of 59.2%, leading to his inflated ERA.  He also doesn’t have the strikeout numbers we’ve become accustomed to, with a 7.3 K/9 vs. a 9.1 mark for his career. I wouldn’t be concerned about his long-term ability, as he should continue to be one of the better closers in baseball.  Should he struggle in 2011, Morales, who got a brief opportunity to close early in the year, could get the opportunity.  Of course, if he struggles with his control (as he has this season), he won’t be long for the role.  Manny Corpas would’ve been regarded as the closer of the future, but Tommy John surgery will keep him out for most, if not all, of the 2011 season and who knows how long it will take for him to regain his stuff.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Closer: Hong-Chih Kuo
Waiting in the Wings: Jonathan Broxton
Closer of the Future: Jonathan Broxton
For as impressive as Kuo has been this season, does anyone really believe that Broxton is not only the best closer they have on the roster, but the best they’ve got for the foreseeable future?  He’s still striking players out at a tremendous rate (11.3 K/9), and has actually just suffered from some poor luck (.367 BABIP).  He’s not giving up home runs (0.33 HR/9) and has solid control (3.1 BB/9).  In other words, if he had not had the poor luck, he’d still look like an elite closer.  There really is nothing to be concerned about at this point.

San Diego Padres
Closer: Heath Bell
Waiting in the Wings: Luke Gregerson
Closer of the Future: Luke Gregerson
I’m sure the rumors will surface once again this offseason of the Padres shopping Bell.  Given the number of impressive arms they have in their bullpen, there really is no reason for them not to, is there?  He is currently sporting a 1.78 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, with five wins and 37 saves.  There certainly will be someone out there willing to pay a premium in order to acquire him.  There are actually a few options for who could take over, but I’m going with Gregerson for now.  He’s been nearly unhittable, with a 2.55 ERA and 0.75 WHIP, striking out 74 over 63.2 innings.  He’s had great control (1.8 BB/9) and keeps the ball in the ballpark (0.7 HR/9).  In Petco Park, that’s really all you can ask for.  He could be worth stashing if you are looking to stash a closer for 2011.

San Francisco Giants
Closer: Brian Wilson
Waiting in the Wings: Jeremy Affeldt
Closer of the Future: Brian Wilson
Wilson has emerged as one of the best closers in the game and, at 28-years old, is in no danger of losing his job any time soon.  This year he has already saved 37 games, giving him 116 since 2008.  The funny thing is, he’s had poor luck with a .365 BABIP and good luck with an 84.9% strand rate.  Those things cancel each other out, more or less, meaning that there is no reason to think that Wilson is going to slow down any time soon.  With his ability to pile up the strikeouts (on pace to set a career high, currently at 11.7 K/9), he’s not going anywhere.

What are your thoughts on these situations?

Make sure to check out our look at the other divisions in baseball:

• NL East
• AL East
• AL Central
• AL West

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Relievers are often called upon when a strikeout is necessary to prevent the other team from scoring. Here are the five relievers that are best at striking hitters out, based on their K/9 rate. 

Begin Slideshow

With the trade deadline behind us and dog days of August upon us, fantasy baseball owners are either making their way towards bragging rights for next season, or making their way towards the local landfill (Hey, it happens to best of us!).  

Whether you spent a fourth round pick on an elite closer, or waited to piece together your closing committee, let’s take a look at how the relief pitchers will finish out the rest of the season.

If you “mixed and matched” your relief corps this season hoping for saves here and there, it’s important to also mix in guys with high strikeout totals and low walk rates (as it is with most pitchers). In previous seasons, I’ve done just a “straight” ranking by position, as opposed to a “tiering” system, but have recently found that the tiering system will help you to better distinguish the difference between a tier-one player and a Tier-two player, ultimately leading to better value.

Tier-One

Mariano Rivera – New York Yankees

Heath Bell – San Diego Padres

Jonathan Papelbon – Boston Red Sox

These top relievers are the same pitchers season after season who continue to be worth every penny for owners who draft them early. Rivera may pitch until he’s 100 years old, but is still the best in the game. Having Kerry Wood help deliver a lead to Mo in the ninth makes him even better.  

Although Bell is involved in trade rumors every season, he continues to be the backbone of a strong bullpen in San Diego, as they push towards a division title.   

Don’t be freaked out by Papelbon being placed on waivers earlier this week, as most players are during this time of the year. “Cinco Ocho” hasn’t posted the strikeout numbers we’ve all wanted in 2010, but he’s still racking up the save numbers and has been one of the top closers over the past four seasons.

Tier-Two

Jonathan Broxton – Los Angeles Dodgers

Brian Wilson – San Francisco Giants

Carlos Marmol – Chicago Cubs

Joakim Soria – Kansas City Royals

Billy Wagner – Atlanta Braves

Jose Valverde – Detroit Tigers

Neftali Feliz – Texas Rangers

Rafeal Soriano – Tampa Bay Rays

The tier-two guys contain a mixture of all reliable closers who have job security. 

