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June 13, 2007, 3:35 PM

Relief Efforts: Rankings, news, e-mail

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By Eric Karabell
ESPN.com
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Things change every day in major league bullpens. One day your fantasy closer is dominating, the next he's nursing a sore arm or third in line for saves. Eric Karabell breaks down all the key happenings in major league bullpens in his Wednesday Relief Efforts.

Volatile closing situations on my mind:

Athletics: The big closer news on this fine Wednesday is the update on Huston Street, who apparently had a significant setback in his rehab, and now there is reason to believe Street might need surgery. Street was the No. 6 closer selected in ESPN average live drafts, so obviously he remains owned in just about every league (99.3 percent), but it might be time for his owners to read the writing on the wall. Similarly, there hasn't been any good news on Justin Duchscherer, who is sitting on his couch wondering when he'll be able to throw again. Of course the A's want these guys back as soon as possible, but in the meantime Alan Embree continues to thrive. He's up to 80 percent owned in the shallow ESPN standard mixed leagues, but surely near 100 percent owned in deeper formats, as he's accumulated seven saves. His next one will match his career total entering the year. Um, he's 37. Embree could be the closer all season long, and get into the 20-25 range. In his last 11 outings he's permitted runs only one time. It's time for us to believe.

Astros: Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the Astros closing lives. Or something like that. It gets built up for more than a week that Brad Lidge will supplant Dan Wheeler at some point, and on the night this swap does happen, Lidge allows a home run to noted power hitter Mark Kotsay, his first of the season, thus blowing the save. Who closes next? Where's Dave Smith these days? I'm guessing Lidge gets a longer leash than this, but it certainly was a smart idea to keep Wheeler around, assuming you could do this. I don't think Chad Qualls starts to figure in the equation, but who knows? Stick with Lidge, who was clearly one of fantasy's most dominant relief pitchers in May, including all the closers, with a 1.10 ERA, and 22 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.

Brewers: It was inevitable that Francisco Cordero would allow runs at some point, you know. He entered last weekend's series in Arlington, Texas, where he used to pitch, with a fancy 0.36 ERA. That's one run in 24 2/3 innings. The Rangers got to him twice, but only one of the blown saves was cause for concern, and even then, most relief pitchers have a hiccup at some point. Cordero allowed five hits and a walk in Saturday's game, all with two outs, and got the loss. The next day the Brewers went right back to Cordero, as they should have, and a few scratch singles and a stolen base helped tie that game. Cordero is the Milwaukee closer, there's no doubt. As of this writing Cordero hasn't pitched since, but this is because the Brewers have had nothing to save. I think it's time to start putting the Brewers outlook into the Cordero picture, as in fewer wins could equate to fewer save chances. This team has played over its head, and not just shortstop J.J. Hardy. I dropped Cordero a few spots in the rankings, but he's still reliable, still top 10, and still on pace for 40 saves, which I see coming. I'd worry more about his setup man, the sputtering Derrick Turnbow.

Reds: David Weathers isn't the best closer in the business, this much is clear, but it sure seems like his fantasy owners expect him to lose the job soon. Bill Bray and Eddie Guardado, each injured but due back at some point, could be in line to get some saves, though there's no guarantee either will pitch well enough to warrant it. Weathers sports a 3.58 ERA, inflated in part by a six-run outing against the Pirates, but his WHIP is 1.01, and he's still getting strikeouts. You might be able to acquire Weathers on the cheap. What do I think will happen? At some point I could see Weathers supplanted by Guardado for saves, though it would be wise for the Reds to give someone younger a shot. This is, after all, the worst team in the National League. Let's assume Todd Coffey is out of the picture, as he's been treated like a minor leaguer this season. I see nobody on the roster worthy, except maybe Marcus McBeth, who closed some games at Triple-A Louisville earlier this season, and has been on the Reds for about a week.

Two is the number of blown saves for Francisco Cordero last weekend. Only two other pitchers have more than one blown save so far in June (entering Wednesday). Salomon Torres is hurt, and Renyel Pinto is hardly a closer.

Two is the number of appearances for Francisco Rodriguez in the first 12 days of the month. Sure seems like he's not being used enough, but then again, he's generally used only for save chances, or tie games. Call it circumstance.

Two is the number of strikeouts for Ryan Dempster in June, through seven innings of work. In Dempster's first 23 2/3 innings this season, he fanned 25 hitters. Cause for alarm? Probably not, but it is odd to see Dempster go five straight outings without a K. His longest streak of consecutive strikeout-less games in 2006 was three.

Josh (Seattle): "Looking at your Top 5 players by position in Tuesday's blog I noticed that you don't have J.J. Putz in your reliever section. Sure, he got off to a slow start, but it wasn't his fault that the Mariners weren't in save situations. By the time Putz got his first save Francisco Cordero had seven saves, Francisco Rodriguez, Joe Nathan and Jonathan Papelbon all had six saves, and so on. Now Putz is tied for third in the majors for saves. Putz has been by far the best closer so far this year. You won't see him blow two games in a row against Texas like Cordero did."

Eric: All fair points by Josh, and certainly it wasn't Putz's fault the Mariners not only didn't have save opps in April, but barely played the first two weeks, thanks to the weather. It certainly appears reports on a balky elbow were nothing to worry about. I moved Putz up in the rankings, before Josh made his case incidentally, to fourth, behind Rodriguez, Nathan and Papelbon. He deserves that spot.

Kerry (Harrisburg, PA): "So, Chris Ray is ranked in the bottom third of all closers because he's had four terrible outings, and only 13 saves with an ERA in the lower 4's. I'm OK with that. Why are Mariano Rivera and his eight saves this season ranked No. 11, when he has had some equally dreadful performances, and an even higher ERA than Ray?"

Eric: These rankings are not based solely on current performance, there has to be some attention given to past results, and we have to trust Rivera more than Ray. Also, Rivera is pitching well now, while Ray is not. Rivera hasn't allowed a run in his last nine outings, and has five saves in that span. Moving forward I expect Rivera to get a lot more save chances than Ray, and have a better season. I've actually received more mail about the fact I didn't have Rivera in my top 10! Now I do.

Got a question about the men who get saves? Think Eric's top 30 ranking needs a bit of shuffling? Share those thoughts by clicking here and Eric could post your thoughts in the next Relief Efforts.