Kuzul

So, you spaced on the day of your fantasy draft and auto-drafted four catchers, ten starters and no closers.

Or maybe you drafted Andrew Bailey, Kyle Farnsworth, Matt Thornton and Joakim Soria. Have no fear.

While none of these relievers are fantasy studs, saves are a hot commodity, and astute waiver wire pickups can make all the difference over the long fantasy season.

The discerning save vulture can still make a run at the fantasy title, but you have to strike while the iron is hot and add these closers immediately.

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The first week of the 2011 Major League Baseball season is well underway. The first series are in the books, and with them, fans across the country are showing their first signs of panic.

Out in Anaheim, things are no different. At least for the fans.

Optimists draw parallels to the 2002 season, when the Angels lost 14 of their first 20 games before roaring back to a 99-win season and the franchise’s first World Series Championship.

Pessimists fear the similarities with last season, when a solid Opening Day victory lead to three straight losses to the Minnesota Twins, setting the tone for a frustrating year in every aspect.

The realists, however, understand that although the start hasn’t been pretty, no baseball season was ever won or lost before tax day. Realists can appreciate that while changes may need to be made, the year is far from over.

Realists like Mike Scioscia.

The Angels skipper, regarded as one of the game’s best, is typically a slow mover when it comes to making roster moves. Particularly this early in the season, and especially when it involves an emotional response to painful losses.

But even Scioscia couldn’t sit idly by and watch his relievers continue to destroy the good work done by the offense and starting pitching.

After suffering through their team’s first losing season in seven years, he watched his bullpen fritter away three games in what could have easily been a four-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals.

In all three losses, the Royals scored the go-ahead run in their final at-bat. Twice, the bullpen surrendered walk-off home runs, breaking both fans’ hearts and coaches’ patience.

Now, that’s not to say Angel batters couldn’t improve, and Scott Kazmir certainly didn’t do himself any favors by giving up five runs in less than two innings.

What it does suggest is things haven’t changed for some Angels from last season, and that is unacceptable in Scioscia’s eyes.

He immediately dropped a long-struggling Fernando Rodney from the closer’s role, inserted young fireballer Jordan Walden in his place, and put Kazmir on notice. One more start like he had on Sunday, and the former ace will find himself bounced from the starting rotation.

These changes are far from the panicked, knee-jerk reactions some fans have had already. They are the measured, calculated, and perfectly executed plans of a savvy dugout politician.

Scioscia knows this Angels roster has its work cut out for it in the AL West. But he is not going to let his boys go down without a fight.

Rodney and Kazmir are pitching like they’re in competition to see who can put the most men on base in the fewest innings. Allowing that to continue would be as devastating to players’ morale as it would be to their win-loss record.

Need proof? One day after Scioscia’s intervention, the Angels cruised to a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, capped off by a 1-2-3 ninth inning from new closer Walden.

The last time that happened, Francisco Rodriguez was still on good terms with his father-in-law.

It’s time to relax, Angels fans. It’s April. There are 157 more days and nights of emotional anguish ahead. And Mike Scioscia will be there to see us through it all.

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There was a serious fantasy fallout with Brian Fuentes being traded to the Minnesota Twins on Friday. One player’s stock soared for the final month of the season and one player’s stock went down.

Let’s take a look at the Fuentes trade from a fantasy perspective.

Brian Fuentes—Stock Down. Despite recording the save in yesterday’s 1-0 win over the Seattle Mariners, Fuentes should be seeing the eighth inning more than the ninth inning.

Unless current closer Matt Capps goes down or starts to really struggle, then Fuentes has very little fantasy value moving forward.

Matt Capps—Stock Even. Despite NOT recording the save in yesterday’s 1-0 over the Mariners, Capps should get the majority of the save opportunities moving forward. The only reason Fuentes got the save yesterday was because left-handed batter Russell Branyan came to the plate, and Fuentes was a better match up against the lefty.

I could see Capps losing saves like this every now and then, but his stock should remain unaffected moving forward.

Fernando Rodney—Stock Up. With Fuentes being shipped out of town, someone needs to close games in Anaheim. That guy will be Rodney.

Rodney is having a typical Rodney season with an ERA of 3.83, a WHIP of around 1.40, and a very mediocre BB/K ratio. He will be a decent fill-in choice if you need a No. 2 closer for the day or week.

Rodney could benefit from the Angels’ easy schedule in September. The Angels play the Mariners and Cleveland Indians a total of 10 times in September. Easy games means wins, and wins potentially could equal saves for Rodney.