Broxton is certainly capable of cracking the tier-one group. After posting a disastrous month of July, his value is down right now. Since the All Star break, Broxton has posted an ERA of 9.00 and has only struck out 4.5 batters per nine innings (K/9 ratio). The recent poor results make you wonder if the big guy is dealing with some type of injury. The Dodgers brought in Octavio Dotel during the trade deadline, but he won’t pose a threat to Broxton unless he goes down with an injury. Dotel was just brought in because of Dodgers’ manager Joe Torre’s love affair with ex-Yankee players.  

Wilson dealt with some small back issues in the beginning of August, but appears to be fine and still remains an undervalued closer.  

The only bright spot with the Chicago Cubs this season is Marlon Byrd’s defense and the strikeouts from Carlos Marmol (16.8 K/9 this season!).

Injuries were the concern with Wagner this offseason for fantasy owners, but those who took a gamble on the left-hander during the late rounds have certainly been rewarded. Wagner and the rest of the Braves’ bullpen have lifted Atlanta into a division lead showing the Phillies that not everything revolves around offense.

Soriano leads the American League in saves with 31 and is also posting a 0.89 WHIP this season. He doesn’t have high strikeout totals like the rest of this group (36 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings), but doesn’t walk many hitters and has only surrendered three home runs.

Things just keep getting better for the Texas Rangers and Feliz this season. The lights-out fireballer has taken the closer’s role and ran with it, striking out everyone in his way. Feliz’s ERA at home is a high 5.06 this season (thanks to the Ballpark in Arlington) but on the road, Feliz has posted a 1.45 ERA and currently sits in third place in the American League with 29 saves. 

Tier-Three

Francisco Rodriguez- New York Mets

Leo Nunez – Florida Marlins

Matt Capps – Minnesota Twins

Huston Street – Colorado Rockies

Andrew Bailey – Oakland Athletics

The original “K-Rod” has bounced back nicely this season during his second year with the New York Mets. He’s posting better numbers across all categories this season, and could climb into the tier-two section during the final month of play. The fantasy value for Rodriguez has slipped over the past two seasons due to the inability of the Mets to produce save opportunities.

With questions around Nunez’s job security earlier this season, he’s proved that he’s the man down in Miami. Nunez has allowed just one home run and walked 11 batters over 44 1/3 innings this season. With 26 saves already in the books this year, Nunez has matched his career high in saves (26 with the Marlins in 2009).

The Minnesota Twins felt that Jon Rauch was not capable of closing games this season and went out and acquired Capps during the trade deadline. Capps has bounced back this season after an unlucky 2009 in Pittsburgh. Capps is an above-average reliever who posts low strikeout totals (7.4 K/9) and has spent time closing against subpar National League hitters to this point. The move to the American League will truly be a test for Capps, as the NL East doesn’t have Miguel Cabrera types.

Street and Bailey, when healthy, are reliable arms during the ninth inning, but both pitchers have struggled with the injury-bug this season. With not many reliable closing options on their teams, both will continue to see save opportunities.

Tier-Four

Brian Fuentes – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Ryan Franklin – St. Louis Cardinals

Bobby Jenks – Chicago White Sox

Francisco Cordero – Cincinnati Reds

Brad Lidge – Philadelphia Phillies

Matt Lindstrom – Houston Astros

Fuentes and the Angels are fading fast in the American League West standings.  Fuentes will continue to close in the ninth, but doesn’t post “wow” numbers. He posted better numbers during the month of July (1.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP) but continues to have the tendency to give up too many walks and home runs.

Prior to the 2010 season, I warned fantasy owners about Franklin. He uses the magical illusion of smoke and mirrors to deceive fantasy owners into thinking he is a top closer when in fact, he’s not. Franklin has a 25/6 K/BB rate over 42 2/3 innings and left-handed hitters have a stat line of .303/.333/.515 against him this season, making him avoidable. Manager Tony LaRussa is also known for riding the hot hand and playing the matchups. If Franklin fades down the stretch, so could his save opportunities.

Lidge this season has been inconsistent, but with the Phillies are really left with no other options during the ninth inning, so look for Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel to stick with Lidge.

Tier-Five

David Aardsma – Seattle Mariners

Chris Perez – Cleveland Indians

Kevin Gregg – Toronto Blue Jays

John Axford – Milwaukee Brewers

Joel Hanrahan – Pittsburgh Pirates

Drew Storen – Washington Nationals

Alfredo Simon – Baltimore Orioles

Aaron Heilman – Arizona Diamondbacks

Aardsma – see above under Ryan Franklin. Aarsdma has blown four saves this season and has also walked 16 batters over 34 1/3 innings. With the chances of the Mariners actually having a lead during the ninth inning slim, Aardsma has little fantasy appeal.

 Perez finally ends up where he belongs – pitching in the ninth and closing out games. Too bad it’s for the Cleveland Indians. With Wood leaving via a trade, Perez controls his own destiny and is a viable fantasy option for cheap saves the rest of the season.

