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

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This year, the San Diego Padres have taken the West by storm and it’s no secret that they are at the top of their game.

The Padres have constructed a team that include good, young arms, contact hitters, and a well managed front-office.

Bud Black has been nothing more than stellar when it comes to game day and has showed off the potential of his squad. Combine that with power hitting in Adrian Gonzalez, and young pitching in Mat Latos, and your team will go a long ways.

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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. 

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Just days before the big three game set between the NL West front-running San Diego Padres and the trailing San Francisco Giants, both sides were already looking forward to their divisional showdown. Giants’ left-hander Jonathan Sanchez may have been a little too fired up.

Sanchez is, undoubtedly, a good pitcher. He’s the same guy who threw a no-hitter against the Padres in July of 2009 at AT&T Park. He was also the same pitcher that gave up just one hit to that same team earlier this year…and lost 1-0.

Maybe his adrenaline or excitement got the best of him. Or, perhaps, he just wasn’t thinking when John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle talked to him about the upcoming series. Whatever the case may be, Sanchez decided to throw down the gauntlet and say something he probably shouldn’t have said.

“We’re going to play them three straight times and we’re going to beat them three times,” Sanchez told Shea. “If we get to first place, we’re not looking back.” You have to wonder how many of his teammates put their hands over their faces and wished they could have shut him up before he spoke. Henry Schulman, also with the Chronicle, reported that some in the Giants’ clubhouse were annoyed at the comment.

Unfortunately, the words were out and, the next morning, they were in the paper for all to see. When the Padres got wind of it, not one of them fired back with a guarantee of their own. Left fielder Scott Hairston told a San Diego television station that it wasn’t a smart thing of Sanchez to say, but didn’t go much further. Padres’ closer Heath Bell decided to have a little fun with the comment saying, “All right, cool. We’re going to get swept. Well, I swept my garage this morning.”

It wouldn’t take long for Sanchez to regret his words, as he ended up the losing pitcher on Friday night, and, after an extra innings victory for his team on Saturday, watched as the Padres put an exclamation point on the series with an 8-2 win on Sunday.

While he would be eating his words in the Giants clubhouse on Sunday afternoon, another Giants pitcher apparently didn’t learn the lesson Sanchez had just learned the hard way.

Reliever Guillermo Mota, who got tagged for the final two runs in an 8-2 defeat, decided to open his mouth and make everyone else roll their eyes. It’s one thing for Sanchez, an above average pitcher, to say what he said, it’s quite another for a guy that’s given up six earned runs in three and a third innings to say it.

Mota started off politically correct when talking to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, “We’ve got seven games left with them? We don’t care about those seven games now. What we care about is winning series. They’ve been playing good. We do, too. But it’s not between us and San Diego. It’s us and the whole league right now. We’ve got to go to Philly and take care of business.”

At this moment, you can imagine Mota’s teammates answering their own questions from the media and minding their own business.

Then, in a “what the hell did he just say” moment, Mota dropped this little nugget: “Every team has a down time. Every team has its lumps. They haven’t had their lumps. You don’t think they’re going to be playing like that all year, do you? If they do, congratulations.”

I’m curious what the media thought when Mota popped off like that. Did they know it was coming? Could they sense that a moment of brilliance, or lackthereof, was about to be shared? What about his teammates? Did they take him aside and smack him upside the head and remind him that’s exactly what got Sanchez in trouble?

Mota can say they don’t care about San Diego all he wants. But, this time of year, there isn’t one playoff-contending team that isn’t watching the out-of-town scoreboards or wanting to know how the other team did.

These two teams will meet seven more times, including four at Petco Park, before the season is over. You can bet that those seven games will be just as big as this past weekend was, especially if the race is as close as it is so far.

Through 11 games between the two teams, the Padres have won nine of those 11 games and sit at three and a half games in front of the Giants.

Their battle isn’t over and, apparently, neither are the guarantees.

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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.

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Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions about the picture that opens the slideshow, you can relax, because Mariano Rivera isn’t going anywhere.

However, there have been plenty of rumors that have centered around relievers, most of which any team would love to have in their own bullpen for the stretch run.

There are some better than others, some that will cost more in return, and even more that can be had for not much at all.

However, whether they cost major league talent, top prospects, or your run of the mill “player to be named later,” we’ll see plenty of relievers moved at the deadline make a huge impact on their new teams as they make a run to the division titles and into the playoffs.