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Admit it Angels fans. You’ve been spoiled.

Since Bryan Harvey took over the role in 1989, the Angels have been blessed with a shut-down closer every year until now.

Harvey, Troy Percival, Francisco Rodriguez and yes, Brian Fuentes, have provided an unbroken, 20-year chain of confidence for Halo managers to go to the pen in the ninth.

That amazing streak of good fortune seems likely to be ending this year.

In just 11 appearances this season, Fuentes has already allowed four homers, blown two saves, and lost a game.

With an ERA hovering near 6.00 and a WHIP of 1.31, Fuentes has been far from automatic and anything but intimidating for opposing batters.

Normally, a sampling of 11 games might not be all that much to be concerned about—especially for a guy that led the majors in saves last year with 48 and made the All-Star team.

Lost in those stats from 2009 are his seven blown saves, five losses, 1.40 WHIP and a blown save in the playoffs.

A trip to the DL earlier this year gave the newly acquired, former Detroit Tigers closer Fernando Rodney a shot at locking down wins. Rodney promptly went five-for-five in save opportunities and had fans advocating for manager Mike Scioscia to make the change permanent.

Rodney then promptly blew a save against St. Louis on Sunday, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of Angels fans everywhere.

With all the hand-wringing over the Angels’ offense and inconsistent starting pitching, the biggest letdown of all has been the bullpen. No longer can they count on the best set-up man in baseball to hand the game over to one of the best closers in baseball—a luxury Scot Shields and Brendan Donnelly provided for the past decade.

If the Angels could have simply held on to leads this year in the same way they have held on in the past, they still would be tied for first place despite all of their other woes.

Until the Halos solve their relief problems, the $30 million they are spending on their starting rotation will be utterly worthless, which begs the question: Was Francisco Rodriguez worth $12 million per year after all?

I was front and center on the “don’t re-sign K-Rod” bandwagon two years ago. After all, the Angels had rookie sensation Jose Arredondo, who looked like he was separated at birth from K-Rod with his 1.62 ERA.

Paying the league minimum to a guy that might end up being as good as Rodriguez seemed to make far more sense than paying $12 million for redundancy.

The Angels still obviously put a high priority on the closer slot, despite letting Franky walk. They spent $9 million to bring in Fuentes, 34, because of reservations management had about Arredondo’s readiness in making the jump to closer.

After Arredondo flamed out in his sophomore season, and ultimately ended up needing Tommy John surgery, the insurance move paid off for the Halos.

However, with Fuentes seeming to have lost a step just one year later, questions about the wisdom in letting Rodriguez walk in the first place deserve to be revisited.

Did the Angels actually save money with the move or did they waste $9 million by making Brian Fuentes their highest-paid pitcher?

For $3 million more, would they have been better served to keep the real deal in K-Rod?

$3 million more might start to look like a bargain when you consider K-Rod is only 28 and has already accomplished the following:

He’s a season away from already joining the 300-save club.

Crushed the all-time single-season save record with 62.

Has more saves than any other closer since 2005.

685 K’s in 542 innings pitched (they don’t call him K-Rod for nothing).

Batters are hitting .191 against him for his career (lower than Mariano Rivera).

He’s a World Champion.

Consistently one of the top three most intimidating closers in baseball.

Through 21 appearances this season, he has 25 K’s, with a  1.96 ERA.

Further consider that the Angels spent $5.75 million to sign Rodney as a backup plan to Fuentes this season. That means the Angels ended up spending more on two mediocre closers than they would have if they had just signed their elite closer in the first place. $2.75 million more, which ironically is almost the exact difference between the Fuentes and Rodriguez contracts.

Granted, hindsight is 20/20, but I promise I will never take pitching depth for granted again. It would be wise for General Manager Tony Reagins to take heed as well. It may have taken this year to remind the Angels and their fans what pitching is worth.

The Angels have gone from having the third best team ERA in baseball two years ago, to the second worst in the American League this season.

Now, the Angels are seeing the consequences.

Until the bullpen gets righted, a team that has been built on pitching a defense for the past decade with much success can no longer succeed.

Don’t look for the Angels to make any trades to remedy the problem. They are pretty much stuck with what they have for the season because of all the money they have already allocated to Rodney and Fuentes.

Unless several relievers step up from within the organization in the next month, the Angels will be in for a long, frustrating and forgettable summer.

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