Prior to Hoffman imploding back in May, most knew little or nothing about Axford. With little bullpen relief on the Brewers, Axford was given the job and hasn’t looked back since. Yes, Axford has the unknown factor surrounding his name, but with a sweet mustache and a 10.8 K/9 ratio this season, he’s a reliable bottom tier closer.

With Dotel leaving for Los Angeles, Hanrahan takes over the closer duties for the Bucs. It was a toss up for the ninth inning job between Hanrahan and All-Star Meek, but with Hanrahan owning more ninth inning experience, the Pirates will roll the dice with him. Hanrahan will have the same value as Dotel did when he was closing games for Pittsburgh, but fantasy owners shouldn’t be afraid to own either Meek or Hanrahan.

The Storen era is officially set to begin in Washington. The Nationals have stated that they will use a closer committee role the rest of the season with Storen, Tyler Clippard, and Sean Burnett, but Storen is your guy long term. Clippard posted horrible July numbers with a 7.90 ERA during 12 appearances. Clippard has already logged over 62 innings this season which is a career high for him, so fatigue could be playing a factor. Burnett, a former first round pick for the Pirates, is holding right-handed hitters to just a .174/.245/.209 stat line over 86 at-bats this season, while lefties are hitting .302/.371/.476 over 63 at-bats.  Oh year, Burnett has a career 6.71 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP from the month of August until the end of the season. Take in this order: Storen, Clippard, and Burnett.

Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter didn’t fool around with the bullpen during his fist game on Tuesday evening. Mike Gonzalez recorded the first two outs during the ninth before being replaced by Simon, who recorded the final out for the save. With the Orioles having nothing to lose by trotting Simon out there, the whole closing situation in Baltimore is a toss-up. Gonzalez wants to pitch in the ninth inning badly and appears to have regained the velocity on his fastball which has been missing all season, so anything can happen. Be warned.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are in shambles this season, and the bullpen isn’t exempt from the mess. In one of my earlier pieces, I wrote that Gutierrez was the favorite to earn save opportunities for Arizona given the recent failures of Chad Qualls and Aaron Heilman. With Qualls leaving for sunny Florida, D-backs’ manager Kirk Gibson was still reluctant to name a closer.  With Gutierrez hitting the disabled-list with a right shoulder injury, it’s Heilman’s turn on the carousel. I also like rookie Sam Demel as a potential replacement for Gutierrez, as he’s posted 21/5 K/BB over 20 1/3 innings. 

 – All statistical data provided via Baseball-Reference.com

Reggie Yinger is the Senior Editor at Baseball Press and his writing has appeared in a men’s national magazine publication.  He also contributes exclusive writings to The Fantasy Fix. You can contact him at 

reggie@baseballpress.com or follow him on Twitter 

@sacksjacked.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Coming into a MLB game in the ninth inning, listening to your favorite rock or rap song surely will get you a bit nervous/pumped up/downright scared.

In my case, that song happens to be “Wonderwall” by Oasis. Yes, it may seem like a sissy song to walk out to, but read the lyrics , especially the refrain, and you will understand.

For MLB closers like Heath Bell, the nervousness/adrenaline/fear are what he thrives on. The pressure is what makes him good. At 6’3″ and a husky 250 pounds, Bell looks like the butcher at your local deli who didn’t give enough meat to his dog. He is a fun guy, and regularly uses his Wii Fit board to stay in shape. Off a baseball field, Bell doesn’t seem like an imposing man.

But once he steps onto the mound at Petco Park in the ninth inning to the tune of “Blow Me Away” by Breaking Benjamin, he is quite imposing.

Bell’s high-90s fastball sure helps.

Heat is a common denominator with closers. All closers throw upwards of 90 mph, and most throw over 95. But the gift all closers have is pure stuff.

Mariano Rivera might not throw 95 mph anymore, but his cutter is downright filthy, and even though he throws it nearly every pitch, it still is nasty enough to break hitters’ bats and paint corners.

Chad Qualls, the former closer for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and now a late-inning relief pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, throws a heavy sinker at 92 mph. The vertical break on his sinker is nasty, and not many sinkerballers can throw that hard. His slider is also hard, coming in at 86 mph and breaking heavily away from right-handed hitters.

But this year, Qualls hasn’t kept the ball down, leading to his sinkers sinking to mid-thigh height and becoming easily hittable, hence Qualls’s 8.01 ERA this season.

Jonathan Broxton, the closer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is a freak. With an intimidating frame of 6’4″ and 295 pounds, Broxton brings it into triple digits regularly. His sinker is like Qualls’s, only Broxton’s is around five mph faster. He isn’t afraid of any hitter, and that may be his greatest asset.

Well, I wouldn’t be afraid of anybody if I was 6’4″, 295, would you?

Francisco Rodriguez, “K-Rod,” the closer for the New York Mets, is another in the long list of closers who have dominating stuff. K-Rod regularly cranks his fastball into the upper 90s, with corner-to-corner tailing movement on his heater. His curveball nearly hits 80 mph and is a devastating strikeout pitch. His emotions sometimes get the best of him, but K-Rod is fun to watch.