The following list is the 10 relievers who would make the biggest impact to any team that wants to make it deep into the playoffs.

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The Texas Rangers made, arguably, one of the biggest trades in franchise history for a guy that was called the “biggest impact pitcher” since Nolan Ryan wore a Rangers’ uniform.

Rangers’ general manager Jon Daniels decided that first baseman Justin Smoak was expendable, and was able to sneak in under the radar and bring Cliff Lee to the Rangers.

But, just when it seemed like the Rangers could be done dealing, there are rumors and rumblings to the contrary.

While Chris Davis will be their starting first baseman of the future, at least for now, it wouldn’t hurt for Daniels to go out and land another player that could spell Davis at first and not lose much offensively.

If you’re asking for my opinion, the Rangers’ bullpen still needs a lot of work, as does their rotation.

Sure Neftali Feliz gives the team a lockdown closer, Darren Oliver and Darren O’Day have had better than expected years, but besides that they don’t have another pitcher that makes teams fear the late innings.

So, here are my list of players that the Rangers should look at as well as explaining what they would bring to the team. The team isn’t done dealing, they still have moves to be made, these are just a few players they should or could look at.

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What on earth is going on down in San Diego? Most every baseball pundit predicted the Padres would be one of the worst teams in baseball and would likely be shipping off their best players at the trade deadline. Instead, the Padres are looking for a durable pitcher as well as a legitimate bat as they are trying to hold their division lead. Selling Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell to the highest bidder is not part of the equation that likely involves the team taking on more payroll in an attempt to compete right now.

Why they are winning is kind of a mystery. Their payroll is just over $38 million, the second lowest in MLB. The offseason commitment to adding talent was more geared toward building for the future rather than trying to win in the present. Yet somehow they are leading the NL West by two games at the break and Baseball Prospectus even gives them a 60 percent chance of making the playoffs .

With so many low expectations, where are the Pads exceeding those expectations and winning games they shouldn’t be winning? They only have one regular batting above .300 and three slugging above .400, so their bats are certainly not tearing things up.

Adrian Gonzalez leads the team in batting average, runs scored, home runs, runs batted in, on base percentage, and hits. His team lead in home runs is 10 and RBI is 24, so he’s carrying the offensive load where the rest are just simply spare parts.

Petco Park is well known for being a pitchers park and the team ERA certainly shows that. The team ERA is a MLB-leading 3.25, but the ERA in home games is 2.89. Opponents are hitting .238 against San Diego pitchers in all games and .228 in San Diego. These stats show that pitching is winning games for the Pads.

Injuries have more to do with a team’s successes as almost anything else, and the Padres have only been significantly hurt by the loss of starting pitcher Chris Young . Otherwise, the team has been pretty healthy, which is more than their division foes can say.

All four division rivals have had significant injury problems that have slowed their progress this season. Not that the injuries to their competition is the only reason for the Padres’ success this season, but it is one factor. It is as much to their credit that they took advantage of those injuries to rise above their foes.

So what about the future? First baseman Adrian Gonzalez and closer Heath Bell would be welcome on any team in baseball. Starting pitcher Mat Latos is the real deal. Outfielder Kyle Blanks is blocked at his primary position by Gonzalez, but a bat like his will always find a spot in the lineup. Third baseman Chase Headley is starting to live up to expectations. But this team is rather thin after that. It just doesn’t appear to be a team built to win this year or any other in the near future, so don’t build up too many high expectations. The Padres are definitely a greater whole than the sum of their parts.

There once was a team of Padres
Whose players’ offense was very passe
But their pitchers were stout
And their faith was devout
That in first place they could stay

Rick Milleman is the head fantasy baseball contributor at DraftBuddy.com . Check his annual player projections included in the Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy to help draft your championship team.

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The All-Star Game rosters usually have a way of working themselves out. Usually at the end of the day, thanks to injuries and whatnot, the players who are supposed to be there get there.

Two closers who many felt were snubbed when the original rosters were announced have found their way into the game.

With Milwaukee Brewers RHP Yovani Gallardo and New York Yankees RHP Mariano Rivera pulling themselves from the game, San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell and Tampa Bay Rays closer Rafael Soriano have been named to the NL and AL rosters respectively.

