USUALLY around this time, a bevy of set-up men are a hair away from shedding anonymity and becoming closers.
For some reason, that’s not the case this year. Closers who were labeled as risks have so far excelled.
For instance, few felt Bobby Jenks would last as long as he has. So far, he has eight saves and talk of a demotion has subsided.
Also, pundits were at least a little wary of Derrick Turnbow, but so far he has been brilliant.
So, we’ll skip the closer doomsday column (except for Francisco Cordero, who was replaced by Akinori Otsuka as the Rangers closer).
Instead, we’ll focus on stellar set-up man who will forsake glory and remain anonymous, but continue to put up incredible numbers that will lower your ERA and WHIP.
Francisco Liriano, Twins: A must-have for now and the future, even if he is settled in behind Joe Nathan.
His ERA and WHIP numbers aren’t staggering, but only because of a garbage-time appearance against the Tigers when Minnesota was already down 9-0.
Besides that horrid appearance that saw Liriano give up five runs and eight hits in three innings, he has only allowed one run in 131/3 IP.
Because of that one start that greatly inflated his numbers, he could be obtained on the cheap. Also, he should be a starter in the future.
Duaner Sanchez, Mets: And to think, the bullpen was the Mets’ Achilles’ heel last year. Sanchez has yet to give up a run in 20 IP through Friday night, plus a tidy 0.72 WHIP. With Billy Wagner closing, Sanchez won’t see any save duties unless Wagner needs a rest.
Todd Coffey, Reds: Seems Reds skipper Jerry Narron likes David Weathers in the bullpen.
With Weathers securing eight of nine save chances this year, Coffey likely won’t displace Weathers as the team’s closer. But Coffey has been downright nasty, giving up just one earned run in 17 IP.
Scot Shields, Angels: Incredible bridge from starter to Francisco Rodriguez. Has a ridiculous strikeout-to-walk ratio (11:2), and has given up just two earned runs in 161/3 IP.
J.J. Putz, Mariners: Seattle manager Mike Hargrove has reportedly decided to go with a closer-by-committee to replace the inconsistent Eddie Guardado. Look for Putz and Rafael Soriano to pick up most of the duties. Putz, besides having an awesome name, also has awesome numbers: 22 Ks to four walks, 2.30 ERA, 1.02 WHIP.
Eric Gagne, Dodgers: Last week, Gagne threw 30-35 pitches from 40 feet and reported no pain. Best-case scenario is 3-4 weeks, but figure closer to 4-5. No word yet if he’ll replace Danys Baez once he returns.