Ah, my favorite closer, Brian Wilson. Wilson, even though he isn’t as physically imposing as Broxton or Bell, is one of the best in the business. Wilson throws 99 mph regularly, and the scary part is that he paints corners with his heater. His cutter hovers around 90 mph, which makes my Pirates look that much worse, because almost all of their starting rotation’s fastballs are slower than Wilson’s cutter.

So closers all pretty much have one thing in common: A special gift. That gift may be great velocity, great movement, great control, or great craftiness, but all closers have a special gift.

(They all pretty much have a good fist pump too!)

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The are people who refuse to acknowledge reality and continue to insist that the San Francisco Giants needed to make a blockbuster deal before the trade deadline passed.

The Giants did exactly what they should’ve done. They gave up a minor leaguer for a veteran right-handed relief pitcher. Then, they traded two players with big league experience, but not much success, for a left-hander for the bullpen.

How anyone who has been paying attention to the club and its competitors since the All-Star break ended can think the Giants did anything but the right thing is baffling.

The Giants are scorching hot and just one and a half games behind the San Diego Padres in the NL West. They’ve managed stirring back-to-back wins that push the Los Angeles Dodgers further off the pace and put more room between San Francisco and the Colorado Rockies in the division.

The Giants are building a nice, little lead in a wild-card race where only the Philadelphia Phillies seem particularly imposing. The Cincinnati Reds are two games back and the Phillies three and a half. After that, there’s a log-jam that includes the Dodgers and Colorado Rockies between five and a half and six and a half games behind the wild-card race leaders.

The Giants didn’t need a journeyman hitter. Fans and media types who insist they should’ve landed someone like Washington slugger Adam Dunn ignore that the Nationals were asking for pitcher Madison Bumgarner.

So. lefty Javier Lopez comes from Pittsburgh for two popular Giants who just didn’t perform in fairly extended opportunities to do so at the big league level. Pitcher Joe Martinez and outfielder-first baseman John Bowker are Pirates now.

Bowker is a fringe big leaguer and a Triple-A all-star. Martinez is a right-handed starting pitcher who didn’t pitch well in the big leagues for a team that doesn’t need starting pitching to begin with. Love those guys? Well, they’ll get a chance to prove in Pittsburgh that they didn’t really get a chance in San Francisco.

Right-hander Ramon Ramirez comes from the Boston Red Sox for a kid pitcher named Daniel Turpen. 

There are going to be spouting the numbers that Lopez and Ramirez have put up in 2010. They’ll say that the two won’t help the Giants bullpen at all. They’ll be ignoring that the Giants have gone on a 15-4 streak that includes an 8-2 run without a lefty in the bullpen and without Brian Wilson to close in their last two victories.

At some point soon, somebody’s going to complain that Ramirez isn’t any better than the reliever the Giants send to Triple-A to make room for him. Before that somebody shouts the praises of, say, Santiago Casilla, consider that Ramirez has 31-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 42 innings pitched this season.

So, yes, many of the same people who’ve complained that Giants relievers don’t throw enough strikes will complain that they traded a minor leaguer for a strike-thrower and sent a notoriously inconsistent pitcher to the minors.

Incredible, isn’t it?

People are still lining up to moan that general manager Brian Sabean just can’t build a winner.

The Giants are winning with free agent acquisitions Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell and Juan Uribe playing very well.

If Sabean gets the blame for Aaron Rowand’s contract, he deserves all the credit in the world for Huff, Burrell and Uribe.

And, boy, are Sabean’s detractors hoping that no one mentions that Andres Torres was a 31-year-old career minor leaguer when Sabean invited him to spring training in 2009 and is paying the mercurial lead-off hitter $426,000 to play all three outfield positions, hit .286 and lead the league in doubles.

Yep. The boys in the Giants front office are responsible for Torres being in San Francisco.

Fans are going to whine that Sabean and the Giants didn’t add a big-time run-producer as they completely ignore the fact that catcher Buster Posey was added to the big league roster in May. Posey has had more impact on San Francisco’s lineup than any hitter who was traded in the last two weeks will have on his new team’s lineup.

Fans who’ve noticed that the Giants are playing the best baseball in the National League are pleased to know that the Giants didn’t try to fix what isn’t broken.

Ted Sillanpaa is a Northern California sports writer and columnist. Reach Ted at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The San Francisco Giants have won four of their first five coming out of the All-Star break — five of five if not for a blown call at home plate that cost them a win over the New York Mets on Sunday.

The Giants blew into Los Angeles and beat the suddenly slumping Dodgers, 5-2, on Monday night. The Dodgers have lost five in a row after being swept in a four-game series by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Things are going well for the Giants. They look as though they could win the National League West.

Wait.

We’ve been here before, only to have things go terribly wrong. Right?