Soriano is 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA and 23 saves in 24 opportunities this season, and this will be the second straight All-Star selection for Bell, who was the loser in last year’s All-Star Game. He is tied for the NL lead with 23 saves and has a 1.72 ERA.

I feel bad for Gallardo that he won’t be able to pitch in this game, but Bell not being on the original NL roster was a joke. Really not sure how Brian Wilson got the nod over him, but like I said, these things usually have a way of working themselves out.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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It’s the same conversation, just a different year.

Every season, virtually every Major League roster has players deserving of All-Star selections that get left on their sofas for the weekend.

This year, the Padres pitching staff may be the most distinguished of the All-Star snubs.

The Padres have the best record (49-34) in the National League and boast the best team ERA (3.05) in the NL by a long shot (St. Louis is next at 3.28), yet couldn’t command enough respect to land a pitcher on the roster.

The Padres have as many All-Stars as the Pittsburgh Pirates, the worst team in the NL at 30-52.

Their one All-Star this year is Adrian Gonzalez, certainly deserving of his third invite as a reserve. He’s batting .291 with 16 home runs and 51 RBI.

Gonzalez was one of eight reserves selected by the players, coaches, and managers.

“It means a lot more than any other way to get in,” Gonzalez said. “They’re the ones that pay attention and really see what you can do on the field.”

Commissioner Bud Selig has vastly improved the dynamics since the infamous tie game in 2002 in Milwaukee. Selig gave the midsummer classic a facelift and decided the game would determine home-field advantage in the World Series—rather than the previous alternative of merely rotating home fields on a yearly basis.

An outdated component of the player selection process is the rule that each team has to have at least one representative on its league’s roster. In a game that is supposed to spotlight MLB’s best players, some superior players are left off the roster in favor of less deserving players from weaker teams.

This argument is strengthened by the greater urgency of winning the game, due to the home field advantage in the World Series at stake.

Players that are producing better first halves statistically, and helping propel their team to the top of their divisions, are not being commended for their efforts. With the All-Star game now in its eighth year of “meaning something”—it’s time to dismiss the one-player-per-team rule.

The 33-man rosters for each team are selected through the following process: Baseball fans vote on the starting position players (eight). The players, coaches, and managers vote 16 players; eight pitchers (five starters and three relievers) and one back-up player for each position. The manager selects nine players, followed by a final vote by the fans (via Internet) chosen from a list of five players.

It no surprise that the fans didn’t vote in a player from the often overlooked Padres roster.

But the fact that Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and other MLB players didn’t feel the need to include Heath Bell (MLB-best 23 saves, 1.77 ERA) or Mat Latos (9-4, 2.77 ERA) is an insult to the Friars.

“To be frank it’s kind of ridiculous I think,” Tony Gwynn Jr. said. “Every year somebody is going to get snubbed, and it doesn’t help that we’re on the West Coast where people don’t get to see our guys throw as much.

“Heath shouldn’t be having to get in on a fan vote, but that’s the way it works and hopefully we can get the fans behind him and get two guys in.”

The 22-year-old Latos (99.2 IP, 70 H, 91 Ks, 0.96 WHIP) yields the lowest opponents batting average (.193) among all starting pitchers, and most importantly, has been the most reliable pitcher on the team with league’s best record.

One could even make a case for Clayton Richard (6-4, 3.00 ERA), along with Mike Adams (2.25 ERA, MLB-best 21 holds) and Luke Gregerson (2.23 ERA, MLB-second best 19 holds).

The most deserving Friar flawed by the inept selection process is closer Heath Bell.

Yet, he isn’t shocked that Manuel left him off the NL roster.

“For the pitching staff I know there’s a lot of good National League pitchers out there,” Bell said. “From starters to relievers—he has to make hard decisions.”

Last year, when San Diego was in the cellar of the NL for the first half of the season, they received two All-Star selections: Gonzalez and Bell.

Bell (4-0) has struck out 49 in 36.2 innings, leads the league in saves, and already has two saves and a victory in the month of July, but does not have an invite to Anaheim July 13.

Unless, that is, Bell gets selected with the final vote for the last roster spot in the NL.

“At least I still have a chance,” Bell said. “It’s unfortunate that Luke (Gregerson) doesn’t have a chance anymore, or (Mat) Latos, because they’re well-deserving too.”

Bell is a candidate along with Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies), Joey Votto (Reds), Billy Wagner (Braves), and Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals).

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