It’s different this time. These Giants aren’t winning by utilityman Juan Uribe is on a hot streak or because one of the half-dozen or so prospects-turned-suspects has shown a flash of big league talent. The Giants are winning because, well, they’ve somehow pieced together a team that does things that successful teams do.

The starting pitching is back in gear. Lincecum’s arm isn’t dead. Zito’s coming off a brilliant outing against the New York Mets. Matt Cain reminded fans the other day that only people with no understanding of the game or the patience of a gnat would ever suggest trading him for the ever elusive “big bat” that the Giants always seem to need.

Heck, forget the top three guys in the rotation for a second. The Giants have guys in the fourth and fifth slots who would be in the top three rotation slots for many teams. Madison Bumgarner is flashing signs of being the once-a-generation young pitcher that most teams only dream about. (The fact that he’s the third big-time pitching prospect the Giants have produced in this rotation alone is worth noting before the club loses and someone demands Brian Sabean’s head on a platter.)

And, the pitcher folks feel would be so easily to replace if he was traded for that “bat” pitched well again, too. The idea of messing with this rotation and trading Jonathan Sanchez to get a hitter like Corey Hart is ludicrous. Fans and media types who insist that no team has a good fifth starter and that Sanchez is expendable are loopy. There is a precipitous drop-off from Sanchez or Bumgarner to Joe Martinez. Man, how quickly people forget how dreadful things were when the Giants just had any, old fifth starter and he was Todd Wellemeyer.

The bullpen’s in chaos but the burning need to trade for a set-up man subsided a little on Monday when Jeremy Affeldt looked like he did in 2009. Everybody wants to trade for a vetean set-up man, while ignoring that the new guy would cost a prospect and would come with no more assurance of success than Affeldt does. Affeldt got an NL MVP vote last year. And, folks think just some guy on the Pittsburgh Pirates roster can come west and most assuredly be better than Affeldt could be when, as relievers so often do, he rights himself out of the blue?

Brian Wilson has become a lock-down closer. He’s still not at the level of consistency that Robb Nen was in his prime, but not many closers were as good as Nen in his prime.

The Giants are winning because the pitching staff appears in good shape at the right time of the season.

The biggest reason this this Giants hot streak is the real thing centers around the middle of the batting order. There are three, big-time run producers in the lineup. And, none of them cost the organization Sanchez or a package of prospects.

Aubrey Huff is having a big-time season with the bat and, frankly, playing defense and running the bases so well that teams who labeled him nothing more than a designated hitter seemed to have look right past the things he can do.

Buster Posey has become, well, Buster Posey. The phenom is hitting like a phenom. He’s batting fourth and hitting the devil out of the ball — even with the power some insisted he would never have. He’s handling the pitching staff, in spite of everyone saying he couldn’t do such a thing. And, is he making it tough on would-be base-stealers?

Where are the folks who suggested that Pablo Sandoval be sent to the minor leagues to rebuild his confidence or his swing or both? Patience, man, it’s a beautiful thing. Sandoval couldn’t have had the season he had in 2009 if he was really incapable of breaking the slump that haunted him through the first half of this season.

It was written here that Sandoval would supply the offense that others insisted could only come in trade. He has pounded the ball from both sides of the plate since the All-Star break. And, don’t mumble something about five games being a small sample size. Sandoval crushed the ball through the entire 2009 campaign and — he’s doing the same thing over the last five games. He showed what he can do last year. He’s doing it again right now.

The Giants are for real because they have two home-grown run-producers in the middle of an order anchored by Huff. Again, those who will want Sabean fired again at some point need to realize that four of the five starting pitchers, the closer and two of the top three run-producers came out of the Giants farm system. There are lots of teams with general managers who’d like to be able to boast of that type of minor league production.

Bruce Bochy’s going to get blamed for losing games. There’s no getting around that. He’s found a formula that works for this Giants team and is getting incredible output from first baseman Travis Ishikawa, center fielder Andres Torres and left fielder Pat Burrell. Ishikawa didn’t suddenly wake up a .340 hitter. Bochy’s used him against pitchers where matchups favor Ishikawa. The same has been true for Burrell. And, they’ve produced.

Oh, yeah, when fans are lining up to gripe that Bochy always sticks with veterans or high-paid players no matter what — remember that Aaron Rowand is a reserve outfielder and that Torres has won the center field job and has been a catalyst in the lead-off spot.

Bochy doesn’t have patience? He wouldn’t give John Bowker or Nate Schierholtz a chance? Not so fast. OK? Not so fast.

Torres won the job in center and got the lead-off spot — and kept it. When he slumped, Bochy stuck with him. If Bochy was pulling names out of a hat like his critics suggest, Torres would’ve been out of the lineup before the break.

Just because this Giants team is on a hot streak that makes them real postseason contenders does not mean that they’ll win five of six, 10 of 12, 16 out of 18 and 25 out of 27. They’ll be on a roller coaster, like most other teams in the National League. The bullpen will let some games get away and, eventually, Posey won’t be hitting at a .500 clip. (Of course, by then, Freddy Sanchez could be hitting like the NL batting champion he once was.)

San Francisco beat the Dodgers on Monday because Schierholtz, the guy who many whine never gets a chance, hit a two-run home run. Add Ishikawa and Schierholtz to the list of home-grown Giants contributing on Monday.

Now, really, would it improve the Giants markedly if they could get Jose Guillen from the Kansas City Royals to play right field? Fans have called for Schierholtz to get a chance and Rowand has shown that he can help in spots coming off the bench. Guillen’s a remarkable upgrade? For sure? Even if his arrival means Schierholtz becomes a full-time late-inning defensive replacement and Rowand bumps Torres out of the lineup more often?

Didn’t think so.

Forget getting Hart from the Milwaukee Brewers. No baseball man on the planet would trade Bumgarner to get Hart. So, while they’re at it, the Giants should dismiss out of hand the idea of creating a hole in the rotation and gutting the minor league system to get first baseman Prince Fielder. The San Diego Padres aren’t running away from the pack and, really, isn’t it more fun to be pulling for Giants we know as opposed to some highly-paid slugger who just happens to be wearing the black and orange uniform?

There might be a time, perhaps soon, when everyone groans, “They have to trade for a shortstop,” or “(Pick a reliever) has blown his last game! He has to go!”

Remember, though, that after the first game of the Dodgers series in Los Angeles in late July — the Giants had the pieces in place to be considered a real postseason contender. And, the bulk of the talent making that so came out of the Giants farm system.

Eugenio Velez is on the big league roster so the potential exists for a disastrous mistake that costs the club a game, and brings Sabean’s ability to fill the roster into question. Wilson will pitch — a lot — and the question will come up about how many times the closer can do the job without some help.

This isn’t the first chapter of a fairytale that will certainly end with the Giants winning the World Series. Got it?

It’s just written record that, really, the Giants have what it takes to win.

—

Ted Sillanpaa is a Northern California sports writer and columnist. Reach Ted at: tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

We Giants fans have seen a number of wild, yet successful, closers in the past 20 years.

With Rod Beck’s curly locks flowing from behind his head in a mullet-type of hair style, he gathered 199 saves in his seven years as a Giant, becoming the greatest closer in the franchise’s history and an instant fan favorite.

Shortly after, a man took that honor from Beck when he played for the Giants from 1998 to 2002, raising the bar and putting up 206 saves in a Giants uniform. That man goes by the name of Robb Nen. 

A three-time All-Star and NL Cy Young nominee, he shut down his opponent with his wacky delivery and intimidating walk-up music. Now, after a few failed closers since 2002 (I’m pointing at you Armando Benitez), we have finally witnessed a closer with the right mentality and potential to match, or possibly exceed Robb Nen’s legacy he left behind. 

Brian Wilson is the crazy, charismatic, wild, and somehow perfect closer the Giants have been looking for.

With his tattoos breaking out below his sleeves, mohawk/mullet poking out from the back of his head, and the ball leaving his hand at 100 mph, it’s hard not to become a fan. His first full year as the Giants’ young closer, he posted a respectable 41-save season with a 4.62 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 62.1 innings.

The next season, he performed even better, lowering his ERA down to 2.74, raising his strikeouts to 82 in 72 innings of work, and still saving 38 games, earning himself his first All-star appearance. 

So far this season, he has improved even more from previous years, putting up All-Star numbers again, not even halfway through the season. He already has 20 saves and only two blown saves so far, with a 2.05 ERA and 42 strikeouts in only 30.2 innings on the mound.

That’s impressive. In fact, it’s so impressive, he currently sits in second place in saves in the entire league, as well as fourth in strikeouts and seventh in ERA of all closers. Match those numbers with his appearance and personality on and off the field, and this guy was a lock to become a fan favorite. 

Now that he has put in almost two-and-a-half strong seasons as the Giants closer, with 99 saves in that span, can he continue to keep that wild mentality it takes to be an effective closer?

I sure think so, and if he sticks around for a few more seasons, he can almost certainly surpass Rob Nen’s franchise save record.

Keep up the good work, Brian—and, most importantly, stay crazy.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

IP: 201 2/3  H: 180   ER: 81   HR: 12  BB: 88   K: 210  ERA: 3.61   WHIP: 1.33   BAA: .239

SV/OPP: 93/109  SV %: 85.3

Prior to Saturday’s Giants/Astros matchup, those were Giants closer Brian Wilson’s career numbers.

And while some say the 2008 All Star is an underrated closer, the reality is that the 28-year-old reliever receives more credit than he deserves.

Thanks in large part to the ridiculously stat-driven league that is Major League Baseball, the majority of hardball fans think Wilson is an ideal closer.

And by all means, he is a great pickup for your fantasy team.

But in real life? Not so much.

Despite picking up 86 saves since 2008, Wilson will never be THE pitcher a fan base wants on the mound with the game on the line.

Why is this the case?

Because unless Wilson puts more faith in his slider or picks up a new secondary pitch, every single hitter in baseball knows what is coming in a 3-2 count with the bases loaded: a fastball.

And unfortunately, since Wilson’s slider (his only secondary pitch) is tremendously inconsistent, most save opportunities see the Giants closer throw over 90 percent fastballs.

Therefore, not only can opposing hitters sit on the fastball during crucial pitches, but they can essentially sit on the fastball in any count.

While Wilson’s fastball does run anywhere from 96-99, his lack of faith in another pitch kills him.

After all, as the ever popular Giants color analyst Mike Krukow states time and time again, “every big league hitter can hit a fastball; they wouldn’t be here if they couldn’t.”

Now if Wilson had pinpoint accuracy to every corner of the plate, then throwing 96+ on every pitch would make him nearly unbeatable.

But when you consider that Wilson averages nearly four walks per nine innings, it is obvious that he belongs in the middle of the pack of MLB closers.

Throwing in the high 90s is a plus, but in order to be a great closer, pitchers have to be much better at “upsetting the timing of the hitter.”

Krukow says it all the time, “What is hitting? Hitting is timing. What is pitching? Pitching is upsetting the timing of the hitter.”

And by throwing major gas time and time again, Wilson rarely upsets the timing of opposing hitters.

San Fran’s closer may end up converting most of his saves, but more often than not it takes him a lot longer to get out of an inning than it does for the rest of his peers.

A perfect example of this type of save would be Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Astros.

Despite converting the one-run save, Wilson ended up having to throw 39 pitches before he got the job done.

His slider was once again failing to entice the hitters. Pedro Feliz took two of them that weren’t even close to the strike zone in route to a lead-off walk.

After the sliders had failed, Wilson tried to retire Feliz with fastball after fastball but each time Wilson got his heater in the strike zone, Pedro was able to foul it off rather easily.

Two batters later, Wilson had only one out left to secure the victory but didn’t have any faith to throw his slider. Subsequently, pinch hitter Corey Sullivan was able to get enough of a fastball to put it in play and beat out an infield hit.

Michael Bourn then followed up Sullivan’s single by drawing the second walk of the inning, loading the bases for Kaz Matsui.

Now in all honesty, Matsui is clearly the hitter opponents would rather face as he was hitting just .164 coming into the game and was 0-4 coming into the at-bat.

But by walking Bourn, Wilson would have no room for error in protecting the one-run lead as another walk would lose the lead and victory for Lincecum.

And in spite of his recent struggles, Matsui would battle the entire at-bat, following off 10 pitches in a 15-pitch duel against Wilson.

Of the 15 pitches, only one of them wasn’t a fastball. While the count was 2-2, Wilson hung a slider belt high that Matsui barely foul tipped at the plate (nine times out of 10, Giants catcher Bengie Molina holds on for the win).

But the war between Matsui and Wilson would continue.

And not until another handful of pitches later would Matsui end up flying out to left field to end the game.

Now most fans would say: mission accomplished. The Giants got the win, everything is fine and dandy.

However, these are the appearances from Wilson that make knowledgeable Giants fans cringe.

Wilson simply cannot continue to survive on just his fastball. When the season is on the line, and or the playoffs are on the line, good teams will beat the Wilson that took the field today against Houston.

The Giants’ closer can at times get away with the stuff he had (albeit, barely) against a team like the Astros, but when facing the Philadelphia Phillies in the playoffs, he must have a much better repertoire.

One pitch is just not going to get it done.

Now some fans out there will beg to differ by referencing Yankees’ closer Mariano Rivera, who is successful with just one pitch.

But Rivera throws arguably the nastiest pitch in baseball, a 92-94 mph cut-fastball and he has impeccable accuracy with it.

That indeed is enough of a repertoire to win championships and Rivera’s World Series rings are a testament to that.

But as for Wilson, his one pitch isn’t nearly enough. His fastball doesn’t have Rivera’s movement nor his accuracy.

And if Wilson wants to join Rivera as an elite closer, he will have to learn a couple of new tricks to put up his sleeve.

Whether that is perfecting his slider and becoming more accurate, or improving the slider while adding a change-up, at least two improvements are critical moving forward.

If Wilson and the Giants don’t realize that, then San Francisco is just setting up their fans for a major disappointment.

Because at this rate, even if the Giants make the postseason, Wilson is bound to blow that crucial save which either puts them in a major hole or ends their season completely.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Every now and again, certain fans like to remind the sports’ landscape that the word is short for “fanatics,” which comes to us from the Latin “fanaticus .” The latter means “insanely but divinely inspired.”

Yep, that about covers it.

Although I’m not sure Chicago Cub aficionados would agree with the “divine” bit.

Regardless, the San Francisco Giants and their faithful find ourselves caught in one of those moments right now.

By that, I’m referring to the ridiculous outpouring of criticism from the fanbase in the wake of manager Bruce Bochy’s decision to hook Tim Lincecum in the ninth inning of the club’s finale with the Philadelphia Phillies.

If you haven’t heard, the Freak was working on a gem, but had just issued his first walk of the game with a three-run lead and one out. Rather than let the ace finish the game with the heart of the Philly lineup coming to the plate, Boch went to All-Star closer Brian Wilson and the situation unraveled due to a heavy dose of bad luck.

Before tackling the devilish details of the manager’s decision, let’s handle the Franchise.

Some will tell you Lincecum was on his A-game as he mowed down 11 Phightin’ Phils and basically demoralized the National League’s best nine.

I’m not so sure that’s true—the two-time Cy Young certainly was on his game, but I wouldn’t say it was Tim Lincecum at his best. That monster doesn’t give up an opposite field bomb to Ryan Howard nor does it surrender loud contact to Chase Utley twice.

Granted, that’s more a testament to his exceptional ability rather than an indictment of his stuff on Wednesday. As phenomenal as those lefties are, Lincecum’s A game doesn’t allow for solid contact to anyone .

Of course, if it wasn’t the Freak at his freakiest, it was very, very close.

You watch a guy like the dominant yet diminutive right-hander and you can tell he’s special in any number of ways.

My favorite is to watch how batters change their approach—there are basically no hitters’ counts because they know the once-in-a-blue-mooners never have to concede.

Usually, in 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, and 3-1 counts, a thumper can sit on a particular pitch (fastball) in the strike zone on a particular side of the plate. Consequently, you’ll typically see LOUD contact on those swings.

With a fireballer like Lincecum, though, hitters can’t (or don’t) do that because they’ve got to be ready for anything that’s hittable. Given how filthy his arsenal is and how much command he has of it, the opposition can’t afford to let a strike go by simply because it’s not ideal.

They’ve got to take advantage of whatever minuscule leverage they’re fortunate to get.

I wouldn’t say the result is a defensive swing, but it certainly isn’t the authoritative hack you’ll see against 99 percent of the hurlers caught in that trap.

When an executioner like the Freak has a splinter at his mercy?

It can get ugly no matter the caliber of adversary.

Against Philly, I swear I saw both of Shane Victorino’s feet leave the ground in mid-swing when he whiffed to lead off the fourth inning. Placido Polanco might’ve gotten the first hit, but it was no thing of beauty and he looked grossly overwhelmed up to that point.

For good measure, Lincecum cut through Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, and Raul Ibanez the first time around using 14 pitches to record three swinging strikeouts.

Only the aforementioned Utley and Howard looked good against him, but those are two future Hall-of-Famers and each struck out against Timmy to go with their impressive trips to the plate.

So why, you ask, do I think the second-guessing of Bruce Bochy’s decision to life Lincecum in favor of Wilson is absurd?

After all, I just spent hundreds of words detailing how resplendent the Franchise is in general and on this particular occasion.

The answer is actually obvious if you give an objective retelling of the doomed half-inning.

There is no doubt that Tim Lincecum had been great up until the ninth and even the improved version is still prone to a momentary bout of wildness so the walk to the Flyin’ Hawaiian wasn’t, by definition, sinister.

Nor is there much doubt that the kid still had some fuel in his tank after 106 pitches notwithstanding the 120 he’d thrown in his last outing.

He said he felt good and, while most warriors will tell you they can go despite a missing limb, I believe the Washington native has that streak of oddity that would own up to being gassed if that’s how he felt.

However, the fact remains that the out he recorded was on a hanger. The only thing turning that baby into an out was the identity of the man holding the bat (Greg Dobbs). The fact remains that all of the four wayward pitches to Shane Victorino were up, which is not where you want to miss and not where you do miss if everything is right.

Quite frankly, Victorino probably rakes one of ’em if he’s not taking until he sees a strike (the modus operandi in the face of a three-run deficit).

So Bruce Bochy and Dave Righetti—c’mon, you don’t think he was in agreement?—had just watched a pitcher who’d been on fire for 24 outs look markedly different with Polanco, Utley, Howard, and Werth coming up.

Yikes.

Furthermore, the closer was warmed up, fresh, hadn’t yet allowed a run in 7 1/3 IP, and had only suffered six baserunners (three hits and three walks) while whiffing nine.

Lastly, there is the undeniable yet unpleasant observation that having Brian Wilson blow that game was much, MUCH less debilitating than if the Franchise had thrown kerosene on it.

As brutal as the eventual defeat was and as resolutely as Lincecum would’ve taken any eventual failure, such a scenario would’ve turned another example of his unparalleled magnificence into—at best—just another outing.

At worst, it would’ve torn away a layer of his invincibility.

Everyone—players, fans, coaches, owners, and analysts—are used to seeing the door-slammers go up in glorious flames. It happens to even the best of the best.

But to see the Freak’s mortality proven in Technicolor?

No thanks.

As the manager said, “we need the kid…”

People assume he was talking about Tim Lincecum’s physical health, but I’d say the necessity is deeper and more dispersed.

And I bet Bruce Bochy would, too.

**www.pva.org**

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com